Google AI Overview & ChatGPT Impact on Law Firm Traffic
Now in the middle of Q4, 2024 and it’s clear to me that Google’s AI Overview (AIO) and ChatGPT’s new search engine will likely have a more significant impact on law firm website traffic than I had originally estimated.
Google’s AI Overviews rolled out in to most Users in May 2024 to the US but for a very small portion of search queries, and it seemed far more prevalent when using the Chrome browser.
A few days ago, ChatGPT announced its newest and shiniest product for the mass market: a search engine. Except, it’s not really a search engine per se. It’s new toggle for ChatGPT Users to get a list of relevant websites alongside of its responses. As of now, there isn’t a new UI or a new platform, and it is more or less just building on the existing infrastructure and experience with access to the live Internet.
Nevertheless, though, it is rare that anyone in the tech space tries to take on Google at their own game. For decades now, Google has dominated the search market, but as more and more people become familiar with AI tools, it’s looking like search might get shaken up for the first time in years.
Naturally, a lot of our clients are concerned about the change. After all, most of modern digital marketing rests on a foundation of SEO and optimization around Google’s preferences… so, what happens when AIO and ChatGPT starts changing the status quo?
Despite a lot of panic coming from some corners of the internet, in my opinion the truth is somewhere between apathy and mass hysteria.
The AI Content Theft Problem
Google AIO and ChatGPT has to pull its content from somewhere, and, currently, the biggest resource for up-to-date information about all things legal are the websites of law firms. They are the ones investing time, energy, and money into developing the content, which means AIO and ChatGPT is going to need to steal (*cough*) er… “creatively acquire and amalgamate” your content to summarize it alongside other website owner’s content.
Google has already lost a legal battle in France about content theft for AI Overviews, and is likely facing lawsuits in the US and elsewhere.
Sure, they still might link to your website as a citation, but let’s be realistic – how many people are actually going to click a link to an article’s source when it’s summarized at the top of the results screen?
Google’s other obvious problem is that if they steal too much traffic from websites, what incentive is there for publishers to invest in and create new content? Why create an article for a User who will get the value of my content in search results, but never visit my website nor know that I am the one who created it?
However, if you still want a chance of being included in any type of search result, AI or otherwise, it’s still worth producing the content in my opinion. Blog articles are typically the primary recipient of backlinks on most law firm websites – so from an optimization and relevancy standpoint it’s still necessary and beneficial to produce high quality content that attracts shares and links… but you’ll probably want to think of a way to diversify your traffic sources.
What Our Agency is Seeing in Law Firm Website Traffic
We’re already seeing traffic shifts in our client’s traffic. See Tweet with pics here.
The “AIO won’t impact traffic” starter kit. All of these results are still on Page 1 of Google Organic for respective phrases, some are cited & linked directly in AIO. #SEO @ConradSaam @gyitsakalakis pic.twitter.com/zAy96r36fK
— Doug Bradley (@EverestLawMktg) October 30, 2024
As of this writing, it seems that the pages that have had the biggest negative traffic impact from Google AIO, (and ChatGPT Search to a lesser degree… so far) are what would be classified as “Information” pages. These are typically articles (blog posts) that answer a question or provide general information. We would consider them “top of funnel” searches – people researching or looking for legal information, but not looking for, nor ready to hire a lawyer.
On numerous client instances now, there is a direct correlation between a significant downturn in traffic in conjunction with a corresponding AIO result. We are seeing this even when the client’s article is (was) the traditional #1 organic result, or “Featured Snippet” and still included as the primary citation in the AIO result… people are just not clicking them.
We have not yet seen any significant impact on “Transactional” pages. These are typically high intent, bottom of funnel searches where a person is actively looking for a lawyer – typically practice pages (or service pages). That’s not to say the same impact won’t come eventually, but we are not yet seeing the same prevalence of Transactional search intent queries being rolled into an AIO result in the legal vertical.
A declining traffic pattern we’re seeing more often (as seen at top of this page):
This website is the #1 featured AI Overview link and #2 in the organic results, yet this firm has now lost 67% of the traffic that was going to this article Year Over Year.
My Crystal Ball: Traffic Will Shift, Probably for the Worse
With Google and ChatGPT having little incentive to promote the User clicking to a source link, there’s very little chance that any of the current and upcoming changes will result in more traffic to a website owner. I’ve written about traffic erosion from Google in the past, this is just the natural evolution of a search environment where Users don’t leave the platform’s search result screen by clicking to a website.
When the paid ads arrive in AIO and ChatGPT, and arrive they will, we’re likely to see a very ad heavy environment where the results screen exist primarily to deliver ads and secondarily to provide traffic to the sources from which they are getting their information.
Kind of gloomy and doomy I know, but I only speak from experience. Website owners, particularly law firms, should prepare for a turbulent and declining traffic environment. This is not an “SEO is dead” proclamation, far from it… it’s simply my personal observation of the direction of search.
Websites Are Still Information Hubs – Authoritative Content Is More Important Than Ever Before
What does seem to be clear is that the websites that are cited and linked most often within AI Overviews and ChatGPT search (largely powered by one of OpenAI’s largest stockholder: Microsoft / Bing), are websites that have quality content, authoritative links from credible websites, and show a high degree of expertise. Sound familiar, like EEAT?
It seems to me that the same activities and strategies for law firm SEO will likely also lead to success in being included in AI results regardless of the platform. All AI platforms have to have a way to identify and cite quality sources of information, and it just makes sense that it would be a similar mix of factors that exist within the current search ecosystem.
What Do I Do If I’m Losing Traffic to AI?
Here’s a summary with actionable steps to take whether your a lawyer or a business owner:
- Prioritize Authoritative Content: Continue producing high-quality, informative and link-worthy content, as AI platforms favor authoritative sources that have been cited elsewhere.
- Diversify Traffic Sources: Reduce reliance on Google by exploring other channels like social media, press & journals, email newsletters, and partnerships to drive traffic.
- Focus on Transactional (Practice) Pages: Maintain strong SEO for pages geared towards clients ready to hire (e.g., practice / service pages), as these seem to be less impacted by AI summaries so far.
- Monitor Traffic Trends: Regularly analyze traffic patterns to adapt strategies for any noticeable AI-related declines.
- Adapt for Conversational Queries: Include natural language and question-based phrases in your content to align with the way Users interact with AI tools.
These strategies can help sustain & improve visibility in an evolving, AI-influenced search environment.
A Note on the Status Quo
Something you can consider to help quell any anxiety over the coming changes is that there have been many entities that have tried to usurp Google as the dominant search platform. To date, one ever really came close: YouTube. Which is also a Google product.
That doesn’t mean never. That just means so far.
Despite even the fact that younger generations are shifting toward Tik Tok and less traditional search methods including AI platforms, Google has still persisted. People will always need to find lawyers, even if the screen they do it on changes.
President & Founder – Everest Legal Marketing, LLC
Doug Bradley is the Founder and CEO of Everest Legal Marketing. Doug has over a decade of experience specifically in legal marketing, and foremost with expertise in Search Engine Optimization for law firms. Doug has been quoted on numerous websites, co-hosted many MCLE sessions, and has advised law firms of all sizes on the topic of effective marketing and ethical SEO strategies.
