What’s new in Google’s SGE? Fresh data from Onely – Onely

Article updated on: 13th Dec 2023

The impact of Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) still remains to be seen. Google’s new AI search feature is still in its testing phase, but it’s already generated a lot of heat in the SEO industry. 

At Onely, we have been preparing for an AI-driven future for quite some time. That’s why we’re perfectly prepared to discuss the AI Search and can deliver a different approach – one driven by data.

Our R&D Team has been tracking the SGE results since the inception, and we have some exciting data ready to share. 

You’re in the right place if you’d like to know how many keywords trigger SGE responses or how it differs depending on the industry. 

Here, we focus on monitoring how SGE works right now, including our research behind it. 

Let’s dive right in.

Current performance of Google’s Search Generative Experience

How many keywords have an SGE result?

The critical question is: How impactful is SGE actually? 

We have been tracking how many keywords could generate SGE for weeks now. 

Based on our sample, the SGE result is generated for 78.75% of keywords. This is 2% lower compared to last week when 80.77% of our tracked keywords returned an SGE result.

Consistency of SGE results

The way SGE is generated is changing over time, even for the exact same keywords. 

We can group them into three categories:

1. Got response – keywords that automatically generate an SGE result
2. Forced response – keywords that can generate an SGE result, but you need to request it 
3. No response – keywords without the SGE result

Based on our current data sample:

• 47.70% of keywords got a response (previously: 47.44%)
• 31.05% of keywords could generate a forced response (previously: 33.33%)
• 21.25% of keywords didn’t have an SGE response (previously: 19.22%)

Length of the SGE-generated answers

On average, the SGE-produced results have five paragraphs and 3334 characters.

It seems that SGE results are actually getting longer. Back in June 2023, SGE returned only three paragraphs of text. This means more opportunities to be included as a source, so we definitely appreciate the growth!  

Number of sources listed in SGE

Each SGE result lists not only a response but also links to the sources used to generate it. 

If you’re ranking well in Google, you have a better chance of appearing in SGE. Currently, about 80% of the SGE sources rank in the top ten from an organic search.

According to our research, SGE lists about seven sources on average.

However, take this statistic with a grain of salt since this is only an average value. The number of sources linked will vary depending on a query type or industry, so that it might look different in your niche. 

In some cases – like the “buy iPhone” keyword, we detected over 250 URLs/sources being linked in SGE! 

What we can tell for sure is:

The overall number of websites linked as SGE sources seems to be growing. In June, we had only 4 or 5 sources on average, and we expect that number to rise in the future.

SGE results for different verticals

We categorize tracked keywords into different verticals (topic groups). This way, we learn how likely it is for SGE to appear in different industries.

Out of the verticals we monitor, the most likely to generate an SGE result are:

• SEO queries with 94.92%* probability of generating SGE
• E-commerce queries with 94.34%* probability
• “Do” keywords with close to 100%* probability and double-meaning keywords with 95.92%*

* The percentage is a sum of Got response and Forced response.

The vertical that’s the least likely to generate an SGE result is finance, with about a 16% probability.

Are there any keyword groups for which Google doesn’t use SGE?

Yes, but there aren’t many.

SGE is disabled for queries related to: 

• Weight loss
• COVID
• Side effects
• Some of the specific **** names

If you’re interested – here are some examples of how SGE looks like for our top verticals: 

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How does Onely analyze SGE

Now, let’s discuss some of the methodology behind the data. 

We use our internal tools built by the R&D Team to monitor how SGE performs at any given moment. 

Our SGE calculation is based on N-grams. You can understand them as keywords or combinations of words occurring after each other. 

Here’s our process of tracking SGE based on N-grams:

1. In the first step, we extract N-grams from monitored search phrases with a known SGE status. 
2. As a next step, we assign a probability associated with generating an SGE response to N-grams.
3. Then, we extracted N-grams from search phrases with an unknown SGE status and matched them to N-grams from known phrases. 
4. The probabilities from all matched N-grams are averaged, and the estimated probability of generating an SGE response is calculated.

Additionally, we use the term “verticals” for various keyword types. All our monitored keywords were assigned a vertical from the get-go. 

Some of the group keywords were based on their topic, for example:

• SEO
• Medical
• E-commerce
• Investing

Others were grouped based on their character:

• Do queries*
• Do questions
• Double meaning* (queries with multiple meanings)
• Informational*
• Know & know simple*
• No single intent* (queries with Multiple User Intents)
• Time-sensitive
• Transactional
• Visit-in-person*
• No answer*

* The term we used comes from Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines

Summary

So, what’s the most important thing you need to know? 

Well, Google’s SGE is here to stay. Perhaps not in this exact form, but it will definitely shape the organic search going forward. If you’re an SEO, marketer or business owner, it’s better to keep an eye on it.

Based on our data, about 79% of keywords return an SGE result. The number has grown significantly since we started monitoring SGE, and is likely to go up in the future as Google broadens its database and releases SGE for a wider audience. 

If you want fresh data with detailed commentary – our CEO Bartosz will host a webinar to cover all things SGE. 

Join us on Thursday, December 14th, at 12 p.m. CST / 1 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CET to prepare yourself for Google SGE. 

You can sign up here:

I’m game!

Also, we’ll be tracking how SGE is progressing, and you can expect this article to be updated on a regular basis. 

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