I’ve discovered that social media is now a more significant driver of traffic to small and medium-sized businesses than search engines. This shift has also made us aware of the growing importance of AI in our referral tracking. Many of us, including myself, see our competitors appearing in AI summaries as a potential threat. This insight comes from the latest survey data shared by WordStream by LocaliQ.
Why this matters to me. As a small business owner, these AI summaries are becoming an essential part of my strategy. They play a crucial role in influencing buyers’ initial decisions, and there’s a clear opportunity to steer them toward my products instead of competitors’. The AI referrals are also trackable, pushing me to optimize for these new channels.
The decline in Google traffic. About 40% of us SMBs have noticed a loss in traffic due to recent Google updates and AI-driven search adjustments. Larger companies among us have felt this impact most, with almost half admitting to seeing declines. Yet, a significant portion of us (72%) still believe in the effectiveness of our SEO efforts.
Social media leads the way. An impressive 64% of us list social media as our main traffic driver, surpassing organic search, which stands at 52%.
- Solo entrepreneurs and small businesses like mine found social media to be the top source of traffic.
- Interestingly, 35% of businesses without websites find that social channels and marketplaces bring in enough leads to forego having a website.
AI’s growing influence. Though AI search isn’t yet the top traffic source, it’s certainly on my radar and that of fellow SMBs:
- Half of us monitor AI referrals and mentions.
- Among the larger SMBs, this number climbs to 70%.
- There’s a rising awareness of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) across businesses of various sizes.
The greatest frustration for me, and many others, is when competitors appear in AI summaries over our businesses. However, there’s an upside: these AI models pull from sources beyond Google’s typical top search results, presenting a rare chance for visibility.
Importance of key webpages. For those of us tracking AI-driven traffic, the most important pages are:
- Homepages (57% of us rely heavily on these)
- Product or service pages (48% highlight these)
- Contact pages (34% consider these crucial)
Our adaptation strategies. In my quest to boost AI visibility, I’ve noticed that the top strategies align with SEO basics:
- Using clear, descriptive headlines (35% of us are doing this)
- Improving readability (a focus for 26%)
- Addressing technical factors like speed and mobile performance (24% are prioritizing this)
- Larger SMBs focus on building external brand mentions (33%) and adding structured data (30%)
About this data. This insight comes from a WordStream by LocaliQ survey, conducted with over 300 U.S. small businesses in 24 industries. It includes responses from various business sizes, from sole proprietors to companies with up to 100 employees.
The full report. You can explore the complete findings in The Big SMB Website Trends Report: SEO, GEO, & the Future of Traffic.
Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.
