I have some data and it's juicy

Oh hey Reader-

You're familiar with Google's AI Overviews by now. Those AI-generated answers that appear at the top of some Google search results, often answering your question before you even get to the regular listings.

There's been plenty of discussion about how these answers are changing search, reducing clicks to websites, and favoring big, established brands.

Which raises a pretty important question if you're a solo service provider:

Do smaller businesses actually have a shot at getting cited in Google's AI Overviews?

I wanted to know what was happening specifically for the kinds of businesses I work with.

Doulas. Coaches. Copywriters. Web designers. Personal trainers.

So I went looking for data.

And when I couldn't find any research specifically about service providers, I decided to collect my own.

I analyzed 262 Google searches across eight types of service providers, documenting when AI Overviews appeared, which websites they cited, and what kinds of pages made it into the answers.

All told, I collected 1,863 citations.

And the results paint a more encouraging picture for independent businesses than the social media frenzy would have you believe.

Here's one finding worth sharing:

In the searches I studied, 49% of AI Overview citations went to independent business websites.

Not just giant agencies or directories. Actual service provider websites.

I also found some interesting differences between businesses that serve clients locally and those that work online, plus a few patterns in which pages Google chooses to cite.

And perhaps my favorite finding has to do with whether you need to rank on page one of Google to get cited in an AI Overview.

Read my mini-study and see what it means for your website.

I've included practical recommendations, too, so you can put the findings to work.

Because I want you making decisions about AI Overviews based on evidence, not somebody else's hot take.

See you there,

Laura