Consensus Content And How to Beat AI Overviews

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Consensus content used to be a great way to attract loads of web traffic.

But artificial intelligence (AI) is now eating into that traffic.

The challenge for businesses now is creating content that ChatGPT can’t spit out in 5 seconds.

And how do you achieve that?

That’s what I’ll explore in this guide.

Let’s dive in.

What is consensus content?

Consensus content is a content piece about a topic with a high level of agreement.

For example:

• How to drive a car
• How to shutdown a MacBook 
• How fertilization occurs in human beings

No matter who writes about these topics, the ideas will be similar.

Consensus content is usually about topics (or keywords) with informational and navigational intent.

By extension, this type of content is often at the top of the sales funnel (TOFU).

Now, the similarity in consensus content is not a problem in itself.

Many businesses have driven millions of visitors to their websites with this type of content.

However, with the advances in artificial intelligence (AI), consensus content is becoming less effective for businesses.

In the sections below, I’ll explain why and how you can prepare for the future.

When is consensus useful?

Consensus content sometimes helps you rank in search engines for some keywords.

In a blog post about featured snippets, Google’s VP of Search, Pandu Nayak, said:

“By using our latest AI model, Multitask Unified Model (MUM), our systems can now understand the notion of consensus, which is when multiple high-quality sources on the web all agree on the same fact.”

Consensus helps Google decide on the featured snippets to use for these search terms.

This particularly applies in YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) and science-related searches.

In this case, pages that don’t align with consensus on important facts may be seen as inaccurate or low-quality sources.

And apart from absence in featured snippets, these pages will have a low chance of ranking high for those keywords.

So, having generally acceptable facts on your page will increase your chances of ranking. And veering too much from the consensus can hurt your chances.

This is especially important if you create and optimize content to rank in search engine results.

That said, ranking high for a high-volume keyword doesn’t automatically translate to loads of organic traffic.

And this is where problems begin to arise with consensus content.

Dangers of consensus content 

Chances of lower organic traffic

With AI overviews showing up for many search results, there’s a good chance the number of clicks to websites has tanked.

Why?

If a searcher finds the answer to their query in the AI Overview, they’re less likely to click any website links on the search engine results page (SERP).

Some weeks ago, I wanted to change my Twitter interface to light mode, but I couldn’t find the settings.

So, I Googled it. Here are the results:

I got the answer without any click.

Some days later, I was researching Hepatitis B. So, I Googled what a negative HBsAg result means after Hepatitis B treatment.

Here are the results:

For this search, I clicked one of the web pages for more details.

So, these two searches resulted in 1 click to a website.

A few years ago, I would have clicked at least 3 links on both results pages.

This is my experience, which I believe is consistent with that of many searchers.

How prevalent are AI overviews in search results?

According to a study by Louise Linehan on Ahrefs blog, 99.2% of all AI Overview keywords are informational.

Since many consensus topics are informational, expect AI Overviews to cannibalize their organic traffic.

Failure to stand out from competitors

It’s difficult to stand out when you write about some topics.

You can use a different tone of voice.

You can simplify the topic for a 9-year-old.

But you’re parading the same ideas with other pages about the topic.

With these topics, visitors will have similar experiences compared to visiting your competitor’s website.

And these experiences give them no compelling reason to revisit your website.

Considering these issues, consensus content is not as useful to businesses as it used to be.

That’s why you need to reform your content strategy to pivot from consensus content to information-gain content.

How to pivot from consensus to information-gain content 

1. Explore topics in the middle and bottom of the funnel 

Middle of the funnel (MOFU) content is for people who understand they have a problem but don’t know how to solve it or which product to use.

On the other hand, bottom of the funnel (BOFU) content is for people who understand the possible solutions for their problem and want to make a final decision.

Because of the number of people at these stages, MOFU and BOFU content attract lower traffic than TOFU content.

However, they attract people with clearer intent and are easier to rank for than TOFU content.

Also, because of the nature of MOFU and BOFU topics, there’s a lower chance of consensus among people.

This means these topics are less likely to show up on Google AI Overviews.

But more importantly, AI Overviews are less likely to provide complete information about these topics.

So, searchers still need to click on links even if the search returns an AI Overview. Because searchers will seek variations in opinions about the topics.

One more reason to explore MOFU and BOFU content is that they’re closer to your business goals. For example, people searching for BOFU content are closer to buying your products than those searching TOFU content.

How do you find topics in the MOFU and BOFU stage?

The first step is to reverse engineer your customer journey.

How do your customers generally go from problem discovery to product discovery?

While no 2 customers will go through the same journey, you can map out a general trend for most customers.

Another approach is to analyze competitors. Check out the content pieces they create for MOFU and BOFU and draw inspiration from them.

Now, let’s consider hypothetical blog posts at various stages of the sales funnel for a giveaway tool company.

The blog post ‘How to generate Instagram leads’ is TOFU content because a giveaway is only one of many ways to generate Instagram leads.

‘How to run an Instagram giveaway’ will be MOFU content as it takes the reader closer to purchasing the tool.

‘Best Instagram giveaway tools’ will be BOFU content as the reader is close to buying a giveaway tool.

Overall, MOFU and BOFU content lets you show expertise and share unique opinions.

That said, it’s impractical to create only MOFU and BOFU content for your blog. Sometimes, you’ll need to create TOFU content to educate your audience.

The other tips on this list will help deliver information gain to your content, including content at the top of the funnel (TOFU).

2. Dive into relevant experiences 

Nobody can have your experience.

And even if you’ve only been doing your job for 6 months, readers can learn a lot from your experience.

When you share it in a content piece, readers will believe you understand their problem.

And because of this belief, they’ll engage with your content to hear your solutions.

Then, sharing your experiences automatically makes your content unique compared to other pages about the topic.

So, think of your positive and negative results about a topic.

This may be your mistake due to ignorance.

This may be how you solved a problem.

Then, share your experiences where relevant to the content and readers.

For example, securing your WhatsApp account from social hacking is a consensus topic.

But Jon Porter shared a friend’s experience to spice up and differentiate the content.

By sharing your experiences, you’ll build a stronger connection with readers and distinguish your content from others.

3. Feature insights from SMEs 

Subject matter experts (SMEs) have been in the trenches for years, learning and practicing a particular subject.

Because of their years of experience, they understand topics related to their work deeper than the average person. And this means they can provide expert and unique insights about those topics.

Expert freelance writer, Ashley Cummings, said:

“I write in the SaaS niche for ecomm and marketing. I know a lot of other people who have interesting and niche expertise. So, I talk to them. I interview them and capture their stories. Interview and expert-led content is always fresh. It’s always new.”

With these insights, your content piece will stand out compared to other pages about the topic.

Beyond that, SMEs make your content more credible.

And the SMEs also get free publicity as experts.

To find SMEs, think of experts you already know. These can be coworkers, people you meet at industry conferences, guests on podcasts, and guests on webinars.

Another option is to search social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn.

First, search for relevant job titles for your content. Also, search specific topics and see experts who have written about them.

Once you decide on the SMEs, reach out to them about contributing to your content. Then, interview them to understand the topic better and ask for direct quotes to use in your content.

That said, the easiest way to feature an SME’s expertise is to find blog posts, social media posts, videos, podcasts, or books they’ve done about a topic.

From these content pieces, you’ll find enough ideas and quotes to use in your content.

Databox has a network of contributors who provide insights for its blog posts.

See this excerpt from a blog post about aligning Sales and Marketing teams in B2B:

For this topic, hearing from experts who have achieved alignment will make the ideas more credible.

Then, these expert quotes automatically add uniqueness to the post compared to similar pages.

Reach out to SMEs to raise the quality of your content.

4. Conduct research

Research involves collecting information about a particular subject. It may include surveys, polls, discussions, interviews, or experiments.

Research usually aims to prove a hypothesis, disprove a hypothesis, or uncover new insights.

Also, research makes your content more credible. It means your opinions are backed by numbers and other people.

Then, readers will likely keep reading to see the results of your research.

To conduct research, explore common questions around popular topics in your industry.

Then, decide content you can improve with research. 

Once you do this, decide on your research methodology and tools to use.

For example, for a survey, you can serve surveys to website visitors and email subscribers.

Here’s an email calling for participation in Semrush’s survey:

If you’re running an experiment, use the right tools and collaborate with research experts.

Once you finish your research, ensure you share the results with your audience.

But beyond that, use the research results in your blog post.

Consider the Semrush survey I mentioned earlier.

Here’s Semrush’s Margarita Loktionova using the survey results in a blog post about AI in marketing:

This research backs the point she made in the blog post. 

It also ensures Semrush’s blog post is unique compared to other posts about the topic.

Research can make your content unique and engage readers.

5. Explore a unique angle

Most topics evolve, creating opportunities to explore unique angles in your content pieces.

Exploring a unique angle in your content will bring another dimension to the discussion. Then, it helps your content stand out as you veer off the consensus about that topic.

How do you find these unique angles?

By asking the right questions and seeking answers.

As an expert, observe new industry trends and how they affect workers.

• What topics are evolving, and what do people need to know?
• What general assumptions are no more accurate in practice?
• What aspects of topics need deeper analysis than people currently give them?

By asking these and more questions, you’ll find opportunities to explore unique angles about consensus topics.

Marketers assume that short ad copy works better on Facebook than long copy.

But Sarah Sal thinks that assumption is inaccurate. And she backs up her belief with her experience.

She detailed this unique angle in a blog post for Copyhackers:

This post engages readers and provides unique ideas compared to other pages.

Conclusion

Consensus content is getting out of fashion.

It fails to stand out and is getting less traffic from Google Search because of AI Overviews.

Use the tips here to deliver information gain and create unique content that will keep your audience coming back and taking your intended actions.

If you need help creating unique and unforgettable content for your marketing business, reach out to me about your needs.