SGE's Impact on Local Results (and How to Maximize It)

Google recently threw marketers more than a disruptive algorithm update; they introduced a whole new way to search that dramatically impacts your multifamily business.

The emerging Search with Generative AI (SGE) technology could either empower or derail your online marketing efforts.

Although you still need to manually enable SGE, it’s rapidly rolling out and already changing how we perform a simple search.

More specifically, SGE changes how prospective residents experience local search results.

Here’s what to expect, what SGE does, and how to make it work for your community.

What is Search with Generative AI (SGE)?

According to Google, “SGE while browsing was specifically designed to help people more deeply engage with long-form content from publishers and creators and make it easier to find what you're looking for while browsing the web."

SGE uses a large language model to return results and figure out the most relevant information to provide a simple, straight-forward search experience.

Instead of figuring it out on your own, Google will answer your questions for you. No more clicking your way through multiple links or launching multiple queries to figure out what you need.

Google has been steadily rolling out SGE to different demographics and queries, so you won't necessarily see it everywhere you search, on every device, or for every query.

At least not yet.

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SGE Transforms the Way We Search

We’ve all done it.

We search for something way too detailed and specific, like “San Diego apartments with a swimming pool, views, fitness facility, parking,” and the results are lackluster and oddly generic at best.

In the past, search engines couldn’t seem to handle a high level of detail and spit out the results you actually wanted to see.

Instead, you’d hit on a few relevant results and have to go hunting to piece it all together into the information you really wanted.

Everyone ended up trimming down search terms to core keywords, and those keywords ultimately helped shape our SEO and online marketing strategies.

SGE means prospective residents can actually search for something highly specific and get relevant results.

But instead of showing multiple pages of results, users now see a round-up of the information they want in a single user-friendly view.

What Does Local SGE Look Like?

SGE makes it easy to see a round-up of the information that you're looking for in a conversational, easy-to-understand manner.

You end up with boxes like this:

Or this:

After viewing your SGE results, you see Google’s traditional results showing their usual list of websites.

SGE Makes It Easy to Compare Local Communities

SGE makes it easy to compare local communities without all the extra steps.

Instead of:

👉 Opening multiple tabs with different communities

👉 Studying apartment finder websites to identify different amenities

👉 Making notes of what different websites and listings offer

Now you can just do a search and see it all in one place.

You get a convenient way to view all the info you need, but you can also click the “Ask a Follow Up" button and see results like this:

SGE Makes Review Management Essential to Your Success

If you’re not paying attention to your community’s online reviews, Google is telling you to step up and get on point.

According to Google, ”SGE also provides product descriptions that include relevant, up-to-date reviews, ratings, prices, and product images.”

You may not think your online reviews are that important, but addressing  👏every 👏 single 👏 one 👏 counts.

Make it your goal to:

✅ Answer all online reviews, both good and bad

✅ Take accountability for the bad reviews and address how they were resolved

✅ Pepper in references to your community’s stand-out features, such as the spacious floor plans or sparkling clean fitness center

When you deal with your online reviews head-on, you establish transparency and trust and give prospective residents a reason to convert to a signed lease.

SGE Demands Up-to-Date Details

SGE sounds pretty great for the end user, but it can also be a win for communities looking to stand out online.

There's a big caveat here:

SGE absolutely demands the latest, most relevant, up-to-date results.

Truth 💣: When your out-of-date information is highlighted in SGE results and it falls short of a good, relevant user experience, Google will notice and could de-rank your site accordingly.

You also don’t know exactly what SGE may show a prospective resident.

That means skimping on:

👉 Amenity photos

👉 Community details

👉 Leasing office hours

👉 Info on layouts

👉 Team member information

… will just result in a poor user experience that won’t win you any favors in SGE.

Meanwhile, competing communities will ultimately dominate and command search results.

SGE Can Supercharge Your Community’s Search Results

Multifamily marketers are still figuring out how SGE might impact their organic search results (if at all).

But aren’t we always trying to figure that out??

Anytime there’s a new Google update, we’re trying to figure it out—this is nothing new.

Here’s how SGE is different: It offers a powerful opportunity for multifamily marketers who are on top of their game.

Suddenly, your up-to-date, highly valuable information, blog content, images, reviews, and anything else you publish online is readily available and easy to access.

Prospective residents are no longer digging for information; it’s right here in front of them.

SGE is Still Evolving

SGE isn’t a static technology.

Like anything else Google rolls out, it’s evolving and can feel confusing to know how to best use it to market your community.

But the goal for communities and multifamily marketers isn’t necessarily to master everything SGE can do.

Your goal is to offer valuable, highly relevant, and up-to-date content that prospective residents need to find your community and motivate them to click.

At the end of the day, SGE is just another way for Google to enhance the user experience.

Tip 💡: Our big takeaway is to hyper- focus on the prospective resident’s online experience and shape your search strategy accordingly.

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