2026-06-30 · 5 min read

AI Overviews are eating informational queries - and leaving the money ones alone

Across our tracked keyword set, the queries that convert are still a blue-link fight. Here's how we rebalanced content budgets.

The note

We pulled SERP features for 1,284 tracked keywords. AI Overviews appeared on 62% of informational queries ('why is my furnace short cycling') and only 9% of transactional local queries ('furnace repair near me').

That splits the content budget cleanly. Informational blog posts still matter - for entity strength and for being cited inside the overview - but they should not be counted on for direct lead volume any more.

The money now sits in service × location pages, the map pack, and conversion rate on the page itself. We shifted retainer hours 70/30 toward those from a previous 50/50 split.

Being cited in an overview still helps: cited domains in our set saw a small but consistent lift in branded search within 30 days. Structure content so a single paragraph answers the question outright, and mark it up properly.

Stop paying $5K/month for nothing.

Get a site that ships. Fourteen days, fixed fee, and a number you can hold us to from month one.

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