When a family or caregiver searches Google for schools near them, they often read an AI-written summary before they see a single link. On this week’s Tuesday Tips, Ashley MacQuarrie, VP of Marketing at Grow Schools, joins Marin Smith to explain what that summary is, why it matters for charter school enrollment, and one step you can take this week. Watch the full conversation above.
Top 3 Tips
- See what families see. Search for charter schools in your city on your phone, in a private browser window, to find out how your school shows up in the AI summary today.
- Claim and fill out your Google Business Profile. Add your hours, website link, grades served, current photos (especially the front of your building), and a complete description. Claiming it takes about five minutes.
- Answer families’ questions plainly on your website. Spell out your grades, deadlines, how enrollment works, transportation, and that you’re tuition free. An FAQ page is a good place to start.
FAQ
What is a Google AI Overview? It’s a summary Google writes with AI and places above the regular search results. Google reads a handful of websites and condenses them into one answer, so a family searching for schools may see a short list of schools before they see any links.
Do AI Overviews mean families won’t visit my school’s website? Fewer families click through. Pew Research Center found clicks on regular results fell from 15% of visits without an AI summary to 8% with one. Families who search your school’s name directly are still likely to click, and pages cited in the summary get more clicks than pages that aren’t.
Where does Google’s AI get its information about my school? Your website and Google Business Profile, review sites like Niche and GreatSchools, state report card data, news articles, directories, and sometimes Reddit and Facebook.
What’s one thing I can do this week to show up in AI search? Claim and complete your Google Business Profile. Fill in your hours, website link, grades served, description, and current photos, and reply to any reviews still waiting for an answer.
