SEO Isn’t Dead, It’s Evolving
I’ve been doing SEO for 17 years now, and a lot has changed. The way we engage with users, the best practices for website design, the change from desktop to mobile-first interactions, and much more. The one thing that hasn’t changed is the notion that “SEO is dying”.
I remember sitting at my desk every day reading SEO forums about new strategies, and the constant posts about how SEO was dying. Now, it never did, but the strategies and reasonings always changed in some way. That’s what makes working in this industry so interesting, as what worked last year may not be what Google is looking at anymore.
Then AI became mainstream, and the conversation that SEO is dead came up again. But something felt different this time. I noticed that business owners, digital marketing specialists, and everyone in between were concerned about how SEO is not going to be viable in the future and that “AI will take over the internet”
Now, to be clear, SEO isn’t dead. It’s evolving into a digital strategy completely different from what we have been used to. That’s because the way that people search online is changing. Gone are the days of people searching for keywords. Instead, they are moving more into conversational-based searches. Here are some ways that SEO will change with AI in the future.
How AI will impact the way we do SEO
Search Behaviour is Evolving
More people are using conversational-based searches instead of keyword-based searches. For example, users aren’t searching for “plumbers Newcastle”, but more around “who is the best plumbing company in Newcastle to fix a broken toilet”. This shift will mean that businesses will need to adapt the content on their website to be more conversational instead of the traditional keyword stuffing that many are used to.
Content Shift for AI results
AI favours semantic relevance, topical authority, and content that will answer specific questions. This will mean that the way we write content for a page will change. Adding sections like FAQs can be beneficial for showing up on AI results, as those sections can provide context about a product or service page. That way, users can better understand the content, service and/or products, which consequently will improve the page's visibility on AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and many others.
Quality of content is more important than ever
I know a lot of people that use AI to write content for their website because it’s “easier” to do, but this is only going to hurt your business in the long run. AI and search engines know when content is written by AI and will filter it out of the search results quickly. AI and search engines are focusing more heavily on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust) signals more than ever. These signals not only provide relevance and answers, but an experience that you won’t get from AI based content.
SEO is still important, but changing
While AI might consider other aspects than just your website’s health, it doesn’t mean that the SEO elements can be ignored.
The technical side of SEO is still critical in helping your business show up online. Page Speed, mobile optimisation, structured data, reviews, and brand mentions are all big factors that AI takes into consideration for showing results. Digital Marketers still need to provide the best experience for both users and search engines.
SEO strategies that are just based around metadata optimisation and keyword injection will become less important, as AI systems don’t look at them that much. The bigger emphasis will be on overall strategy and the quality of the SEO.
Bluntly SEO isn’t dead, but Lazy SEO is.
What Will SEO Look Like In The Future
To be honest, there is no answer to what the future of SEO will look like. SEO was already an industry that changes rapidly, and now we’re going to see it evolve even more. What I can say is that the current way of SEO will change, and for the better, honestly.
SEO will focus on the user experience and search intent more than adding keywords. The quality of content will shift to be more informational and educational, traffic volume will likely decrease, while the quality of sales or leads will be better.
It’s important to note that the way that agencies work may change as well. For the most part, agencies create strategies solely based on making Google happy, but that will need to change. We can already see data suggesting that users are going through multiple channels before making a purchase decision, and as digital marketing strategists, we need to take that into account.
The companies that will succeed in the future are the ones that incorporate strategies across all platforms (SEO, Ads, Social Media, Email Marketing) to build up topical authority and become an expert in their industry.