The SEO Industry is Collapsing: Get Out or Rebuild Like This.

In this week's Growth Through Content Newsletter, we have an Easter Longform special.

The SEO industry is facing an existential crisis.

Not because SEO doesn't work, but because the traditional agency model is crumbling.

If you work in SEO, what you're about to read will fundamentally change how you view the industry's future.

You'll learn:

• Why the SEO industry is facing collapse.
• What the new SEO will look like.
• How organic performance will be measured in the future.
• And how SEO delivery will be done.

Let's dive in.

Ok, as usual, here's our agency push.

If you need links and brand mentions that move the needle, then you need to check out JBH.

In our latest case study, you'll learn how we achieved a 421% ROI with our digital PR service.

Here's the link: https://jbh.co.uk/digital-pr-outreach-case-study/digital-pr-for-beauty-brand-cosmetify-delivers-radiant-results/

Ok, that's done. Here's the article.

SEO Has a Retainer Problem

The core issue isn't a lack of SEO tactics - it's that agencies are selling packages rather than outcomes.

But nothing moves the needle when you don't focus on the right tasks for each specific client.

• I've spoken to people who have spent £15k making sure their sites work better, a tiny bit faster.
• I've spoken to brands that have spent a fortune on content, which hasn't grown their business.
• And I've seen people spend a fortune on links, and they still don't rank higher.

The problem isn't just Google's complexity - it's how agencies structure their services.

SEO agencies have to develop products that they sell.

Whether hourly rates, value-based pricing, or packaged services, agencies sell approaches rather than results.

And when these pre-packaged approaches don't match what a website/ business needs, clients waste money and lose faith.

This and the addiction to the existing retainer system will kill the SEO industry.

Because it’s not fit for the future.

Because it's selling SEO activity as a package and not the outcome.

SEO isn’t Dead, it’s the SEO Industry That’s dying

I need to clarify something before we move on.

SEO isn’t dead.

It’s the SEO industry that is dying.

Why?

Because the profit centres in SEO are being stripped to the bone.

Namely, content creation and technical SEO.

The Content Creation Crisis

The content-driven SEO model is collapsing for one simple reason: AI has democratised content creation.

Any business can now generate optimised content at a fraction of traditional costs. For agencies built on content creation retainers, this threatens their business model.

• GPT-4 and similar AI models can now produce content that matches or exceeds human quality.
• The market is flooded with AI-generated content, making it increasingly difficult to stand out.
• Traditional content creation retainers, often priced at thousands per month, are becoming harder to justify.
• Businesses are bringing content generation in-house using AI tools, reducing the need for agency services.
• AI search engines and Google give direct answers that content would have previously answered.

The reality?

Most SEO agencies were already outsourcing content creation at a markup.

But in a world where that content can be created in minutes by the client themselves, no one will buy into the content model.

And that's just the beginning.

Technical SEO's Rapid Decline

The technical side of SEO is facing its own extinction event.

AI can handle code, so expect most SEO platforms and web platforms to be able to fix the SEO issues they find.

Self-fixing websites will be a thing.

This will impact tech SEO and be largely obsolete within 24 to 36 months.

Agencies are in a mess.

So what are they doing?

Selling a new shiny stick.

The Desperate Pivot

With their traditional profit centres collapsing, agencies are frantically pivoting to anything that might stick.

AI SEO, AEO, GEO, social search - the list of new "solutions" grows daily.

It's a circus of desperate innovation, with everyone chasing the next big thing.

But here's the truth: CFOs have grown wary of SEO retainers.

They want real ROI, not vanity metrics. When agencies sold SEO, clients actually wanted money in the bank.

Instead of joining this chaotic rush, we need to look at where SEO is heading.

We need to slow down.

We need to build SEO fit for the future.

Arise of AI Agents: A New Search Paradigm

Forget everything you know about search.

The future isn't about humans typing queries into Google - it's about AI agents acting as intermediaries between businesses and consumers.

These agents will analyse and know your entire digital footprint, understand your business at a fundamental level, and make recommendations based on deep analysis.

This isn't about keywords or backlinks anymore.

It's about how well AI can understand and represent your business to humans that are potential customers.

Traditional SEO metrics become secondary in this new landscape where communication, not optimisation, is king.

Rankings? What rankings?

You can't measure rankings in an AI response future.

Welcome to the Deep Era of Search

We're entering the era of Deep Research, where AI systems collate and analyse information from every available source - search results, forums, articles, and more.

They will provide comprehensive answers in seconds.

This isn't just another search feature.

Humans want information that is specifically suited for them.

Humans want to minimise the time and effort it takes to gain information.

Deep research is the new search.

Soon, this capability will be embedded everywhere, in every app and platform.

It's not about ranking first on Google anymore - it's about being part of the collective knowledge that AI systems can access and understand.

You will need your business to provide information that can be known by AI.

Because being known by AI is how you can become recommended by AI.

This is AI availability.

AI Availability is the New Marketing Frontier

There are 3 types of availability.

Mental, physical and digital.

Now you can add a 4th.

AI availability.

The likelihood of being thought of in a buying situation by AI.

And to do this, you need information to give to AI.

You need to optimise your information so that it can be discovered by AI agents and used in AI responses.

So, how do you do this?

Information Optimisation is the New Online Marketing

Information optimisation is the act of providing information about your business to the world.

The tactics on this are simple:

Concentrate on your effort, not the results.

I say this because we are moving to a situation where you can only see the results in your bank accounts.

Rank tracking is going to vanish.

It’s going to be too complicated for platforms to monitor.

AI agents will do 80% of the website visits that humans used to do.

In this world, traffic is meaningless; humans will rarely use rankings.

We will rarely visit SERPs.

SERPS will become the superhighway for AI bots.

We will laugh, "remember when we used to Google stuff".

The oldies will talk about how we used the Yellow Pages.

The slightly younger will reminisce about how we had to click on links.

The youngsters will be shocked that you had to scroll through search engines.

This is the world we will move to.

And this is what you should be thinking about.

Provide Information to Solve Your Prospect’s Problems (and tell AI)

A person searching for restaurants in Rome has a problem.

They need food.

A person searching for personal trainers in their area wants to get fit.

It doesn’t matter where the search is happening; these are problems where prospects need an external solution.

Therefore, it makes sense for brands to provide information about themselves and their work so that others can find them.

This is marketing communication.

This is your business supplying information that AI agents can consume when directed by a user.

It’s best to think of an AI agent as Pac-Man, and it will consume information when given directions by a user.

But you need to create that information.

An AI agent might be asked:

"I want to lose weight. Get me a list of gyms and trainers locally, what they charge, and their opening times."

Your AI agent knows you.

It knows your likes and dislikes.

It is going to act for you.

It will consume the rankings, the local forums, video transcripts, about pages and more.

It will eat your case studies, look for examples, and read your reviews.

And it will do the same for 30 others.

You need to grow your digital footprint to be in with a chance.

You need to optimise your information.

Only by optimising your business information will you have that chance.

How to Optimise For Information

Your business contains vast amounts of valuable information currently hidden from AI agents.

These are the things that most businesses consider normal.

These are the things that a business takes for granted, but this is what AI agents will be looking for.

Operational Excellence

• How you deliver your service
• Quality control processes
• Team expertise and training
• Innovation and improvements

Customer Impact

• Problem-solving approaches
• Success stories and outcomes
• Customer feedback and experiences
• Common challenges addressed

Business Differentiators

• Unique methodologies
• Specialized capabilities
• Industry partnerships
• Quality standards

I could go on.

But your business information is what makes you good at what you do.

It's just that you'll need to communicate all of your value.

It is your E-E-A-T.

Making Information Accessible

Once you identify your business's key information, you need to make it accessible online and communicate its entire value.

How?

• Documentation (processes, methodologies, standards)
• Visual content (operations, team, facilities)
• Audio/Video (explanations, demonstrations, interviews)
• Data (results, statistics, case studies)

The key is consistency and comprehensiveness - AI needs to understand not just what you do, but how and why you do it.

It is serving its user.

It consumes your information in the context of all it knows about the user and the prompt.

And in this world a single video, case study or line on your website could win you a mention in an AI response.

How does this play out in reality?

The 20 Sources Approach

Deep research doesn't just visit page 1 of Google.

It doesn't just visit the first 3 websites.

It has existing knowledge, visits sites and forums, and consumes the text on your website.

And this is the earliest of days.

You need to consider that AI could consume over 20 sources of information before it responds to the user.

The traditional SEO retainer is not fit for this world.

The traditional SEO approach is not fit for this world.

There needs to be a new approach.

The New SEO: Balancing AI and Human Understanding

Surface discovery still matters - keywords, content findability, and traditional SEO signals aren't going away.

But they're just the foundation.

The real value comes from deep information sharing: documenting your actual operations, sharing your true methodologies, and backing everything with genuine data.

Your business story needs to be comprehensible to search engines and AI systems that will increasingly mediate discovery.

Humans will be the judges, AI will be the evidence collectors.

.

The successful SEO agency of tomorrow will be an information architect.

Their role will be to mine the valuable information hidden within business operations, structure it meaningfully, and make it discoverable.

They'll need to create frameworks that continuously capture and share business knowledge while balancing traditional SEO and deep information optimisation.

They'll need to push their business out via new content and PR.

We'll need to feed the AI monster while also considering the human decision maker at the end.

How The Future Works in Real Life

I've just dropped a bomb.

I've told you that rank tracking will vanish.

That traditional SEO retainers will die out, and so will the agencies that sell them.

It's unfair that I drop the microphone and walk off the stage.

Because we will see better agencies emerge that are lean enough to evolve.

And this is the roadmap for the future.

Step 1: Marketing Communications is the New SEO.

Agencies of the future are not writing blog posts to rank for keywords.

Agencies of the future are developing communications strategies for businesses.

These communication strategies are mixed.

They include PR, SEO, and content.

AI, social media, and Google are simply distribution and discovery channels.

The mission is to tell people and AI that a business exists.

It is to deliver value efficiently.

It is to create bespoke service packages for clients that meet their needs.

This will be strategy-driven.

This might require video content for social media.

This might require working with influencers.

This might mean building mentions and links.

This might mean optimising web pages.

This might mean writing case studies.

In this world, agencies leverage AI to produce value for the clients.

Step 2: Measurement Through Visibility, Mentions, Reach and Clicks, Not Conversions

SEO has an attribution issue.

The SERPS are a mess. Brands know what money is coming into their accounts, and they know their sales.

The future of measurement is in reach.

• Who are you reaching?
• How many are you reaching?
• Where are you reaching them?

How does this translate to your brand search, AI mentions (if we can track this), and site clicks?

Brands need to be visible through organic channels.

This increase in visibility will lead to an increase in interest in your business and the likelihood that you'll be purchased.

Brands will know if this is working because they'll feel it in their bank accounts.

And they'll like the increase in leads, reach and engagement.

Brands will feel the impact of real marketing.

Step 3: SEO Agencies Will Become PR and Communications Agencies

I've been saying it for a long time now.

The future of SEO is PR.

And others have been talking about the power of PR:

And the movement is catching on.

SEO agencies can't win this battle.

Traditional SEO agencies can't survive with their retainer model of 3 links, schema and blog posts.

Nor can they become communications and PR agencies overnight.

This transition will be challenging.

Many, perhaps most, won't survive.

Final Thought: The SEO industry is collapsing, but SEO isn't dying. Evolution is the only way to survive.

The SEO industry is evolving into something more sophisticated.

Links, mentions, and traditional PR still matter tremendously - they're the digital equivalent of word-of-mouth and industry recognition. However, they need to be earned through genuine value and clear communication.

The future belongs to businesses that understand this shift. They'll build authority through valuable information sharing.

Through genuine industry contributions, they'll earn links and mentions. Most importantly, they'll master the art of transforming internal knowledge into external value.

This is uncharted territory, but the fundamentals have remained the same:

Be valuable, visible, and credible.

What's changing is how we achieve these goals in an AI-first world.

Yes, the SEO industry is collapsing.

And yet, SEO is not dying.

It's changing.

And SEO agencies need to change their position with this change.

Thanks for reading.

Andrew Holland