Reassessing the Relevance of Traditional SEO Practices

I run an SEO company. And we just changed how we measure success for our clients. We stopped celebrating ranking improvements. Started tracking something else entirely. Traditional SEO is becoming table stakes. The real game is happening somewhere else. Last week, We audited where our clients' target customers are actually getting their answers. The results were eye-opening. → 67% of technical queries never make it to a Google search → They're being answered directly by ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity But here's what I noticed: The companies winning in this new landscape aren't the ones with the highest domain authority. They're the ones whose expertise gets synthesized into AI responses. Example: One of our B2B clients created a unique "Revenue Attribution Model" for their industry. Now when prospects ask AI about attribution, they get referenced as the source. Not because they rank #1, but because they created something worth citing. The shift I'm seeing: ▸ Instead of optimizing for crawlers → we're optimizing for comprehension ▸ Instead of chasing keywords → we're building knowledge assets ▸ Instead of link building → we're building authority that AI systems naturally want to reference This doesn't mean SEO is dead. It means it's evolving. The clients who get this are: →Creating frameworks → Coining terminology →Building thought leadership that transcends traditional search The ones still stuck in 2019 SEO tactics? They're wondering why their traffic is declining even with perfect technical optimization. As an SEO company founder, I had to make a choice: ❌ Keep selling the old playbook ✅ Help clients prepare for what's coming I chose the future. Because in 12 months, the companies dominating their categories won't just be the ones ranking well. They'll be the ones that AI systems consider the definitive authorities in their space. Are you positioning your company to be that authority? Tools mentioned: AI Answers Check: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini Question Discovery: AlsoAsked, WriterZen Citation Tracking: Twin, Glasp, app.slatehq.ai ( By TripleDart) Content Optimization: Clearscope, Surfer, app.slatehq.ai ( By TripleDart) Content Orchestration: app.slatehq.ai ( By TripleDart) #aiso #geo #seo

There's a quiet revolution happening in the world of content and discovery, and we're barely talking about it. 🚨 SEO as we've known it is quickly becoming obsolete. AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, and Claude are reshaping how buyers research, especially in high-involvement e-commerce sectors like consumer tech. Andrej Karpathy recently highlighted this perfectly: "It’s 2025 and most content is still written for humans instead of LLMs. 99.9% of attention is about to be LLM attention, not human attention." Imagine a buyer exploring a high-value product—say a premium smartwatch or a flagship smartphone. Rather than sifting through dozens of links, they're now simply asking: "Which smartwatch is better for health tracking: Fitbit Sense or Apple Watch Ultra?" This isn't hypothetical; it's happening right now. AI assistants are increasingly trusted as expert advisors that simplify complex product comparisons. For brands, this changes everything: ✅ Traditional SEO and "ranking #1 on Google" is no longer enough. ✅ AI agents handle the discovery process, dramatically shortening the consumer journey. ✅ Businesses must now optimize their content not only for human eyes but also for AI interpretation. (As Erik Wikander put it beautifully) A few eye-opening shifts already happening: 📉 Review platforms like G2 and StackOverflow have lost significant traffic post-ChatGPT. (Elena Verna) 📉 Big players like HubSpot, Figma, and Canva are seeing declining organic traffic as AI directly answers user queries. (Oliver Molander) 📉StackAI now receives more inbound from ChatGPT & Perplexity than from Google (Antoni Rosinol) The implications for Ecommerce and consumer tech brands are massive: Your product content must become "AI-native," meaning it's structured clearly enough for AI tools to pull and recommend. Content needs precise differentiation and expert-level detail because the AI gatekeepers are getting smarter at recognizing genuine value vs. fluff. As Tomasz Tunguz has highlighted, expect the emergence of AIO (AI Optimization)—the next evolution of content strategy where you're optimizing not just for search engines but for a multitude of personalized AI assistants serving diverse ICPs. In short, the future belongs to those who understand how to capture the attention of AI agents first, and users second. Traditional SEO is fading. We're entering a world where personal AI agents will act as gatekeepers, curating hyper-relevant content tailored exactly to individual needs and preferences. This demands a radical reimagining of CX tech stacks, particularly around product discovery, comparison, and commerce journeys. At Swirl®, we're addressing precisely this challenge by building specialized AI Agents—transforming customer experience into dynamic, personalized, and AI-optimized experiences. If your brand is navigating this shift and looking for ways to stay ahead, let's talk. #artificialintelligence #Ecommerce #AIO #SEO

We really need to talk. And I need to be brutally honest about my own industry. The SEO world is about to get absolutely shattered, and frankly, most of us are still pretending everything is fine. What I'm seeing right now? It's keeping me up at night.# The SEO Industry is About to Get Shattered (And Most Agencies Are Still Selling Last Year's Playbook) Most won't realize what hit them until their clients start asking why traffic dropped 35% despite "better rankings than ever." SEO is fundamentally changing. The "SEARCH ENGINE" part of Search Engine Optimization is literally being questioned right now. For those of us building our careers in organic search, this feels monumental. You're looking at 5-year business plans thinking: "Will this even exist in the near future?" The answer is yes — but it won't look anything like what we're doing today. Agencies still offering traditional SEO-only services will lose. While industry leaders like Neil Patel and Eric Sui pivot to "Search Everywhere Optimization" and others bet everything on GEO/AIO/Answer Optimization, the landscape is fracturing. Google's moves in the last 2 months have forever changed how we interpret data. Year-over-year click volume comparisons? No longer apples to apples. Two massive shifts killing traditional SEO metrics: 1. AI Overviews dominate #1 rankings 68% of the time, the "#1" result is now an AI overview serving snippets from 3-6 different websites. Users get their answer without clicking through. Impact: CTR on #1 ranked results is down 34.5% 2. Google's aggressive AI Mode push They're migrating everyone to a 1:1 personalized search experience. Fewer actual search results, just tiny links. Personalized to your preferences, click behavior, and location. Impact: Makes it nearly impossible for marketers to predict optimal content outcomes At Gouda, we still offer "SEO" — but it's become a foot in the door to explain how the entire landscape has shifted and what comes next. Three belief shifts you need to make now: 1. Redefine success metrics Stop obsessing over click volume. Start measuring pipeline impact, revenue attribution, user actions, and lead quality. 2. Master content distribution at scale Create the highest-value content for the best channels. Use economies of scale to turn one piece into a week's worth of value across platforms. 3. Find your audience's actual hangout spots With so many emerging channels, figure out if your ICP lives on Reddit, Quora, LinkedIn, YouTube, or various LLMs. Then double down hard. The agencies that survive won't be the ones doing SEO better — they'll be the ones who saw this shift coming and adapted their entire approach to organic growth. What are you seeing in your own search data? Drop a comment below.

Search Isn’t Dying, but it’s Splintering. Neal 🎙 Schaffer outlined a reality that many B2B marketers are now facing: Traditional SEO no longer guarantees visibility or clicks. AI-generated summaries. Zero-click search. Social-as-search behavior. Everything is changing in how buyers discover, vet, and make decisions. In B2B, the implications run deeper. Buyers aren’t just skipping Google, they’re skipping entire funnel stages. Tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Copilot are helping decision-makers self-educate faster, often without ever visiting your site or filling out a form. NetLine’s latest consumption data, which I posted about recentl,y reinforces this: • AI-related content consumption grew 186% year-over-year. • But the average delay between requesting and consuming content jumped 23%. • Attention spans aren’t shrinking, but prioritization windows are. So what’s the move? This isn’t just an SEO problem. Instead, it’s a distribution and trust problem. Influence, human or algorithmic, is now earned across a wider surface area. Three shifts to consider: 1: Shift from keywords to questions your buyers ask. Content that directly answers buyer needs (not just ranks) has a better chance of being surfaced, cited, or shared. 2: Design for redistribution. That ebook, podcast, or interview isn’t a campaign in and of itself; it’s a content engine. So, break it up. Multiply the touchpoints so your buyers can find it. 3: Build to be cited. LLMs reference high-quality, structured, insight-rich material. So do B2B buyers. The web hasn’t stopped searching. It’s just decentralized and split up. The goal isn’t traffic for traffic’s sake. It’s trusted presence—across more moments, more channels, more minds.

The Most Overlooked Shift in LLM Optimization There’s no such thing as true SEO for LLMs (not yet). And even when it comes, it won’t be a unified system. Each LLM has its own training data, behavior, and source-selection logic. So optimization will look different across models (and with this, I completely support Daniel Foley Carter and Koray Tugberk GUBUR). Also, from the facts that we know, the following things matter and will matter still even in LLMs era: 1. Content 2. Authority 3. Technical optimization(JS thingy). 4. There is a huge overlap with traditional SEO What’s not being talked about enough is user behavior. With traditional SEO, content served multiple purposes - educating users, increasing brand visibility, supporting conversions, even if traffic didn’t always convert directly. Also, the entry point to break through visibility levels with good SEO was relatively low. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: After two years of GPT, I rarely clicked a single source unless I was testing something (and on top I almost ditched Google). That’s what’s going to change everything. Not how we optimize. Not what we write. But how people interact with information. And that shift? 👉 Makes it harder for new brands to break in. 👉 Makes it harder to justify content to clients(even if still necessary for entity optimization). 👉 Makes SEO less about clicks and more about presence(which we also currently know). We're entering a phase where getting mentioned in an LLM might not bring traffic. But not being mentioned could make you invisible. We need to rethink how we explain value to clients(still trying to find a good angle for this as LLM mentions will not be enough, and with clearly less clicks and traffic that will come from LLMs to the websites, this represents a huge problem). We need to find new KPIs(also, I am certain that citations will be close to conversion). And most of all, we need to accept that optimization is no longer just about rankings - it’s about visibility without clicks - and with this we can conclude that even if we position on LLMs, AI mode or whatever we can't cut through the request from clients that will be only revenue or leads compared to todays KPIs that are as I said multi dimensional. I’d genuinely love to hear how others in the community are thinking about this: -How do we adapt to user behavior, not ranking shift? -How do we get clients to understand and value this shift? “Search is changing” or “we need to be present” isn’t enough. Even for someone like me who knows SEO inside out, it’s getting harder to justify future investments without any clear, measurable return. So, how do we move forward-strategically-when visibility doesn’t always equal traffic, and mentions in LLMs don’t always mean clicks? #SEO #LLMOptimization #AIsearch #EntitySEO #DigitalStrategy #ContentMarketing #SearchBehavior

Is SEO dead? No. But it’s evolving—FAST. We’re entering the age of GEO: Generative Experience Optimization. THEN: Traditional SEO optimized for search engine bots. NOW: GEO optimizes for human prompts and AI-driven experiences. Search engines aren’t the gatekeepers anymore. LLMs and AI agents are shaping how people discover, evaluate, and act—all in natural language. --> Instead of typing keywords into Google… 🌟 People are asking ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Claude etc. to summarize, compare, recommend, and even buy for them. It’s a fundamental shift: from search to conversation. From optimizing web pages… to optimizing entire brand experiences that AI agents will surface, recommend, and trust. How should marketers be thinking about GEO vs SEO moving forward? 🔹 Content Quality + Context > Keywords 🔹 Conversational UX > Clickbait headlines 🔹 Entity reputation + brand authority > backlink volume 🔹 Structured data + semantic clarity > meta tags In short: You’re not just optimizing for Google’s algorithm anymore. You’re optimizing for the AI layer that’s shaping tomorrow’s buyer journey. Marketers who evolve their mindset NOW will gain a huge competitive edge. SEO isn’t dead. It’s just growing up. GEO is what’s next. I'm curious to know how you are approaching this shift. Let’s discuss.👇 #GEO #SEO #AIMarketing #FutureOfMarketing #GTM

AI is Reshaping The SEO Playbook I've spent the last several days analyzing OpenAI's SearchGPT announcement and its implications for digital strategy. After a couple of decades in search optimization, I'm seeing perhaps the most significant shift since Google's introduction of RankBrain. ⭐️ The Landscape is Fragmenting- With Google facing antitrust challenges and AI search tools emerging, we're seeing the first real possibility of market fragmentation in search. This creates both uncertainty and opportunity for businesses willing to adapt. ⭐️Content Strategy Needs Rethinking- I'm observing several critical factors that influence visibility in AI-driven search: ⭐️Depth Over Volume- AI models like SearchGPT prioritize comprehensive, well-structured content over traditional keyword-optimized pieces. I'm seeing better results with: 1. Detailed topic coverage with clear hierarchical structure 2. Regular content updates that demonstrate topic expertise 3. Integration of user-generated content for authenticity 4. Strategic use of structured data and schema markup ⭐️Authority Building is Evolving- The traditional backlink approach is being supplemented by: 1. Brand mention sentiment across the web 2. Presence on authoritative knowledge bases (yes, including Wikipedia) 3. User reviews and authentic engagement 4. Demonstrated expertise through comprehensive topic coverage ⭐️Technical Foundation- Some technical aspects becoming increasingly crucial: 1. Load speed optimization 2. Clear content structure with proper heading hierarchy 3. Implementation of schema markup 4. Mobile responsiveness What's particularly interesting to me is how AI search tools are attempting to understand context and user intent in ways traditional search never could. This means moving beyond keyword optimization to creating truly valuable, comprehensive content that demonstrates real expertise. Looking forward I believe we're entering an era where SEO success will require a more holistic approach – one that combines technical excellence, genuine authority, and authentic user engagement. The days of treating SEO as a separate strategy are ending; it needs to be integrated into overall digital presence management. I'm curious: How are others in the field approaching this shift? What changes are you seeing in user search behavior with AI-driven tools? Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences. #AISearch #SEOStrategy #DigitalTransformation #SearchGPT #ContentStrategy

The SEO playbook you've been running for years? It's becoming obsolete. Here's what the data tells us: - 60% of Google searches now end without a click - AI Overviews have resulted in clickthrough rates that are 56.1% lower on desktop and 48.2% lower on mobile - Major brands like HubSpot saw 75% traffic decline in 2024 despite growing revenue While fundamental SEO principles (like high-quality content, good user experience, and technical optimization) remain important, the search landscape is fundamentally transforming. As most agencies still sell you traditional SEO packages, we've been quietly building something different at Roswell. We saw this shift coming 18 months ago and completely restructured our approach. Enter Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)—the future that's already here. Traditional SEO optimizes for rankings. AEO optimizes for answers. The difference? When someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google's AI Mode for recommendations, your brand either shows up as THE answer—or it doesn't exist. Here's what makes AEO fundamentally different: - It's not about traffic volume anymore—it's about being the cited source - 58% of consumers now use voice search to find local businesses - AI platforms synthesize multiple sources into single answers, making authority more critical than ever At Roswell, we've already transitioned our entire practice to this new reality. While others are still figuring out what AEO means, we're: ✓ Engineering content that AI systems preferentially cite ✓ Building structured data architectures that answer engines understand ✓ Creating question-based content strategies that capture voice and AI searches ✓ Developing methodologies for tracking AI mentions and citations The results speak for themselves. Our clients aren't just surviving the SEO apocalypse—they're thriving in the age of AI search. The hard truth: Brands still focused solely on traditional SEO are fighting yesterday's war. Gartner predicts organic search traffic will decrease by 50% or more as consumers embrace generative AI-powered search. That's not a future threat—it's happening right now. But here's the opportunity: While everyone else panics about declining organic traffic, forward-thinking brands are positioning themselves as the authoritative sources that AI systems trust and cite. Ready to lead instead of react? Let's talk about how Roswell can architect your AEO strategy for 2025 and beyond. Read our latest insights on making the shift from search to answers → https://lnkd.in/eTNSZTJw #AnswerEngineOptimization #AEO #AISearch #DigitalStrategy #FutureOfSearch #SEO

90% of our demo bookings for Chosenly.com come from SEOs, not CMOs. Yet most SEOs still don't get these 4 things about AISO: 1. Citations ≠ backlinks This trips up EVERYONE. With backlinks, you care about anchor text, DA, what page gets linked. A high-DA site can talk trash about you but as long as they link to your website, that link still helps your Google rankings. With AI citations, the actual CONTENT matters. LLMs read and understand the page. They care if it says "your pricing starts at X" or "you're best for companies like Y." The information itself is what matters, not just the link. 2. Tech SEO doesn't help with LLMs; there isn't a version of tech SEO for LLMs either. All those SEOs who love technical optimization? Sorry. Don't waste time on LLM.txt or other technical "solutions" - I have data proving they don't work. Just make sure your site isn't JavaScript-based. That's it. 3) Content strategy is dependent on new metrics. In traditional SEO, you use search volume and Keyword difficulty to select keywords. For AI optimization, we identify searches where LLMs use vague sources to generate their answers. This means you have a chance to replace existing citations with better content from your site. So, "citation vagueness" is the new keyword difficulty. 4. Web presence > website SEOs are used to optimise pages for keywords. In SEO, you only think of other place you're mentioned when you're thinking of backlinks. AI search doesn't have this website, off-website divide. It thinks of your entire web presence at once - not just your website. If ChatGPT believes a competitor's support is better than yours, you can: - Create a dedicated support page - Add sections on your existing pages talking about your support - Run PR campaigns talking about your support - Tweak your review collection process to make your customers highlight your support Sure, your website is still the center, but it's just one piece of your web presence. What I'm sharing feels unnatural to some SEOs, and others get excited by how obvious but new this is. Either way, it's not easy to self realise this. There is a lot to unlearn. The only reason I was able to figure this out, is because the SEO team at Spear Growth has 4 years of experience working across B2B SaaS clients for SEO, but we also have access to Chosenly.com data across all our Chosenly clients. This is a rare scenario and we're definitely extremely lucky to be in it. Most SEOs aren't this lucky. i.e. most companies don't have the talent needed to execute on this. That's why even with the DIY plans of Chosenly.com, we always give dedicated consulting support. Implementing without that is extremely hard. Send this to an SEO person who's been trying to crack AI search optimisation. – Ishaan "Making AISO less confusing" Shakunt Ask: We crossed 20k in rev, which is great for a month but we need to get to 100k in 2 months now. Know anyone who may be interested in checking out Chosenly?

Stealth drop. The conversation around KPIs for SEO needs to change at the executive level. SEO teams are being held to standards that don't align with the way people discover brands in Organic Search. We're not throwing out the baby with the bathwater, but over the next six months, executive teams need to reposition their Organic Search teams around the metrics that will help report on AI Search. Traditional SEO strategies and tactics have a place. ⮕ We still need content. ⮕ We need that content to be indexed. ⮕ We need that content to be optimized for relevance. ⮕ We need authority through links and mentions. But we need our KPIs to be reframed around what we can control and what we don't. I spoke with Michael last Friday, and we dropped a quick banger. If you're an executive, you need to start thinking about these things. And if you're part of an SEO team with an executive team that's not immersed in the details of what's changing, you need to stay ahead of this with education. You need to put your leadership in a position to focus on the right motions for your Organic Search marketing. We discussed: ‣ The importance of "Input Metrics" such as Passage Relevance Scores and indexing status. ‣ Tracking "Channel Metrics" like visibility, share-of-voice, citations, and sentiment analysis. ‣ The challenge of accurate attribution and ROI measurement due to a lack of platform-specific analytics tools. ‣ How to effectively communicate AI search visibility and traffic results to CMOs and executives. ‣ Rethinking the conversational journey and the need for a new search intent taxonomy. ‣ Why clickstream data (e.g., Similarweb, Datos, A Semrush Company) will become increasingly critical. ‣ The continued role of traditional rankings as an input metric informing visibility. ‣ Practical strategies for monitoring AI-driven search performance and communicating its business value (Profound). Keep your eyes on this space, because Mike has even more up his sleeve.