Is SEO Dead? Adapting to the Evolution of Search in the Age of AI
Is SEO Dead? A Question Worth Asking
So, the other day I was chatting with Trudy Rankin on the Online Business Launchpad podcast. Lovely chat, really. She likes to frame her podcast as a conversation over coffee, and we got onto the topic of SEO – specifically, whether it’s dead. Now, spoiler alert: I don’t think it is. But it’s a fair question, especially given how things are changing with AI and all that.
Trudy mentioned she’d found herself using ChatGPT more and more instead of Google Search for getting stuff done. And that got me thinking because, funnily enough, I’d been pondering the same thing just a couple of days before our chat.
Let me set the scene. I was with my daughter at one of her gym training sessions. She’s into show jumping and is part of this special Institute of Sport group for elite athletes. They do these rigorous gym sessions, and this one was in Derby, at a velodrome of all places. So there I was, sat amidst cyclists whizzing around, trying to get some work done.
I was tinkering with n8n, which, if you haven’t heard of it, is a workflow automation tool – think of it like Zapier or IFTTT but different. Anyway, I was trying to sort out some workflow automations, and I ran into a few hiccups. Ordinarily, I’d have jumped onto Google, searched for solutions, read through documentation, maybe scrolled through a few forums. You know the drill.
But instead, I found myself turning to ChatGPT. I was typing in my problems, explaining the errors I was encountering, and asking for solutions. It was a back-and-forth conversation, almost like having a mate sit next to me, helping me troubleshoot in real-time. And it struck me – I wasn’t using Google at all for this. Two or three years ago, I’d have been all over Google Search for this kind of thing.
So, is this shift spelling the end for SEO? If people are leaning more towards AI assistants for answers, where does that leave the traditional search engine optimisation?
Well, here’s the thing. ChatGPT and other AI models get their information from somewhere. In the case of n8n, ChatGPT has obviously scoured their guides, documentation, forums, all sorts. It’s digested all that content so it can regurgitate helpful responses when someone like me comes along with questions.
That means, as content producers, it’s still crucial to create and maintain quality content. Even if users aren’t landing directly on your website, your content is feeding into these AI models, which in turn are helping users solve problems using your information.
Now, you might wonder if companies like n8n are bothered that folks are bypassing their sites and going straight to AI for help. But I reckon they shouldn’t be too fussed. At the end of the day, I’m still a paying customer. I found n8n through recommendations (probably via an AI assistant), signed up for their service, and now I’m using their product more effectively because I can troubleshoot faster. That’s a win-win.
Of course, if your business model relies heavily on ad revenue from site traffic – if you’re selling eyeballs, so to speak – then this shift might be a bit concerning. Fewer people browsing directly to your site could mean less ad revenue. But for businesses selling products or services, the primary goal is conversions, not just traffic.
When I was discussing this with Trudy, I mentioned that there’s still a significant number of people who stick to traditional methods. Some folks still use the Yellow Pages, believe it or not! While the number of people using Google for search might decline over time, unless Google pivots dramatically, there’s still going to be a massive user base for a long while yet.
So, is SEO dead? No, I don’t think so. But it’s definitely evolving. SEO has always been about adapting to changes – algorithm updates, new ranking factors, shifts in user behaviour. This is just another evolution.
The essence of SEO is about visibility in places where your audience is looking. If more people are using AI assistants for information, then maybe our approach to SEO needs to incorporate optimising for those platforms as well. It might mean focusing more on creating high-quality, authoritative content that AI models will use, ensuring that when users ask questions, your information is what they’re served.
At the end of the day, people’s attention is the commodity. Whether they’re on Google, ChatGPT, or some other platform that hasn’t even been invented yet, the goal remains the same: be present where your audience is.
Everything changes, doesn’t it? And that’s alright. Change keeps things interesting, keeps us on our toes. SEO isn’t dead; it’s just not the same as it was, and it won’t be the same tomorrow as it is today. And that’s the one constant we can rely on.
So, let’s embrace the change, adapt our strategies, and carry on. After all, SEO has been proclaimed dead many times before, yet here we are, still finding ways to connect with our audiences in this ever-evolving digital landscape.