Is seo dEAD?
We knew this day would come. Where SEO’s value would be questioned and professionals would begin to wonder if their jobs were, in fact, going to be taken by AI. For the better part of a year, there has been discussion about whether SEO is dying / dead - and the answer is, kind of but not really. Super helpful, I know.
The reality is, there isn’t one kind of SEO. Writing blog posts that are rich with keywords and location-specific information isn’t what SEO is all about. It’s a small, small part of a much bigger pie. Let’s discuss…
Different types of seo
Technical SEO
The foundation that ensures search engines can properly crawl, index, and understand your website. This includes site speed optimization, mobile responsiveness, URL structure, XML sitemaps, robots.txt files, schema markup, and fixing crawl errors.
On-Page SEO
Optimizing individual web pages for target keywords and user experience. This covers title tags, meta descriptions, header tags (H1, H2, etc.), keyword optimization, internal linking, image alt text, and content structure.
Off-Page SEO
Building authority and trust through external signals, primarily backlink building from reputable websites, social media signals, brand mentions, and online reputation management.
Content SEO
Creating high-quality, relevant content that satisfies search intent. This includes keyword research, topic clustering, content optimization, featured snippet optimization, and maintaining content freshness.
Local SEO
Optimizing for location-based searches, particularly important for businesses with physical locations. This involves Google Business Profile optimization, local citations, reviews management, and location-specific content.
E-commerce SEO
Specialized optimization for online stores, including product page optimization, category page structure, handling duplicate content issues, and optimizing for product-specific search queries.
Enterprise SEO
Large-scale SEO strategies for big organizations, focusing on managing thousands of pages, international SEO considerations, and coordinating across multiple teams and stakeholders.
Mobile SEO
Optimizing specifically for mobile search experiences, including mobile-first indexing considerations, accelerated mobile pages (AMP), and mobile-specific user experience factors.
Voice Search SEO
Optimizing for voice queries and smart speakers, focusing on conversational keywords, featured snippets, and local search optimization.
Video SEO
Optimizing video content for search engines, including YouTube optimization, video sitemaps, and structured data for video content.
What is happening with seo?
Now that we’ve got that covered. These facets of SEO are not “going away” - they are just as important as they’ve always been. So what is happening? Large Language Models (LLMs) (your bestie ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity, etc.) are the “new Google”. People are heading to their favorite AI and asking questions they would have asked Google in the past. As a result, AI is combing your website to find accurate information that answers their questions. The result?
Companies are seeing a huge dip in website traffic because people aren’t visiting their websites. They are staying within AI to get all of the information they need about a particular topic or issue.
Does this mean websites are dead too? NO!
One could argue, websites and their content are more important than EVER BEFORE. AI search engines are crawling your website for answers, and you need to have them readily available in order to be considered as a reputable source. If your website content is authentic (not written by AI) and helpful, you may find yourself securing an AI Citation.
Is ai replacing seo?
AI isn't replacing SEO - it's actually making it more interesting. Think of AI as your new co-worker who's really good at handling the tedious stuff so you can focus on the bigger picture. Sure, AI can crunch through keyword data in seconds and spot technical issues you might miss, but it still can't think like your customers do or craft content that truly connects with people. The human touch - understanding what makes your audience tick, developing smart strategies, and creating content that actually helps people - that's where the real value lies. AI just makes us better at our jobs.