Is SEO dying? The short answer to this question is no. The fact is that the way we do SEO and the way search optimized contents are consumed will change or evolve, but SEO will remain.
Therefore, irrespective of the fact that SEO is not going away soon, SEO content creators have a great role to play in maintaining the relevance of different search engines in the search ecosystem.
Different search engines are currently in a battle to maintain their relevance over generative AI tools. The only way search engines can win this battle is by delivering relevant and engaging search results to their customers.
Google has taken the bull by the horn by introducing a search-generative experience in order to improve SERP relevance.
This era being an era of attention-driven economies, money tends to go where people’s attention lies. Therefore, if SEO content creators fail in the responsibility of creating content that puts search engines at the top of the attention-grabbing game, then SEO is gone.
Common hard questions some SEO professionals are asking:
Is ChatGPT or generative AI going to kill SEO?
No, ChatGPT or generative AI is not going to kill SEO; rather, it will disrupt the way SEO is done and make SEO more competitive and difficult.
This is due to it adding more free tools that will increase the ease of content creation and raise the bar for what quality content means. Therefore, it will take more skills, experience, and efforts to thrive in SEO.
Also, with the advancement towards generative computing, there is going to be a great change in what search engine-preferred or optimized content is.
Generative AI, as a new search technology, has also created its own new search optimization field that SEO professionals can venture into. The new field is prompt engineering. This is a new search optimization field that focuses on optimizing search terms rather than searched content.
Does SEO have a future?
Yes, but its future will heavily depend on the future of search.
The search is going to change greatly in the near future.
Innovations and advancements in the areas of generative AI (like the growth in Retrieval-Augmented Generation), and augmented reality mean that the majority of searches will be done by bots on behalf of humans.
In that regard, SEO professionals will be saddled with the responsibility of optimizing content for bots as they indirectly optimize for humans.
Therefore, in order to make sure that your search engine-optimized content gets delivered to its intended audience as intended, you should be aware of the limitations of AI in understanding content and how you can write for AI. That will lead to a new SEO content strategy for AI bots.
How SEO Professionals Can Keep SEO From Dying
To keep SEO from dying, SEO professionals should know that:
- A search engine is a business, and if the search engine business dies, then SEO is dead,
- SEO content should provide more value than generative AI content, and
- Keywords should align with the intent of the content.
1. A search engine is a business, and If the Search Engine Business dies, then SEO is Dead
Knowing that the search engine is a business will help you understand that they are also after profitability. That implies that search engines will not rank your content if it does not support their profitability goal.
Search engine owners like Google make their profits through advertisement payments. And it is no-brainer that advertisers will always put their money where their audience’s attention lies.
In order for search engines to retain consumers’ attention, they will have to serve them the most relevant search results possible. So, the role of an SEO content creator is to make sure their content and website are created in such a way that they provide the solution their keywords instigate. That is more like providing accurate and comprehensive information related to a particular topic.
2. SEO content should provide more value than generative AI.
Using generative AI tools to create website content is one easy way to help SEO die quickly. When searchers have no unique value to get from search engine results, they will have no option but to rely more on generative AI tools.
Therefore, to avoid this, SEO content creators should focus on creating content that provides values that generative AI will not. We have an article here on an SEO content strategy that will help you achieve that.
3. Keywords should align with the content intent.
Keyword and content body mismatch is another enemy to SEO survival. Targeting keywords that your SEO content does not align with is an easy way to frustrate searchers. Searchers will lose trust in search engines if it takes them time to find answers to their needs.
Making sure you align your SEO content with the keywords it attracts will help boost the relevance of search results.
Conclusion
SEO will die only when SEO content creators fail to do their part. Knowing that a search engine is a business will help you know that you should be creating content that will help keep them in business. Therefore, your content should create more value than generative AI tools, and your content should align with a particular topic or solution.