It's Time For Content Marketers To End Their Reliance On SEO
What if you knew that in 6 months, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) would no longer drive website traffic to the extent it does today? Would you begin adjusting your content strategy? Consider this your 6-month notice.
What's happening?
Even before the emergence of Search Generative Experience (SGE), you probably noticed that ads, videos, images, rich snippets, featured snippets and knowledge graphs were increasingly taking up more real estate in search results. In Late Spring and early Summer, Bing advanced its Search to include AI, and Google signaled a shift to SGE, where AI is set to be the primary driver for its search results.
Google Bard, Google's conversational AI (similar to ChatGPT, which has already been integrated into Bing), currently incorporates information from web searches, understands images and can interact with your Google Workspace data. At the same time, Google continues to expand access to its SGE search experiment via Search Labs. According to Google, "SGE brings the power of generative AI directly into Search. Since launching in the U.S., we've rapidly added new capabilities, with more to come." Last week, Google announced it is now welcoming users aged 13-24.
This isn't a new concern for me. Last April, I rang the alarm in an article I published entitled, 'So Long SEO Traffic: The Future Is AI-Based Search." My sentiment was that "Unlike searches of the past, AI responses are less likely to be sending traffic to your website. With the ability to fine-tune Ai chatbots to return the exact response we're after, there is less need to examine the sources of that information." I was pointing to the increased tendency of AI to answer queries not with a set of links but with a set of facts. I followed this article with another piece in June, entitled '3 Myths About the Future of Search You Should Leave in the Past,' challenging the ongoing myth that "SEO-optimized content will continue to be a significant driver of website search traffic." As AI has advanced in recent months, those warnings have become more urgent.
If the signs weren't clear enough, an analysis by Search Engine Land last month concluded: "Websites are likely to see their organic traffic drop 18-64% as a result of SGE." It's time for content marketers to end their reliance on SEO.
To be clear, branded queries and searches for products and services are expected to continue seeing some website traffic, particularly for the top-tier brands AI recommends. However, the larger concern lies with search traffic from longtail keywords that typically point to thought leadership content that answers questions and addresses concerns - inquiries that AI responds to directly. Traffic generated from these types of searches is especially significant to lesser-known small and mid-sized companies. While even now, very little is known about how content creators and brands can increase the likelihood of their pages being suggested by AI, now is the time for content creators to consider a plan B.
Your Plan B
These recent developments beg the question - How should we content creators respond to SGE? Here, in a nutshell, is my recommendation:
Increase emphasis on our personal brands.
Optimize earned channels.
Place a greater focus on owned channels.
Do these by leveraging your unique point of view, experience and storytelling abilities to grow your newsletter subscriber base and build more engaged and loyal audiences via podcasts, social media, dark social and communities (like Slack or Discord).
You may be asking - How do I know this is the way? It's because that is what authorities like Rand Fishkin, Joe Pulizzi, Mark Schaefer and Jay Acunzo are already doing. Let me leave you with a direct quote from one of these experts:
"I've been screaming from the rooftops for seven years: PERSONAL BRAND. We can't depend on algorithms and search. Earn your own audience." ~ Mark Schaefer
Need help?
My company, AH Marketing, supports growing B2B businesses with its brand and demand initiatives. We help companies stay ahead of the curve and become wildly successful. Please reach out to me if your business needs help.
