SEO isn’t just search anymore. It’s strategic brand building.
"AI didn’t kill SEO. It just raised the bar."
What happens when half your search traffic disappears overnight? That’s not a future scenario, it’s today’s reality. Early data from SimilarWeb and SEER Interactive shows Google’s new AI Overviews can reduce organic clicks by 30% to 54%.
The rules have changed. SEO is no longer just about keywords and backlinks. It's about visibility in an AI-powered world where trust, quality, and brand matter more than ever.
Here’s how to stay visible while others vanish.
Three realities of SEO in the age of AI
1. The fundamentals still matter
Good SEO is still built on strong foundations. That hasn’t changed.
- Optimize for technical performance: speed, crawlability, and structured data.
- Match content to search intent: optimize for clarity, depth, and relevance.
- Build authority: prioritize quality backlinks and mentions over quantity.
- Stay agile: monitor performance and update proactively.
Try this: Audit one key landing page this week. Check speed, structured data, and keyword alignment. Fix one gap.
2. Google’s internal priorities are clear now
The 2024 Google documentation leak confirmed what leading SEOs already sensed: Google rewards E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust).
Quality content and trusted authorship matter more than ever. But so do technical health and brand credibility.
Try this: Choose one content piece per month to upgrade. Add more expert insight, link it to authoritative sources, and improve its technical performance.
3. AI Search favors strong brands
AI-powered search engines like Google Gemini, Bing AI, ChatGPT, and Perplexity are changing the way information is retrieved. These systems rely less on backlinks and more on brand presence in trusted environments.
Recent data shows that Google’s AI Overviews now appear in 20% of searches and are directly reducing organic traffic. What matters now is where your brand is mentioned and how it’s represented in credible conversations online.
SEO is shifting toward brand-building. Being cited as a trustworthy source matters more than being ranked.
Try this: Engage in one relevant conversation this week on platforms where your audience engages: like Instagram, Facebook or TikTok comments. Focus on contributing value in places where AI models pull their training signals.
This isn’t the death of SEO. It's its evolution.
As AI reshapes how people search, SEO becomes less about tactics and more about trust.
SEO teams now play a critical role in:
- Building a brand’s digital footprint
- Ensuring content is accessible to both search engines and LLMs
- Acting as first responders to shifts in visibility
Three moves to make this month
- Re-audit your top pages for technical health and EEAT quality.
- Invest in structured data to help AI interpret your content.
- Prioritize brand-building across earned, owned, and community-driven channels.
SEO isn’t just about traffic anymore. It’s about trust, visibility, and long-term brand strength. Don’t forget: the rise of AI in search isn’t a threat, it’s an opportunity.
Written by Dennis Goedegebuure – helping brands stay visible in an AI-first world.
