Is SEO really dead, or is this another glib headline?

SEO Isn't Dead. It's Evolving Faster Than the Headlines Suggest

You have seen the headlines. "SEO is dead." Anyone who has worked in this industry for a few decades has likely grown tired of reading that phrase.

I remain convinced that SEO is not dead, and even pages that appear lifeless can be revived with the right content and the right links. Where would our industry be without glib headlines and a manufactured reason for excitement?

None of this is easy, and search certainly felt more straightforward before AI entered the picture. Change, however, rarely asks for permission. Practitioners either adapt or risk falling behind. My recommendation is simple: lean into the shift and build the skills you will need over the next five years.

Why the Bold Claims Keep Coming

Consider the phrasing of that headline for a moment. Bold statements attract attention, generate clicks, and occasionally secure speaking slots at conferences. Some commentators would rather discuss their own opinions than get on with the marketing work their clients actually need. That is a valid choice, and I have no interest in judging anyone for making it.

Then, in the last week of May 2025, Google said something similar. SEO is dead, apparently. Was this the moment everything changed? Organic search traffic and click-through rates are declining, and most of us expect that trend to continue as AI-generated results deliver the basic information searchers are after. That is precisely the issue though: what AI delivers is often just the basics.

The Content Gap AI Cannot Close

AI summaries are not always accurate, and sometimes they miss the mark entirely. Strong content continues to earn clicks when readers find it engaging and when it offers something that current AI results simply cannot replicate.

A kind of chicken-and-egg dynamic plays out over time. Write genuinely compelling content, and AI systems will pick it up. Clicks may rise, brand awareness expands, and paid results start converting at a higher rate. In practical terms, competitors often lose more ground from this shift than you do.

We have seen this zero-sum dynamic before, back when a single news article captured nearly all the available clicks. A similar pattern is now emerging as AI results take hold across search. Where I once spent most of my time analysing algorithms, I now spend far more of it writing content. Some pieces will perform well. Others will barely be read, let alone discovered through search. That is simply the nature of this work. Success now demands working harder and smarter, and learning fresh ways to deliver consistently strong results for clients.

Ignore the Noise, Focus on Behaviour

Set the headlines aside for a moment and look at how people actually behave. Searchers will keep looking for the information that matters to them, and business decisions have never stopped at a single search result page. Buyers still research before purchasing, and they still need to engage directly with the businesses they are considering. What has changed is how visibility gets earned within the SERPs, and professionals in this field need to change alongside it.

The Bottom Line for Practitioners

This shift is uncomfortable, but it was always inevitable. Search has evolved continuously since its earliest days, and the job of anyone working in this space is to evolve alongside it. Viewed from a certain angle, very little has actually changed. Adapt and keep building, or fall behind. That choice sits with every one of us.