I originally wrote this article in 2015, when people were already declaring that SEO was dead.
Eleven years later, we’re having the same conversation. This time, AI is supposedly putting the final nail in the coffin.
As I approach 20 years in SEO, I’ve heard variations of this argument many times. An algorithm changes, a familiar tactic stops working, or a new platform arrives. Suddenly, the entire industry is finished.
People often mistake difficulty for death.
SEO is still an important marketing strategy. But the way we approach it needs to reflect how people search, how businesses earn trust and what happens after someone discovers your brand.
When I started, much of the conversation centred on website code, keywords, page titles, content and backlinks.
Technical knowledge mattered. It still does. But there were also plenty of people looking for shortcuts: stuffing keywords into pages, buying manipulative links and creating content purely to influence rankings.
Those tactics were never a substitute for understanding a business or its customers.
Search engines have continued developing their systems and policies to address manipulation. Google’s current spam policies cover attempts to manipulate both conventional search rankings and generative AI responses. Violations can lead to reduced visibility or removal from results.
That doesn’t mean every shortcut gets caught immediately. It means building your business around one carries a risk.
My preference is to invest in something worth finding, then make sure search engines and customers can find and understand it.
No. But some businesses need to rethink what they expect from it.
A ranking report alone doesn’t tell you whether your marketing is working. Neither does a traffic graph without context.
Are you attracting the right people? Are they finding the information they need? Are enquiries turning into customers? Are you growing revenue at a cost the business can sustain?
Those are the conversations I want to have.
SEO can help you reach people who are actively researching a problem, comparing products or looking for a provider. That remains valuable. The challenge is earning their attention and giving them a reason to choose you.
In October 2026, we can’t discuss organic visibility without discussing AI search.
People can encounter businesses through AI-generated answers as well as traditional search results. That changes how we think about discovery and how we assess performance.
It doesn’t make the foundations of SEO disappear.
Google explicitly states that SEO best practices remain relevant to its generative AI search features because those features use its core search ranking and quality systems.
You’ll hear terms such as answer engine optimisation, or AEO, and generative engine optimisation, or GEO. There are differences between platforms, and no provider can guarantee your inclusion in an AI answer.
My view is that good GEO starts with much of the same work as good SEO: accessible information, useful content, clear explanations and credible evidence of what your business knows and does.
Changing the name of a service doesn’t remove the need to do that work.
A website can look fantastic and still create unnecessary obstacles for search engines and customers.
Important pages might be difficult to discover. Product information might be duplicated. Internal links might point through redirects. A rebuild might remove useful content or break URLs that customers still use.
These are practical business problems.
Technical SEO helps us investigate how the website works, what information is accessible and where the structure needs improvement.
For a large eCommerce website, that might involve product variants, filters, category pages, internal linking and canonical URLs. For a service business, it might mean making the core services clear and ensuring useful pages are connected properly.
Before commissioning another batch of content, understand whether your existing website is giving that content a fair opportunity to be discovered.
Publishing has become easier. Producing something worth reading still requires thought.
AI can help organise ideas, edit drafts and support research. But your business needs to contribute knowledge, examples and judgement.
Google’s guidance recommends content that provides original information, substantial explanations and value beyond simply rewriting other sources.
For a jeweller, that could mean explaining how a setting affects everyday wear, showing the craftsmanship behind a custom ring or answering the questions customers ask in the showroom.
For an engineering business, it could mean documenting a manufacturing process and explaining why a particular material was selected.
This is where the business owner and team become essential contributors. An agency can help develop and distribute the content, but it needs access to the experience inside your business.
My father’s engineering business was called ABBCO Engineering. He wanted to appear near the beginning of the Yellow Pages.
He understood something every business owner still needs to understand: customers have to find you before they can buy from you.
The method has changed. An alphabetical position in a printed directory no longer determines your visibility.
Today, someone might discover your business through Google, a video, a recommendation, a map listing or an AI answer. Your job is to understand where those discoveries happen and give people a reason to investigate further.
My dad’s example stays with me because being excellent at your trade doesn’t automatically make you visible.
That gap is where marketing has work to do.
An SEO provider should be asking questions beyond which keywords you want to rank for.
Which services are most profitable? Who is your ideal customer? What makes someone hesitate before buying? How do enquiries get handled? What makes your business different?
Those answers should shape the strategy.
A campaign can increase traffic while bringing in the wrong enquiries. A website can rank for an attractive keyword while doing very little to support sales.
Experience matters, but so does curiosity. Your provider needs to understand how the business operates and be willing to explain why particular work deserves priority.
I also believe in clear accountability. You should know what has been completed, what remains unresolved and how the results relate to your goals.
SEO works best when it has access to the rest of the business.
Customer questions can inform content. Paid search data can help identify commercial opportunities. Digital PR can introduce the brand to relevant audiences. Videos can demonstrate expertise. Sales feedback can reveal information missing from the website.
These activities should inform one another.
For smaller businesses, I often encourage what I call the small business influencer mindset: document your work, share your knowledge and help people get to know the person behind the company.
Start with the resources you have and a plan you can sustain. Then bring in specialist support where it will make a useful contribution.
I love this industry, but that doesn’t mean defending every practice sold under the SEO label.
Businesses deserve useful work, honest advice and a strategy grounded in their circumstances.
In 2015, I argued that marketing evolves as its channels change. In October 2026, I still believe that.
The opportunity is to build a business people can discover, understand and trust—and to keep improving how you connect with them as search develops.
If you’d like an independent view of your current strategy, explore our SEO packages and oversight options or book a conversation.
