Is SEO dead? Has the introduction of search generative experience and AI overviews defeated the purpose of SEO itself? AI overviews fine-tune results, giving search users the “lay of the land” (to quote Google themselves) of what they’re looking for.
Today, search engine results are inundated with AI overview results. Traditional organic results are pushed further down the page. There is also no guarantee your article or content will be cited by these AI overviews.
Then this begs the question: is SEO even worth investing in today? I am of the opinion that traditional SEO is NOT the right fit for 95% of businesses. This is especially true for small to medium businesses in Singapore, unless you are already raking in good revenue and margins from paid channels.
I’d say a good half a million revenue at 40% margins can give you enough resources to properly invest in good SEO.
You are far better of focusing on local SEO, pay per click and Facebook advertising from zero to minimally half a million in revenue.
Do SEO Services Work? Is it Even Worth it Today?
Today, hiring external SEO vendors may not work out for you. Good SEO requires significant effort and time, typically 8-12 months. Our agency takes a “blended search marketing” approach to business growth. This means focusing on one search channel first, then blending it with local SEO, followed by traditional SEO.
And yes, when done right, paid search marketing also creates valuable overlaps with SEO!
Image credits: Ryan Stewart from Webris.
When you analyze the cost-benefit trajectory of different marketing channels, you can see a clear shift in what delivers ROI in the near to mid term.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC):
- Immediate visibility, traffic and leads
- Controllable budget
- Precise targeting capabilities
- Measurable ROI from day one
- Testing offers becomes much faster
Facebook Advertising:
- Graphics and visuals format can give provide potential
- Quick to implement and test
- Not dependent on search visibility, audience is potentially more scalable than search
Local SEO:
- Potentially faster results than traditional SEO
- Higher ranked on the search engine results for localised search queries
- Higher control over your listing
- Less affected by AI overviews
Local SEO experienced a reverse trend in recent times. SEO experts once ignored local SEO in earlier days for traditional SEO. Today, getting your business ranked on the local maps pack is a go to! Unlike reaching out to get backlinks, you got more control of your Google My Business profile. It also acts as the digital storefront for local customers.
Traditional SEO:
- Takes 8-12 months to see results
- AI overviews pushes organic results down
- Requires substantial high quality content creation
- Needs ongoing link building (costly)
- End results can be unpredictable
You can’t possibly wait for 8-12 months to get your first lead can you!?!
How to Get SEO to Work For You Today: User Intent and Semantic Search
However, if you’re looking to invest for the long term in traditional SEO services. SEO is not dead (just yet). However, SEO has came a long way from keyword stuffing and shifted towards user intent. Today you got to produce contextual content catering to the specific search journeys of users.
Shift from Keywords to Understanding User Needs and Search Intent
Understanding of search intent and semantic search is important. Today, Google only ranks content that addresses what the user is really looking for.
To understand this, you got to ask yourself from a user perspective: what is the user trying to achieve when they type a query into Google? They may be looking for more information about a topic or to purchase something. Semantic search is how search engines such as Google go beyond mere words to grasp context and meaning.
Example of Semantic Search in Action
Imagine typing “best chili crab in Singapore” into Google.
You are presented with a list of restaurants. That is semantic search in demonstration: understanding that you’re probably hungry, looking for a good restaurant that serves chili crabs, a mouth watering experience, as opposed to merely looking for information about chili crabs.
Semantics and understanding user intent in SEO is not only for the big players. It affects local businesses as demonstrated.
EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
Ever stumbled upon a website and questioned: “Can I trust this?”
SEOs today are also competing against AI. Google is facing an AI spam issue. There are many AI writers that can spin out content in just one click. However, AI writers may produce a lot of fluff. Injecting unique personality, research and context still requires manual human input.
Creating content that ticks the usual SEO boxes isn’t enough. Your content must engage readers: it has to tick the boxes for EEAT. Google has also made E-E-A-T a ranking factor.
Today, Google uses EEAT as a criteria to judge if content is worth ranking.
Quick Explanation of EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
- Experience: How real-world experience does the content reflect?
- Expertise: Are you demonstrably knowledgeable about the topic?
- Authoritativeness: Is your content deemed authoritative by peers?
- Trustworthiness: Does your site look secure? Would you put your credit card details in without a second thought?
How to Sharpen Your EEAT:
- You are highly encouraged to design a professional and user-friendly website
- Secondly, demonstrate credentials and be clear about who is behind the content
- Use data, reference studies and cite experts
- It is also surprising that a leading SEO expert has asserted that EEAT is determined largely by backlinks
- Optimize your About Us Page and Contact Us Page: include social media links, your expertise and personal stories related to the niche
- Include author boxes at the end of your blog articles:
Conclusion
For more than 95% of businesses, traditional SEO isn’t the best use of marketing budget anymore. The rise of AI results in search has made it more difficult.
Today, our team proposes to potential clients in our law firm marketing agency to focus on:
- Pay-Per-Click – To get upfront leads and measurable results
- Facebook Advertising – Meta’s targeting accuracy is second to none
- Local SEO – To diversify your leads in the mid to long term
SEO is not dead. However, if you do invest in traditional SEO, understand that it is no longer just about keywords. It is about creating high-quality, helpful content that demonstrates experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. It is also about fulfilling both the search and topical intent of the user. You’ll also require ongoing investment in relevant backlinks.
It is pointless to chase organic rankings when more direct, measurable marketing channels are available. Start with paid marketing, then move on to SEO.