For many years, “we’re working on SEO” meant almost the same thing to everyone: We write articles packed with keywords, build backlinks, and track our rankings on Google.
But that world has changed dramatically. Today, the logical question is:
Has SEO died?
The short answer:
No, SEO isn’t dead… but the old way of playing the game is no longer enough.
Search engines have changed. People have changed.
So our approach has to change, too.
Today, a lot of searches end without any clicks:
Even if your page is in position #1, traffic is often lower because the platform itself takes a large share of the value from its own results.
“Number one = lots of traffic” just isn’t true like it used to be.
People discover ideas and products through: TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, private groups, niche stores, and specialist platforms.
Very often, Google is now the last step for double-checking or comparison, not the first.
That’s why you’ll sometimes see your CTR (click-through rate) drop, even though your rankings look good.
Modern search platforms reward things like:
You can’t “polish” weak content with headlines and keywords anymore.
A weak offer will not win, even if you perfect every technical detail.
Privacy and regulation have cut the clean line of “keyword to visit to purchase.”
We can’t see everything with the same precision we used to.
Relying 100% on “last click” attribution makes us overestimate the importance of final channels (like Google Search alone).
Underestimate early demand-creation moments (content, social, community…)
There is no longer a single “magic channel.”
Instead, we have a portfolio of tactics that work together to create demand and then capture it.
Think less about: “How do I rank this page in Google?”
And more about: How do I earn attention? How do I earn trust? How do I own my distribution channels?
When people start searching for you by name, you’ve already won.
Invest in moments that build an unforgettable brand:
The more your name lives in people’s minds, the less you depend on someone else’s algorithm.
Don’t settle for random, one-off articles.
Build real assets your audience values and looks forward to, such as:
And make them:
Build an email list, SMS lists (where it makes sense), private communities, or customer clubs.
Algorithms are always changing… Your own list is the most stable asset you have.
Today, many customer journeys end on Amazon, the App Store, Booking.com, or other industry-specific platforms.
Treat each of these as its own search engine:
The names may seem many and confusing, but they all orbit the same idea:
How do we show up in the places people trust, in a way that helps them choose?
The classic term: optimizing for search engines.
The idea:
It includes:
Here we mean generative answer engines such as:
The question becomes: How do we structure our data and content so that these models choose us as a source when they generate answers?
Instead of saying: “We work only for a search engine.” We say: “We optimize for any engine or interface that can bring us repeatable growth.”
Optimizing for answer engines like:
The focus is on:
In other words, optimizing the search experience.
Instead of focusing only on “rankings,” we ask:
Here we combine:
Despite all the labels, the core of the game is the same:
We’re trying to:
You can simply say: “We work on SEO.”
But internally, the team understands that today this includes:
And multiple platforms… not just Google.
Focus on metrics that connect to real growth:
What do we stop?
You could summarize it like this:
Instead of focusing only on rankings.
If we wanted to sum up the whole episode in three questions:
1- What’s the most overrated tactic today?
Publishing more content just for the sake of keywords.
2- What’s the most neglected asset for most companies?
Your own data.
3- If you were allowed to track only one metric for six months, what would you choose?
Search share – Share of Search.
The old SEO game alone is no longer enough. Today’s winners will look like: Strong media-style brands, Products that spread on their own, Names people intentionally search for.
The question is no longer: “How do we rank #1?”
It’s: “Why do people choose us? And how do we show that everywhere?”
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