Search Engine Optimisation or SEO for business growth is the process of increasing the quality and quantity of a business website traffic by increasing the visibility of your website in a web search engine, like Google, without paying for search or display ads.
Simply put, the goal of SEO for business growth in the digital industry is to rank your website high on Google, so potential customers will find you when typing in specific keywords when looking for solutions to their problems.
For example, if your business is a pizza parlour in Gotham Town, you would want your website to appear on the first page of Google when people search for “Pizza in Gotham Town” or “Pizza Restaurant in Gotham Town” or “Best Pizza in Gotham”.
With the growing development of AI large language models (LLM), like ChatGPT, Gemini and Deepseek, and AI-generated results appearing at the top of searches in search engines like Google, is SEO still important in today’s search landscape and should businesses still be investing in SEO implementation?
Note: This blog post was updated from an article first published on 9 Apr 2020.
SEO IS ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE TYPES OF DIGITAL MARKETING
From a consumer’s pyschological perspective, SEO is one of the most effective forms of digital marketing, as it is an organic form of discovery for the prospect. They know it is not an advertisement and feel it is a result of their search efforts which makes it objective and unbiased.
In a previous post, we explored how the modern customer researches before making a purchase. So, if your website is not ranked high for your target keyword, you are missing out on a fundamental digital marketing tactic.
Dr George Berkeley, an Anglican Bishop and philosopher in the 1600s, posed the following question:
“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”
Likewise, if a website appears on page 10 of Google and no one clicks on it, does it exist?
Or a favourite SEO joke of mine is:
“Where is the best place to hide a dead body? On-Page 2 of Google.”
HOW SEO WORKS FOR BUSINESS GROWTH?
Here are a few statistics showing SEO’s importance for business growth.
While the growth of AI has impacted SEO strategies and techniques, SEO is still one of the most important types of digital marketing that is the foundation of your digital marketing strategy.
Some forms of digital marketing, like paid advertising, work at a tactical level and can bring results in a short time. However, one limitation of paid marketing is that it is effective only if you continue to spend money and run the ads. Once you stop the ads, the traffic will stop coming in.
On the other hand, SEO is a strategic form of digital marketing that has long-term benefits and is relatively low-cost over time.
HOW AI HAS IMPACTED SEO?
As mentioned earlier, the SEO landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace, largely driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), particularly large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and other AI-powered search features.
These innovations are redefining how users interact with search engines, how content is ranked, and what businesses must do to remain competitive.
Here are three ways to adapt your SEO for business growth in the AI era:
Shift from Keyword-Based SEO to Intent-Driven Search
Traditional SEO focused on keyword optimisation, but AI-driven search algorithms now prioritise user intent. Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) and AI-powered featured snippets use machine learning to understand queries beyond keywords, meaning businesses must focus on creating content that answers specific user needs rather than simply inserting keywords.
What This Means for SEO:
- Focus on content quality, structure, and comprehensiveness rather than just keyword density.
- Incorporate natural language queries and conversational content to align with AI-driven search results.
- Optimise for long-tail, intent-based queries that match user expectations.
Rise of AI-Generated Search Results (SGE and AI Overviews)
Google, Bing, and other search engines are increasingly using AI to generate summarised answers directly on search results pages (SERPs).
This reduces the need for users to click on websites for basic information, leading to potential traffic declines for certain types of content.
How to Adapt:
- Structure content for featured snippets and AI-generated summaries.
- Provide unique insights, data, or expert opinions that AI summaries cannot replicate.
- Optimise for transactional and in-depth content that users still need to visit a website to access.
Content Authenticity and AI-Generated Content Challenges
With AI-generated content becoming more prevalent, search engines are prioritising credibility, originality, and EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).
Google has updated its guidelines to ensure AI-generated content does not lead to misinformation or low-value pages ranking highly.
Best Practices:
- Human-edit and fact-check AI-generated content to ensure accuracy and credibility.
- Focus on real-life experiences, case studies, and expert insights to differentiate content from generic AI-written articles.
- Use AI as a tool to assist, but not replace, human-driven content creation.
The Future of SEO in the AI Era
While AI and LLMs are reshaping SEO, the fundamental goal remains – to deliver valuable, relevant, and authoritative content that serves user needs.
Businesses that embrace AI, prioritise content authenticity, and adapt to intent-driven search will thrive in the new digital landscape.
Key takeaways include:
- Prioritise user intent over traditional keyword optimisation.
- Optimise for AI-generated search results to maintain visibility.
- Ensure authenticity and credibility in content creation.
- Adapt to voice search and conversational search trends.
- Utilise AI-driven tools to enhance SEO strategies efficiently.
By staying ahead of AI-driven changes, businesses can maintain strong search visibility and drive meaningful engagement in an ever-evolving SEO environment.
Any business looking to connect with the modern customer must invest seriously in their SEO efforts. If you do not have the experience in-house to work on SEO, then you can outsource the work to a specialised SEO consultant, like Evolve & Adapt.
