Why SEO Doesn't 'Click' Anymore
The Decline of SEO in the New Digital Era
In the modern digital marketing era, Search Engine Optimization has been the workhorse tactic favored by advertisers of all sizes; a reliable way to place one’s company directly in front of a customer and funnel organic traffic to their website. However, the crutch that many companies leaned on is wobbling. Many businesses are starting to realize that search engines are slowly seeing a shift in the way people are using them. With A.I. reshaping search, social media becoming the go-to discovery tool, and Google itself keeping more users on its own platform through zero-click results, the traditional SEO game is no longer what it used to be. The question marketers face now isn’t how to optimize for search engines, but how to adapt in a landscape where SEO’s influence is steadily declining.
AI Is Reshaping How Consumers Search
Artificial Intelligence has completely altered how consumers search for and consume information. Instead of relying on traditional search engines and clicking through multiple sites to piece together insights, many now turn to AI platforms like ChatGPT, which aggregate knowledge from across the web into one complete response. This shift saves time for the user but disrupts the traditional marketing funnel - content that once attracted traffic through keyword optimization is no longer being discovered in the same way. As more users adopt these AI-driven search behaviors, companies must reevaluate whether investing heavily in SEO still delivers a return, or if resources should be redirected toward strategies that engage audiences beyond the search results page.
The Rise of Zero-Click Searches
One of the biggest factors that has led to the decrease in SEO’s effectiveness is the introduction of “zero click” searches. Instead of Google driving traffic to websites, they now answer many questions directly on the results page with a generated overview of the question asked. A user can simply type in a question then directly get the answer from Google’s overview without visiting the actual site that produced the content. From a company’s perspective, this can be very frustrating as they spend time and money to create optimized content in order to get website visits only to have google extract that information and display it without credit in terms of a click. Danielle Coffey, who leads the News/Media Alliance stated, “Google is using our content without compensation, offering no meaningful way to opt out without disappearing from search entirely — and then turning around and using that same content to compete with us (Allyn & Ruwitch, 2025). As a result, companies are spending money to be at the top of searches and finding themselves being blocked out by an A.I. overview that extracts the content a company has put effort in to produce. Many say that if a business uses best practices when optimizing their content that they will still be able to appear at the top or be given credit from the overview, but we have yet to see undeniable proof of that concept coming true. In the end, SEO is no longer the guaranteed traffic driver it once was, forcing brands to rethink where and how they invest their marketing efforts.
Social Media as the New Discovery Tool
Social discovery of products has become the new and popular method for finding and purchasing a product; platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X have grown exceptionally popular in the ecommerce world where they are able to utilize their current users in order to review and recommend products worth buying. With the amount of low quality products that have recently come to market, consumers now seem to appeal to seeing a product being used first-hand in order to make their own decision on whether or not they should purchase. A problem persists from social discovery because these platforms use algorithms that boost engagement over keyword-based searches, and the younger audiences are not always on the platform that companies are paying to market their product on through SEO. Causing a misguidance in the budget they are spending. In order to compete in an era where social media heavily influences purchasing decisions, companies must carefully allocate their budgets between social and search engine marketing based on the platforms their target audience relies on most.
Alternatives to SEO: Direct Mail and Mobile Marketing
While there are a number of reasons marketers now have to reevaluate their SEO strategies, one light still shines through. As SEO’s effectiveness continues to decline, many brands are shifting their focus back to channels that offer more control, trust, and measurable results. Direct mail, once considered old-fashioned, is experiencing a resurgence because it cuts through the digital noise and reduces the risk of online ad fraud. In fact, research highlighted by MIT Sloan Management Review found CAC to be relatively lower with direct mail campaigns compared to digital marketing strategies (Zhang, 2025). Physical mailers are harder to fake than clicks or impressions, and they give brands a tangible way to connect with consumers. At the same time, mobile has emerged as the most important channel to break into, with people spending more hours on their phones than ever before. From SMS/MMS text marketing to app notifications and geo-targeted campaigns, mobile offers a direct line to customers that search engines no longer guarantee. Together, these channels provide a more reliable path to engagement, offering brands a way to adapt as SEO loses its dominance.
The Future of Marketing Beyond SEO
The new age of digital marketing has made it far less effective for businesses to heavily rely on SEO. Artificial Intelligence now delivers instant, all-in-one answers that eliminate the need for consumers to click through to keyword-optimized websites. At the same time, younger demographics increasingly turn to social discovery on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit where they can see reviews, demonstrations, and real experiences that shape their purchasing decisions. Zero click searches add even more pressure, as marketers invest in content only to see Google repurpose it into AI-generated overviews that appear above all other results. In response, many companies are rediscovering the value of direct mail, a fraud-resistant and tangible channel that guarantees visibility in a way digital often cannot. Ultimately, the decline of SEO is not the end of digital marketing but rather a signal that brands must diversify, adapt, and embrace a multi-channel strategy that meets consumers where they actually are.
Sources Cited
Allyn, B., & Ruwitch, J. (2025, July 31). Online news publishers face “extinction-level event” from Google’s AI-powered search. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2025/07/31/nx-s1-5484118/google-ai-overview-online-publishers
Zhang, J. Z. (2025, August 4). How direct mail delivers in the age of Digital Marketing. MIT Sloan Management Review. https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/how-direct-mail-delivers-in-the-age-of-digital-marketing
By: Weston Smith | Account Assistant + Marketing Coordinator