[The End and Beginning of SEO] A story about how I think we have changed from 'search experts' to 'user experience designers'.
AI Overviews provide answers first, SNS search has become the norm, and users are less conscious of the act of searching itself. The era of 'just ranking high leads to traffic' is quietly coming to an end.
In this article, I would like to organize what SEO professionals should learn and what perspectives they should have in the midst of this change.
The end of the era when search was everything
Until now, the main battlefield for SEO has been 'how to get high rankings in search results,' centered on technical and content SEO.
Optimizing internal structure, understanding queries, and creating comprehensive articles. Many media outlets have grown as long as they could properly execute these 'search-axis improvements'.
However, now (though I don't think it started just now...), the emergence of AI is shaking that premise even more significantly.
Structural changes shown by AI Overviews
Google's AI Overviews and zero-click results are accelerating a world where users get answers without leaving the search results page. As an individual, I find this convenient.
Meanwhile, the usage ratio of YouTube search is increasing, and Instagram and TikTok are becoming the standard starting points for information discovery. Furthermore, LLMs like ChatGPT and Perplexity are attempting to redefine the very concept of search.
In other words, the 'entry points' for users to obtain information have further dispersed, and we have entered an era where you cannot grasp the whole picture just by looking at Google.
Future SEO will be 'proof of existence including more than just search'
What is needed now is not 'raising rankings in search' itself.
'Designing proof of existence' regarding 'how many places our own media can be encountered'.
Seeing the name in Google search results
Appearing in related videos on YouTube
Seeing photos and comments on Instagram
Being introduced on other comparison or review sites
Being cited in LLM responses
In this way, users make decisions while moving back and forth between multiple channels.
The key is not SEO alone, but how to create 'overall optimization of information touchpoints'.
Toward SEO design based on business results
So, what should SEO professionals use as a standard for decision-making?
It is 'how it contributes to our own business'.
Which channels do target users usually use to obtain information,
how do they compare,
at what moment do they make a decision,
and which metrics lead to final results
The value of an SEO professional lies in whether they can understand this user journey and design experiences that span search, SNS, editing, UX, and CRM.
In other words, the mindset is shifting from 'winning in search' to
'editing user experiences to grow the business'
.
SEO will become a 'hub' role
You cannot complete this domain on your own.
Editors (content planning, editing, etc.)
PdMs (site improvements, feature development, etc.)
Engineers (structured data, speed improvements, etc.)
Designers (UI/UX, flow design, etc.)
SNS teams (content distribution, etc.)
Advertising teams (designing mutual complementarity, etc.)
SEO specialists need to act as a 'hub' standing at the center of each of the stakeholders mentioned above. The skills required for this are no longer covered by traditional knowledge.
Required skills and perspectives
・Information architecture skills: Creating structures that allow users to reach answers without getting lost
・Cross-channel user understanding: Grasping decision-making processes, including SNS, reviews, and LLMs
・Dialogue skills with other professions: Co-creating content with editing, development, and design
・Data thinking: Judging by 'business KPIs' rather than just PV
・Business perspective: Understanding LTV, order rates, CVR, etc., and clarifying contribution points
SEO is no longer just a job of 'creating content' or 'thinking about directory structures and links'; isn't it actually
orchestration that supports business growth?
SEO is shifting to a role that looks at the 'entire business' rather than just 'media'
That is precisely why SEO specialists are required to have a more cross-functional perspective than ever before.
How to increase the value of media
How to be remembered as a brand
How to link with product experience
How to combine advertising costs and SEO investment
Rather than being confined to the search domain, it is evolving into a role that
takes a bird's-eye view of the entire business and designs the user experience from end to end
.
In a future where success stories no longer work, what will be your weapon?
To repeat what I said at the beginning, SEO is a field that has been turned upside down many times over the last 20 years (at least as far as I know).
With the Panda update in 2011, the Penguin updates in 2012-13, and the focus on medical and financial sectors (so-called YMYL) since 2018, authority and trustworthiness became paramount, and in 2023, the very 'value of human-written content' was called into question.
Past 'success patterns' reach their expiration date in an instant when times change.
In other words, SEO is a field where there is no longer a 'do this and you'll be fine' correct answer. However, what has been common to the 'evaluation criteria' of every era is the fundamental principle of
'whether it is valuable to the user'
'whether it is structured so that the user can reach the answer'
.In this coming era where success stories become obsolete at an accelerating rate, I feel that those who can design user decision-making based on fundamental principles will become the strongest SEO professionals.
Rather than short-term techniques, isn't essential thinking and cross-channel experience creation what will become the new weapon for SEO professionals?
SEO is shifting from 'winning in search' to 'being chosen through experience'.
Man, it really has become a tough era...