"SEO is dead." Again. Let's settle it.
Every quarter someone declares SEO dead, and this time they're pointing at AI Overviews. And look, the data isn't nothing. AI Overviews are reducing organic clicks on the top result by an average of 34.5%.
But here's the other side: Google still processes around 14 billion search queries a day, while ChatGPT reaches about 37.5 million, a 373:1 ratio in Google's favor. Search didn't die. It changed shape.
So the real question isn't "is SEO dead", it's "what part of your old playbook is dead?"
Your turn: What's one tactic that stopped working for you in the last 6 months, and what replaced it?
Asked by undamuy
4 Answers
Blogging for long-tail question keywords like "can you freeze cream cheese" just does not work like it used to with AI Overviews sucking up those sorts of answers. This quarter I stopped targeting super direct Q&A stuff and went for deeper 'why' content, bigger guides, and ultimately building sections that give more context or personal expertise that Google's AI can't sum up in a snippet. Also putting more effort into interactive stuff like calculators and tools, since those still drive traffic.
Writing those 2000-word keyword-stuffed listicles for broad terms like 'best headphones' basically stopped working for me since late 2025. AI Overviews just summarize all that info instantly and users bounce. Now I focus on super-specific, long-tail topics nobody else bothers with, and add firsthand testing with actual photos and data. Also, I've started pushing more into video and quick TikTok/YouTube Shorts since discovery traffic there is growing faster than Google.
Featured snippet targeting with short, FAQ-style content stopped delivering real traffic for me in late 2025. Used to be, I could grab snippets just by answering 'what is X' with 40-60 word blocks, but AI Overviews are now surfacing those answers with zero clicks. Now I'm focusing on in-depth guides, original data, and detailed case studies that go way deeper than any summary could. Also spending more time building topical authority hubs and internal link clusters. Stuff Google's AI can't just summarize away.
Targeting quick-answer featured snippet keywords stopped working for me this year, especially for health and finance. AI Overviews grab those now so hard, the clickthrough dropped by half on my tracked terms. I've shifted to building deeper FAQ sections that rank for 'People Also Ask' and creating content clusters around broader intent. More longform guides, less chasing that one magic snippet. Also saw better traffic by focusing on video embeds and original graphics because AI can't summarize those as neatly.