I’ve been doing SEO for five years now, and it feels like one challenge after another. First, no sales attribution at the keyword level, then no-click searches, more ads, and now AI like ChatGPT and Google’s overviews are answering everything themselves. It’s getting harder to convince clients and employers about the value of SEO because you can’t always directly show how ranking on a keyword impacts sales.
Now I’m reading everywhere that brand mentions might become the next big KPI. We’ve gone from focusing on traffic and sales to just being happy to get mentioned somewhere.
It feels frustrating and pointless sometimes, especially with content marketing also facing challenges from AI. I don’t have much experience with paid ads, and I don’t feel confident managing budgets. I feel stuck with no clear career alternatives. Does anyone else feel the same? What would you suggest I do?
I totally get where you’re coming from. I’ve been doing SEO for 3.5 years now, and it can feel slow and frustrating. Some of my friends are into PPC and content marketing, and they seem to be thriving. But one thing I’ve learned from my seniors is to stick to one field and master it.
SEO is still a key part of marketing, and good companies value people who specialize in it. Sure, it’s time-consuming, but seeing a keyword rank after all the effort is rewarding. Stay consistent and focus on your strengths instead of trying to do everything. It’s better to be really good at one thing than average at many things.
One big part of SEO is educating clients and setting realistic expectations. You need to show them how SEO works and why it’s valuable. Managing their expectations and explaining deliverables is key.
When it comes to proving benefits, it’s pretty straightforward: show increases in organic traffic and how that traffic converts. That’s what matters to most clients.
Feeling frustrated with SEO is understandable, especially with how much the landscape is changing. But SEO isn’t dead; it’s evolving. Focus on adapting to these changes by exploring AI-driven strategies, improving E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness), and integrating SEO with broader digital marketing. You might also consider building skills in analytics or SEA to diversify. The key is adapting, not giving up.
Here’s an idea you could suggest to those questioning SEO. Start with PPC. If they see conversions from PPC, encourage them to run PPC alongside SEO. Over time, they can phase out PPC and let SEO take over. If PPC doesn’t work, the issue is likely their product or conversion process, not SEO.
With tools like ChatGPT, you also have opportunities to optimize content so it gets picked up by these platforms. It’s another way to prove the value of SEO.