SEO Is Dead. Long Live GEO.
Adobe Firefly: Curt Doty
If you’re still clinging to SEO, you might as well fire up Dreamweaver and try to relaunch your MySpace band page.
Let’s cut through the keyword-stuffed fog: SEO is in freefall, and the data backs it up. Web traffic is down. Google click-throughs are tanking. Users aren’t clicking search links anymore—they’re getting what they need directly from AI.
“Widespread organic traffic decline: Since early 2025, industry leaders such as HubSpot have seen unprecedented drops in organic traffic—one report documenting a fall from 24 million monthly visitors (2022) to 16 million by late 2023, and a sharper crash in early 2025. This decline is not local to one industry but widespread, impacting both large brands and niche sites.” – Jacob Anderson, Alitu.com
Welcome to the era of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), where the goal isn’t ranking #1 on a search engine results page—it’s being quoted by the chatbot that isthe search engine.
From SEO to GEO: The Shift That Killed the Click
In the old world, you optimized your site for Google's algorithm. You chased backlinks, built keyword pyramids, and paid agencies to “audit” your XML sitemap like it was the Holy Grail.
But users don’t want ten blue links anymore. They want one good answer, instantly. And they’re getting it—from ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, and Perplexity. The result?
They never leave the chat window. They never click. Your website is a ghost town.
Don’t Believe Me? Look Around.
Google’s own AI Overviews summarize the web and bury traditional results.
AI-generated answers are becoming the default, not the fallback.
Web users increasingly seek direct answers from AI rather than clicking through search results.
So if your content isn’t feeding those AI models? You’re invisible.
"Using search engines like Google is like walking into a library and getting a list of book titles that might help. You then have to go pull the books off the shelves, skim through them, and try to piece together the answer on your own," explains Erik Wikander, Co-founder and CEO of Wilgot.ai, a company specializing in AI-powered SEO strategies.
SEO Peddlers: The New Dinosaurs
Here’s the truth that will sting a little: anyone still selling SEO as their primary product is selling snake oil.
These are the same folks who killed the design industry a decade ago—turning custom websites into $399 template dumps in the name of “searchability.” Now they’re peddling 2020 tactics in a 2025 world.
GEO and AIO (Artificial Intelligence Optimization) are the new playbooks. Instead of obsessing over meta descriptions, you should be asking: Will an LLM quote this content in a helpful, trustworthy answer?
What Does GEO Actually Look Like?
Here’s your starter kit:
Structured Content: Schema markup, bullet lists, FAQ sections.
Clarity & Authority: Write simply. Cite smartly.
Natural Language Optimization: Make it sound human. Not robotic.
Offsite Signals: Reviews, mentions, authoritative backlinks.
Freshness: Update often. AI retrains fast.
Entity Recognition: Tag your people, products, and places like you’re training Skynet.
For those impacted, immediate action on GEO is recommended, alongside a shift away from old SEO tactics reliant on blue-link organic ranking.
Your Website Still Matters. Just Not How You Think.
Your homepage isn’t the destination anymore—it’s the source material. You’re not writing for humans; you’re writing for the AI that summarizes for humans. If you're not optimized for visibility in those summaries, you're done.
Creative storytelling earns trust and interest. GEO and AIO ensure that creative work remains visible and accessible—even when no one is clicking a link.
Final Thought: SEO Isn’t Dead. It’s Fossilized.
GEO is the new game. AIO is your new strategy. And if you’re not adapting to this shift, you’re already extinct.
Sources:
https://alitu.com/creator/content-creation/is-seo-dead-in-2025/
https://adaptingsocial.com/is-ai-decreasing-site-traffic-from-search/
https://www.realmiq.com/blog/is-search-dead
About the Author
Curt Doty, founder of CurtDoty.co, is an award winning creative director whose legacy lies in branding, product development, social strategy, integrated marketing, and User Experience Design. His work of entertainment branding includes Electronic Arts, EA Sports, ProSieben, SAT.1, WBTV Latin America, Discovery Health, ABC, CBS, A&E, StarTV, Fox, Kabel 1, and TV Guide Channel. His work in movie marketing spans the major studios: Universal Pictures, Fox Searchlight, 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, Miramax and Disney. He is now helping independent filmmakers market their movies for festivals and distribution.
He currently serves on the board of the Godfrey Reggio Foundation and is the AI Writer for Parlay Me.
To learn more about Curt’s pedigree of innovation, check this out.
