Yep, traditional SEO is f*cked

Traditional SEO is f**cked.

What used to be 1 visitor for every 2 Google crawls…
…is now 1 in 15.

It’s not just Google. ChatGPT went from 1 visitor per 250 prompts to 1 in 1,500.

The rise of zero-click content means more impressions, less traffic.
Search is splintered. Attention is scattered.

Crying won’t help. Adapting will.

Here’s how I’m thinking about the future of SEO:

1. Target long-tail, high-intent keywords.
Skip the “what is SEO” fluff. AI Overviews already have that on lock.
Target phrases with 5+ words that convey real buying intent. They’re less competitive and convert better.

2. Develop and distribute free tools.
Canva’s SEO success? Their tools.
We did something similar with our SEO product: 25,000 free words of AI content.
It grabs attention. It spreads.
Free tools are the new lead magnets.

3. Think beyond Google.
Reddit. YouTube. Quora. TikTok.
Search isn’t a channel anymore—it’s a behavior.
People are “searching” everywhere. Optimize for all of it.

4. Citations drive visibility in LLMs.
Our Marketing School podcast consistently appears in AI search results.
Why?
Thousands of episodes. Thousands of reviews. Strong personal brands.
Citations = credibility. And yes, backlinks still count.

5. CRO is more important than ever.
You might get fewer clicks, but you can’t afford to waste them.
Optimize with great design, strong offers, and a fast website.
Make the most of every visit.

SEO hasn’t died. It’s just evolved.
The old playbook is gone, but there’s still a way to win.

To owning attention,
Eric Siu

P.S. We’ve been building and have a couple of opportunities available from our side for newsletter subscribers:

1 - We’re looking for an experienced agency COO leader who also has SaaS experience. Click here for the application or message [email protected] if you have a referral. 2 - We launched Clickflow to help automate and scale SEO. Newsletter subscribers get 25,000 words for free. Check it out at the link.
3 - If you’re interested in 1:1 personalized ads at scale, check out Karrot.ai. Put the newsletter as your lead source when you sign up and you’ll skip the waitlist.
4 - My agency Single Grain is offering free marketing plans to Leveling Up newsletter subscribers, check it out here.
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