The other day, Gartner, a respected research firm, predicted that “traditional search engine volume will drop by 25%, with search marketing losing market share to AI chatbots and other virtual agents.” So I asked SEOs what they think and only 20% of SEOs believe that search volume will not change in 2026.
“Organic and paid search are vital channels for technology marketers looking to achieve awareness and demand generation goals,” said Alan Antin, vice president analyst at Gartner. “Generative AI (GenAI) solutions are becoming surrogate answer engines, replacing user queries that could previously be run on traditional search engines. This will force companies to rethink their marketing channel strategy in as GenAI becomes more embedded in all aspects of the enterprise.”
I posted a poll on X asking SEOs and nearly 40% of SEOs felt that search volume will drop 25% or more in 2026. Less than 20% of SEOs said it will not change at all in 2026.
Here is the survey:
How much do you think search volume will drop in 2026? based on today’s Gartner forecast news…
— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) February 19, 2024
So I joked to Google’s John Mueller that SEO will be 25% dead by 2026. In which John answered:
Of course, things will change and good SEOs thrive on change, are smart and resilient. Creating great, technically well-made, quality sites that bring value to businesses and all web users is not easy, and will continue to be important.
I agree with that, I say it all the time here. What SEOs did 20 years ago is very different from what SEOs do today. What SEOs will be doing in 5 years will be different than what they are doing today. SEOs adapt quickly and adapt well.
If not, you’re doomed. 🙂
Discussion in the forum a X.
[ad_2]
Source link
