Quo vadis, SEO? A look into the future of search engine optimization

Search engine optimization, or rather the optimization of websites for better performance in search engines, has been around pretty much as long as there have been search engines. So since around the middle/end of the 1990s.

In all this time, web search has been subject to constant development and evolution, and apart from a few basics, Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex and all their many friends and relatives have little to do with the first search engines.

In recent weeks and months, however, there has been an increasing number of voices (again, more on this later) proclaiming that web search as we know it is coming to an end, or at least facing a fundamental change that will affect everything. You can tell from my wording that this is not the first time.

Due to the quite remarkable changes and developments in recent times, it still makes sense to get out the SEO glass ball and take a look into the future. Unlike in previous articles, we don’t just want to look at the next few weeks and months, but also beyond – and, of course, consider how these possible developments will influence our work as an SEM agency.

Since its emergence in the late 1990s, search engine optimization (SEO) has changed dramatically. Originally, SEO was limited to basic measures such as keyword integration and the accumulation of backlinks in order to achieve a high ranking in the search results.

The result was often poor quality search results that didn’t help anyone with their unreadable texts and collections of links.

This changed with the first major updates to search engine algorithms, which demanded higher quality and relevance of content. Over time, these algorithms have become increasingly sophisticated, turning SEO into a complex discipline that requires a deep understanding of user experience, content quality and technical aspects of website design.

In recent years, a number of key trends have emerged that will continue to shape SEO. These include the increasing importance of mobile optimization, local search engine optimization and the integration of artificial intelligence into search algorithms.

These developments require constant adaptation and further training of SEO experts in order to meet the dynamic requirements of search engines and users. In the following sections, we will take a closer look at these current trends and analyze how they will shape the future of search engine optimization.

In this section, we look at the most important factors currently influencing search results and forcing the evolution of search and web optimization. Please note that these factors are not to be understood individually, but also influence and complement each other.

The role of artificial intelligence (AI) in SEO has developed significantly in recent years and will continue to grow in importance.

Innovations such as the Google Search Generative Experience (SGE), an advanced technology for interactive and context-related search results, are at the forefront of this. The SBU, which creates an intuitive search experience by integrating AI and machine learning, can revolutionize the way information is searched and found.

Generative AI is also an important current trend in its own right. It is used in tools such as ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. These AI models are able to generate content that is optimized for both human readers and search engines and offer new opportunities for SEO strategies.

For example, they can help with the creation of texts, the analysis of keyword trends and the development of content strategies.

For a deeper insight into the development of the Search Generative Experience, I recommend our
Slowblog about SGE
.

However, all previous applications of AI in the context of web search also show that human expertise and creativity are still required to achieve really good results. I don’t expect this to change any time soon, but increasingly powerful AI tools will have a lasting impact on search itself as well as search results.

You may have wondered why E-EAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust) was not included in the algorithm changes. The main reason for this is that we consider the factor to be so important that it needs its own paragraph.

It is therefore important to create consistently high-quality and, above all, technically robust content on your own focus topics for a good E-EAT assessment.

This tells both users and search engines that it is a trustworthy source.

E-EAT is an essential evaluation factor, especially for “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) topics, i.e. everything relating to finance or health and medicine. Websites that do not have a high rating will usually not be able to achieve good rankings for these topics.

With the increasing integration of AI into search functions, the importance of E-EAT will continue to grow. These tools will be trained to recognize trustworthy and reliable sources and give preference to their content.

A significant change is taking place in commercial SEO due to the increasing integration of AI in search. In e-commerce in particular, search results are shifting away from content and organic traffic towards conversions, some of which take place entirely in search.

Especially when it comes to buying products or booking services, the Search Generative Experience offers a way to see, compare and purchase the best results directly in the dialog box.

The target website is then not visited, which is also referred to as zero-click conversions.

For companies that have so far relied heavily on content to attract visitors to their store, this can become a problem – depending on how much their target group uses AI-supported search. This will require a change in strategy towards clear, structured data and information that is easy for AI to understand.

For products and services that rely on detailed explanations and descriptions, less will change. And for companies that already rely on clear, concise information and already work with structured data, the change in search can even have a positive impact.

A clear brand message, trustworthy content and unambiguous offers are crucial for continued success.

In practice, this means that companies need to adapt their SEO and content strategies to be present not only in traditional search results, but also in the dynamic responses generated by AI. A strong, clearly communicated brand that is able to respond directly to users’ needs and questions will be the key to success in this new era of search engine optimization.

When optimizing for information-oriented questions, high-quality content remains the be-all and end-all. With the increasing integration of AI into search, the creation of content that is valuable for both users and AI is coming to the fore.

By paying attention to these core elements, you can ensure that your content remains relevant in the long term and is appreciated by both human users and AI systems.

This turns your content into indispensable resources in AI-supported search that offer real added value and generate continuous traffic.

Local optimization is an essential part of marketing for all companies that have a local connection. This method is not new, but with new search functions it has taken on additional and current importance.

This includes in particular the use of structured data and the updating of local information in order to improve findability and visibility in local search results.

Structured data plays a central role by providing search engines with detailed information about your business, such as opening hours, location and services. This information is important in order to be listed correctly in the search results.

Local information must always be kept up to date. The consistency of your business data across different platforms is of the utmost importance. A uniform presentation of name, address and telephone number strengthens the local ranking and trustworthiness with potential customers.

In practice, this means that companies need to proactively manage their online presence to meet the changing demands of search engine optimization.

Investing in local SEO is a strategic decision that not only improves your current positioning, but also lays a solid foundation for future growth in the local environment.

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Search engine optimization is on the verge of revolutionary developments, driven by advanced technologies and innovative tools.

We are at the beginning of an era where SEO is not just about ranking in search results, but also about creating content that appeals to both human readers and AI-based systems.

Advanced content tools based on AI enable the production of high-quality, relevant and personalized content in a fraction of the time it used to take.

This is already a reality today. ChatGPT, Google Bard and other tools make it possible to design texts or generate images in a short time. As a rule, these are not yet ready to be published. But even today, this can save around 40% of the time a content creator needs to research and prepare a text. The time saved is either used for additional projects or can be invested in fine-tuning the content – thus increasing the efficiency and quality of the results.

In the future, these tools, as well as AI-supported search engines, will be much more powerful than they are today.

Increasingly efficient tools that deliver ever better content will enable even more savings in the future. I don’t expect human labor to be completely replaced by AI.

However, I suspect that in the future we will mainly be left with managing and instructing the AI as well as quality assurance and creative finalization, while the technology takes over the time-consuming tasks of research, planning and draft writing.

Another exciting field is new technologies that are currently still in their infancy or seem like science fiction.

Some of these technologies have long been expected to change the digital landscape, but this effect has yet to materialize. Nevertheless, augmented reality and other seemingly futuristic ideas have a lot of potential.

They complement the “real”, analog world with digital tools and create an integrated experience in which the transition from one area to the other is smooth and natural.

Digital assistants are a goal that has been a vision since the advent of voice assistants. These would combine the gimmick of the voice assistant with the impressive capabilities of generative AI and modern search engines to create a true, new understanding of digital search.

While these technologies still seem visionary today, they could be an integral part of SEO strategies in a few years’ time.

Web search is changing. At the moment, these changes are still quite manageable, but even today it can be difficult to keep track of the sometimes very rapid developments.

This is why most SEO agencies and freelancers attach great importance to staying up to date.

But where will these changes lead? Will web search, and with it the discipline of search engine optimization, disappear, as some people have been saying for some time (“SEO is dead”)?

I think that’s doom and gloom. As long as people use the Internet to search for information, products and services, there will also be an effort to place your own content and offers prominently in searches.

But the tasks of SEOs have evolved significantly in recent years from what was common practice at the beginning of search engines.

This change will accelerate as a result of the expected rapid developments ahead of us. It may well be that in just a few years’ time, we will experience web search in a completely different way than we do today.

The ability to adapt quickly to these changes and take advantage of the opportunities they present will be critical to being successful in the future of search engine optimization.

This applies not only to agencies and freelancers, but also to companies and private individuals who are trying to be successful through SEO.

Web search is changing.

AI tools and changing user behavior are ensuring that this change is progressing ever faster.

This certainly does not mean that search engine optimization is becoming unimportant or even obsolete. But it requires optimizers and website operators to adapt their way of thinking and working.

It is not possible today to make a definitive statement about what the search will look like in five or ten years’ time. This was already the case in the past (which of course did not stop some experts from proclaiming the revolutionary effects of new tools such as voice search).

But today we are confronted with a series of parallel developments which, perhaps not individually, but in combination, can and will have a lasting impact on search.

SEO therefore remains an exciting field of work, with new challenges, but also new opportunities for organic and sustainable growth.