#SEO, also known as search engine optimization, is arguably the most confusing and ever-changing field of marketing. No one knows what works and what does not. SEO has become even more confusing in 2025 after the introduction of #AI_search and AI-based search functions.
Most people, even seasoned SEO experts, are confused, how to adapt to the quick changes in SEO. The sad part is, the so-called SEO experts are bringing people into believing in bad SEO practices. People who don’t know much about SEO follow these experts’ advice and end up hurting their search ranking. I have seen countless examples of YouTube tutorials telling how you can create 100s of articles using AI and rank on Google. In reality, the AI-generated content does not even get indexed anymore.
In this article, I will answer the question everyone is asking: Is SEO dead? Should you spend time, resources, and money on SEO in 2025? And what should you do to the new age of SEO?
Is SEO Dead? The Short Answer?
The short answer to the question is “No, SEO is not dead,” But its value in digital marketing has dropped considerably. Secondly, the line between SEO and marketing is closing. Previously, SEO was a key part of online marketing. It was the top contributor to digital marketing. However, in 2025, it has been replaced by the AI search, Forums, Videos, and paid marketing like #Google_Ads.
Let me explain with an example. Let’s search for “Google Pixel 10 phone review” on Google. If you had done this search back in 2019, the top 10 results would have been blog articles and a few videos. However, in 2025, the search results are Videos, Reddit Threads, Store Product pages, and NEWS articles.
You will also notice that we do not have Rich results in search anymore. The Google AI Overview has replaced it. If you search for products, let’s say iPhone 15 on Google, you will see product pages and discussion forum results.
From the examples above, it is safe to say that a lot has changed in the search engines since the inception of AI and AI-based searches. This has also changed the way SEO works. The new gen of people are more reliant on AI search rather than visiting websites and spending time reading entire content to find something.
The Dead Cells of SEO? Which SEO aspects are dead?
Many aspects of SEO have been mass deprecated, and it is still not done. What used to be the crown jewels of the search engines, like Google(like rich results, sitelink search, Schema, etc) have been mostly dropped from the search results. Furthermore, the content types appearing in the search results have been largely changed. Here are some of the SEO tactics that are no longer relevant in modern SEO –
How to Rich Results
Remember when you used to search for a question like “How to optimize a website for SEO,” and Google used to show a rich result on top of the search showing the most relevant answer. That is no longer supported. This feature was deprecated in September 2023 from desktop search and in August 2023 from mobile search.
Sitelink Searchbox
The sitelink search box was also deprecated from Google search by the end of 2024. It was also removed from the Rich results test as well as Google Search Console.
Schema Markups
The biggest victim of the rise of AI search is the schema markup. What once used to be the secret weapon of SEO experts is slowly being removed from the search. It is now replaced by a much accurate and reliable AI overview. Several schema types have been deprecated in the past 2-3 years, such as
- Course Info
- Claim Review
- Legacy Review
- How To
- FAQ Page
- Sitelink Search box
- Book Action
- Estimated Salary
- Learning Video
- Special Announcement
- Vehicle Listing
Mass Content Production
For a long time, platforms like Article Forge were able to generate mass content, humanize it using platforms, and generate mass articles. This tactic was used for a long time to get more traffic and revenue. However, all of it has become a dead tactic overnight as Google and other search engines have become way too smart in detecting mass low-quality content. All websites that used to post such content fell out of Google search’s grace within days.
Blogs and Articles
I remember a few years back when the search rankings for SEO related keywords used to be filled with pages from Ubersuggest, Backlinko, Search Engine Journal, and other platforms. Now that has changed. Blog websites that used to be the darling of search engines have been replaced by platforms like Reddit, YouTube, TikTok, and Forum websites. Since Forums and video-sharing platforms have more user-generated content than blogs, search engines started preferring them more.
Expired Domain
One of the shortcuts people used to follow to get instant top rankings in search was to use an expired domain with a high DA, PA score for their new website. Google is more strict towards the intent of such 301 redirects and gives a penalty to websites that use such domains to get backlinks.
Generative Engine Optimization – The New Element of SEO
SEO is now being replaced by AI search. AI search is more beneficial for people searching for answers online. Henceforth, the new way of search optimization is also coming into practice. This new optimization practice is called generative engine optimization or GEO.
In GEO, we prioritize AI search engines and optimize the content and SEO for AI search engines and AI overviews. The content is more optimized for web fetching and AI crawlers. Precision and Expertise are preferred over keyword stuffing and rich content. User-generated content is given priority in search over AI-generated content. Conversation-based content like forum posts, threads, and videos is getting better search ranking over the old article-type content.
Structured data is widely used in the GEO for AI overviews and AI search.
Should you spend Time, Money, and Resources on SEO in 2025?
Now, let us come to the question that matters the most for you! Should you spend time, money, and resources on SEO in 2025? The answer is yes, but do it in moderation. Spending your long hours and hundreds and thousands of dollars on SEO would have made sense in the pre-AI era. However, it is no longer needed.
The reason? You will not get as many results relevant to your efforts. Take the previous example of Google search, you hire a writer to write a review blog article on the Google Pixel 10 and pay him $100. You search on Google to look for the article, but the top search results are already occupied by pages from YouTube and Reddit.
Wouldn’t it be wiser to directly put an honest opinion on the Reddit post or create a YouTube video on it to get a better ranking? What I am trying to say is, you should make your SEO decision based on the search engine. Even the most popular blog websites are seeing a sharp decline in their organic traffic, as the blog content is not ranking that much. On the other hand, putting your marketing effort on Reddit, TikTok, and YouTube is more beneficial.
That does not mean that you should not work on SEO at all. You still need good content on your website, need good backlinks, and technical SEO; however, focus more on the accuracy and expertise of content and promote your content on Reddit and YouTube instead. Writing a guest blog is still good for both SEO and GEO.
Conclusion
Let’s conclude the blog with a summary of what you have learned so far. SEO is not dead; it has evolved like a Pokémon into GEO or generative engine optimization. The new SEO is more inclined towards expertise and precise answers, relevant content, and AI-optimized content.
Content types such as Forum posts, threads, videos, shorts, or anything that has a more human element in it are preferred in search ranking over articles. While schema and structured data are being phased out from the search, they are still being used in training AI and AI search, so do not remove them.