Write for people, not machines
(the way it always should have been)
Industry insights
The fall of the house of SEO?
It sounds almost dramatic, doesn’t it? A bit like The Fall of the House of Usher: something old, decaying, collapsing under its own weight after years of ignoring the cracks in the foundation. And maybe that comparison isn’t so far-fetched. SEO, as we knew it, has been creaking and squeaking for a while. Algorithms shifted, behaviours changed, yet many clung on to the old ways. But the house is crumbling now. Quietly, steadily, undeniably. Not overnight. Not with a loud bang. But slowly, methodically, until you look around and realise: the structure we built on keywords and rankings no longer holds.
After more than 25 years in digital marketing, I can say this without hesitation: SEO was never meant to be writing for search engines. And if you did, you were mainly writing for yourself, not for your customer. You were stuck using outdated tricks to get higher in Google, instead of thinking about what your customers actually want to read.
And let’s be honest: was your goal to rank high in Google or to get more leads and customers?
your customers
Because let’s face it: have you ever spoken to a genuinely interested customer who got excited about a so-called “SEO-optimised” text? You know the type. The exact keyword over and over again, headings clearly written for robots, and the content itself… well, boring, and the content lacks any form of personality.
It’s unreadable. You lose interest. You feel it immediately: this wasn’t written for me, it’s meant for an algorithm. Or an alien. This is precisely where you see the difference between companies that’ve spent the past few years writing for people… and the ones that are still stuck writing for search engines.
I see it every day. Just yesterday, I was looking for a shop in the UK. On the service page of the website, they had crammed the name of their city into every sentence. It was unreadable. I could almost feel the desperation dripping off the screen. Sure, they might be ranking well (for now). But they didn’t take me seriously. They weren’t writing for me. As an international customer, I always look at the” trust signs”. As they differ in every country, this took some time, given the hidden address and over-the-top mentioning of their city on one page; you did not convince me. I went somewhere else.
Perhaps this was a scam site, but quite often I meet business owners who are serious about their company, doing exactly the same as this site I visited. If I ask them why, the most common answer is that it is on the recommendation of their marketing agency. As they lack the knowledge, they completely trust them, even if this is not appropriate.
What is happening now?
The SEO world is being turned upside down. Google is completely revamping its search results. Those new AI overviews provide answers at a glance. No need to click on a website and have a look to see if they might have the answer. “Heaven for users.” Marketeers might feel it is entirely otherwise and panic. Just look at your own analytics. Less traffic from Google. Fewer leads from organic visits. Less impact from your once “great” rankings.
New Normal
Zero-click is simply the new normal. You might still be number one, but no one is clicking anymore. People have already found their answer on Google’s page.
Now, everyone is trying to find out how to rank on the first page with GEO (General Engine Optimisation) or AIO (Artificial Intelligence Optimisation). But with the wheel of innovation turning faster and faster, change is that they are optimising for a past already gone.
What some people might not realise is that Google is indexing fewer pages these days. Check your Search Console. What percentage of your pages is still included? And which ones are left out? Often, the answer is simple. Good, original, relevant content stays. Those old SEO-trick pages? They’re being ignored.
Always write for people
That’s why I’ve been saying it for years: write for people. Always write for people. Companies that just did that are doing fine. They didn’t write for Google. They write for their customers. Real questions, real stories, genuine connection. And you can see it in the results. Loyal customers. A strong reputation. And a foundation that’s not shaken every time Google decides to move the goalposts.
People are reading their answers directly in AI tools or in search results. They no longer need to visit your site. So yes, you’re still findable. But you’re less measurable. That asks for a change in thinking.
Findable, but not measurable
I see it with my own clients. SEO traffic is declining. The number of clicks from Google is going down. But interestingly, many of their pages are still being indexed. They are still findable. Only, the result is not always measurable through clicks.
Zero-click has become the new normal. You may still be number 1, but no one is clicking on your link anymore. Searchers can already find the answer they are looking for on Google. More and more often, people read the answer to their question in an AI tool or directly in the search results. They simply no longer end up on your site. So you are still visible, but less often measurable. And that requires a different way of thinking.
If you’re accustomed to steering your marketing based on microdata, this might feel uncomfortable. A lot of SEO data is simply disappearing. There is no indication that this will change anytime soon.
But is that such a bad thing? I don’t think so. What you’re now seeing on a larger scale has always been there. People don’t just look for answers online. They ask other people. Word of mouth. Advice from a colleague. A tip from someone in a network. And none of that was ever measurable either. But it worked, didn’t it?
What does this mean for your marketing?
So what does this mean for your marketing? How do you know whether it’s working if you can’t measure every step?
I can tell you this: companies that want to know precisely where every click comes from will likely shift more towards advertising. Google Ads, social ads… You pay for visitors, and you can measure them. That’s how it works.
But there’s another way. A method that surprisingly resembles how we used to do it. Back in the days when we didn’t expect to trace every single click, as long as the right people found their way to us. How does that work exactly? That’s something for another blog. If you’d like to know more, please keep reading and sign up for my newsletter. I’ll come back on this one.
The bigger shift is this: you now need to look at marketing differently. SEO isn’t dead. But it’s no longer the leading actor in this story. It plays a supporting role in a much bigger picture. Learn to look at this from a broader perspective.
From search engine to community
People are searching for answers in communities. Online, sure: Reddit, Slack, Discord, niche forums. But also offline. Yes, offline. Even the young and digital generations: Talking to friends, in a waiting room, at the car wash, in a magazine, in a conversation at the schoolyard, at work or the bus stop. Offline marketing isn’t making a quiet comeback; it was always already there.
It’s Human First! The customer journey is long. Maybe less predictable. We’re meeting people in person. At trade fairs. Networking events. Seminars. And yes, bring your business cards. Not because it’s trendy, but because it works. A card is easy to keep, easy to remember. A LinkedIn connection? Lost among hundreds, especially if you’ve both forgotten why you connected in the first place.
AI? Yes, but you should remain the decision-maker.
To clarify, I’m not opposed to AI. I like using it myself. But in its place. AI is, of course, an enormous computing power for your data analyses. For content creation, AI is like a good intern for me. Let it search, collect, and set up initially. That’s useful and efficient.
But the real work? The nuance, the tone of voice, the creativity, the relevance to your specific target audience? My personal, strange ways my brain works; those remain human work. Always. If you forget that, you’ll end up writing content that no one cares about. No AI, no human. Just noise.
What to do about your strategy?
- Stop writing for algorithms. Start (or continue) writing for people.
- Work on real communities. Online and offline.
- Build your network, not just your content.
- Stay creative. Stay original. Stay real.
- See AI as a tool, not a holy grail and not as an enemy.
Summary in one sentence:
Google is changing. People are not.
Trust, connection and real value remain what attract people. Not keywords. Not AI. Not tricks.
(This article is written for businesses that have outsourced their digital marketing and are wondering what is happening now, for agencies that still sell keywords and are losing customers. It’s not for the die-hard SEO who’s been on top of all this a long time. I know this is not breaking news, but there are many people out there who have never heard anything about the changes coming over us now.)