Clicks through organic traffic are declining, and AI overviews are taking over the SERPs. The old playbooks are falling short, leaving many SEOs scrambling for new strategies that work.
At our July 2025 Sip & Search meetup in London, we tackled these hard truths head-on with an expert panel featuring Crystal Carter from Wix, Ryan Law from Ahrefs, and ecommerce SEO consultant Luke Carthy.
We discussed what still works and what needs to be retired in an AI-first marketing world.
This post breaks down the key takeaways from that conversation.
You’ll walk away with fresh tactics, hard-won insights, and a roadmap for making your brand visible and valuable in the future of search.
1. SEO isn’t dead, but your strategy might be
The panel made one thing clear: SEO isn’t obsolete, but the tactics that once defined it are no longer enough.
Ryan Law of Ahrefs emphasized that many LLMs still rely on traditional search engines like Google and Bing for grounding. That means high-ranking content, quality backlinks, and technical SEO remain foundational, but only effective if they serve real user value.
As Ryan put it, “If you rank well in search, that still improves your visibility in LLMs.”
Emina Demiri, Head of Digital Marketing at Vixen Digital challenged the very idea of “traditional SEO.”
She argued that SEO has never been about just one channel. The fundamentals, clear information architecture, user-centric content, and strategic targeting still apply.
What’s changed is how we measure success and the silos we need to break down.
Tom Capper of Moz put it bluntly: “Traditional SEO was dead by 2018.” You can no longer win just by doing one thing well.
Today, success demands a strong brand, a differentiated product, and true connection with your audience, far beyond title tags and keyword density.
2. Traffic isn’t just from Google anymore
If your strategy still revolves solely around Google, you’re already behind. Crystal Carter of Wix pointed out that users move fluidly across TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, TripAdvisor, and Stack Overflow, depending on their needs.
“Good SEOs go where their audience already is,” she said. Social insights can and should shape your search content, creating a feedback loop that sharpens performance across channels.
Luke Carthy took it further: “Decouple clicks from revenue.” Conversions still count, even when traffic drops.
He then advises folks to:
- Focus on what drives revenue and not clicks alone. Declining traffic doesn’t matter if the money keeps coming in
- Use tools like SparkToro to find where your audience spends time
- Tailor content to each platform instead of copy-pasting across channels
- Build unique landing pages by channel to boost relevance and conversions
- Apply paid media discipline to organic and don’t send all traffic to one generic page
Visibility today means meeting your audience wherever they are, and giving them a reason to engage.
3. AI visibility is driven by brand affinity
Getting found in AI search goes beyond keyword research and dials in more on clear signals, structured data, and distinct brand identity.
Crystal Carter broke it down. Brand mentions, schema markup, and entity clarity are critical even as LLMs pull from the SERP. If your content shows up clearly with structure, it’s more likely to be cited or featured,” she explained.
OpenAI’s own shopping features, for example, rely heavily on schema.
Her advice:
- Use schema markup to define your content clearly for AI and search engines
- Get brand mentions on relevant, high-authority sites, mentions matter as much as links now
- Define your entities, be specific about who you are, what you offer, and where you’re based
- Avoid generic positioning “award-winning agency in the UK” won’t cut it
- Align mentions with your identity. Being cited in Wired helps and aligns with your identity if you’re a tech brand; Better Homes & Gardens’ mentions won’t
LLMs won’t surface you if they can’t confidently differentiate your brand from others. Specificity, clarity, and relevance are your edge.
4. Evergreen content wins in an AI-first world
AI is flooding the web with low-value content, and many brands are falling into the trap of publishing for volume instead of value.
Ryan Law of Ahrefs called it out clearly: “I’m seeing companies churn out 20,000-word, keyword-crammed nonsense just to get cited by LLMs. It’s garbage, and it won’t work for long.”
Instead, he recommends focusing on what AI cannot replicate:
- Create original research that others need to reference
- Be a primary source by adding new data or insight
- Write from experience to show depth and credibility
- Use unique formats or tone to stand out
- Prioritize quality over short-term hacks
According to him, one of Ahrefs’ most successful posts last year had no SEO value. It was a research piece on AI click-through rates that earned over 100,000 visits from genuine interest.
If you want people and LLMs to reference your work, create content they cannot find anywhere else.
5. New KPIs for AI-era SEO
Now with AI-powered search, traditional metrics like keyword rankings don’t tell the full story. Crystal Carter outlined the new signals SEOs should start tracking.
“Brand mentions are the new keyword rankings,” she explained. Where and how often your brand appears matters more than ever, especially in trusted, relevant contexts.
Here’s what to measure:
- Brand mentions across forums, articles, and AI outputs
- Citation quality including prominence and accuracy of the source
- Link relevance to ensure they align with your brand’s expertise
- Bot activity including visits from AI search and training bots
- Homepage performance since bots often crawl it more than any other page
She also pointed out a key behavior she observed: OpenAI bots visit the homepage up to three times more than other pages. That makes it a critical asset for LLM visibility.
To succeed in AI search, track what influences discovery and relevance, not just what ranks.
6. Reddit and UGC platforms as AI search powerhouses
If you want visibility in AI search, start thinking beyond your own website. Ryan Law made one thing clear: “Reddit shows up everywhere.”
Reddit and other UGC platforms like Quora are valuable because they host authentic, user-driven content. Marketers who try to game the system will get shut down fast.
Ryan’s advice for doing it right:
- Earn trust by sharing useful content, promotional second
- Invest in Reddit community through moderation, contribution, or engagement
- Earn organic mentions by solving real problems and sharing genuinely helpful content
- Use forums to validate ideas and gather insights before scaling content
At Ahrefs, team members like Patrick Stox actively moderate key subreddits like technical SEO. That presence builds brand visibility and credibility without spamming.
If AI search values Reddit, your brand should too. Just show up the right way.
7. The rise of AI agents and the future of search
Search is no longer just a query box and 10 blue links. AI agents are reshaping how people discover, compare, and buy without ever visiting a traditional website.
Rejoice Ojiaku, Co-Founder at B-DigitalUK, shared how her team is using AI agents to scale thought leadership in B2B. They create content that mirrors real stakeholder behavior and voice by embedding brand tone and decision-making logic into these agents.
Dave Cousin, SEO and Migration Consultant at DavetheSEO, added a user-first perspective. Imagine telling ChatGPT, “Find the best laptop for under $1,000 with long battery life,” and having the entire purchase journey handled by an AI assistant.
That future is closer than we think.
To prepare for this shift, brands must:
- Optimize structured data so AI agents can understand and surface product details
- Ensure backend accessibility through tools like Google Merchant Center and schema markup
- Think beyond the website and into the AI-driven buyer journey
- Watch trends in China where Baidu already generates video responses directly from trusted content creators
As Luke Carthy warned, we’re approaching a point where SEO may no longer look like the familiar SEO tactics. The rules are changing, and brands that adapt early will lead.
SEO won’t stop evolving
This is the time for AI-enhanced search engine optimization.
The tactics have evolved, including AI agents, brand mentions, Reddit threads, and structured data, but the mission stays the same: reach your audience, deliver real value, and adapt faster than the algorithms.
Traditional SEO won’t get you there on its own. To stay visible, lead with strategy, focus on your audience, update your playbook, create content that matters, build visibility that sticks, and execute with intent.
Want to stay ahead of the curve? Join us at the next Sip & Search meetup and keep the conversation going.
Deborah Oyewole
Deborah is a content strategist for SaaS brands. She’s an addictive learner who brings her spark of curiosity to the content and SEO space, helping brands create content that drives engagement and conversion.
When Deborah isn’t writing or optimizing websites for search visibility, you’ll likely find her experimenting with new cooking recipes or curled up with a good book.
