Reputable research firm Gartner recently predicted that “traditional search engine volume will decline by 25% and search marketing will lose market share to AI chatbots and other virtual agents.” When we asked SEOs what they thought, only 20% of SEOs thought search volume would remain the same until 2026.
“Organic and paid search are important channels for technology marketers seeking to achieve awareness and demand generation goals,” said Alan Antin, vice president analyst at Gartner. “Generative AI (GenAI) solutions are becoming an alternative answer engine to user queries that were previously performed in traditional search engines. As GenAI becomes more integrated into every aspect of the enterprise, They will be forced to rethink their marketing channel strategies.”
I posted a survey on X When we asked SEO professionals, almost 40% of them felt that search volume would drop by 25% or more by 2026. Less than 20% of SEOs said that by 2026, there would be no change at all.
Here's the poll:
How much do you think search volume will decline by 2026? Based on today's Gartner forecast news…
— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) February 19, 2024
So I joked with Google's John Mueller that by 2026, SEO will be over 25% dead. answered:
Of course, things change. His great SEO thrives on change and is smart and resilient. Creating high-quality, technically sound sites that provide value to businesses and all web users is not easy, but it will continue to be important.
I agree with this too, I always say it here. What his SEO was doing 20 years ago is very different from what his SEO is doing today. What SEO is doing in 5 years will be different than what he is doing now. SEO adapts quickly and adapts well.
Otherwise, you are doomed. 🙂
Forum discussion X.