3 ways to beat AI at SEO in 2025

Yesterday, we talked about why organic search traffic is tanking for most companies. Quick recap: AI search tools like Google’s AI Overviews, Perplexity, and ChatGPT are eating up traffic. At the same time, a lot of companies are stuck using old-school SEO hacks, writing low-value content, and chasing the wrong keywords. That’s a perfect storm for losing 20-40% of your traffic.

But SEO isn’t dead—it’s just got higher standards. Let’s talk about 3 ways to fix it.

1. Skip the Fluffy Top-of-Funnel Stuff

Most companies love churning out high-level, top-of-funnel content like “What is Cloud Security?” or “Why Data Privacy Matters.” The problem? AI can summarize that in two sentences, and no one clicks.

Instead, go deeper. Write more specific, harder-to-summarize content like “5 Steps to Lock Down Your Cloud Security” or “The Hidden Data Leaks in Your SaaS Stack.” These posts pull in long-tail searches, which are now the majority of organic traffic.

This doesn’t mean you should ditch top-of-funnel content completely. But if your content calendar (you do have one, right?) is full of high-level, easily-Googleable topics, trim it down. Focus more on middle- and bottom-of-funnel content that AI can’t fully replace and that actually converts.

2. Write More EEAT Content

Google is ranking content differently now. It prioritizes Expert, Experienced, Authoritative, and Trustworthy (EEAT) content. Translation: If your site is full of generic AI-generated word salad, Google is actively burying it.

If you’re not sure what EEAT is, just Google it. The takeaway? Expertise wins.

A study by Orbit Media found that experienced writers average 1,400 words per post—and that’s what we target for our clients’ content. But we’re also writing a lot of 2,000+ word pieces because depth matters. That doesn’t mean you should just write long for the sake of it. The goal is to add more value—real expertise, real insights, real engagement. That’s what gets shared, linked to, and ranked.

3. Check What’s Trending—And Pivot

SEO trends shift. A few years ago, “how-to” content was the king of search. Now? It’s oversaturated. If you’ve been relying on “how-to” articles and your traffic is dropping, that’s probably why.

Solution: Be more niche. Don’t just write generic “how to” content. Write highly specific guides that AI can’t generate on its own. And most importantly—watch where your audience is moving.

Use SEO tools and Google Trends to track demand. Answer today’s questions before someone else does. Go deeper, go specific, and go where AI can’t.

SEO’s Not Dead—It Just Got Harder

If your traffic is down, it’s not because SEO stopped working. The rules flipped. AI and Google have raised the bar.

• Pivot to specific, niche content

• Write in-depth, expert-driven posts

• Follow trends and stay ahead of shifts

The data backs it up. Forbes says 74% of companies using content marketing see lead generation success. The strategy still works—if you do it right.

Need help? Shoot me an email. Otherwise, see you tomorrow with more.