For years, digital marketers and business owners have relied on search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search advertising to drive traffic, leads, and sales. However, a recent analysis by Seer Interactive has unveiled a dramatic decline in both organic and paid click-through rates (CTR) on Google; a shift that should have every marketing executive rethinking their strategy.
According to Search Engine Land, Seer Interactive’s study of 10,000 informational intent keywords ranking in the top 20 positions revealed that:
- Organic CTR dropped from 1.41% to 0.64% year-over-year when Google’s AI Overviews were present.
- Organic CTR actually increased when AI Overviews were not present, suggesting that Google’s AI summaries are absorbing clicks that would have gone to traditional search results.
- Paid CTR also declined, regardless of whether an AI Overview appeared in search results.
- However, brands featured in AI Overviews saw a lift in both organic and paid CTR, suggesting that visibility in AI-generated responses may be the new key to success.
The Bigger Picture: Search Volume Is Dropping
In addition to declining CTRs, research conducted by Content Engagement Lab suggests a deeper issue:
“Search volume itself may be down almost 38.3% across the board for a company’s targeted keywords,” says Chris Bernard, an 18-year veteran of digital marketing and AI-Forward Marketing and Sales Consultant at Content Engagement Lab.
This means fewer people are even searching for the queries businesses have traditionally relied on to drive traffic and conversions. The game is changing, and marketers who fail to adapt will see diminishing returns.
A New Approach to SEO: Training AI to Work for You
If Google is evolving beyond traditional search results, then businesses must evolve their marketing strategies accordingly. That means not just optimizing for search engines but actively training AI models to understand and promote your business.
“A new approach is necessary,” says Bernard. “One that literally trains the LLM (large language model) to:
1. Verify what it knows – Ensure the AI has accurate, up-to-date information about your company.
2. Understand its ranking criteria – Determine what factors influence visibility for your specific products and services.
3. Learn what it needs to know – Provide the AI with the right content and context to position your brand effectively.
4. Commit the new knowledge to memory – Ensure the AI retains this information for current and future search models.
This AI-driven strategy isn’t just a response to declining search traffic – it’s an opportunity to redefine how businesses establish authority, attract customers, and dominate digital visibility in an AI-first search landscape.
Get a Complimentary AI-Forward Search Strategy Review
If your business is seeing declining SEO and paid search performance, it’s time for a new approach.
Chris Bernard and the team at Content Engagement Lab specialize in AI-forward marketing strategies that ensure your brand stays ahead of Google’s evolving algorithms.
Schedule a complimentary review today – email Chris Bernard at chris@contentengagementlab.com to discuss how AI can be leveraged for your business.
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