Ah, SEO. What fun.

Keeping up with Google has always been a bit of a game. Things were actually making good sense for a while — stop keyword stuffing, start writing valuable content, and the search gods will smile upon you. Sweet!

But then AI came along. And now Google is serving up AI-produced answers to queries at the top of the search results. No need to click through to an actual website to get the answer to your question.

So… does this mean we shouldn’t even bother creating content any more?

No, and here's why.

SEO may not actually be relevant for your business.

Do you need to attract hundreds or thousands of visitors to your website to sell widgets? Nope.

As a small service-based business, your website isn’t about mass traffic—it’s about being a trusted landing place. It should give potential clients a place to learn more after they hear about you through referrals, social media, or word of mouth.

Your content isn’t about chasing clicks—it’s about staying connected with and nurturing your small but valuable audience.

Should your website have basic SEO so people can find you when they Google your business name? Absolutely.

But for businesses like yours, cranking out keyword-stuffed blog posts in hopes of ranking for random search queries isn’t the point.

So what is?

Why writing content still matters

Here are the four reasons I still do what I do, and don’t throw in the towel and go back to school to follow a completely different career path. I really believe these are true and effective reasons to keep writing, honing, posting, and sharing.

Strong content builds trust. It nurtures prospects from awareness to decision, positioning you as an expert without sounding salesy. It also strengthens relationships with collaborators, referral partners, and colleagues.
Clarity in writing leads to clarity in business. The process of developing your website copy or writing articles isn’t just about marketing — it’s about defining your business more clearly for yourself. Knowing what you stand for helps your business function efficiently and purposefully.
It attracts the right people. If your messaging is vague, your standards will be too. The right words set the right expectations, drawing in the clients and projects that allow you to do your best work.
Thought leadership sharpens your thinking. Writing about your work forces you to articulate your ideas, making you even better at what you do and positioning you as a leader in your field.

A case in point: this article.

For example, I’m not writing this article because I think someone might search, “If SEO is dead, do I still need content?” and find this article, then browse my website and reach out.

I’m writing this article because it’s useful information for the types of clients I work with. I’m going to share it with my email subscribers and LinkedIn followers, in the hope that it informs, inspires, builds trust in my expertise, and keeps me and my services top of mind. Oh — and actually helps people!

SEO may be dead (in the way we’ve thought about it lo these many years), but rest assured that writing, communicating, educating, and nurturing are not.