SEO Challenges  in the New Age

In the world of digital marketing,  SEO, or what is known as SEO, is the foundation of your site's reach to your target audience via search engines like Google. SEO has always been an ever-changing field, and with the advent of artificial intelligence and the evolution of Google's algorithms, it has become a challenge that requires new strategies. This article is aimed at non-professionals, anyone who owns a website and wants to understand the main challenges facing SEO today, and how to overcome them. We'll go over five key challenges and provide practical solutions to each.

Challenge One: Google's Algorithms Are Always Changing

Imagine you have a game rulebook, and suddenly, without warning, those rules are completely changed. This is exactly what happens with Google's algorithms. Google releases core updates several times a year. These updates are not just simple adjustments, they are fundamental changes that can turn the ranking of search results upside down. You may find that your site that used to rank first suddenly drops to the second page, not necessarily as a punishment, but because Google has decided that there are other sites that offer better or more relevant content according to its new rules. The challenge here is that winning the first place is not always a win.

How do you overcome this challenge?

  • Constant monitoring and panic avoidance: 
    Follow the official Google Ads: The best way to stay informed is to follow Google Ads directly about updates. 
    Monitor your site'  s performance: Use tools like Google Search Console to monitor your site's average ranking and click-through rates. If you notice a sudden drop, check if it coincides with an update to the algorithm. Avoid hasty changes: Don't make drastic changes to your site once a drop occurs. The update may be temporary or require you to make only minor adjustments. Hasty changes can make things worse.

  • Focus on Total Quality: 
    Remember that Google's goal is to provide the best answer to the user. So, the best strategy is to focus on the quality of the content and the user experience, rather than trying to circumvent the algorithm.

Challenge Two: Convincing Management to Make Long-Term Investment

SEO is a long-term investment par excellence. It requires relatively high initial costs, and the results may not be apparent until six months to a full year. This reality often collides with departments or business owners' desire to see quick and tangible results immediately.  It's hard to prove the value of your business today when real results are out of reach. If decision-makers run out of patience, the SEO budget may be frozen or priorities may be shifted to other marketing channels that seem faster, and this is the sure path to failure in SEO.

How do you overcome this challenge?

First, forecast revenue and show the numbers:

  • Use Forecasting: Don't just say that SEO is important. Use forecasting tools to estimate expected revenue from organic search traffic. Numbers are the language that business owners understand.

  • Showed ROI: showed that an average of 33% of traffic for major sites comes from organic search. This shows the size of the opportunity that is left in the event of not investing.

Second: Find Quick Wins:

  • Target less competitive keywords: Start by targeting keywords that have low search volume but are easy to rank. When you get a quick ranking of these words, you can use that small success as a sign that you can achieve bigger successes later.

  • Take advantage of local content: If you have a physical store, blog about local news or events related to your brand. This attracts new customers in your area and shows quick results.

Third: Highlighting the risks:

  • Compare to competitors: Use SEO tools to analyze the traffic your competitors are getting from keywords that aren't related to their brand. This shows what your company is losing.

 

Challenge Three: Artificial Intelligence and Zero-Click Search

What's the problem?

Zero-Click Search is when Google answers a user's query directly on the SERP search results page, without having to click on any link to enter your site. This usually happens via featured snippets or, more recently, via AI summaries that appear at the top of the page.

As AI is increasingly used to provide comprehensive summaries, the number of no-click searches is rising. This means that a rich source of traffic that was flowing to your site could be interrupted, reducing the chances that users will reach your brand and products.

How do you overcome this challenge?

First, go beyond simple snippets:

  • Choose keywords carefully: If it's a particular keyword that Google can easily answer in one line, it's best to target another.

  • Create 10x content: This concept means creating content that is ten times better than the best result currently available. Content should be comprehensive, original, rich in interactive elements, and offer real value that cannot be summed up in a single paragraph.

Second, focus on original data:

  • Be a source of information: Content based on original data, such as case studies or surveys you conduct yourself, is the type that AI is most likely to cite. This ensures that your content is unique and valuable.

Third, make every click valuable:

  • Improve UX user experience: As each visitor becomes more valuable, you need to make sure that the site experience is excellent. Pay attention to technical SEO, such as page loading speed and mobile-friendly design.

  • Collect contact data: Make it your primary goal to get the visitor's email as soon as they arrive, by offering a solid value like a free guide or discount. This turns the transient visitor into a potential customer that you can connect with directly.

Challenge Four: Saturated Market and Intense Competition

What's the problem?
Google has been around for more than a quarter of a century, and the competition for ranking in search results has reached its peak. For generic keywords with a high search volume, it's almost impossible for a new or small site to compete with giants. Simply put, the market is saturated, and everyone is targeting the same words.

 How do you overcome this challenge?

First, the strategy of long-tail keywords:

  • Target details: Instead of targeting a generic and highly competitive word like an acne serum, aim for a longer, more specific phrase like the difference between a vitamin A and vitamin C acne serum. These terms have a lower search volume, but competition is much weaker, and their conversion rate is higher.

Reputation and Credibility Building EEAT: 
EEAT is an acronym for Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness. Google wants to make sure that your content is written by well-known experts in the field.
Create content that shows your real expertise, cite reliable sources, and have content written or reviewed by experts in the field.

Keyword Gap Analysis:
 Look for competitors' weaknesses: Use SEO tools to identify keywords that bring traffic to your competitors, but their content is weak. Then create content that beats them in quality to bridge that gap.

Fourth, Multimodal Content Exploitation:
 Content Recycling: Not limited to text. Turn a 90-minute  podcast into blog articles, short videos for Instagram Reels or TikTok, and newsletters. Each format creates a new opportunity to appear in video, text, audio search results and confirms your authority in the topic.

Challenge 5: Shifting from Keywords to Comprehensive Topics

What's the problem?
In 2012, Google announced the principle  of Things, not strings. This means that Google is no longer looking for an exact match of the words you've typed, but rather trying to understand the real entity or idea behind your search. Today, with query expansion technology that powers AI summaries, Google is gathering relevant information and different intentions from across the web, and summarizing it into a single result. The challenge here is that your content should answer all the possible questions that the user might have on the topic.

How do you overcome this challenge?

First, understand the overall search intent:

  • Expand your search: When targeting a keyword like vitamin C, don't just answer what is a vitamin C serum?. You should anticipate other relevant questions that a user may be looking for, such as what is the difference between vitamin A and vitamin C for treating acne?.

  • Make your content comprehensive: Your content should serve as a comprehensive guide that covers all aspects of the topic, proving to Google that you are the ultimate source of information.

Third: Direct communication with the public:

  • Ask your audience: The best way to know which questions to answer is to ask your audience directly. Use social media polls, sample feedback in your newsletter, or even conduct interviews and focus groups.

  • Use multiple platforms: Don't be limited to your site. Answer relevant questions on YouTube, participate in Ask Me Anything AMA sessions on Reddit, and offer tips on TikTok. This builds a strong external profile that shows your expertise and authority on the topic across the entire web.

Today's SEO is more complex and demanding than ever before. It's no longer about technical gimmicks, it's about delivering real value to users. The five challenges we've discussed point to one direction: SEO is an investment in quality, experience, and credibility. For non-specialists, the solution lies in adopting a constant investment mindset and patience. Focus on creating 10x  content that goes beyond the superficial answer, remembering that the SEO journey requires constant adaptation. By focusing on the user and providing the best possible experience, you'll ensure that your site will not only survive, but thrive in this changing digital age.