Your efforts have finally paid off. Things are getting better, your pages are showing up on page one, and your SEO rankings are rising. However, the excitement is not matched by the numbers when you check your website traffic. They are actually moving in the opposite direction. Sound familiar?
It’s a confusing (and honestly, frustrating) situation that more and more businesses are facing — and a big reason behind it has to do with how people are searching online in 2025, thanks to the rise of generative AI tools like Google SGE and ChatGPT.
What Are Generative Search Engines?
Generative search engines use artificial intelligence to create instant answers directly on the search page. Instead of showing a list of links, platforms like Google SGE generate summaries based on multiple sources and present them to the user right away.
This means that even if your site ranks high, users may get what they need without ever clicking.
💡 For example:
When someone searches “how to improve SEO rankings,” Google SGE might offer a full summary of the steps — pulling insights from blogs like yours — before users even see the traditional search results.
Why Your SEO Rankings Might Be Up, But Traffic Is Down
Even if you’re technically ranking well, generative AI is changing how users interact with the search engine results page (SERP). Here’s how:
What You Can Do: Adapting SEO for the Age of AI
This doesn’t mean SEO is dead — far from it. But it does mean your approach needs to evolve. Here’s how to optimise for visibility and clicks:
1. Structure Content for AI Summaries
Use your focus keyword in headers and intro sentences to make it easier for AI models to identify relevance.
2. Optimise for Featured Snippets
Featured snippets are still one of the best ways to get above-the-fold visibility — and they’re often used as data sources for generative answers.
3. Improve E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
AI favours content that shows credibility and real-world expertise.
👉 Learn how to build E-E-A-T for your SEO strategy here.
4. Encourage Direct Engagement
If AI might give users a full answer, offer them more value for clicking:
5. Leverage Long-Tail and Conversational Keywords
People are now searching in a more conversational way — especially when using voice assistants or AI chatbots — so it’s important to target full, question-based phrases instead of just broad terms.
Use AI to Strengthen Your Own SEO Strategy
Don’t just react to AI — use it to your advantage. You can use tools like ChatGPT to:
Why SEO Success Needs More Than Just Page One
If your SEO rankings are going up, that’s a great sign — but it’s only part of the picture. To turn those rankings into real traffic and results, your content needs to be clear, well-structured, offer more value than just a quick answer, and be visible in AI-generated results, not just traditional search listings.
Need Help Navigating SEO Rankings in the Age of Generative Search?
The rise of generative AI is reshaping search — but it’s also creating opportunities. Brands that invest in high-quality, useful, and AI-friendly content will continue to grow, even as user habits shift. Your goal isn’t just to “rank.” It’s to stay visible, clickable, and trusted in a landscape where AI is part of every user journey.
At Digital 38, we help businesses stay ahead with tailored SEO solutions built for real people and smart machines alike.
👉 Get in touch to future-proof your content and visibility strategy today.
