What does the future hold for SEO? - An interview with Aleyda Solis
In this series of interviews with globally renowned SEOs we’ll be delving into the much-debated question: what does the future hold for SEO?
As well as the bigger picture, we explore the real impact on those in the SEO industry - the impact on jobs and roles, day-to-day work, changes to client demands, and how it will impact business for those on the front line.
We’ll hear perspectives from experts representing three of the core fractions of the SEO industry: consultants, in-house, and SEO technology.
In this first interview we speak with Aleyda Solis - an international SEO consultant recognised and respected globally for both her work in the industry, and support of the wider SEO community.
Aleyda is the founder of the SEO consultancy Orainti, an author & speaker, and runs some of the most well-known SEO resources including LearningSEO.io and the SEOFOMO Newsletter. Most recently, Aleyda launched SEOFOMO News, a platform to help SEOs stay up to day with trending industry news.
Without further ado, here's what Aleyda believes the future may hold for SEO.
The future of Google
Do you think we’ll see Google losing its dominant search market share anytime soon?
No, not in the short term. Potentially, this could change in the future, but definitely not anytime soon. Even if we criticize Google’s performance lately and question the quality of its search results, the reality is that it’s still far better than anything else for 99% of queries.
When you compare it to tools like SearchGPT, Google still outperforms — unless you’re looking for something that’s highly factual, informational, or specifically suited to a conversational output. In those cases, ChatGPT can offer a unique advantage.
But the experience itself, especially when it comes to more commercial, product-oriented queries that are part of a buying journey, is where Google excels. Thanks to its integrations and the many search features it offers, Google provides a level of functionality that tools like SearchGPT simply can’t match right now.
I’ve tested various queries across different verticals, and the reality is that for most searches — not just specific, fact-based ones — Google still leads. For example, if you ask ChatGPT for something straightforward like a list of 10 SEO events happening in the first six months of next year, it’s great at delivering fast, factual answers with links to sources, which is a fantastic feature. But for queries with more commercial value to businesses, Google remains dominant.
ChatGPT’s ability to handle conversational experiences doesn’t necessarily mean it will reduce Google’s user base or market share. In fact, ChatGPT might grow in areas where Google wasn’t meeting users’ needs in the first place. This isn’t a zero-sum game — both platforms can grow simultaneously.
So, to sum up, I don’t see ChatGPT significantly challenging Google in the short term. In the future, if ChatGPT evolves and adds much more functionality, then maybe in three or four years, we can revisit the conversation. But for now, no, it’s not likely.
How do you envision Google’s SERPs changing?
It’s becoming a much more personalized experience. The kind of experience Google is shaping is one they’ve already been refining, particularly for a lot of commercial and product-focused queries.
Google has essentially turned into a marketplace — a destination for many of these queries. They’ve been showcasing features like sidebars with product filters, product carousels, and product knowledge panels that provide detailed information. These often link directly to websites, to the product detail pages - the very end of the customer journey.
Basically, you end up completing most of the conversion journey within Google’s ecosystem, right on the search results pages (SERPs). You only leave Google when it’s time to make the purchase. With their new AI personalization functionality, they’re taking this even further. They’ve announced this for specific query types — like restaurant recommendations. For example, you could ask, “Suggest restaurants near me or near my city for an anniversary dinner that serve seafood,” and you’d get a conversational response tailored to your preferences.
This personalization will rely not only on your explicit inputs but also on your past search behavior, location, and other metrics Google can use to fine-tune the experience. So, I believe that over time, personalization will become even more significant. Google will customize the experience for each user, even providing certain features to some and not others — based on individual preferences — even when the query is the same.
The same trend is emerging with shopping-related AI personalization. So far, this is most visible in the shopping tab, but if it performs well based on whatever metrics Google is tracking — they’ll likely expand these features into the SERPs. Imagine getting highly personalized product suggestions or being able to try on clothing virtually, directly within the search results.
The personalization and variety of SERP features will only grow from here. That’s why I strongly recommend tracking these changes. If you haven’t already started tracking pixels, you should - that's one of my top tips for next year. If you haven't started monitoring SERP feature changes — like their inclusion, increase, or decrease — you should. It’s also crucial to track how these features impact your click-through rates and traffic engagement for different topics, areas, or query groups.
Because the SERPs will only get more, let's say, convoluted and will become a destination. Google is clearly working to make the SERPs a destination, keeping users engaged throughout their search or buying journey until the very last step, when they’re referred to a website.
This is also evident with AI-generated overviews. Initially, these were shown for informational queries, but they’re slowly appearing for more commercial queries too. For instance, I’ve seen them for queries involving “gifts,” and I expect this trend to grow. Google is replicating a product listing page (PLP) experience, where you can browse products, click on them, and view detailed knowledge panels.
So, in a way, Google is building experiences that keep you within their ecosystem for as long as possible during your search journey. This approach will likely extend to other areas of the user experience. Thanks to AI-powered features, the experience will become even more personalized and engaging — sticky, you could say.
Are there any particular types of search features or elements that you think will become more prominent? (or less prominent)
Definitely, more AI overviews. I think anything that provides additional information or details about products directly within the SERPs is incredibly valuable.
For example, when you click on product carousels, you’re often taken straight to a product knowledge panel. Features like this that enrich the user experience and offer a better context for making purchasing decisions are likely to expand. This could include elements like buying guides or showcasing relevant content more prominently for product-related queries.
In addition, specialized destination experiences — like 'shop deals' sections tailored to different product lines — are becoming more common. These pages often aggregate deals for specific products or categories, making it easier for users to find what they’re looking for.
I believe these features could be refined even further to direct users to deals on the exact products they’re searching for. This type of specificity and enrichment, whether through features or tailored destinations, will likely play a bigger role moving forward.
The Role of SEOs
How do you see the role of SEO professionals changing?
SEO has grown increasingly sophisticated since I started in this field. The rules haven’t completely changed, but what Google has been focusing on this year — and continues to focus on — is replicating the criteria users consider when finding and ranking information. They aim to connect with user behavior to provide the best possible search experience.
Google wants to attract and retain users by meeting their search needs better than any potential competitors. This means we, SEO professionals, need to stay updated on algorithm changes. However, this process often feels reactive, right? It feels very reactive whenever you need to change something just because Google starts emphasizing something new. But, at a high level, many of these updates align with what we should have been doing all along: creating a great user experience, providing excellent products, building strong branding, and fostering lifelong customer loyalty.
In my view, the role of an SEO professional is evolving. It’s no longer just about ticking off tactical checklists or ensuring basic configurations are in place — most modern platforms and CMSs have made those steps simpler or automated. Instead, SEO has become more strategic. It’s about aligning efforts with the overall brand, marketing strategies, and product goals. SEO professionals are now expected to think and act like marketers and product managers.
This shift involves much more than knowledge — it’s about execution. For large-scale websites, SEO becomes a challenge of managing bureaucracy, securing buy-in, navigating stakeholders, and aligning diverse opinions. It requires building use cases, conducting tests, and leveraging your brand’s visibility to deliver value while ensuring SEO outcomes align with broader goals.
Today, SEOs must go beyond basic tactics. It’s about being strategic, aligning with brand goals, and meeting user expectations — not just keeping up with Google’s current focus but anticipating what customers actually need to perceive your product or service as best-in-class. This translates to a search experience where your brand is discoverable and influential in rankings and user journeys.
SEO’s evolution has always been about adapting, and it will continue to change. If platforms like Google lose relevance because new ones emerge that better meet user needs, those of us who focus on what truly matters — user experience and meeting customer needs — will be well-positioned to pivot. The principles of optimizing a brand’s visibility and connection with users will remain relevant, even as the platforms and tools change.
Looking forward, we might deal less with crawlability issues and more with other signals or experiences that surface in new platforms. The key is staying flexible and ready to adapt, optimizing for wherever users are searching — whether it’s for products, services, or information.
What are the most important things SEOs should be doing to make sure they don’t get left behind?
I will say that I, thankfully, for SEOs, I highly facilitate that one - to keep updated - with SEOFOMO.
You can subscribe to the newsletter for free, and now there’s also the SEOFOMO News, where you can engage, vote on the top news, and get instant alerts about important updates. This way, you don’t have to wait an entire week for the next newsletter. It’s a great way to stay on top of things.
Staying updated is critical — not necessarily because you’re fixing something urgent in your strategy, but because it’s important to know what’s happening. When something is released, or if something goes wrong (even accidentally, like a misconfiguration), you’ll know why. This understanding lets you respond proactively and communicate effectively with clients — whether it's explaining a change, addressing a new policy, or providing reassurance.
On the flip side, it’s equally important to keep testing and validating. There’s so much information out there now. When I first started in SEO, the resources were very limited — just a handful of trusted sources. Today, everyone has an opinion, which is amazing because it means the community is active, learning, and experimenting. But with so many opinions, it’s important to recognize that what works for one situation might not work for another.
Your specific context matters: the brand you work with, its vertical, audience, market, region, search behavior, business model — all of these factors influence what’s relevant or impactful. That’s why continuous testing and validation are essential.
You don’t need to be a developer to experiment. With so many no-code tools available, it’s easier than ever to create your own site and test strategies, even if technical SEO isn’t your strength. Try out new tools and features, evaluate their impact, and see how they perform in your unique context. This proactive approach will help you stay ahead and make informed decisions for your SEO efforts.
Client demands
Have you seen a shift in what clients are looking for from SEO?
I believe that the maturity and sophistication of clients and companies have grown significantly over time. Unfortunately, many have had bad experiences with so-called "smoke sellers" — those professionals who make grand promises without delivering results. This happens across industries, especially newer ones.
These days, you don’t need to evangelize SEO as much. Most clients already know that if someone promises overnight results, it’s likely a red flag. In 99% of cases, such claims are bogus — unless the client has an extreme setup, like blocking their whole domain with a robust TXT record or no-indexing every page on their site. But again, that’s rare.
Thankfully, more businesses now understand what SEO is and isn’t. What I’m seeing increasingly is a shift toward mature companies with in-house SEO teams hiring specialized consultants or freelancers. These businesses don’t need a generic digital marketing agency assigning a junior SEO account manager who lacks the expertise to address complex issues. Instead, they’re looking for highly specialized advice — whether it’s for specific product lines, geographic markets, or unique challenges.
This growing demand for specialization means consultants like me are often brought in to provide targeted expertise. Most of my clients fit this profile. Of course, there are also startups — especially high-growth ones with solid funding — that need external help to build their SEO programs from scratch. They’re looking to establish a strong foundation and make meaningful progress quickly.
Even for smaller businesses (SMBs), automation and SEO-integrated platforms have reduced the need for certain repetitive tasks we used to handle a decade ago. However, the level of need today is different. It’s more sophisticated and requires specialized knowledge because industries are more competitive. Businesses need advice that’s not just technical but also strategic — aligned with their overall marketing goals and business objectives.
To remain relevant as an SEO professional, you need to stay updated and continually test your own strategies to build expertise. At the same time, you must engage with clients clearly, professionally, and empathetically. This might sound like basic consulting 101, but unfortunately, it’s an area where many still fall short.
The other day, I came across a post by Daniel K. Cheung, an enterprise SEO, who highlighted common mistakes made by SEO agencies and consultants. These included poor communication, failing to deliver on promises, recommending trivial or impractical solutions for the sake of "best practices," and lacking empathy for the client’s business context and brand positioning. These are critical missteps because understanding a client’s unique challenges, goals, and brand is essential to providing meaningful advice.
Ultimately, succeeding as an SEO — whether as a consultant, agency professional, or in-house specialist — requires a blend of technical expertise and soft skills. As SEO has become more sophisticated, these soft skills have only grown in importance. Today, they play a pivotal role in the success of any SEO initiative, far more than they did a decade ago.
Do you think these client demands tend to be realistic?
It really depends on the type of clients you’re working with. If you’re dealing with enterprise-level clients, you’ll often have a liaison who is already familiar with SEO. This usually means their requests and expectations are reasonable since they understand the nuances of SEO. The same goes for timelines and scope — there’s generally better alignment on what’s feasible.
However, that doesn't mean that there hasn't been a shift, as I mentioned before. Clients, even enterprise ones, expect more sophisticated strategies now, and since there's higher competition, you'll likely need to do more to get results. The days of simple audits and benchmarks are gone; to be best-in-class and rank effectively, you often have to do far more. The good news is that resources will also be more now than what was 10 years ago, just because of the understanding of what SEO is and what it needs to succeed.
Still, there are exceptions. Even at the enterprise level, you might encounter clients with unrealistic expectations, especially if they’ve never had a proper SEO process. Internal bureaucracy or siloed operations can lead to challenges like unexpected ad campaigns cannibalizing organic traffic or misaligned strategies. In such cases, it’s critical to open lines of communication, set expectations, and forecast outcomes to avoid inefficiencies and confusion.
The need for alignment across marketing, technical, and product teams has become a must. Ten years ago, this level of coordination wasn’t as crucial, but with today’s competitive environment, businesses have to ensure their efforts are cost-effective and avoid cannibalizing their own results.
When working with SMBs, while I don’t have much experience in this area, it seems clear that the level of competition and SERP complexity has grown. Features like local packs, carousels, and lower click-through rates for organic results mean SMBs also need more sophisticated strategies to succeed.
In summary, the demand for SEO professionals has shifted, with greater emphasis on alignment, resources, and adaptability. Whether dealing with a small business or a large enterprise, the complexity of client needs depends heavily on their business maturity and goals. For newer businesses, SEO is often about brand building — popularity, content, and backlinks are critical. For mature businesses, it’s more of a product challenge, involving technical optimization, stakeholder management, and programmatic strategies.
Ultimately, whether big or small, the sophistication required for SEO has only increased and will likely continue to do so in response to competition and industry demands.
Client reporting and comms
What are the main challenges for SEOs when reporting to clients?
I believe there are two main things we typically report on — metrics or KPIs that we’ve agreed upon, and how they connect to the goals our clients want to achieve through the SEO process. The challenge arises when we set these metrics but fail to align them with the actual goals that matter to decision-makers — the ones who hired us.
Often, these goals are not about rankings, crawlability, or indexability. While those metrics are crucial for us as SEOs to track progress, they’re usually not the primary concerns of decision-makers. Instead, their focus tends to be on outcomes like revenue, ROI, or increased conversions. So, while we understand the technical indicators, we need to bridge the gap by translating those into tangible business outcomes for our clients.
The key is ensuring our reporting communicates whether their ultimate goals are being met. If they aren’t, we need to explain why and outline a clear plan to address the gaps. For instance, if something isn’t delivering as expected, we must clarify what can be done differently. Clients typically don’t need — or want — details about the crawlability index or other technical aspects unless the decision-maker happens to be an SEO expert (which is rare).
Most decision-makers are business-oriented and not technical. For example, if I were an SEO hiring someone to manage my site, I’d appreciate detailed explanations because I’d understand them. But for 99% of business-focused decision-makers, the conversation needs to stay centered on business results.
Here’s where the real challenge lies: The way we report and communicate often doesn’t keep pace with the sophistication of SEO work. We’ve become better at executing complex strategies but haven’t made corresponding advances in how we share results. Instead, we continue sending decks or dashboards filled with metrics that decision-makers don’t necessarily understand or care about. While these might feel "sophisticated" to us, they don’t resonate with the audience we need to engage.
This disconnect often isn’t due to laziness but the sheer volume of work SEOs face. Execution demands leave limited time for crafting tailored, high-impact reports. As a result, many of us rely on default reports from tools, which may be useful for tracking progress but fall short in demonstrating how SEO efforts connect to business outcomes.
Toolmakers, take note: We urgently need better solutions that help SEOs create straightforward, business-focused reports linking our work to revenue, ROI, and other key goals. Such tools could help rebuild trust and foster stronger client relationships. Technical dashboards are great for internal tracking but aren’t ideal for informing decision-makers.
Until we have these tools, it’s on us to create reports that resonate. These reports don’t need to be long — three pages at most— but they should use storytelling to convey:
Where we stand: A summary of progress, good or bad. For example, “We’ve achieved 80% of our target so far.”
Why it’s happening: An explanation of what’s worked and what hasn’t. If there’s a setback — like redirects not being implemented during a migration — explain why and provide context (e.g., “Here’s a link to a discussion where the issue was addressed”).
What’s next: A clear plan of action. Highlight what needs to be fixed, who needs to be involved, and what support is required from the client to move forward.
This is a screenshot taken from AWR which shows a Forecasting plan for 2025 and it's current progress
This approach ensures accountability, clarity, and focus. It also empowers clients by giving them actionable insights. For example, if approvals are needed, the report should make a case for the client’s intervention to push things forward. Simultaneously, it should propose backup plans to address challenges and accelerate results.
In summary, our reports should move beyond tables of SEO metrics and instead focus on storytelling — explaining what’s happening, why, and how we’ll achieve the client’s goals. This type of communication builds trust, improves alignment, and keeps the focus on what truly matters: delivering business results.
Perceptions of SEO beyond the industry
What do you think is the perception of SEO beyond the industry? Do you think this has changed?
I believe the perception of SEO as an industry has significantly improved over recent years. For a while, larger companies began hiring in-house SEOs, and Google even released a guide on best practices for hiring SEO professionals. These developments, coupled with greater industry maturity and improved documentation from Google, helped enhance SEO's reputation.
However, about a year and a half ago, there was a noticeable decline in the quality of Google’s search results for many popular queries. Unfortunately, SEOs were often blamed for this. While it’s unfair to generalize the actions of a few bad actors to the entire industry, this perception arose partly due to how SEO works. Like any industry, SEO has its share of good and bad players.
At that time, Google appeared to be wrapping up a phase of development, but spam had caught up to their systems, particularly for high-profile queries. This issue was widely reported, with publications highlighting how search results had become spammy. SEOs were sometimes unfairly depicted as opportunistic “content goblins,” profiting from low-quality content, ad traffic, or affiliate links without offering real value.
It’s important to recognize that most SEOs actually work with real brands, products, and services to connect them with customers who can genuinely benefit. Unfortunately, this period coincided with the rise of AI tools that allowed bulk content creation with minimal oversight, creating a perfect storm of issues that damaged the industry's reputation.
In response, Google introduced updates like the Helpful Content Update, aiming to target websites lacking first-hand expertise and focusing more on user-centric, expert-driven, and authentic content. While this was a step forward, some independent publishers and even SEOs were caught in the crossfire. This backlash was partly due to a small number of SEOs exploiting loopholes, but it also highlighted how quickly perceptions can shift when Google adjusts its algorithms.
Despite these challenges, I believe the industry’s reputation has improved significantly since I began in 2007. Decision-makers at larger companies now recognize that SEO is not just smoke and mirrors but a legitimate practice that delivers results. At its core, SEO is about making information accessible and improving findability—helping connect customers with the right products and services by aligning with Google’s signals.
Yes, there are always fluctuations in how SEO is perceived, but the general trend is positive. The practitioners who do quality work — focusing on real value — will endure. Google, too, is becoming more sophisticated. While they sometimes misstep, their long-term goal is to provide a great search experience, which aligns with the success of good SEOs. After all, Google’s business depends on retaining users, which requires offering reliable and valuable search results.
Who do you think is doing good work in changing perceptions of the SEO industry?
Could you give a couple of people we should be following?
In general, there are many outspoken SEOs who don’t hesitate to call out issues or highlight problems when something isn’t working. The first person who comes to mind is Lily Ray.
There are also several initiatives working to make the SEO industry more inclusive and a better space overall. For example, the Women in Tech SEO community founded by Areej AbuAli, and the Freelance Coalition for Developing Countries started by Chima Mmeje. These initiatives are fantastic and are helping shape the industry in meaningful ways.
I also want to highlight the abundance of free, reliable resources available today for staying informed. For instance, Barry Schwartz has been covering the latest SEO news longer than anyone I know—definitely longer than I have! His work is exceptional, and I highly recommend following him. He consistently provides updates with a balanced perspective, covering not just the SEO side of things but also Google’s reactions and the community's responses.
Following his work gives a well-rounded view of what’s happening in the industry—not just the negatives, but also the positives and the broader reactions. It’s definitely worth keeping up with his insights to gain a clearer, more comprehensive understanding of the SEO landscape.
The future of SEO
Can you sum up the future of SEO in one sentence?
The future of SEO is to keep making sure products and services are found through the platforms that potential customers are using to search them.
Article by
Aleyda Solis
Aleyda Solis is an SEO speaker, author, and the founder of Orainti, a boutique SEO consultancy advising top brands worldwide. She shares the latest SEO news and resources in her SEOFOMO newsletter, SEO tips in the Crawling Mondays video series, and a free SEO Learning Roadmap called LearningSEO.io.
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