CustomerFinderMarketing.com March 2025 Updates – Why SEO is Still Important in an AI-Driven World
Why SEO is Still Important in an AI-Driven World
As AI transforms the digital landscape, businesses may wonder if SEO is still relevant. The truth is, SEO is more important than ever. While AI enhances search, it still relies on well-optimized websites for information. This article explores why SEO remains crucial and how we help businesses adapt and thrive in an AI-driven world.
The Role of SEO in an AI-Powered Search Environment
AI is reshaping how people search, but the fundamentals of SEO still matter. Without proper optimization, AI-powered search engines won’t surface your business in results. Here’s why SEO continues to be essential:
- AI still depends on high-quality content: Well-structured, relevant content optimized for AI-driven search queries is crucial for ranking.
- Local search is growing: Google and other platforms prioritize local results, making local SEO a must for businesses.
- Authority and trust are key: AI prioritizes authoritative, well-linked sources, making strong SEO foundations essential.
How We Help Businesses Adapt to AI-Driven SEO
To ensure our clients stay competitive, we’ve evolved our SEO strategies to align with AI-driven search trends. Here’s how we help businesses maintain and improve their rankings:
- Content Creation with Near Me and LSI Integration: We craft high-quality, localized content that includes “near me” keywords and Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI)to enhance relevance for voice and AI search.
- Schema Markup Implementation: Adding structured data to websites, helping search engines better understand business information and enhancing search visibility.
- Business-Specific FAQ Generation: We create custom FAQs tailored to common customer questions, increasing relevance for voice and AI-driven queries.
- Industry-Specific Link Acquisition: We secure relevant backlinks from industry-specific directories and guest blogs, strengthening credibility and rankings.
- Google Business Profile Optimization: We enhance Google Business Profiles, optimizing categories, descriptions, and posts to maximize visibility in local searches.
- Local Directory Submission: We submit businesses to reputable local directories, boosting visibility and building authoritativeness in the local ecosystem.
- NAP Consistency: Ensuring Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) consistency across all listings to improve trust and local search visibility.
- On-Page Optimization: We optimize essential on-page elements like page titles, meta descriptions, headers, and keyword placements to enhance relevance and improve click-through rates.
- Keyword-Rich Image Alt Text: We optimize image alt text with relevant keywords, improving accessibility and search rankings.
- Regular SEO Audits: We conduct thorough SEO audits to identify and fix local inconsistencies, ensuring continued search engine compliance.
Staying Ahead in AI-Powered Search
SEO is no longer just about ranking in Google’s traditional search results—it’s about appearing in AI search results on ChatGPT, and Google’s AI Overviews (AIO).
By staying ahead of AI-driven changes, implementing structured SEO strategies, and focusing on local and authoritative search factors, we ensure that businesses continue to rank and thrive in this evolving landscape.
The Bottom Line
SEO is not dead—it’s evolving. AI may automate certain tasks, but it still relies on well-optimized content, strong backlinks, and a structured online presence. As an SEO agency, we are dedicated to helping businesses adapt, grow, and stay competitive in the AI-powered future.
Google Creates Engaging AI-Generated Backgrounds for the Photos of GBP Posts
Now, Google can add backgrounds to the images you upload to your Google Business Profile Posts using AI. Victoria Kroll from Google announced, “You can now create an engaging AI-generated background for the photos you plan to use in the post.”
She posted this in the Google Business Profiles Forums. She added, “This new feature will allow you to quickly create an engaging post for your business with AI-powered technology enhancing the background of your images.”
To enhance your photo with an AI-generated background, tap “Transform with AI,” when adding a photo to your Maps post on your iPhone, choose your preferred theme and tap “Generate.” For step-by-step instructions, visit this help center article.
Brand Familiarity Wins: Survey Reveals 59% of Americans Click on Known Brands in Google Results
Additionally, Google continues to be the most reliable information source, with almost half of Americans placing greater faith in organic results than in sponsored ones.
A poll by link-building agency Page One Power shows that searchers are twice as likely to click on a brand they know than on a top-ranked result.
- About 59% of Americans are more inclined to click on search results from brands they recognize.
- Fewer than one in three users select the top-ranked search result.
Why brands should care. Trust remains a cornerstone for brands in SEO. Although “build a brand” might sound cliché, it’s an undeniable truth. You must create a brand that resonates with your audience and fosters genuine connections. That said, you don’t have to grow into a global powerhouse like Apple or Google.
Paid vs. organic. When comparing paid versus organic search results, 49% of Americans trust organic outcomes more, 46% view both types equally, and only 5% place greater trust in paid results.
- 54% of men and 56% of Millennials express a stronger trust in organic search results over other types.
- 50% of women and 52% of Gen X believe that both organic and paid search results are equally reliable.
- The most common complaint among searchers is the overwhelming presence of ads.
Why people click. According to the survey, beyond brand recognition, the reasons Americans click on search results differ across generations.
- For Baby Boomers (50%) and Gen X (52%), interesting headlines were important.
- For Millennials (55%), and Gen Z (63%), high star scores and good reviews were more important.
People trust search results. Although only 12% of Americans fully trust search engine results, 52% still consider search engines (such as Google or Bing) their most reliable source for information.
Google was America’s first choice, regardless of age or gender.
- Baby boomers: 44%;
- Gen X: 55%;
- Millennials: 64%;
- Gen Z: 64%.
Search engine trust is stable-ish. According to the report, trust in search engines is “relatively stable,” with 28% of Americans increasing their trust and 27% reducing it.
Google’s monopolistic fears. Surprisingly, only 25% of Americans believe Google is a monopoly with too much influence online. But also:
- 40% think there are adequate Google alternatives.
- 33% concur that “Google’s clout is appropriate given its reach and performance.”
Diversity vs. personalization. Almost half (47%) of Americans would prefer to see a variety of perspectives in their search results. Meanwhile, 28% would want tailored material based on their preferences, previous searches, and watching habits.
About the data. The poll is based on responses from 1,000 persons in 49 states plus Washington, D.C.
The survey. Shaping Trust Online: How Search Engines, Influencers, and Media Sources Impact Our Digital Behavior and Beliefs.
Google Ads Service Disruption Affects Advertisers
Between March 1 and March 3, some Google Ads advertisers reported that their campaigns were not running, receiving zero impressions or clicks. The issue, widely discussed in the Google Ads Forum, was resolved by March 3, though Google has not disclosed the exact cause.
Timeline of Events:
- March 1, 2025: Advertisers begin noticing that their ads are not being served. Many report zero impressions or clicks.
- March 2, 2025: The issue continues, with growing complaints in online forums and social media. Google has not officially responded yet.
- March 3, 2025 (1:00 AM ET): Google acknowledges the issue, stating:
“We’re investigating reports of an issue with Google Ads. Affected users can access Google Ads but are experiencing errors, high latency, and other unexpected behavior. Since March 1, some ads are not being served for a small number of advertisers.” - March 3, 2025 (4:18 AM ET): Google announces that the problem has been resolved:
“The problem with Google Ads has been resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience and support.”
Key Takeaways:
- Extent of the Issue: It remains unclear how widespread the outage was. Many advertisers reported a complete halt in impressions and clicks.
- Possible Causes: While Google has not provided an official explanation, some experts speculate that the issue could be related to changes in Enhanced CPC (eCPC) for Search and Display Ads or potential Google Business Profile (GBP) integrations.Example. Here is a chart shared from the forums showing the drop in impressions and clicks:
The cause? It is unclear what the cause is but Navah Hopkins posted on LinkedIn her theory, she wrote:“Looks like eCPC got disapproved – my other theory is that it’s tied to Google Business Profile (brands connecting their GBP for local ads). Anyone with a GBP connected to their Google Ads NOT experiencing the outage?” - Impact on Advertisers: Those managing Google Ads accounts should review their campaign performance over the affected weekend and contact Google representatives if they notice ongoing issues.
Why This Matters:
For advertisers relying on Google Ads for traffic and conversions, even a short-term outage can have significant implications. This incident highlights the importance of monitoring campaign performance closely and staying informed about potential platform disruptions.
While the issue is now resolved, advertisers should remain vigilant for any lingering effects or further updates from Google.
CustomerFinderMarketing.com March 2025 Updates – Why SEO is Still Important in an AI-Driven World