SEO in the Age of AI: Why Traffic Isn’t the Goal Anymore

SEO is transforming again. And this time, it is not just another algorithm update. It is a complete mindset shift brought on by AI Overviews, generative search and automation tools that are redefining what it means to “rank.”

In the latest episode of Stan Ventures’ SEO on Air Podcast, host Aaron sat down with Jonathan Benz, Growth Strategist at Direct Online Marketing, to discuss what SEO really means in 2025.

With more than two decades of experience, spanning agencies, in-house roles and startups Benz has witnessed SEO’s entire evolution: from keyword stuffing and link farms to intent-driven strategies and AI-generated search summaries. 

But what’s important is his core message, the goal is not traffic anymore; it is business outcomes.

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Let’s see how his insights reshape the way we think about SEO today.

What Has 20 Years in SEO Taught Jonathan Benz?

“I hate to say I have seen it all,” Benz began, “but after 21 years in SEO, I have sure seen a lot.” As he explained, his work with Direct Online Marketing centers around helping clients grow in three ways:

• Generating more leads for B2B and service-based businesses
• Driving more sales for eCommerce brands
• Increasing traffic for publishers and media sites where visibility fuels revenue

But across all those categories, Benz said, the fundamentals of SEO have not changed:

“You still need a fast website, an engaging user experience, and strong keyword targeting supported by authority signals. Those have always been the core truths.”

What has changed is the expectation, from businesses and search engines alike. SEO is no longer about appearing; it’s about performing.

The ROI Dilemma: Why SEO Feels Harder to Justify

Benz pointed out that one of the biggest struggles for SEO professionals today is proving return on investment.

“Everyone struggles with two things,” he said. “ROI justification and turnaround time.” ROI is tricky because SEO is not a one-click game. 

It is layered like involving brand authority, technical optimization and user trust. 

And in an era when AI answers appear instantly at the top of search results, proving that SEO drives conversions is more complex than ever.

The second pain point, he explained, is content approval bottlenecks. Many organizations rely on subject matter experts (SMEs) for fact-checking and thought leadership but those experts often have limited time.

Benz shared a few ways to make the process smoother:

• Create a repository of SME quotes via quick email responses.
• Conduct interviews with experts and turn their insights into evergreen content.
• Use SMEs as peer reviewers rather than primary authors.

He even suggested using custom GPTs trained on expert materials, which is a clever new-age twist that allows teams to simulate SME input quickly without sacrificing accuracy.

“Think of it as ghostwriting for the AI era,” he said. “You are creating a system that learns the expert’s voice and opinions, then using it as a co-pilot for content creation.”

The AI Question: Is It a Threat or an Ally?

When asked his thoughts on AI, Benz smiled:

“I am not an artificial intelligence. I believe it makes us better, more creative, more productive, and free to focus on the human part of work.”

He compared AI’s impact on marketing to automation in manufacturing. Just as factories evolved to balance machinery with human supervision, knowledge workers now need to strike the same balance.

“You’ve got two choices,” he said. “Either resist it and risk irrelevance or learn to use it as a companion tool. AI won’t replace professionals entirely, but it will redefine what being a professional means.”

And that’s the heart of it. AI is not the enemy of SEO, it is the accelerator. But only for those who know how to use it strategically.

Is AI Killing SEO?

This question sparked one of the most thought-provoking discussions in the episode.

Benz’s take was simple but powerful:

“AI is not killing SEO, it is forcing us to focus on what really matters.”

For years, marketers equated success with traffic growth. More blogs meant more keywords. 

More keywords meant more visibility. But as he explained, that equation does not hold anymore.

“We spent years saying, ‘Just publish more content, and they will come.’ But that is not how it works now. With AI Overviews, users might never even see your page and Google might summarize it for them.”

The traditional “content equals traffic” strategy has expired. Now, SEOs must rethink what success looks like, not in terms of visits, but in terms of value.

What Is the Winning SEO Strategy in 2025?

According to Benz, the future of SEO is not about generating traffic, it is about attracting the right traffic.

“It is not about volume anymore,” he said. “it is about intent. The right user on the right page at the right moment.”

He explained that modern SEO success relies on three steps:

1. Identify high-value pages — The ones that actually convert or generate revenue.
2. Drive visibility to those pages through strategic backlinks, internal linking, and contextual signals.
3. Align SEO goals with business outcomes.

Sometimes, the most effective change isn’t publishing more blog posts; it’s adding an FAQ to your service pages, improving CTAs or fixing site architecture to guide visitors toward conversion paths.

“You can’t play the game of endless content anymore,” Benz added. “It is about making your existing ecosystem work harder.”

The Vanity Metrics Trap

Aaron pointed out how this obsession with vanity metrics also exists on social media and influencers chasing views instead of engagement. Benz immediately connected that idea to SEO.

“Exactly,” he said. “You can have a million visits, but if those people don’t buy, subscribe or engage, what’s the point?”

He urged marketers to go beyond impressions and clicks to measure deeper interactions.

Engagement, leads and conversions are the metrics that prove SEO’s business value, not traffic charts that look good in reports but don’t move revenue.

“Traffic without a system to monetize it is just noise,” he said.

That shift from more visitors to more valuable visitors is what he believes separates modern SEO from its pre-AI past.

Content Strategy in the AI Era

One of Benz’s most striking observations was about how AI changes content creation itself.

“If you are publishing surface-level content, you are just training AI systems to replace you,” he said.

In other words, the more repetitive your content is, the easier it is for AI to summarize or replicate. The only way to stand out is to produce deep, experience-based insights and content that answers questions AI can’t fully explain.

He encouraged marketers to shift their focus from quantity to quality, crafting pages that reflect brand expertise, credibility and originality.

“Turn your website into a sales machine,” he advised. “Every page should move users closer to a conversion. Otherwise, you’re just feeding the algorithm.”

What Should Businesses Do Next?

As the discussion wrapped up, Benz shared advice for businesses navigating this AI-driven SEO world.

First, fix your data. Without accurate analytics, you can’t measure or optimize what matters.

Second, audit your strategy. Many companies are still stuck chasing outdated SEO metrics.

And third, stay adaptive. The pace of change in search and AI is relentless. Flexibility, not fear, is the winning mindset.

“If you are uncertain about your data setup or your strategy for the AI era, it is time to pause and re-evaluate,” Benz said. “Reach out, get a real audit done by people who understand this shift, not by bots.”

It is advice that feels both practical and urgent.

The Takeaway: SEO Is not Dead

As this SEO on Air episode made clear, the future of SEO is not about chasing algorithms, it is about understanding people.

Traffic for traffic’s sake is over. The SEOs who will thrive are those who connect every keyword, every click and every piece of content to measurable business impact.

Jonathan Benz’s perspective reminded us that SEO’s soul has not changed and it is still about connecting users to solutions. The only difference? AI has raised the bar for what counts as meaningful connection.

“We are not fighting AI,” Benz concluded. “We are learning to work alongside it to make SEO more intentional, strategic and human.”