Is traditional Search Engine Marketing (SEM) coming to an end in 2025?

Trends to watch for marketers and developers in 2025

By Markus Backman

December 18th, 2024

Consumer search behavior habits have been changing ever since the internet was accessible for anyone, and marketers, developers and agencies have adapted. in recent years, everything search engine related has probably been changing so fast, that many of us working with web development and marketing don't even know what is really going on. Technological advancement with AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) has changed search behavior for good, and it only seems to develop further.

In this article, we'll take a look at implications that are currently reforming traditional Search Engine Marketing (SEM), and what marketers, content creators, web developers should do to address these changes in 2025.

• AI and machine learning are transforming search engines, making traditional keyword-based SEM strategies less effective.

• New norms semantic search, zero-click results, and alternative platforms for search are reshaping how users find their information online.

• Marketers and developers must focus on creating high-quality, contextual content, optimizing for AI-driven tools, and embracing changes in user behavior.

Why is Search Engine Marketing (SEM) evolving so much now?

When it came to doing Search Engine Marketing (SEO) for your website, the recipe used to be simple, as most traffic was determined by the quality of your keywords and their rankings. You did rigorous keyword research and created, delivered, and optimized content according to those keywords, and chances were you gained a good portion of relevant traffic to your website.

In recent years, and especially in 2024, the algorithms behind AI (Artificial Intelligence) using Machine Learning have started to reshaping search engines into AI-driven ones, making traditional search engine marketing (SEM) practices obsolete. New SEM methods have emerged, and are here to stay.

Gartner, a leading research and advisory firm that studies and makes data-driven analyses about all sorts of things, predict a 25% decline in traditional search engine traffic in 2026 because of the adoption of AI chatbots and answer engines, like ChatGPT, which are reshaping how users search for information. That's a huge drop.

1. Search engines are becoming AI-driven

Of course, AI has become a fundamental part of search engines' functionality now. So called natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning technology is utilized to understand search behavior. It means that manual, keyword heavy strategies are losing their effectiveness. The thing is, search behavior is becoming semantic, that old school SEO cannot handle. It means that these engines try to understand the intent behind queries, instead of manually just analyze exact keyword matches. The trend has shifted to favoring contextually relevant content over keyword-stuffed, SEO-optimized pages.

User-experience and conversational search results have become the new normal of searching, rather than rigid keyword alignment​. Therefore, search queries that used to traditionally work, won't do anymore.

What to do about it: Marketers and developers should focus on creating contextually relevant, high-quality content. Make sure to create content with conversational language that aligns with semantic searches, and regularly update the content. Developers can implement structured data to help search engines better understand the context of your pages, while marketers focus on delivering valuable and personal content instead of relying solely on keyword density.

2. An answer first logic

ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Google's Gemini, Perplexity, you name it, there's so many AI-based chatbots and tools that can be used for searching for answers. People are becoming accustomed to fast, accurate and direct responses rather than doing all the manual work with search engines. This "answer-first" model means users may bypass traditional search results, reducing click-through rates for ads and organic links. That's a blurry area in marketing right now as it is uncertain for those companies that rely on traditional SEO methods to gain their traffic, how they should proceed with their Search Engine Marketing operations in the future.

What to do about it: Modern search engines love semantic and contextual content that can provide clear and uninterrupted answers to users, therefore, the answer is easy, you should optimize your content according to that.

Think more of creating conversional and contextual answers to common questions people are looking for such as FAQ-style answers to common questions. Also, make sure your content uses structured data for facilitating what your content is all about for search engines.

3. Zero-click searches

What's the aftermath of an answer first search behavior? Zero-clicks of course! On search engines, zero-click searches refers to users not clicking links that lead them to a website. Why is that? Because they get the information they were looking for other ways, such as by featured snippets. This trend limit traffic generated by traditional SEM methods and it could therefore be a good idea to think of ways embrace it.

What to do about it: To determine what exactly what can be done to prevent this can be a little bit tricky. However, you can embrace zero-click searches by optimizing for featured snippets and rich results. This can be achieved by being as concise and clear as possible with your content, and include bullet points and numbered lists in some cases.

Employing structured data cannot be underestimated here either, as it able search engines to interpret your content correctly, and can therefore be displayed in featured snippets and rich content. Remember, if you gain a lot of zero-clicks, it won't necessarily be a bad thing, embrace it by getting the most out of it, and people will eventually land at your website.

4. Personalized search results

Ranking for a single, universal keyword only has become pretty much nonexistent strategy with the AI implications, as search results now are totally unique for each individual. The algorithms get to know their users so well (probably better than you can imagine), by analyzing search behavior, location, preferences, and more, and can in turn offer hyper-personalized search results for the user.

What to do about it: Focus on creating dynamic content and using personalization tools to ensure users see relevant information based on their browsing history or location.

That said, with AI and automation advancing, there’s no need to over-optimize or force personalization—these systems already handle much of it for you. Instead, concentrate on tailoring content to your target audience naturally, without trying to outsmart the algorithms or rely on unnecessary tricks.

5. Alternative platforms

Social media such as Reddit and TikTok are continuously stepping up too. For instance, TikTok has become a search engine for Gen Z with bite-sized visual guides and tutorials faster than Google's traditional format, while it seems that Reddit has become another social media people love for searching for answers. Moreover, there's AI-chatbots and tools, such as ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Google's Gemini, Perplexity, as mentioned before, that aren't technically search engines, but function as they were that. This draws away attention from traditional search engines, making common SEM practices confusing for marketers and developers. I believe all of this leads to a new wave of organic social marketing taking over.

What to do about it: Increase your presence across alternative platforms, and try to channel your audience to your website through those. For instance, do bite-sized tutorials or product demos on social media and actively engage in relevant Reddit communities. For web developers, ensure compatibility with APIs or tools that integrate website content with these platforms.

6. Visual search is becoming commonplace

Visual search is a technique that allows users to search for information using an image, such as a photo or illustration, instead of text. For example, if you see a picture of a city you don’t recognize, you can upload it to a to the search engine or tool (like Google Lens) to identify the city. Once again, this is conflicting with traditional Search Engine Marketing practices, leading to zero-click searches, for instance.

What to do about it: Prioritize image optimization with high quality images that are relevant, and include descriptive alt text and metadata.

Final thoughts

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is changing, and it’s happening fast because of the advancements with AI and ML. Rigid keyword optimization alone isn’t enough anymore for ranking in search results. Focus on creating valuable, relevant content that answers user questions directly, embrace AI-driven tools, and think beyond traditional search engines. The future of SEM is already here, and as a marketer, content creator or web developer the best thing to do right now is to think further than just old school keyword optimization etc.