In January 2025, I completed a comprehensive analysis for one of our startup clients. Our analysis was mainly to understand why our organic search was lower than the previous year.
We had impressive growth in SEO in 2023—around 60% traffic growth compared to 2022—but organic search went down in 2024 despite doing all the best practices and more. Luckily, the leads and customers we get from SEO are still very competitive in number, and SEO remains the biggest slice of the pie where we acquire customers.
After analyzing these trends, I realized several factors are at play. First, competition for certain keywords is more fierce than ever. Second, Google has readjusted the rankings based on search intent. The intent these days is extremely important but also very subtle. Google’s refining which pages match specific user intents, so some content that used to rank no longer fits the new intent classification.
Those two things were always true, even before AI became a part of our daily lives. However, I feel that the underlying reason organic search is down is that people’s search behavior has fundamentally changed since ChatGPT stepped into the scene. Questions and queries are now more complex, longer, and more specific because of LLMs.
How Search Behavior Has Changed
I’ve been using ChatGPT since it launched, and I’ve noticed I now split my queries between Google and ChatGPT. If I want instant and factual information for a specific situation—like, “Best Hotels in Tagaytay” or “What’s the weather like this weekend?”—I’ll still go to Google. I trust it to show me up-to-date prices, deals, and direct links to hotel booking sites.
But before that kind of transactional or fact-based search, there’s usually a brainstorming stage. That’s where I open the most popular and used large language model: ChatGPT. I’ll say, “I have this budget; our family is interested in nature and relaxation; we have two kids,” and see ChatGPT’s ideas. It’s more exploratory and open-ended—almost a creative conversation to shape my plans.
Pre-LLM, that kind of consideration and brainstorming queries usually happened in search. That’s why we try to rank for long-tail keywords like “best places to go in Macau for toddlers.”
But now, I feel that the long-tail keywords have evolved into full sentences that you ask ChatGPT. Last weekend, when I was typing something on ChatGPT, it showed me prompts, similar to how Google suggests search phrases based on the initial words you type in.
Of course, this needs more investigation, but you can see that the phrases are longer and that the nature of the questions concerns brainstorming.
This is what shows up when I start to type, “I have” on ChatGPT. This showed up for me last weekend. It doesn’t show up for all phrases.
This brainstorming or consideration stage doesn’t easily fit into the traditional SEO funnel categories of informational, transactional, and investigational searches. It’s more of a “pre-informational” or “idea exploration” phase—something that large language models handle incredibly well. The search is even divided further between LLMs. I use ChatGPT a lot for personal stuff like homeschooling and travel. But I noticed that I tend to use Claude Projects for specific SEO workflows and Google Gemini for research.
This 2025, I predict that organic search for most might have a downward trend unless you experiment with showing up on LLM and diversify your traffic sources.
LLMs vs. Traditional Search Behavior Change
LLMs
- Strength: Conversational, explorative, creative brainstorming.
- Personalization: Leverages past interactions and user context to provide highly customized responses, making it especially valuable for specialized tasks like homeschooling and content creation.
- Weakness: Potential for inaccurate or outdated information, and occasional hallucinations. While great for creative brainstorming where accuracy isn’t critical, it’s not reliable enough for fact-checking or making important decisions. For example, ChatGPT suggested a hotel that I really liked but with a price that was probably four years ago. I got too excited that a great hotel fit my budget, but when I checked on Google, the price has now increased to three times.
- When I Use It: Trying to generate ideas for a vacation plan, writing prompts, or even just exploring “what-ifs” before I narrow down my choices.
Google and Search
- Strength: Real-time, up-to-date info, direct links, and structured results for immediate answers.
- Weakness: It doesn’t provide results and content for highly specific situations. I often search specific kid behavior in a specific situation to see if it’s normal. (I’m not sure if this search behavior is normal, but I have to note I have diagnosed OCD. 😅)
- When I Use It: Checking the latest travel deals, addresses, or official updates (like a hotel’s contact info or operating hours).
This split usage dilutes the total volume of searches on Google alone. Every time I open ChatGPT, that’s one less query I might have otherwise typed into Google. Multiply that by millions of people, and it’s no surprise that overall organic traffic is starting to flatten or decline.
What This Means for Content Creators and Businesses
Reevaluate Content Strategy
It’s no longer just about ranking for top-of-funnel informational keywords. You need to consider how (and where) your audience actually forms the questions they’re trying to answer. Some might be directly searching in ChatGPT, bypassing a trip to Google altogether.
Optimize SEO for LLM
Optimize SEO to show up in LLM responses. Getting your brand’s data or solutions in front of users during that “brainstorming stage” could become an invaluable pipeline of leads. This will probably be my next post. As an SEO agency, we’re still experimenting on this.
Diversify Your Traffic Sources
Yes, SEO is still crucial. Two things that we’re currently looking at:
- Pinterest: Our content, especially the visual elements and infographics we create for clients, could work well on Pinterest. The platform’s search-focused nature makes it perfect for capturing users during their research and planning phases. Plus, Pinterest users often have high purchase intent.
- YouTube: Video content is becoming increasingly important, and YouTube is the second-largest search engine after Google. We’re experimenting with AI videos that allow us to turn blog posts into educational videos.
Both platforms offer excellent opportunities for building brand awareness and driving traffic back to our main site. If you’d like to brainstorm other ways to diversify your traffic sources, please book a call with me (on top of brainstorming with ChatGPT).
Final Thoughts
Organic search has been an incredible driver of leads for many businesses, but user behavior is changing fast. The rise of ChatGPT and similar large language models is carving out a new type of search—one that’s more conversational and exploratory. This means the old funnel categories we’ve been targeting might need a refresh, and the best strategies will adapt to meet users wherever they’re searching.
Whether you’re an SEO guru, a content strategist, or just a business owner trying to understand the shifts, it’s key to remember that search isn’t monolithic anymore. It’s now split between Google’s quick-facts approach and LLMs’ creative brainstorming approach. Understanding, acknowledging, and embracing this shift is how we stay ahead in a world where organic search traffic may never look the same again.
