Do you still need SEO? A practical view for SME websites
Yes. And keyword stuffing is still a bad idea. Result pages show more summaries and chat-style answers. If your site is vague, people skip the click — and the summary may describe you wrong.
What the industry is arguing about
Many posts talk about optimizing for generative answers (GEO / AEO). The practical point is old: write so both people and machines can parse your offer. Google’s guidance on generative features in Search still points back to quality pages and crawlable content, not a magic new package. Also see AI features and your website.
Practitioner roundups — for example notes from Aleyda Solís (@aleyda) — track tools and policy. Treat them as weather reports, not a reason to rebuild every Monday.
Three things that actually change outcomes
1. Wrong summary of your services
If someone asks who builds integrated systems or LINE support, the answer engines need clean source text. State what you do and do not do near the top of key pages. A short, copyable sentence beats a slogan deck.
2. Broken basics
Slow mobile pages, duplicate titles, no sitemap, key copy locked in images — these hurt for years, and they still do. HTTPS, readable HTML text, and a form that actually delivers mail still count.
3. New names on an abandoned site
If no one has the source code or the form goes nowhere, a “GEO package” is the wrong first buy. Fix ownership and maintenance first; rename the work later if you must.
Checklist for this week
- On a phone, can a stranger name your offer in 10 seconds?
- Address, email, and service area match across the site?
- Each important page has its own title?
- Public FAQ for scope, timeline, maintenance?
- Sitemap submitted in Search Console?
- Ask two chat tools “What does [your company] do?” and note errors
- Service pages use text, not icons only
- Someone actually receives contact form mail
When we build or rebuild, titles, FAQs, and structured data go into the architecture — not as a bolt-on. See SEO/GEO structure and our checklist.
FAQs
Should we care about GEO or AEO labels?
As labels for conversation, fine. You do not need a separate black-box project. Clear pages and solid basics still do most of the work.
Is retitling pages enough?
No. Service scope, contact details, FAQs, and case descriptions must match what you actually sell.
We cannot hire a full SEO team. What first?
Unique titles, a clear services page, public FAQs, a submitted sitemap, and one person who maintains the site.
Talk about site structure Services
Sources: Google generative AI optimization guide; AI features and your website; practitioner feed @aleyda. Practical reading, not an official translation.