How much have you spent on SEO this year and what has it actually delivered? Numbers can appear impressive, but if they don’t convert, they haven’t delivered, says John Warren, director of lasco marketing.

In the age of AI overviews and increasingly context-aware search engines, many marketers are still approaching SEO with a mindset rooted in the past. The obsession with keyword volume, competition scores, and granular keyword placement is not only outdated, it’s misaligned with how modern search works.

SEO isn’t dead. Keywords aren’t irrelevant, but the way we think about them and how we use them needs to evolve.

Keyword tools should be directional, not definitive. It’s tempting to use keyword tools as a crutch. They offer neat numbers, tidy charts, and a sense of certainty.

But here’s the reality: the ‘competition’ and ‘difficulty’ metrics you see in SEO platforms are third-party estimates. They don’t reflect what Google actually uses to rank pages.

Search engines have never ranked pages based on keyword competition scores. Instead, they evaluate content through hundreds of signals – contextual relevance, quality, backlinks, user engagement, and increasingly, how well a page satisfies intent. That’s why fixating on keyword scores can lead you to optimse for what tools predict people want, rather than what users actually need.

Intent is the ‘real’ keyword

The core question isn’t, ‘how many people search for this phrase?’ It’s ‘what is the user really trying to solve?’ Understanding search intent – informational, navigational, and transactional – is the foundation of modern SEO.

If someone searches ‘best windows and doors for commercial specification’, they don’t want a fluff piece or listing or repeating obvious points. They want clarity, comparison, and proof. Your content should anticipate that need and serve it instantly.

The best SEO content today isn’t written for keywords – it’s built around problems. It answers real questions, proves real value, and makes it easy to act.

This is where many keyword-obsessed marketers fall short. They try to cram every keyword variant into a single blog post or landing page. But different queries demand different formats.

Blog posts answer exploratory questions; comparison pages help users weigh options; case studies and testimonials build trust; landing pages convert interest into action. Trying to do all of that with one page, or one keyword, isn’t just inefficient. It’s ineffective.

By matching content formats to user intent and stage in the funnel, you build a site that supports discovery and conversion.

Don’t throw keywords away entirely. If keyword density and exact matches are no longer primary ranking factors, the relevance of the language you use on your site still matters. Search engines must understand what your page is about, and the words you use help them do that.

Good SEO balances natural language with relevant terminology. That means using keywords – strategically, not slavishly.

Keyword research remains valuable as a discovery tool, not a to-do list. It can help you uncover what your audience is searching for, how they describe their problems, and where there are gaps in your content strategy.

Use keywords to inform your understanding, not dictate your copy.

The way forward? Solve the problem, fast. Search engines are prioritising content that gets users to their answer quickly, clearly, and credibly. If your content does that, you’re on the right path whether or not you used the ‘perfect’ keyword.

This is why we should stop thinking like keyword hunters and start thinking like a technical support service, providing answers to the questions, that keep homeowners, specifiers, installers, fabricators or the wider supply chain up at night.

AI driven engines don’t care if you repeated a phrase three times. They care if your content satisfies the user’s intent better than anyone else’s.

The future of search is about getting back to the basics of identifying what audiences and prospects want, promoting solutions and evidencing success. In an AI-driven world, it’s about thinking like a human.