Is SEO still worth it for small businesses?
SEO for small business is such a hot topic at the moment. This blog follows on from the one I posted last week, I wanted to re-visit the SEO/AI Overview again because it’s a question I’m getting asked weekly - or some version of this:
"Is SEO still worth it now that Google is summarising results and keeping people on the page?"
It's a fair question. AI Overviews are already reducing click-throughs on certain searches, and Google's newer AI Mode takes that further. But I don’t believe this is bad news for small businesses, at least not for the kind of businesses I work with, I actually think it could benefit a niched small business.
Here's what I keep coming back to. The businesses most at risk are the ones built on high-volume, generic content, churning out blogs, trying to rank for competitive keywords and phrases with a very high search volume. The kind of content designed to capture search traffic rather than speak to a specific person. AI can summarise that. It can flatten it, combine it, and present it in a neat paragraph without anyone needing to visit the page it came from.
That's not what the businesses I support daily, with a niche are doing. I work with a yoga teacher who runs retreats for people over 50, many of whom have health conditions. When someone searches for her, they are not looking for a general overview of yoga retreats. They are looking for her - her specific approach, her experience, her retreats. An AI summary cannot replicate that. It cannot replace the specificity of what she offers or the trust that comes from reading her words.
The same is true for florists, coaches, therapists, photographers, and anyone else whose work is built around a particular kind of client. The more specific you are about who you are and who you serve, the harder you are to summarise away.
If you've been vague about your niche because you didn't want to narrow things down, now is a really good time to get laser focused. Clarity isn't just a marketing principle - it's increasingly what makes you findable.
Something else that's changing alongside AI Overviews is how people are searching. The phrases are getting longer and more specific. Not "yoga retreat" but "yoga retreat in Seattle for solo travellers over 50." Not "florist" but "sustainable wedding florist in Manchester who works with British grown flowers." People know what they want, and they're asking for it precisely.
Content that speaks directly to that, honest, specific, genuinely useful, is the content that gets surfaced. AI summaries cite sources that are distinctive and credible. Generic, keyword-stuffed pages get left behind - thank goodness!!
What this means practically is more emphasis on content that is really yours. On your website, yes - clear service pages, a blog that actually reflects your thinking - but also off it. Guest posts, podcast appearances, press features. The things that build a credible, linked presence across the web and signal that you're a real authority on what you do. Users also still want to read content written by someone who has actually done the thing. Real expertise, a real point of view, a real voice. I'd argue they want that more now, not less, precisely because so much content is starting to sound the same. Humans writing for humans!
So: is SEO still worth it for a small business? Yes. But the frame has shifted slightly.
It's less about volume and more about clarity. Less about covering every keyword and more about being unmistakably specific about who you are and what you do. A strong SEO foundation supports your voice, your work, and your values, and it's what makes you findable to the people who are actually looking for you. If that's already how you think about your business, you're in a better position than you might realise.
And if you're not sure where your foundations are, that's what an SEO audit is for.
