If Google answers the question directly, why write the article? It is a fair question, and the honest answer is that some content is no longer worth producing, while other content matters more than it did.
The case against
Top-of-funnel content means articles aimed at people who are researching rather than buying. Historically it earned traffic that you hoped would eventually convert. Two things have weakened that: AI answers intercept many of these visits, and the conversion rate from this kind of visit was always poor and rarely measured honestly.
If your blog exists to publish general explainers that any site could have written, that content is now producing very little. Stopping is a reasonable decision.
The case for
Content still earns its place when it does something a summary cannot: demonstrate specific expertise, answer a question only your business can answer, or reach someone at the moment they are choosing a supplier. Generic explainers are being replaced by AI answers. Specific, experience-based content is what those answers are built from.
There is also a second job that has become more important. Content is how AI systems learn what your business does and whether it is credible. If nothing on your site explains your specialisms in any depth, there is nothing for those systems to draw on when someone asks for a recommendation.
How to decide, per article
- Could any competent writer produce this without knowing your business? If yes, do not write it.
- Does it answer a question your customers actually ask you? If yes, write it, because you have real answers and most competitors do not.
- Would someone reading it be closer to choosing you? If yes, it is worth the time regardless of traffic.
- Is it about pricing, process, comparison or what to expect? These consistently convert and are rarely written well.
What we would write instead of general explainers
Pieces on what things cost and what drives the cost. Comparisons between two options a customer is genuinely weighing. Explanations of your own process. Answers to the objections you hear on the phone. None of these attract huge traffic, and all of them reach people who are close to buying.
That is the shift: fewer articles, aimed at fewer people, closer to the decision. See our SEO services for how this fits into a wider plan.
Frequently asked questions
Should I stop blogging entirely?
Stop writing general explainers that any site could have published, because those are being replaced by AI answers. Keep writing content only your business could produce: pricing guidance, comparisons, your own process, and answers to objections you hear on the phone.
How do I know whether an article is worth writing?
Ask whether a competent writer could produce it without knowing your business. If yes, do not write it. Then ask whether someone reading it would be closer to choosing you. If yes, write it even if the traffic will be small.
Does content still matter for AI search?
More than before, but differently. Content is how AI systems learn what your business does and whether it is credible. If nothing on your site explains your specialisms in depth, there is nothing for those systems to draw on when someone asks for a recommendation.
Talk to a Kolkata digital marketing specialist
Tell us what you sell and who you sell it to. We will tell you honestly whether we can help, what it would involve, and roughly what it costs.
