Any webmaster here who had completely given up on SEO?

[savitaprasad]

What forced you to take such a decision?

 

[Topiano]

What forced you to take such a decision?

People do for different reasons .
Time for impact // Uncontrollable success rate.

People spend over 8 months consistently creating content, optimizing, and building links. Traffic barely moved, then one update and AI Overviews killed 70% of it overnight. Meanwhile, when you throw the same budget into paid ads and saw solid results in just two weeks.

 

[MrRajeshGoud]

For now, I just promote my website with social media, not seo anymore

 

[MattELD]

I'd say just not put that much effort in it..

 

[tazarbm]

yeah, I've given up on SEO, main reasons for this being...

- can't keep up with google's constantly moving goalposts
- haven't made any money recently because of reason above, but also because I'm a quick quitter
- have gotten health (and some offline too) issues that are stopping me from slaving 100% of my life for google
- I'm not tech-savvy and SEO had become too tech-intensive for my liking and skill

 

[ads studio]

I wouldn’t say i have given up completely its more like shift on how i use SEO. A lot of people burn out chasing constant updates or relying on it as their only traffic source. It’s smarter to keep basic SEO in place while building other channels like direct traffic or communities so you’re not dependent on rankings alone.

 

[Marketering]

What forced you to take such a decision?

I still make a living from SEO if I quit, I’d lose a significant source of income. That’s why I’ll continue pursuing SEO long-term.

 

[mason9320]

yeah i quit seo long ago, google updates kept killing my sites so i just moved to paid ads.

 

[savitaprasad]

I still make a living from SEO if I quit, I’d lose a significant source of income. That’s why I’ll continue pursuing SEO long-term.

For own sites or clients?

 

[RIA 377]

There are many reasons. The first reason is the time it takes to evaluate effectiveness, which is quite long. Then you need to spend a lot of time designing and building content, as well as optimizing it, and the cost of running ads is also quite high.

 

[dmffmd]

I haven’t given up on SEO, actually the opposite. I’m still learning, testing new methods and using AI to improve the process.
What makes it hard is the amount of time it takes. For me, it still doesn’t generate real income, so other projects are basically what keep me afloat.
Only after about 2 years did Google start giving me at least some movement, but so far it’s still more about progress than profit.

 

[SerpPirate]

Yep, still here, burnout's real. I keep a toe in SEO for the occasional paycheck, not for the thrill. Updates come and go; I adapt and move on.

 

[asano]

No.

SEO was never a standalone it is a part of a total brand building effort.
I gave up on churn and burn years ago, but solid traffic from valuable content is something I see
lasting for the foreseeable future.

Heck, even AI relies on it for fresh data collection.

You don't have answer engines optimization without humans knowing shit and putting it online.

 

[savitaprasad]

I wouldn’t say i have given up completely its more like shift on how i use SEO. A lot of people burn out chasing constant updates or relying on it as their only traffic source. It’s smarter to keep basic SEO in place while building other channels like direct traffic or communities so you’re not dependent on rankings alone.

Very solid advice. If you depend on only one source, you are already living at their mercy all the time.

 

[DeadJoe]

Because it is unreliable as hell. Not really something you should rely on for a living anymore.

 

[savitaprasad]

Because it is unreliable as hell. Not really something you should rely on for a living anymore.

What alternatives are you trying if not that?

 

[leriack]

Yes, some people skip Search Engine Optimization and focus only on good content and social media.
But it's not right to skip it completely because that's where most visitors usually come from.

 

[alonelywriter]

I have stopped considering SEO a major part of getting traffic and getting the ROI. I use it as a tool to create my brand profile that can be recognized when people look for my niche.

 

[savitaprasad]

It does happen usually people give up on SEO when they rely on short-term tactics, don’t see consistent results, or struggle with constant algorithm changes. In most cases, it’s less about SEO “not working” and more about strategy, patience, or expectations not matching reality.

That is the case with majority of people. Patience is also decreasing in most webmasters these. Reasons are numerous but it is more because of social media.

 

[TKV AGENCY]

Currently, besides SEO, there are many other ways for people to reach customers, so many people give up on SEO because it takes more time and effort. However, those who persevere will achieve some success.