Expert answer / 21
Is SEO still worth it in Australia in 2027?
Short answer
SEO is still worth doing when it helps people find the services or products you actually sell. Google handles roughly 88% of Australian searches. Even as AI changes which results people click, the work that makes your site useful, trustworthy and easy to find can still bring in customers and help AI tools understand your business.
What does the strategy actually involve?
Start with the pages people need when they are close to choosing a provider or product. Give those pages a solid technical foundation and make sure they answer the questions buyers really have.
- Make key pages easy for search engines to crawl and index.
- Write for local and commercial searches with clear buying intent.
- Show what your business does and why people should trust it.
- Track enquiries and sales alongside traffic.
Why can this outperform heavy discounting?
On some searches, AI Overviews can reduce the click-through rate for the top result by around 50–58%, and more people are getting answers without clicking through. But local and commercial searches still lead to calls, bookings and purchases. Useful pages can also be cited in AI shortlists.
- AI visibility: Strong pages can help your business appear in AI answers; weak technical SEO can hold back both search and AI visibility.
- Measurement: Watch branded searches and citations as well as organic visits. Some people see your name, then search for it later.
- Budget: Keep investing when you can connect visibility to enquiries your business can actually win.
How do I put the campaign into action?
- Check which pages already rank and which commercial searches bring enquiries.
- Fix technical problems and improve the service or product pages buyers land on.
- Build useful supporting content around real customer questions.
- Track calls, forms and revenue from organic search, including AI referrals where you can.
- Compare this year’s enquiry volume and close rates with last year’s.
Factors to consider by type of business
- Online and ecommerce
- Put your effort into product and category pages. Generic blog traffic may bring fewer useful visits than it used to.
- Physical and local services
- Keep your Google Business Profile, local listings and location pages accurate. People still need to visit or call.
- Hospitality
- Show what the experience and location are like, and keep listings and reviews up to date.
- Professional services and B2B
- Share useful expertise that can build trust with buyers and make your business easier for AI tools to cite.
Other considerations that affect results
- AI visibility
- Pages that perform well in search may also be more likely to be cited in AI answers.
- Measurement
- Track branded searches and citations alongside organic sessions.
- Budget
- Continue or increase spend when there is a clear path from visibility to enquiries your business can convert.