A sensational report from Ahrefs in April 2025<\/a> highlights: The introduction of AI Overviews has led to an average decrease in click-through rate of 34.5%.<\/p> Data basis? 300,000 keywords, a one-year comparison period, all with informational intent. The thesis: The better Google provides the answer directly in the search result, the fewer clicks are needed on the actual website. And this can be measured. <\/p> In Ahrefs’ study, the average CTR for position 1 dropped from 7.3% to 2.6% – despite still having good rankings. And this is just the beginning. <\/p> The problem is: You don’t immediately recognize this trend in your tools. The Google Search Console provides no separate data on clicks for AI Overviews. There is no clear visibility into how many users click on your linked content in the overviews – or do not click. <\/p> And exactly this is what we are experiencing in practice right now. Here are some examples from our work and experiences. <\/p> A perfect example of this is an earlier client project of ours. A specialized niche shop that we built in its first version. With the relaunch in September 2024 and a switch to Shopify, the client handed over SEO management to an SEO freelancer. Due to the system change and the changing URLs, there was initially a drop in rankings. Since January 2025, the rankings have recovered.<\/p> If you look at the visibility curve today, you could say: It’s working. The Sistrix index value has never been as high as it is now. <\/p> We have not been servicing the customer for about a year now, but we have not been removed from the Search Console either. So let’s take a look at the real numbers. In fact, the Google Search Console reveals a different truth than the Sistrix chart: <\/p> 3-month comparison to the previous year:<\/p> It would have been expected that clicks and visibility would have increased, as the Sistrix data shows better rankings than in the previous year. Through Google Ads, Google Shopping, and Google Product Snippets, the search engine has managed to divert the attention of searchers to other aspects. Those who were able to expand their organic visibility have still lost. <\/p> The trend is even clearer on a 28-day level:<\/p> The downward trend continues. What has happened? We assume that the rollout of AI Overviews for all users (not just logged-in ones) is accelerating its effect here, which is particularly evident in the further decline in the click-through rate. Especially for niche shops with complex products, Google is increasingly scraping content – without users even having to click at all. <\/p> Our conclusion regarding Case 1: Visibility alone will not be enough in 2025. Those who rely on rankings do not necessarily have traffic. And those who do not adjust their SEO measures to changing user behavior and new SERP logics will ultimately lose – no matter how nice the SISTRIX curve looks. <\/p> A current project from our agency shows how SEO will still work in 2025 – if you know which levers to pull.<\/p> The online shop belongs to the food industry, offers products from the “forest,” and had been rather inconspicuous in the SERPs until the end of 2024. Our task: more visibility, more traffic, more sales.<\/p> How have the rankings developed? Let’s take a look at Sistrix: <\/p> We designed and developed the online shop, and since 2023 it has been under our SEO care. Since October 2024, visibility has more than tripled. The curve shows: no stagnation, no setbacks – only continuous growth.<\/p> What have we done?<\/p> Does the result also reflect in actual traffic? An impressive before-and-after comparison for the last three months compared to the same period last year in the Search Console: <\/p> Last 3 months (2025) vs. Previous year:<\/p> And it continues – because in parallel to the content offensive, we have tidied up on a technical level. The Core Web Vitals reports show the result in black and white: <\/p> 149 good URLs on desktop, 149 good URLs on mobile. 0 pages to optimize – and that is noticeable. The PageSpeed optimizations were important. Above all, the shop suffered when we integrated Amazon Pay. The JavaScripts caused problems. The CruX board clearly shows how the LCP optimization has had an impact. <\/p> Conclusion to Case 2: SEO still works – but not superficially anymore. Those who simply “create content” or install a theme will not achieve much today. However, those who strategically plan their content, deliver it technically clean, and simultaneously optimize loading times, UX, and structure can still grow organically by 2025… even “despite” AI Overviews.<\/p> The third example is about a current customer project that is actually very seasonal: a boat rental company specializing in holiday regions in Germany. It’s a classic case of operating from March to October, with a lull for the rest of the year. <\/p> Right?<\/p> In fact, this case shows that even in a seasonally dominated market, continuous visibility building is possible when content, technical foundation, and search intent work together.<\/p> Here are the numbers from Google Search Console for the last 28 days compared to the previous year:<\/p> What stands out:<\/p> The CTR has fallen – like in many projects in 2025 – from 4.0% to 2.7%.<\/p> In short: The visibility is there. The attention is also there. However, clicks are becoming more difficult. <\/p> The SISTRIX visibility trend confirms the long-term trend:<\/p> What have we done?<\/p> Conclusion for Case 3: Even in seasonal industries, visibility can be built year-round. And with the last 28 days, we can show that despite AI Overviews, an increase in clicks is possible, even if it’s not as easy as it was. This is evident when you compare the click growth (+17.8%) with the improvement in impressions (+71.1%) and the decline in CTR (from 4 to 2.7%). SEO is not a weather report, but long-term navigation. Once you plan the course cleanly, you don’t need to constantly steer frantically in turbulent waters; instead, you just have to sail a little harder against the wind today.<\/p> TutKit.com is our own project – and at the same time the best proof that SEO will still work in 2025, provided you are willing to combine effort and structure. What we recommend to clients, we implement internally as well. And not sporadically, but consistently – in terms of content, technical aspects, and user experience.<\/p> The starting point: In 2024, we began our international rollout. From one language, we expanded to 28. At the same time, we scaled our content model – focusing on clear search intents (“Know” and “Do”), topic clusters, semantic depth, and an architecture that is both crawlable and usable.<\/p> The result:<\/p> The foundation of growth was not solely machine translation, but:<\/p> Result:<\/p> Visibility index worldwide: 28.50<\/p> The German visibility also shows: The content concept works even without language multiplication. The number of URLs in the Top 100 and Top 10 is increasing weekly. We are gaining visibility. <\/p> What was done additionally? Everything that others only recommend. At the turn of the year, I like to read the predictions of international SEOs, and some shared the same mantra: <\/p> “Do more image SEO.”<\/em> So we did exactly that.<\/p> Image SEO:<\/p> Video first:<\/p> We are convinced that this consistently media-diverse content strategy has significantly improved user signals such as dwell time. The time on site is increasing. The bounce rate is decreasing. The click paths are extending. Google notices that users are satisfied – and we see it in the growth.<\/p> More content means more URLs, more technical challenges. That’s why we have worked just as consistently on a technical level: currently indexing 325,760 pages. The chart shows that we have now created a system that enables us to publish and get over 100,000 pages indexed… per quarter. The multilingualism provides us with a real multiplier. And we are happy to utilize this, especially when such beautiful charts are created:<\/p> With such content scaling<\/strong>, large platforms also reach their limits. The databases need to be optimized and all settings readjusted to ensure that the website speed<\/strong> does not plummet. In fact, there is a correlation between large multilingual platforms and PageSpeed issues<\/a>.<\/p>Case 1: Visibility at record levels – but traffic collapses<\/h2>
![\"Visibility](\"https:\/\/4eck-media.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/relaunch_online_shop_sichtbarkeit_e72d0dac5d.avif\" "\\"\\"")
\n<\/picture>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>![\"Online](\"https:\/\/4eck-media.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/relaunch_online_shop_klicks_impressions_62c4a5314e.avif\" "\\"\\"")
\n<\/picture>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n
\n
Case 2: Visibility? Exploded. Technology? Optimized. Result? Clicks nearly doubled. <\/h2>
![\"visibility-online-shop-seo-rankings-sistrix.png\"](\"https:\/\/4eck-media.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sichtbarkeit_online_shop_seo_rankings_sistrix_4f6714a9d9.avif\" "\\"\\"")
\n<\/picture>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n
![\"visibility-online-shop-seo-clicks-impressions.png\"](\"https:\/\/4eck-media.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sichtbarkeit_online_shop_seo_klicks_impressions_74139e0f1d.avif\" "\\"\\"")
\n<\/picture>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n
![\"Core](\"https:\/\/4eck-media.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sichtbarkeit_online_shop_core_web_vitals_passed_91e3cac992.avif\" "\\"Core")
\n<\/picture>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>![\"visibility-online-shop-lcp-improved.png\"](\"https:\/\/4eck-media.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sichtbarkeit_online_shop_lcp_improved_5bedd6d195.avif\" "\\"\\"")
\n<\/picture>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>Case 3: Seasonal business? Yes. Growth? Nonetheless year-round. <\/h2>
![\"Clicks](\"https:\/\/4eck-media.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/bootscharterer_search_console_7a64db6b32.avif\" "\\"\\"")
\n<\/picture>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n
\n
![\"Boat](\"https:\/\/4eck-media.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/bootscharterer_sistrix_f0a9891102.avif\" "\\"\\"")
\n<\/picture>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n
Case 4: From 1 to 28 Languages with International SEO – Scaling with Structure and Substance<\/h2>
\n
![\"multilingualism-project-seo.png\"](\"https:\/\/4eck-media.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/mehrsprachigkeitsprojekt_seo_a29d27a342.avif\" "\\"\\"")
\n<\/picture>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>Internationalization ≠ Translation<\/h3>
\n
\n
![\"urls-top-10-100-sistrix.png\"](\"https:\/\/4eck-media.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/urls_top_10_100_sistrix_cf0e23e086.avif\" "\\"\\"")
\n<\/picture>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>
“Make video content a priority.”<\/em>
“Enhance your UX. Strengthen the signals.” <\/em><\/p>\n
\n
Technical basis: stable & scalable<\/h3>
![\"cls-problem-solving.png\"](\"https:\/\/4eck-media.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/contentskalierung_tutkit_ef1be58cf2.avif\" "\\"\\"")
\n<\/picture>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>
![\"cls-problem-solving.png\"](\"https:\/\/4eck-media.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/cls_probleme_loesen_be659992f9.avif\" "\\"\\"")
\n<\/picture>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>![\"Missed](\"https:\/\/4eck-media.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/missed_user_data_core_web_vitals_c0b2dd9509.avif\" "\\"Missed")
\n<\/picture>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>![\"pagespeed-tutkit.png\"](\"https:\/\/4eck-media.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/pagespeed_tutkit_dceae6c09a-1.avif\" "\\"PageSpeed")
\n<\/picture>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>