Why HubSpot Is Losing Traffic – And How You Can Avoid the Same Fate
Major companies are losing traffic from traditional search engines due to AI. Here’s why and how to rank in search results in the AI age.
Hi, it’s Andreas, and I’m back with Growth—my newsletter exploring the funnels and growth tactics of today’s top startups.
In this issue, we’re examining the news about HubSpot losing search traffic - a topic that dominated the marketing landscape a couple of weeks ago. I’m also answering some burning questions we discussed in the subscriber chat.
Let’s dive in
So, four weeks ago, the marketing news was filled with the headline, 'HubSpot lost 80% of its traffic due to AI.'
Looking at their visibility index, it is true that they have been losing more and more visibility and traffic.
In the podcast Marketing Against the Grain, Hubspot’s SVP and CMO discussed what happened. Yes, they lost some traffic for reasons we’ll go over here, but it wasn’t as much as 80%.
The good thing is that HubSpot saw this problem coming years ago and took preventive measures by shifting its strategy - for example, acquiring newsletters like “The Hustle” and expanding its presence across different formats and channels.
This means conversions still remain stable on HubSpot’s end.
Nevertheless, I was curious about what was behind this news and why did they lose traffic?
The Death of Generic Content
In 2024, the largest market share among all search engines was still held by Google. Even though AI had already entered the scene.
On May 14, 2024, Google introduced something called “Google AI Overview” (no worries if you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s not available in every country yet).
Google AI Overview is essentially an AI-generated summary of your search query, placed at the top of all search results. In other words, Google’s AI now gives answers to what you’re looking for.
And similar to Perplexity, you can find the sources from which the AI pulls its information beneath the summary.
But how does this influence Google rankings?
We’ve seen popular companies like HubSpot build successful SEO strategies over the years for generic search terms, like:
Back when SEO wasn’t so popular, there were a lot of low-quality answers to those questions.
HubSpot, for example, took advantage of this by creating content that answered people’s questions in a more detailed way. This helped them rank higher, drive traffic to their site, and bring people into the funnel.
But with Google AI Overview, this strategy no longer works.
For questions like “What is Sales Planning?” people now get instant answers directly from Google. That means they no longer have to visit a website and scroll through endless fluff to find the answer - Google now provides a simple summary.
This, in turn, takes away traffic from all the sites ranking for these keywords.
So, with that, the question is: How can you still rank on Google? And how do you make AI talk about you?
Let me answer those questions separately.
How to Rank on Google in the AI Age
In March 2024, Google announced the following:
This means it is more important than ever to provide “the most helpful” information and avoid “unoriginal” content.
This also makes Google’s E-E-A-T framework more relevant than ever. First introduced in 2018, this framework helps Google evaluate the quality and credibility of content.
As Backlinko explains here, the acronym stands for:
So what does this mean? What kind of content works nowadays when AI is taking over?
This was my answer to it in a Note:
But to state it more clear, I see two ways to rank today:
SEO will primarily become a conversion-focused channel and you have to focus on middle- and bottom-of-the funnel content around your industry and product.
You make your awareness-creating, question-answering content so good that no AI can replace it
For 1:
Awareness creation has largely shifted to social media and other channels. This means people are more likely to first read about your startup or product on social platforms rather than on Google or other search engines.
However, since search still plays a dominant role, people will eventually turn to Google to look for your solution or similar products. If you create MoFu and BoFu content for search, people will find you when they search for your solution or industry on Google.
💡 You may have already heard about ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu—a concept that breaks down the funnel into different stages. This framework allows you to divide e.g. your content strategy & SEO into:
ToFu-Content (Top of the Funnel): Focuses on the customer’s problem, answers questions and drives awareness.
MoFu-Content (Middle of the Funnel): Educates customers about the solution your company offers.
BoFu-Content (Bottom of the Funnel): Explains why customers should choose your specific solution.
For 2:
If we follow Google’s E-E-A-T framework, top-of-the-funnel content can still work - if it’s not generic.
By that, I mean you need to share your own experiences. Talking about content where you genuinely provide value through detailed how-to guides, like this one from Brian Dean (Backlinko) “How to Create an Effective SEO Strategy”, where he shares his own expertise.
Or content that offers a unique perspective, exclusive data, or original insights—things AI can’t replicate.
This kind of content will help you to rank and gain traffic much faster.
How to Rank for AI Searches
To answer this question, we first need to understand how AI searches work.
Here, I want to refer to an article from HubSpot - pretty iconic after that intro, right?
HubSpot differentiates between GEO (Generative Engine Optimization, i.e., content for AI searches) and SEO, explaining the key differences:
That being said, we need to focus on structure, clarity, and quality.
When it comes to AI search, the ultimate goal (today) should be for AI-generated answers to reference you.
Here, content that follows the E-E-A-T principles also performs well. As seen in the example above, when we search for it in Perplexity, we once again see Backlinko’s article, which follows these principles exactly.
But let’s assume AI works like ChatGPT and doesn’t show sources (unless you ask for them).
What then?
I’m sure most AI models will reach that point because, as they are trained on vast amounts of data, it will become increasingly difficult to trace sources.
At that stage, I’m convinced the goal will be to create awareness for your product through other channels - such as social media.
Then it comes back to the MoFu and BoFu content I talked about above.
So whenever someone is talking to AI about your industry or your kind of products, with MoFu and BoFu content you increase the chances of appearing in AI-generated search results.
From my own experience, I’ve seen that AI often pulls from FAQs, "How it Works"-pages, and Success Stories of your website.
Having this structured clearly, user-friendly, and focused on answering key questions while highlighting value makes it more likely that AI will use your information.
Final Words
Success in the AI-driven search landscape still comes down to mastering the fundamentals of SEO while adapting to new realities. The key is to create content that AI can’t easily replicate - whether through unique insights, personal experiences, or high-value, structured information.
By focusing on middle- and bottom-of-the-funnel content, optimizing for clarity and credibility (E-E-A-T), and leveraging multiple channels beyond search, you can maintain visibility and conversions.
Ultimately, ranking in AI searches starts with getting traditional SEO right.
Whenever you're ready, here is how I can help you:
Growth Call (30 min): Stuck on a growth tactic? Let’s fix it—whether it’s landing pages, cold outreach, or social media strategy → Book here
Growth Strategy Call (60 min): Let’s define your startup’s growth strategy & tactics to attract and convert customers effectively → Book here
Get Featured: Share your winning growth hack & promote your product to founders, growth strategists & marketers in my Growth Bite format → Reach out here or via mail: mail@andreasjust.me
PS: If you enjoyed this case study, please tap the like button below. Thank you! 💛
This was really helpful
Thank you Andreas
Wow nice deep analysis it helps a lot