Why Pain Points, Not Keywords, Will Decide Your SEO Future

For years, search engine optimization was about keywords. If you wanted to attract customers for Botox treatments in Amsterdam, you would build a landing page optimized around the words “Botox treatment Amsterdam.” The logic was simple: people search with keywords, Google indexes keywords, and the best-optimized page wins.

But the world has changed. The rise of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude has fundamentally shifted how people search — and how search engines deliver results. Instead of typing in “Botox treatment Amsterdam,” someone might ask:

“I look tired, and my friends say I should consider a treatment. I’m not sure if Botox is the right solution for me — what should I do?”

That’s a very different kind of query. It’s not a keyword hunt; it’s a conversation. And here’s the uncomfortable truth: if your website only answers “what is Botox” with a one-sentence definition, you will not appear in that conversation. LLMs already know the definition — they don’t need you for that.

What they do need is content that shows you understand the person behind the query. Their doubts. Their fears. Their pain points.

Pain Points Are the New Keywords

In the future of search, visibility won’t be earned by repeating the service you offer, but by demonstrating that you understand the context around why someone might need it.

In our Botox example, the content that gets surfaced will not be a sterile page about “Botox in Amsterdam.” It will be an article that says:

• Many people first consider Botox when they feel they look more tired than they actually are.
• They often wonder whether Botox is the right solution or whether alternatives exist.
• They may feel anxious about safety, side effects, or whether results look “natural.”
• Here’s how a professional consultation helps sort through these concerns.

Only after you’ve addressed the problem can you position your service as the solution.

Why This Matters for DTC Brands and Service Businesses

I work with DTC companies across Europe and the USA, and I see the same pattern everywhere. Brands that only describe what they sell risk becoming invisible. Brands that describe the problems they solve — in the language real people use — stand out.

Think about it this way:

• A skincare brand shouldn’t just rank for “anti-aging serum.” It should answer, “My skin feels dull even after I moisturize — what can I do?”
• A mattress company shouldn’t just optimize for “memory foam mattress.” It should explain, “Why do I wake up with back pain even though I bought a new bed last year?”
• A financial services firm shouldn’t just say “pension planning Zurich.” It should address, “I’m 40, have two kids, and don’t know if I’m saving enough — how do I even start?”

Each of these queries is situational, contextual, and deeply tied to a pain point. That is the future of SEO in a world mediated by LLMs.

How to Adapt Your Content Strategy

So how do you build for this new reality? A few principles I share with clients:

1. Map the emotional journey. What doubts, fears, or frustrations bring someone to you? List them out before you write a single line of content.
2. Write in scenarios, not slogans. Start with “If you’re feeling X or struggling with Y, here’s how to think about it.”
3. Go deeper than definitions. Simple, one-line explanations will be absorbed directly into LLM training data. What gets surfaced are the in-depth, situational answers.
4. Connect pain points to outcomes. Don’t just empathize — explain how you help resolve the issue and what life looks like after.

The Bottom Line

In the era of large language models, situational and contextual content production is the new SEO. The companies that win will not be those who repeat their service offering the loudest, but those who demonstrate the clearest understanding of their customers’ problems.

If you can articulate a client’s pain point better than they can, you earn trust. If you can solve it, you earn their business.

That is the shift every brand leader should be preparing for today.