You know that sinking feeling when you open your organic traffic report and see… nothing impressive. The graph is flat, and you’re already dreading having to explain to your boss why the SEO budget doesn’t seem to be “paying off.” But here’s the reality: flat traffic is no longer a clear sign of failure. Some of the strongest SEO campaigns I’ve managed lately showed modest or even stagnant traffic, yet produced outstanding business outcomes. I’ll walk you through why that’s not automatically a problem and how to explain it clearly. Why flat traffic isn’t the warning sign it once was Last year, a client in the home services industry saw their organic traffic not just level off, but actually dip over a six‑month period. Their CEO was understandably nervous. But here’s what the traffic graph didn’t reveal: Conversion rates from organic visitors had climbed by 10%. Total leads generated from SEO had grown 8% year over year. This isn’t a one-off story. It’s becoming the standard, and AI Overviews are a major driver. Google’s AI Overviews now compile answers directly on the results page, pulling from multiple sites to give users what they want without a click. When someone searches “best project management software for small teams,” Google no longer just lists blue links. It produces a detailed response right on the SERP. Your content may be powering that response, but the click will never show up in your analytics. That creates a serious attribution challenge. Organic click-through rates…