SEO in 2026

Yordan Dimitrov shares that you need to accept constant change in the world of SEO. Just because something works well today doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be trying to improve it for tomorrow. Yordan says: “Embrace change and test relentlessly.” Is there any type of change that we're most likely to have to embrace? “In the last 12 months, there has been so much change within the SEO industry, fro...

One of the keys to continually enhancing your SEO performance is to keep on testing, shares Andrew Cock-Starkey. Andrew says: “Test, test, test. Test a lot. Test lots of different things. Do some testing. How do you know what to test? “You don't want to test everything. What I normally advise is testing what your customers use, or what your target customers use. I used to work with a company where...

Laura Iancu talks about Inclusive language & LLMs and shares why what we feed AI matters. Talking points include: - How LLMs mirrors and multiplies human language - Setting up the core idea: the inputs we give AI systems shape the outputs they produce - How bias enters the system - Frame inclusive language not as “political correctness” but as data quality and system integrity; - End with a br...

One of the non-traditional platforms for SEO is app stores, and this is an opportunity that Filipa Serra Gaspar wishes to highlight. Filipa says: “This year, you should be considering App Store Optimization. Now, in the AI era, it is really important to be in a good position everywhere on the web – not only on traditional search engines. I'm talking about ASO because app stores should not be left...

AI can be used in many ways within the SEO function, and for Crystal Carter, it can be an effective tool to assist with the analysis of your digital footprint. Crystal says: “Use AI search optimization to deliver value across your business and your whole digital footprint.” What does the whole business look like these days? “With the emergence of AI search optimization and LLMs as a channel that p...

Mathilde Høj adds her voice to the call to diversification, highlighting that search and search behaviour have entirely changed. Mathilde says: “Search is no longer a channel, it's a behaviour. You need to adapt your entire marketing strategy to it, and have a more integrated approach.” What do you mean when you say that search is a behaviour? “It means that we see a lot of different things coming...

Ivana Flynn shares that in her opinion, your business may be in danger if you don’t diversify your SEO efforts. Ivana says: “First of all, don't give up: survive. Google is going crazy with all the updates. Diversify. You cannot rely on just one source of traffic. Google’s market share is shrinking, and there are new sources of traffic that we need to look into, including Reddit, which I will be t...

David Iwanow shares how to focus on the things that are hurting your brand. Discussion points include: What is typically hurting brand and revenue now? What is genAI? How do you track genAI success? How do you obtain genAI guidance? What tools do you use an why? How do you incorporate this into an overarching content strategy? What industries does this impact the most? How will this continue to ev...

Leading on from Ed Ziubrzynski’s tip, Sean Barber muses over what platforms you should consider optimizing for in 2026. Sean says: “Think beyond Google. The search landscape has gone way further than Google now.” What do you define as being beyond Google? “It's two-fold. First, there’s the fact that users aren't just starting their search journey on Google. They're starting it on all different pla...

What is SEO nowadays? According to Ed Ziubrzynski, it’s a lot more than just Google. Ed says: “SEO needs to be everything, everywhere, all at once – and at all times.” Does that mean everything in marketing, everything in business, or everything in the world? “Definitely everything in marketing. Gone are the days when SEO was solely split into on-site (your content work, blogs, landing pages, comm...

For Montserrat Cano, the key elements to include in your 2026 strategy are the parts that scale. Montserrat says: “In 2026, SEOs should stay grounded and focus on those strategies that scale across global markets, instead of chasing every single AI-related shiny object.” What are the strategies that scale across global markets? “The strategies I'm referring to are those strategies that reflect you...

Cathryn Stormont shares that good local SEO can still provide a lot of traffic. Cathryn says: “Focus on local SEO. With AI overviews and AI Mode dominating the SERPs, it's really important to focus on local SEO to try and maintain a certain level of traffic volume.” Is this more relevant for certain types of businesses? “There are businesses where their content is very much informational, like sol...

Tom Rudnai says that instead of chasing citations, focus your AEO strategy on showing up in Dark AI conversations where problems are framed. Talking points include: What are Dark AI conversations? How do AI responses change at different stages of the buyer journey? Why are citations is a bad north star metric? How should SEOs measure AI performance? What analytics to use? What content performs bes...

Gemma Fontané recommends that personalisation is key when it comes to international SEO success. Gemma says: “Focus on personalisation, adapting your content in each language and across different formats, to really build your brand in each region. These actions will allow you to stand out from your competition, demonstrate authority and expertise, compete in multilingual markets, and stay visible...

Global SEO isn’t about treating every market the same. As Lau Míguez puts it, ‘European markets demand full commitment and strong EEAT signals — well-positioned experts are now essential for success,’ and that expectation has only grown over the past few years. Lau says: “What’s really shifted is how demanding each market has become. Working closely with Spain, and across international campaigns,...

Simone De Palma warns that client-side routing and rendering can be problematic for rankings. Simone says: “Align with marketing goals, and make sure to challenge anything that is client-side routed or client-side rendered, especially within React web-based apps.” What do the terms client-side routed and client-side rendered mean, and what impact does that have on SEO? “To start with, I will just...

One of the ways that AI engines struggle with determining a brand’s topical relevance and authority is when they encounter inconsistent data, highlights Kaspar Szymanski. Kaspar says: “My tip is about data consistency, which is a topic that is very close to my heart.” How do you ensure data consistency in 2026? “Some people may not consider this to be the most innovative or popular concept, and it...

Krešimir Ćorluka shares that SEO is not dying, but bad SEO most certainly is. Talking points include: What is bad SEO? What doesn’t work anymore? What fundamentals work now? Where are SEOs confused with what works now? How do you learn and stay on top of what works now? How do you futureproof your future success? A lot of the stuff the average SEO has been doing has had the wrong fundamentals. Tec...

Arnout Hellemans advises that you don’t have to provide AI crawlers with full access to all of your content. Arnout says: “People really need to look at their technical setup. With that, I mean the rendered version versus the raw HTML – especially with a lot of AI crawlers not rendering yet, and also because I've seen a lot of discrepancies in that area.” Is the rendered version typically quite di...

One of the ways that you can enhance your website foundation is to combine high technical SEO standards with great user experience, shares Iva Jovanovic. Iva says: “Technical SEO and user experience will remain the foundation for websites, even when optimizing for AI chatbots.” Why do AI chatbots like user experience? “To start with, crawlability has been a topic in SEO for years and years. It's n...

To commence our technical SEO discussion, Jono Alderson advises against settling for an average website. Jono says: “Stop accepting technical mediocrity.” What does mediocrity look like in the world of technical SEO? “We all know it, and we see it all the time. We have accepted that it's normal for websites to be rubbish. Whether they're the ones we work on, our clients’, or the ones we browse, th...

In the previous tip, Eva Cheng shares the value of combining social and content with digital PR. Charlotte Crowther adds to that by also incorporating traditional PR. Charlotte says: “Don't ignore digital and brand PR. They are becoming really entwined with SEO, GEO, and LLMs. Ignoring branded digital PR is going to have a large impact on your visibility, particularly as we're seeing a move toward...

Jeremy Moser discusses how to create a SERP monopoly with off-page SEO. Talking points include: How to crowd SERPs with your brand and capture more mindshare at the bottom of the funnel - Why leveraging paid off-page strategies can still work - Zero click searches are less common at MOFU and BOFU searches, your goal is going narrow and deep and capturing market-share at decision making stages - To...

Eva Cheng shares that aligning social and content strategies will boost your digital PR success. Eva says: “Make your digital PR work harder with social and content alignment.” What does digital PR look like in 2026? “Digital PR in 2026 is all about trying to get your work featured within AI searches. We’re now seeing that a lot of people are relying on AI for the simplest queries, like the best r...

One of the key reasons why you should be embracing digital PR in 2026 is that AI pays a keen ear to what the press is saying. James says: “You need to be earning press mentions if you want your brand to be recommended by AI-powered search.” Why do you suggest press mentions over other content online? “When I talk about AI-powered search, I'm talking about Google's AI overviews and AI Mode, but als...