The SEO & search landscape in 2026 is changing fast. Like, blink and you missed it fast. Especially with the rise of AI and new ways people are searching for information. It’s a lot to take in.
And because of that, everyone & their mom has a “hot take” about it, even if they don’t DO SEO.
Which is what makes this moment so frustrating for business owners.
It’s not that there’s a lack of SEO advice. There’s too much of it. Outdated tactics, overconfident hot takes, and recycled tips from people who haven’t tested anything for themselves in YEARS.
Or people that honestly don’t understand the *nuance* required to get SEO results in 2026.
So instead of adding to the chaos, I did the opposite and gathered this roundup of advice from 15+ SEO professionals who actually do SEO for a living.
Wild idea, right? 🤠
Here’s what we think SEO *REALLY* looks like heading into 2026…
“SEO is going to be harder to bullshit…”
Where do you see SEO headed in 2026?
I think SEO is going to be harder to bullshit in 2026 (and beyond).
It’s shifting from trying to “game the algorithm” to “how do we play the game” – because the results you get from playing the game, by the rules, are SO MUCH more sustainable. And they’re easier to build on.
What do I mean by all this though? To win with SEO in 2026, your brand & business has to be clear, helpful, and trustworthy across the web, not just on your website.
Google, AI tools, and search platforms are all trying to answer the same question: “Who should we recommend?” And the sites that are getting mentioned aren’t the ones pumping out 3 blogs a week or stuffing keywords. They’re the ones with strong foundations, clear positioning, REAL social proof, and content that ACTUALLY answers what people are asking.
Search is becoming less about volume and more about signal quality: clear services, clean site structure, helpful long-form content, consistent brand signals, and credibility built over time.
If your website reads like a human wrote it for other humans and clearly communicates what problem you solve and who you solve it for? You’re in a really good position.
What are you focusing on for yourself (or your clients) going into 2026?
Honestly, doing the foundations REALLY REALLY well.
I know it’s not a sexy answer, but I believe that understanding your audience, their pain points, what solutions they want, AND focusing on user intent more than anything else is really what’s going to drive the needle forward, sustainably. It’s less about empty data, and more about the RIGHT signals.
And then taking the information & strategy, and infusing it into the assets of business that aren’t directly ON the website; brand signals, optimized social profiles, media mentions & PR, youtube videos, etc.
SEO isn’t dying. It’s expanding. And it’s cool to see everything work together across the web vs. feeling so siloed like it used to be.
If someone’s just starting to care about SEO in 2026, what advice would you give them?
Your website & online presence is THE training manual about your brand/business for search engines and AI tools. Get SUPER clear on what you do, how you help, and what you want to be known for. That alone will keep you focused & drive results!
Connect:
Mariah Magazine (Mariah Magazine)
YouTube: @mariahmagazine & Instagram: @mariahmagazineco
“I foresee more business owners prioritizing SEO because it doesn’t require constant performance and output.“
Where do you see SEO headed in 2026?
Social media feels more noisy and unpredictable now more than ever. I’m hearing a lot of business owners want to either move off of it completely or make it more of a passive part of their marketing strategy. I foresee more business owners prioritizing SEO because it doesn’t require constant performance and output.
Lots of talk about AI stealing everyone’s website traffic and hurting rankings and while that’s partly true, I think AI is actually rewarding sites that are clear, helpful, and authoritative, not necessarily those publishing the most or longest content.
I’m also paying close attention to local SEO. For service-based businesses, especially what I’ve seen among my clients in wellness and professional services, local visibility is still one of the strongest opportunities. Google Business Profiles, location-based pages, and reviews will continue to drive high-intent traffic without requiring massive budgets.
That Maps pack is prime real estate that Google will not be taking away.
What are you focusing on for yourself (or your clients) going into 2026?
Going into 2026, I’m narrowing my focus. I’ve worked with both online businesses and local, in-person service providers, but I’m placing a stronger emphasis on businesses with physical locations, especially health clinics and wellness practices. The ROI is clearer, the intent is higher, and SEO efforts translate more directly into booked appointments.
For both my own business and my clients’, my focus is going to be on improving what already exists and repurposing…which may be a YouTube channel or podcast.
If someone’s just starting to care about SEO in 2026, what advice would you give them?
Super simple: SEO works best when your website clearly explains who you help, how you help them, and where. Everything else builds from there.
Connect:
Maggie Schneider (Hilltop Help)
Instagram: @hilltophelp
“SEO is more about specificity & depth than just checking things off a to-do list or hitting a word count.“
Where do you see SEO headed in 2026?
AI is forcing search to be more human – that means that for every page on your site, every blog you write, and every collection you create, you have to think deeply about the person who is reading your content.
What motivated them to make their search?
What problems are they trying to solve?
What questions do they need to have answered to feel confident in reaching out or making a purchase decision? SEO is more about specificity & depth than just checking things off a to-do list or hitting a word count.
What are you focusing on for yourself (or your clients) going into 2026?
Especially with the rise of AI search, it’s all about creating context for search engines & users.
It’s not that you’re selling pants, you’re selling the foundation of the perfect girl’s night outfit, or a staple in your work wardrobe.
You aren’t an RMT, you’re the solution for lower pack pain, athletic recovery, or postpartum discomfort.
One item or service, multiple contexts depending on who you are wanting to serve. This can be in the form of blog posts, niche service pages based on your use cases or ideal clients, hyper-niche collection or product pages, and more!
AI, search engines and users aren’t going to guess how you can best help them – you have to paint a clear picture the customer can see themselves in.
If someone’s just starting to care about SEO in 2026, what advice would you give them?
Treat every page on your website like it’s the first page a new user is seeing – do they know who you are, what you do, and why they should work with you?
Connect:
Tedi Bezna (Searchlight Digital)
Instagram: @searchlightdigital
“Business owners are finally optimizing their sites & getting strategic with their content. And I’m not just talking blog posts…“
Where do you see SEO headed in 2026?
Back to the basics. I know, I know—it’s a boring answer, but stay with me! 2025 was a year of refinement, of shedding (the year of the snake, IYKYK), & realignment.
We’re done building our lives around our businesses & we’re ready to prioritize our efforts in a much smarter way.
For example…countless business owners have realized that the ‘gram is not where it’s at, and they’re finally making eye contact with SEO.
I’m seeing business owners finally optimizing (or thoughtfully re-optimizing their sites) & then getting strategic with their content. And I’m not just talking blog posts—although those cuties ain’t going nowhere!
I’m talking all sorts of content optimization opportunities like SEO for podcasts, case studies (think: client success stories), social posts (if you still wanna play over there), & even image titles.
What are you focusing on for yourself (or your clients) going into 2026?
I’ve done a great job of focusing on these things for my clients—now it’s my turn!
I realize that buyers are taking MUCH more time to investigate possible solutions before making a purchase. They want to hear your opinions, understand your process, & see what you’ve helped others achieve. So that means I’ll be putting a lot more emphasis on sharing my opinions, process, & client wins (aka: case studies)!
And I’ll be doing this in a very strategic way—starting with my podcast.
I’ve had so much shift internally over the course of 2025 & my website copy just doesn’t reflect that right now. So after a quick rewrite & rebrand (all happening in Q1 🎉), my focus will shift to sharing optimized content of all kinds.
If someone’s just starting to care about SEO in 2026, what advice would you give them?
You’re right on time! Start with your website (it’s home base) & branch out to content after that. And don’t just guess at the best keywords for you—start by thinking about who you help, how you help them, & what you want to get found for.
Takes a little longer, but works MUCH faster! 😉
Connect:
Brittany Herzberg (Copy by B.)
Instagram: @brittany_herzberg
“Website copy that speaks to your ideal clients is going to both help your business but also help your visibility on AI platforms.”
Where do you see SEO headed in 2026?
I think all the SEO best practices and really making sure you’re focusing on your website visitors is only going to become more important with all the changes with AI happening.
People don’t want websites that are obviously written by robots, so they’re just going to leave sites quickly to find a better option.
They’re using an average of 23 words for searches on AI platforms compared to an average of 3-4 words on Google.
So website copy and content are only going to become more important for AI tools to crawl websites and know who to recommend for these more specific searches people are using AI for.
I also think brand mentions are going to continue to be important since they’re like “endorsements” for your website and reinforce your expertise. Search engines and AI are looking for these trust signals to recommend the best businesses and weed out all the bot or spammy websites out there.
What are you focusing on for yourself (or your clients) going into 2026?
I’m definitely still focusing on building strong SEO foundations with my clients, but I’m also starting to focus on AI Search strategies to help my clients get recommended by AI platforms more often.
Google isn’t going anywhere, but more people are starting to use AI platforms as search engines.
So doing things like having FAQs, writing informative website copy (with the most important info towards the top of the page), getting great reviews, really leaning into what makes your business unique, having a strong content strategy, and getting brand mentions from a variety of places can help boost your AI visibility.
If someone’s just starting to care about SEO in 2026, what advice would you give them?
Focus on giving your potential clients all the information they need to know about you and your services and speak to them like a human.
Google and AI tools need the same information your potential clients do, and humans are the ones hiring you anyway so focus on them first.
Connect:
Julia Bocchese (Julia Renee Consulting)
Instagram: @juliareneeconsulting
“SEO is literally the thing that teaches the internet how to talk about you/your brand…“
Where do you see SEO headed in 2026?
Since AI is changing search behavior so rapidly, it is imperative that our websites make it BEYOND easy to get information and start the process of buying something.
No more clunky, shitty websites in 2026, friends. People will literally zoom right past ya and go for the (probably dumber) other option JUST BECAUSE their site gave them the experience they wanted.
I’m not saying your website needs to be fancy with a bunch of bells and whistles, but I am saying that it needs to work well, make sense to people who aren’t you and make it super easy to take the next step.
Prioritizing your website content to match your vibe is a MUST HAVE in 2026. Business owners are encouraged to spend SO MUCH TIME creating content for social media, but not often encouraged to spend time on their websites.
It results in their websites getting neglected and eventually leads to them not getting the leads/sales they want/need.
If your website sucks, all of your hard work is going no where.
EVEN IF it’s showing up on Google, in AI search results, on ChatGPT, on Instagram, on LinkedIn. You could show up literally everywhere…but if the user experience of your website makes that next step hard, it’ll be a hard pass from that potential new client.
What are you focusing on for yourself (or your clients) going into 2026?
Quality over quantity is my 2026 mindset. We don’t always need MORE content.
Often, we need BETTER content. And that applies to literally everything – from website pages to blog posts to social media content and email marketing. I
‘m coaching my clients to stop using ChatGPT to write their blog posts and all of their captions because faster isn’t always better when it comes to marketing ROI.
Instead, I want them focusing on creating quality content that is written for more than just a keyword ranking.
Sure, we will be mindful of how people are searching and what keywords to include, but what we’re seeing now in the age of AI is that literal keywords don’t matter as much anymore. What actually matters is how clearly the content answers the question.
So, instead of spending all of our time writing new blog posts for the sake of publishing new content, I’d rather use that time to focus on existing content that performs well and fine-tuning it to get even more out of it. We’re talking things like site structure, page formatting, header tags, meta titles and descriptions, image alt tags, all the boring SEO things that most people skip for the sake of time.
AI has changed the way people are interacting with websites, so prioritizing your user experience + fine-tuning your high performing content is where the SEO gold is at this year.
If someone’s just starting to care about SEO in 2026, what advice would you give them?
2026 is the year that your SEO strategy needs to be your top priority. Not your social content strategy. Not your email marketing strategy. (Yes, those things still matter and can have significant impact on your business, but without an SEO foundation…all of that content kinda goes out the window in terms of getting found by potential new clients.)
Start with your website as the base because it is the ONE THING that helps all of the AI bots and internet humans understand what you do and/or what your business offers.
Connect:
Amber Johnson (Maevan Marketing)
Instagram: @amber.maevanmarketing
“As SERPs keep pushing answer-led experiences, there will be fewer clicks to websites, so the goal shifts toward being referenced, recommended, and chosen.“
Where do you see SEO headed in 2026?
In 2026, SEO is less about “ranking a page” and more about earning visibility across every discovery surface: Google Search, Maps, YouTube, forums like Reddit, and AI-generated answers.
As SERPs keep pushing answer-led experiences, there will be fewer clicks to websites, so the goal shifts toward being referenced, recommended, and chosen.
Clicks still matter, but Google and AI systems are also leaning harder into entity understanding, which means your brand’s credibility is built from combined signals (site, GBP, reviews, mentions, consistency, and real-world reputation), not just on-page optimization.
The winners will be the ones who publish genuinely useful, structured, proof-driven content that demonstrates real experience and makes it easy for both users and machines to trust it—and then converts the smaller pool of traffic they do earn.
What are you focusing on for yourself (or your clients) going into 2026?
We’re focusing on clearer positioning and stronger entity signals, better topical coverage based on real intent, and content that’s genuinely helpful for people and easy for search engines/AI to understand and reference.
Practically, that means more decision-stage and comparison pages, more original examples and media, stronger internal linking and hub structures, and credible authorship where it actually matters.
We’re also leaning harder into digital PR-style authority (mentions, partnerships, distribution) because trust signals are only getting more important. And we’re tightening measurement around outcomes—qualified leads, pipeline, and revenue—so we can adjust fast as SERP layouts and attribution keep changing.
If someone’s just starting to care about SEO in 2026, what advice would you give them?
Pick a narrow set of problems you can be the best answer for, prove it with real experience and specifics, and then make that clarity impossible for Google and AI systems to miss.
Connect:
Jared Bauman (201 Creative, LLC)
LinkedIn: Jared Bauman
“Search is literally everywhere, it’s becoming (and I predict it will become) more intertwined with every platform’s functionality…“
And for small business owners, I predict this will open up the ability to make it easier than ever to rank, while making it easier to lose rankings as well.
Where do you see SEO headed in 2026?
Small business owners will need to lean into consistency (not cadence) across the platforms they’re showing up on and what they’re calling their offers, what they’re calling themselves, and what they do along with how it’s presented.
It’s not the end of ‘unique’ or creative concepts and names, like creating your own signature workflow or framework—in fact, it’s the opposite when used appropriately.
It’s just in the consistency that you refer to it and what it does.
I also predict that platforms will all become more intertwined and show up in unexpected places with more integrations, partnerships, and collaborations that will continue to impact search (which is why I’m so sure on this consistency thing, which is also a pretty tried and true SEO strategy).
What are you focusing on for yourself (or your clients) going into 2026?
We’ll be spending TLC on the foundations and making sure the core of my (and my clients’) sites are optimized with the current best practices and including newer things like llms.txt and ensuring schema is set-up (among other things).
We’re also focusing on overall strategy and utilizing the platforms they enjoy spending time on to support organic search, whether that’s their podcast, youtube, instagram, threads, etc to make SEO more natural without feeling like an on-going effort.
If someone’s just starting to care about SEO in 2026, what advice would you give them?
Get really clear on your business. The who you are, what you do (or sell), and who it’s for. Not just demographics, but the people who you would LOVE to show up in search for.
This will make everything literally 100000x easier.
Connect:
Mckayla Spencer (The Comma Mama Co.)
Instagram: @commamama.co
“Helpful, specific content matters more than ever. Generic, broad content needs to go.“
Where do you see SEO headed in 2026?
SEO is getting broader, not smaller.
While people are still using Google, they also search on other platforms, like AI tools, YouTube, and community sites like Reddit.
When creating content, we need to answer questions and target phrases our audiences might be searching for across these tools. Website clicks might decrease, but that’s okay.
Google is showing more summaries and quick answers, which means fewer people are clicking onto websites. This might sound discouraging, but it’s actually not a bad thing. It means the people who do click are more intentional and more likely to become leads.
Focus on content that’s specific, experience-based, and written for a clear audience. Instead of trying to rank for everything, websites will do better focusing on specific questions and problems their target audience has.
While this might also reduce traffic numbers, it helps generate stronger leads.
What are you focusing on for yourself (or your clients) going into 2026?
One mindset shift I’m prioritizing and reminding my clients of is that lower traffic numbers are okay.
With Google and AI answering more questions directly, fewer clicks are normal, and that doesn’t mean SEO isn’t working. It usually means you’re reaching a more specific audience that’s further along in their decision-making.
Those visitors are more likely to take action, whether that’s buying, booking a service, or reaching out to work together.
Blogging is still a priority going into 2026.
Blog content helps businesses show up on Google, AI tools, and other discovery platforms. It also gives people a reason to trust your brand before they ever contact you. When blog articles answer real questions, they support both visibility and conversions.
If someone’s just starting to care about SEO in 2026, what advice would you give them?
Get really clear on what you do, who you help, and how you help them — then create content around that.
Connect:
Polly Clover (Polly Clover Writes)
Threads: @pollycloverwrites
“Bots and agents are becoming a primary audience for websites…“
Where do you see SEO headed in 2026?
Heading into 2026, the biggest shift we’re paying attention to is that bots and agents are becoming a primary audience for websites. More and more, AI tools are visiting sites on behalf of people, which changes how value is created and how SEO success should be measured.
For us, that means focusing less on rankings and traffic and more on whether bots and agents can actually find, access, understand, and interact with a site correctly.
Can they reach the content?
Can they extract the right information?
Can they use the site the way we expect them to?
These are new questions we didn’t even know to ask a few years ago but are becoming essential for SEO/GEO success.
If someone’s just starting to care about SEO in 2026, what advice would you give them?
Keep learning and keep experimenting!
Connect:
Andrea Streff & Matthew Edgar (Elementive)
LinkedIn: Elementive
“Google AI Mode is replacing the classic organic results tab as the default search engine in 2026…“
Where do you see SEO headed in 2026?
It’s definitely Google AI Mode and it replacing the classic organic results tab as the default search engine. Luckily, many of the foundational SEO best practices we’ve been doing for years helps with getting visible in AI Mode too.
Such as clear keyword targeting, structured content pages, strong backlink profile, site hygiene.
Having a history of first page rankings on Google doesn’t hurt too.
Website builds and SEO strategies will start to prioritize the question of “how do we rank in Google’s AI?” This means showing up within Google’s AI Mode chat responses and the link sources (inline citations, top bar/sidebar source links).
That said, I think we will see much more of the SERP features from classic results transferred over to AI Mode. Such as video carousel, local pack, knowledge panel, top stories, recipes, buying guide, discussions and forums, etc.
Google wants to find the best answer to the query, and also provide the most diverse and rich results.
What are you focusing on for yourself (or your clients) going into 2026?
We’re focusing on content and video.
Creating new pages and blog posts regularly, refreshing and updating existing pages, and making content more structured.
We’ve seen client accounts with a YouTube channel and video assets have a winning advantage. They dominate AI Overviews, video carousels on organic results, and helps demonstrate that first-hand experience which Google rewards.
One thing we’ve been doing more of is using headings more and formatting them clearly with proper hierarchy H2, then H3, H4, using bullet points, and using HTML tables instead of an image.
Another content optimization method is adding Q&A sections and FAQ sections.
Formatting the question as a heading and including a short paragraph for the answer.
New content creation is in high demand. Clients are eager to build topic clusters and wanting to show up for as many relevant search phrases as possible.
If someone’s just starting to care about SEO in 2026, what advice would you give them?
Any credible brand with authority should show up on search engines. Start now! Set your website up for SEO, and own your organic channel.
Connect:
Leanne Wong (Leanne Wong & Co)
Instagram: @leannewongco
“SEO brings traffic, but your copy is what creates conversions!“
Where do you see SEO headed in 2026?
I think people will get sick of seeing AI answers in search results.
It’s why users are *already* adding “reddit” to the end of their search queries, and why they’re moving to search to platforms like TikTok where they can get answers from *actual* humans.
If you’ve ever seen the episode of ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ where Dennis is screaming “HUMAN!” into the phone…that’s kinda the mindset everyone is in.
Because of this, I think it’s VITAL to start adding storytelling into your SEO titles and overall content.
Use “How I” instead of “How To.”
Include your thought process, your frustrations, fears, and limiting beliefs in your content. Overcoming those is part of solving a problem, so don’t just give steps 1, 2, and 3.
Be a human. Tell your story.
What are you focusing on for yourself (or your clients) going into 2026?
I’m making sure my clients’ website copy is optimized for traffic AND sales before working on their blog SEO. That means adding SEO and new (story-driven) copy to “money pages” like Home, Services, About, and sales pages.
SEO brings traffic, but your copy is what creates conversions!
Without solid copy, your blog might bring traffic, but if it points to a lame sales page, it won’t convert.
Plus, someone searching for “attorney near me” is more ready to spend money than someone searching “should I hire an attorney” on Google.
If someone’s just starting to care about SEO in 2026, what advice would you give them?
SEO is the 401K of your marketing plan. It compounds over time, so you can eventually “retire” from toxic social media hustle culture.
Connect:
Tiffani Daniel (Your Creative Content, LLC)
Threads: @yourcreativecontent
“SEO is going to split in two in 2026. And I expect most people will only be good at the wrong half…”
Where do you see SEO headed in 2026?
SEO is going to split in two in 2026. And I expect most people will only be good at the wrong half.
The first half is AI SEO-optimization, AEO, GEO, whatever we’re calling it this week.
Making content digestible for search engines and AI platforms that no longer “rank pages” so much as synthesize meaning. Keywords matter far less in 2026 than entities, intent-matching, structure, and context.
If your content can’t be cleanly understood, summarized, and cited by AI platforms, your traffic is going to evaporate.
The second half is human authority.
Most people will struggle hard with this one.
AI has already flooded the Internet with decently competent, but painfully average content.
That makes original POV, lived experience, real life examples, proprietary data, and clear opinions the actual ranking advantage. Not because Google or Chat says so, but because AI platforms will increasingly weight trust, consistency, and demonstrated expertise.
This makes video WAY more important than ever before.
The way to win at SEO in 2026 is by consistently producing high quality videos that reach audiences, meaningfully educate from YOUR own lived experience, and entertain real people.
Links still matter, but less as a “vote” and more as a signal of topical legitimacy inside your niche. Single posts won’t win as big as they used to, but having a robust content ecosystem that includes a mix of videos and blog posts (written content) will thrive.
What are you focusing on for yourself (or your clients) going into 2026?
One thing and one thing only: Video and repurposing.
I’ve developed a system for consistently publishing high quality videos, and using tools like my very own RightBlogger, to repurpose each video into automatic AI & SEO-optimized blog posts that are designed to (still) rank high on Google and earn quicker citations in ChatGPT.
It’s working wonderfully.
If someone’s just starting to care about SEO in 2026, what advice would you give them?
Use video to lead the charge in building a content ecosystem on your site that AI can clearly understand and humans trust & want to engage with.
Keywords rank pages, but authority gets cited. You need to nail it at both, and thankfully great tools now exist to help make this easier.
Connect:
Ryan Robinson (RightBlogger)
LinkedIn: Ryan Robinson
“Search results will be customized to the searcher and their specific use-case or identity...”
Where do you see SEO headed in 2026?
The *variety* of search engines is expanding – which in my opinion, means more chances for a BIGGER selection of businesses to get found.
We’re no longer in a world of 10 blue links.
Our searches are becoming more and more AI-chat driven, which means results will be customized to the searcher and their specific use-case or identity.
This is a con for people who are used to getting all of the traffic from the top of the page – they’ll lose more visibility. But it’s a pro for people who typically haven’t always been first – they’ll have more opportunities to get found when they make it clear what is unique about them and who they serve.
What are you focusing on for yourself (or your clients) going into 2026?
What the specific content changes are to optimize for LLMs.
In my opinion WHAT we’re doing in SEO is the same, it’s HOW we’re doing it that’s changing.
If someone’s just starting to care about SEO in 2026, what advice would you give them?
Start caring about the language and words your audience uses when they’re searching for businesses like yours, and infuse that into all of your written marketing online.
Connect:
Hannah (The SEO Kitchen)
Instagram: @theseokitchen
“SEO in 2026 is about making sure your business is easy to understand, easy to reference, and easy to trust…”
Where do you see SEO headed in 2026?
People are searching in more places than just Google now, including AI tools, and those tools are pulling answers from content that is clear, specific, and easy to understand.
What matters most is whether your site actually makes sense to a real person.
Can someone quickly tell who you help, what you offer, and what to do next? Google and AI tools are paying attention to that. They are looking at how people interact with your site, not just what keywords you use.
What are you focusing on for yourself (or your clients) going into 2026?
People are asking questions in Google, in AI tools, and in places that don’t always lead to a traditional search result anymore.
So the work isn’t just about blog posts or keywords.
It’s about making sure your business is easy to understand, easy to reference, and easy to trust when those tools are pulling information. So for 2026 I am focusing on expanding AI visibility for my clients.
If someone’s just starting to care about SEO in 2026, what advice would you give them?
Treat traffic as the first step. Make sure your site makes it easy for the right people to reach out once they arrive.
Connect:
Kelli (Âme Creatives)
Threads: @amecreatives
“SEO is moving away from mathematical factors and becoming more of a human conversation….”
Where do you see SEO headed in 2026?
SEO is all about users. So I see it following the user trends towards authentic, kinda rough around the edges content. We’re gonna see a boom of shorter content with real stories, real experiences, and probably some “real” photos with thumbs in the corner or a diagonal horizon line.
People are tired of quick Wikipedia answers.
They want connection and they want to really know the person behind the content. Being very yourself and writing like you talk is gonna be huge!
I think we’re gonna see a major shift in accessibility and SEO. AI is basically a disabled human who needs things like alt text and transcripts to understand content. To “win” at SEO, people and businesses are gonna need to optimize properly for accessibility.
That means proper structures, having multiple formats for content (ie. a video to go with your text post, and images to display concepts), and existing on multiple platforms to meet users where they’re at.
SEO isn’t just about your website anymore. With multimodal search and AI, it’s about your entire online presence.
Backlinks are now gonna be branded mentions.
And to some degree your presence on other platforms. That means you need to claim your site on different platforms and repurpose your content to at least 1 other publicly visible place.
What are you focusing on for yourself (or your clients) going into 2026?
My biggest thing is prioritizing content behind paywalls and exclusive communities. I always focus on community and students first, but like everyone I can get caught in that idea that I need to be showing up on every platform – partially cause it’s fun!
But I’ve analyzed the platforms that have the highest ROI for me, and I’m creating a minimum effort strategy for myself so I can focus on supporting my people.
I’m building a repurposing bot for myself with AI and Airtable to analyze my past content and paywalled content for hidden gems I can reshare or share anew. I don’t need to be creating new things all the time…as my audience keeps telling me cause apparently it’s “overwhelming” and “makes me worry about when you sleep” and “holy fuck Nina log off it’s 2am” 😂
I’m also planning to update content that I haven’t had time to touch since 2022, even if it’s already ranking.
Building out SEO Sales Funnels for each of my core silos.
Repurposing content to at least 2 platforms, 1 text and 1 video.
Creating complete YouTube SEO Sales Funnels with a capsule strategy for my core offers.
And rebranding my business to look like me.
If someone’s just starting to care about SEO in 2026, what advice would you give them?
Stop panicking about perfection. You’ll never learn until you do the thing!
Done is better than good. You’ll need to update it later anyways.
Ignore basically everyone prioritizing an algorithm. Audience-first strategies are where it’s at. Just talk to your bestie with your content, but adjust it a lil so it’s not using inside jokes your audience won’t understand.
Connect:
Nina Clapperton (She Knows SEO)
YouTube: @shesknowsseo
What about you? What’s YOUR Next Step with SEO?
If there’s one thing I want you to take away from all of this, it’s that SEO in 2026 isn’t about chasing every hot take you see online (or following a chatbot off a cliff).
It’s about TRULY UNDERSTANDING how your website and brand are actually showing up and making INTENTIONAL improvements instead of guessing.
The advice in this roundup comes from people who are doing the work, testing in real time, and adapting as things change, which matters more than ever.
If you’re like “OKKKKKKK Mariah, but where do I start?” lemme plug my favorite new freebie: I created a free SEO Assessment & Scorecard to help you evaluate how well your website and brand are showing up across Google and AI tools like ChatGPT.
It’s a self-guided assessment that helps you score your current visibility out of 10, so you can clearly see where the gaps are and where to focus next.
How Searchable is Your Business? Let’s Find Out.
👉 Get the Free SEO Assessment & Scorecard
If you want to move into 2026 feeling informed, confident, and not swayed by shitty SEO advice this is a very good place to start 🔥
