Featured
Table of Contents
Especially CMOs and those accountable for a business's marketing success. AI-generated answers look like a direct risk to the conventional organic traffic sites used to obtain from online search engine. Before, you needed to click a site to see the results. Today, LLMs simply rip the content on websites and people no longer need to check out a site anymore.
While I personally believe this risk is blown totally out of percentage (based on data from sites I have actually personally seen), I don't believe it's an excuse to neglect it totally. From my own experience growing both blogs and YouTube channels, especially to offer something, I can tell you that video converts way more than written material.
It's a lot simpler to inform if somebody is lying or full of it if you can see their facial expressions and their tone of voice. YouTube should definitely be in your SEO and content strategy.
And because you have actually constructed the trust with video, your traditional SEO efforts will convert better. But there's a lot more to it. Previously this year, I had an inkling that if I turned some of my best ranking post into YouTube videos, and embedded them into my existing post, my blog posts would rank even much better.
Mastering the Science of Content DistributionI made a YouTube video about the topic, embedded it into that blog site post, and I've been ranking # 1 since.
In 2025, we saw everyone talking about how AI search was going to take over Google. Beyond simply SEO, the marketing neighborhood as an entire started to get bombarded with influencers attempting to ride the AI buzz train.
It became hard to find trusted sources that weren't prejudiced or had a concealed agenda to sell us something. While I do think there are advantages to using LLMs in our workflows, I do think it has been overhyped. And in 2026, I predict numerous online marketers will understand that ChatGPT and Perplexity are simply a small part of the SEO market.
Google still dominates 90% market share and with its AI Mode and AI Overviews, it's in the perfect position to win the AI search engine race. Search habits hasn't basically moved away from Google. Beyond just that, there are a couple of things that have rubbed me the incorrect method about the AI SEO trend.
Some claim ChatGPT has a 16% discussion rate and is much better by more than 2X compared to Google. What these marketers don't recognize is that Things like homepages, pricing pages, or bottom of funnel material, tends to be revealed in ChatGPT. The informative top of funnel content is "consumed" by LLMs and shown to users without anywhere to click.
Google's conversion rates reveal less because the traffic is higher due to it being diluted by all the top of funnel material that is in the equation. Other things like how ChatGPT can make stuff up, it never fully follows triggers correctly (i.e.
I do still believe that think companies will business aside an experimental budget speculative test things evaluate ChatGPT apps and other AI SEO tools.
Don't do it. These tactics might work now in ChatGPT and other LLMs, but they're short-term plays that will ultimately get punished. Concentrate on white hat methods that build real authority and trust gradually instead of going after fast wins that will not last. The 2000s are back. Scammy keyword packing strategies, paying for low-grade backlinks, delivering countless worthless articles all in the name of ranking high.
ChatGPT and other LLM algorithms are not as mature. I can't name this person, however I met an SEO director at a substantial banking business.
And from there, they are using their main company domain, that has an extremely strong brand authority, and sending out backlinks to the microsite. And this has actually resulted in greater rankings for their brand name in LLMs like ChatGPT.It blew my mind that big, reliable business are doing this. And I recognized just how much black hat (or grey hat) methods are going on behind the scenes.
In 2026, I predict these tactics will continue to occur. Up until ChatGPT's algorithm gets as wise as Google's search algorithm. But that looks like a very long time from now. Anyways, I personally would not advise taking part in this. It's short term thinking and your energy is best spent on white hat marketing methods that can stand the test of time and improve your sites trust signals gradually.
Share genuine insights, utilize your own images and videos, and construct topical authority in your niche. This is how solo developers and little groups can beat huge brand names in 2026. This is one of the most significant SEO trends for material marketing I'm seeing right now.
You need a real organization, be it a newsletter business, a service-based service, SaaS company, or ecommerce shop. And after that you include on this human-centered niche blogging to the website to organically grow your core product/service offering. In 2026, I forecast that Google's algorithm will continue to get smarter about which websites include AI content and which don't.
I understand tons of individuals quietly crushing it with AI generated material (even going after top of funnel keywords). What I am stating is that engaging, human material will outrank AI generated content with no initial insights. There are 2 paths I see with SEO's right now: Produce thousands of AI-generated article and get them to rank in the middle/bottom of page 1.
Produce a hundred human post and get them to rank at the top of the very first page. Quality over quantity. The very first route is based on large volume, and can lead to traffic development. However you do risk a prospective algorithm update injuring your rankings. And anyone who composes much better human material will rank greater in positions 1-3. The second path is slower, but can yield higher ranking positions and more trust with readers.
Latest Posts
How Future Algorithm Updates Influence Your SEO
Boosting Organic Visibility Using Advanced AEO Methods
Essential Analytics Tools for Modern Teams
