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Especially CMOs and those accountable for a company's marketing success. AI-generated answers look like a direct risk to the traditional organic traffic sites used to receive from online search engine. Before, you had to click a site to see the outcomes. Today, LLMs just rip the content on sites and individuals no longer need to check out a site anymore.
While I personally believe this hazard is blown completely out of proportion (based upon information from sites I've personally seen), I do not think it's a reason to overlook it completely. From my own experience growing both blogs and YouTube channels, especially to offer something, I can tell you that video converts way more than composed content.
And the viewer can pick up on more subtleties in your message. It's a lot easier to inform if somebody is lying or loaded with it if you can see their facial expressions and their tone of voice. So YouTube must certainly be in your SEO and material strategy. Usage video as need generation and a way to develop trust with an audience.
And due to the fact that you have actually constructed the trust with video, your conventional SEO efforts will convert much better. There's even more to it. Earlier this year, I had a hunch that if I turned some of my best ranking article into YouTube videos, and embedded them into my existing post, my article would rank even better.
I utilized rank in between 2-3 for the keyword "AI marketing tools." I made a YouTube video about the subject, embedded it into that post, and I have actually been ranking # 1 since. In 2026, think of YouTube videos as a way to beef up your SEO blog posts to rank even better.
Keep concentrating on Google, which still owns 90% of search market share. Invest in AI search experiments if you have budget, but don't abandon what's in fact driving traffic and conversions today. In 2025, we saw everybody discussing how AI search was going to take control of Google. Beyond just SEO, the marketing neighborhood as a whole begun to get bombarded with influencers attempting to ride the AI hype train.
It became hard to find trusted sources that weren't prejudiced or had a hidden program to offer us something. While I do think there are benefits to using LLMs in our workflows, I do believe it has actually been overhyped. And in 2026, I predict numerous marketers will understand that ChatGPT and Perplexity are simply a little part of the SEO market.
Google still controls 90% market share and with its AI Mode and AI Overviews, it's in the best position to win the AI online search engine race. Search behavior hasn't basically moved away from Google. Beyond just that, there are a few things that have actually 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 do not realize is that Things like homepages, pricing pages, or bottom of funnel material, tends to be shown in ChatGPT. The informational top of funnel material is "consumed up" by LLMs and shown to users without anywhere to click.
If you were to take that very same concept over to Google, you would see the very same conversion rates. Google's conversion rates show less because the traffic is greater due to it being watered down by all the top of funnel material that remains in the equation. Other things like how ChatGPT can make stuff up, it never fully follows prompts properly (i.e.
I do still think that bigger business will set aside a speculative budget plan to evaluate things like ChatGPT apps and other AI SEO tools. In 2026, I predict individuals will realize enhancing for Google will enable them to show up in ChatGPT and Perplexity. Simply take a look at ChatGPT Atlas or Perplexity's Comet browsers.
Do not do it. These methods might work now in ChatGPT and other LLMs, but they're short-term plays that will eventually get punished. Focus on white hat strategies that develop real authority and trust in time rather of going after fast wins that will not last. The 2000s are back. Scammy keyword packing techniques, spending for low-grade backlinks, shipping thousands of ineffective short articles all in the name of ranking high.
ChatGPT and other LLM algorithms are not as fully grown. I can't name this individual, but I satisfied an SEO director at a huge banking business.
And from there, they are using their primary business domain, that has an exceptionally strong brand authority, and sending 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 substantial, credible companies are doing this. And I recognized how much black hat (or grey hat) methods are going on behind the scenes.
In 2026, I predict these strategies will continue to occur. Until ChatGPT's algorithm gets as clever as Google's search algorithm.
Share real insights, utilize your own images and videos, and construct topical authority in your specific niche. This is how solo developers and small groups can beat substantial brand names in 2026. This is one of the greatest SEO patterns for content marketing I'm seeing right now.
You require a real organization, be it a newsletter business, a service-based business, SaaS company, or ecommerce store. And then you include on this human-centered niche blogging to the site to organically grow your core product/service offering. In 2026, I predict that Google's algorithm will continue to get smarter about which web pages include AI content and which don't.
I understand tons of individuals quietly squashing it with AI created material (even going after top of funnel keywords). What I am stating is that engaging, human content will outrank AI produced material with no initial insights. There are 2 routes I see with SEO's right now: Produce countless AI-generated blog posts and get them to rank in the middle/bottom of page 1.
Produce a hundred human blog posts and get them to rank at the top of the very first page. And anyone who writes better human material will rank higher in positions 1-3. The 2nd route is slower, but can yield higher ranking positions and more trust with readers.
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