SEO Trends for 2026: What’s Changing (And What Still Matters)
Search engine optimization (SEO) changes every year. In that sense, it’s prudent early in the year to stop and examine the new trends in SEO. In 2026, this is more true than ever due to the prominence of, and anxiety about, AI-driven search.
The truth is, AI hasn’t changed SEO that much. Sure, many of the tactics have shifted, with different emphases on various aspects. But much of the fundamental strategy remains the same: creating and hosting great content on a high-performing, well-built website, within the context of other websites across the internet.
Sure, the large-scale introduction of AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and LLMs (large language models) shows SEO’s continued evolution. And the SEO trends of 2026 certainly reflect this. But this hasn’t altered the fundamentals mentioned above, only how we emphasize and implement them.
In this article, we will break down the most important SEO trends that 2026 is bringing our way, and how brands from local shops to global life sciences brands can adapt strategically. By the end, you’ll have a clear idea of how SEO can help you build visibility for your brand in 2026.
What’s New in SEO in 2026
Here’s the reality of the situation: AI overviews are reducing traditional organic click-through rates from Google. In other words, more users are finding the answers to their queries directly on Google without needing to click through to a website, including your website.
According to one study by Seer Interactive, as reported by Danny Goodwin of Search Engine Land, organic click-through rates (CTR) for informational queries featuring Google AI Overviews fell 61% since mid-2024. When you think about the billions of Google queries entered every day, that’s a massive drop.
The drop in click-through rates is tied to the increase in zero-click search behavior. A zero-click search is when a user’s query is answered directly on the search engine results page (SERP) via featured snippets, AI Overviews, or knowledge panels, without needing to click on any website link. According to Similarweb, as reported by Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Roundtable, “Since the launch of Google AI Overviews in May 2024, zero-click search grew 13 percentage points, from 56% to 69% in May 2025.”
That doesn’t mean the introduction of LLMs to the mainstream has rendered SEO useless. What it means is that LLM visibility in engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude is now an essential part of SEO in influencing brand discovery.
This AI-volution, the incorporation of AI Overviews on the SERPs, has several impacts on the tactical side of SEO. For starters, there is an increase in emphasis on entity-based SEO rather than keyword-based or even topical-based SEO. Think of entities as nouns: particular people, places, and things. That’s why there is such an increased premium on building your brand (your entity) rather than simply chasing keyword rankings across your topic(s).
And from the technical point of view, there is an increased emphasis on structured data. Structured data has been important for SEO for many years now, but it is even more relevant in the era of AI search. It helps the machines understand what your content is about and format query answers in a structured manner.
What Hasn’t Changed in SEO in 2026
As in the past, quality content still wins the day in 2026’s SEO. The best performing sites on Google are generally there for a reason: they’ve produced a high output of quality content over a significant period of time.
Creating high-quality content on topics important to your business is still the best way to signal to Google and LLMs that you are a trusted source on a given topic, worthy of mentions or citations. For this reason, authority and trust signals are as important as ever. We build these by creating excellent content in a well-structured, highly organized pillar-cluster or series of pillar-clusters.
But content isn’t everything. You still need a strong, high-performing website in 2026. That means that a website:
with a great UX (user experience)
that is easy to navigate
that responds quickly
that isn’t bogged down with bad or extraneous code
that is safe and accessible for all users
The content is the furniture inside your beautiful house. But if the house doesn’t have good bones (technical SEO), the whole thing will collapse, rendering the furniture pointless.
Further, it still matters where you fit in within the broader web ecosystem. In the old days of SEO, this basically meant “get links.” But today, LLMs are looking for external proof that you are who you say you are, and that you are good at what you say you do well. This can come in the form of links, but also:
customer reviews
social media posts
industry roundup lists
any place relevant where others may be talking about your business on the internet
So, it’s no longer enough to have a great website with a few high-domain-authority links pointing to it. You need the broader internet to help verify your claims: that your business is delivering great services or products
How to Implement SEO Effectively in 2026
People search for other people more than ever in 2026. So if you aren’t showing up on Google or being written about in LLMs, you are essentially a ghost. More than ever, SEO helps with branding by allowing you to control the narrative of your personal or business brand.
There are a variety of tactics you can implement to optimize for your brand in 2026. For example, make sure you are optimizing both your LinkedIn profile and your website “About sections.” Be sure to include the most accurate and detailed information about who you are and what you do. Use structured data markup (a standardized format of code added to a website to help search engines understand content) to indicate that the entities discussed on both LinkedIn and your website are, in fact, the same person or business brand.
When it comes to writing content, having robust and well-structured author biographies can help build your credibility as an entity. Cross-link to your various social media properties, including video networks, and make it easy to understand who you are, what you do, and in which areas you have expertise. The more professional or credentialed you are, the better.
To continue building your personal brand, you should be publishing insightful thought leadership content on a regular basis. Like your authorial biographies, this thought leadership can appear across your properties, on your website blog, in LinkedIn posts and articles, and even in YouTube video content.
Finally, use digital PR tactics to help spread the word about your brand. You want to get your name and thought leadership expertise out there and ensure they are consumed by engaged users. After all, while SEO has moved on from all-consuming link building, there’s still nothing wrong with acquiring a few great backlinks from top media outlets in establishing your brand’s credibility.
This will help you own your name in search results and in LLM answers. After all, in 2026, your personal and business names are one of your best SEO assets.
How Lauren Perna Communications Can Help You with SEO in 2026
Keeping up with all of the latest SEO trends, strategies, and tactics in 2026 can be a full-time job in and of itself. But that doesn’t mean you have to do it alone.
Lauren Perna Communications specializes in helping businesses maximize their visibility on Google and in LLMs across the web. Whether you are interested in specialty seo services for life science companies or more generalized seo and content marketing services, we’ve got you covered.
We’d love to help you stay on top of the latest SEO trends and improve your online visibility today. Get in touch with Lauren Perna Communications now.
