Are you Afraid it’s too late to do SEO?

Don’t let the fear that you might have missed the perfect time to do SEO stop you from starting now.

You’re working hard to build your business. You’ve worked hard to build your website, add content, and maybe even started to try to do SEO on your own a little bit.

You might be frustrated because you’ve spent the time, money, and energy to create a website, but it still feels invisible and isn’t showing up often on Google or in AI Search, and you find yourself wondering if you’ve waited too long and missed the opportunity now.

The good news is that you haven’t missed your chance to do this. You aren’t too late. You can start now, do the work, and have it work to help your business be more visible too.

Is it still worth it to do SEO in 2026?

Now that you know it’s not too late, you may be wondering if it’s still worth it to do SEO in 2026. AI search is definitely changing things, but SEO isn’t dead. I know you’ve likely heard that SEO is dead or dying, but I want you to know that’s something said every time there’s a change in the industry. I’ve been in SEO for over 15 years, and every time we see a big change to the algorithm or how things work, the SEO is dead rumors start popping up again.

It's still worth doing SEO now because Google is the main search engine people use to find information. We also know that AI-based search uses traditional Google SEO to understand the information on your website or blog.

Answer engine optimization (generative engine optimization, AI SEO, whatever you want to call it, it’s all the same thing) uses traditional SEO to help it understand the content on a website or blog. We do a few extra things for the answer engines (AI search), but the core foundation of traditional SEO works for both Google and AI search.

SEO isn’t dead because of AI

It’s evolving, and things will likely continue to change. I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years, and this is one of the bigger ones; however, it still focuses on traditional SEO best practices.

I’ve had a few people ask me if SEO will still work in 10 years. Honestly, it’s hard to know for sure, but I think so. As long as people continue to search for information online, SEO will be a viable marketing channel. Will it look the same as it does today? Very unlikely. Will it still follow at least some of the best practices? Most likely.

Getting Started with SEO in 2026

If you’re just getting started with SEO today, there are a few things you can do to help yourself. Start by optimizing (doing SEO) on your website’s homepage. You’ll want to choose a keyword for your homepage and create a title tag and meta description for the page too. You’ll want to use your keyword in both and follow best practices. You’ll also want to make sure you use your keyword in the copy on your homepage.

Your title tag should be under 60 characters, including spaces.

Your meta description should be under 160 characters, including spaces. 

Next, you’ll want to continue doing SEO on the other pages on your website. Continue choosing keywords for each page, writing title tags and meta descriptions, and ensuring you use the keyword in your page copy. If you’re not sure exactly what to do for traditional Google SEO, request a copy of my Beginner’s Guide to SEO here.

Getting Started with Answer Engine Optimization (AI SEO) in 2026

Once you’ve optimized your website for your core keywords, you’ll want to think about optimizing for AI search or answer engines. The big difference between AI SEO and traditional SEO is that AI doesn’t rely on keywords.

AI SEO, or answer engine optimization, focuses more on the phrases that you use in your copy. It’s about having the words that people are searching for within your copy. You want to use the phrases that people are searching for in the copy and headers on your website pages and blog posts.

If you want to learn how to do this, request a copy of my Beginner’s Guide to AI SEO here. Then, take the free class to learn how all of this works, and then join me in Simple SEO Content, and I’ll teach you how to do it step-by-step. 

The Bottom Line: You’re Not Too Late, But You Do Need to Start Now

SEO is the foundation of visibility for your business, no matter where you’re searching. If you want your business to be found online, you need to do SEO. AI-based search is expected to overtake Google search by 2028. Now is the time to lay the foundation for your business to be visible in AI search.

SEO helps your business:

• Be visible on Google
• Show up on AI
• Have your podcast show up in the apps
• Get traffic to your website, lead magnets, and products
• Generate more leads and grow

When you optimize your content for discoverability, you make it easier for your business to grow, whether you’re focused on it in the moment or not. It’s time to focus on SEO for both Google and AI-based search.