Does SEO Matter Anymore

Are we still doing SEO in 2026? 

Do you find yourself wondering if SEO still matters, if you even need to do it anymore, if it's dead, or if it’s an outdated marketing strategy that is being replaced by AI or something else? If so, you’re not alone. I get this question a lot. 

Is SEO worth it anymore?

Yes, SEO is still worth doing. It’s evolving a bit, but it’s not being replaced by AI at all.

SEO still matters to your business’s visibility and website traffic. Honestly, it matters more today than it did even a year or two ago because of AI search. AI search is also powered by traditional Google SEO. You get the benefit of being visible in both places by doing the work one time, which is great news for busy entrepreneurs.

SEO isn’t dead. It’s evolving. If you know what to focus on, it’s still the most reliable way to generate qualified leads for your business without relying on social media.

Why SEO Still Matters, Even in the Age of AI

Your ideal clients are still searching. They’re just using more tools than ever: Google, ChatGPT, voice search, and even AI-powered assistants in their inbox. And all those tools?

The places people search have changed, but the way the search engines get that information has not. Whether your ideal customer is searching on Google or ChatGPT, the tools are still searching the web, reading the information on your website, and using it to help determine which websites or content to share with the searcher.

SEO hasn’t been about tricking the algorithm for over a decade. It’s been about having great content on your site that helps your ideal customer and is optimized so that it’s easier for the search engine to understand it.  This positions your business to show up when your people are actively looking for the help you provide. It’s about becoming a trusted resource, not haking a system.

If you're not being found in search, traditional, or AI, you’re missing opportunities that are already there. Your ideal customers are searching on Google and ChatGPT every day, and if you’re not doing SEO, you’re not showing up, so they’re finding your competitors instead.

SEO was never truly optional for businesses that want to grow online and be visible, though I think a lot of people believed it was. If you want to remain competitive and visible online, you need to do SEO.

We’re seeing website traffic decrease because of AI search. I wrote about this recently; you can read the post or listen to the podcast episode here. With a decrease in website traffic, it’s even more important to make sure you’re visible in the AI overviews, AI search, ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc.

Not only are consumers switching to AI search, but Google is focused on it too, and they’re answering more queries within the ecosystem and deliberately sending less traffic to other websites. We are seeing that 60%+ of all searches are now answered in Google, not sent to a website. This isn’t likely going to change. 

What to Focus On in 2026: SEO for Busy Entrepreneurs who Need Results

The good news is that the core SEO strategy hasn’t changed. We’re looking at keywords a bit differently, and we’re focused on both Google and AI search now, but at the core, what we’re doing for SEO is the same today as it was 5 years ago. I know people are trying to convince you that it’s way different, but it really isn’t.

Here’s where to focus now:

SEO Keywords

As we’ve been doing for years now, we want to focus on using the words your ideal customer uses when they speak or search. We want to focus on them. What information do they need? What questions do they have? How can you help them? 

By using the words that they use, not only do they feel like you get them and understand them and what they need, but you also have a better chance of being found by people who are searching for information online.

You want to use your keywords in the places that Google will look for information about your website page or blog post. Keywords matter for Google, but they don’t matter for AI search. We’ll talk about what matters for AI in a minute.

SEO Structure That Serves AI and Human Readers

The way you organize your content matters more than ever.

• Use clear headers (H1, H2, H3) to organize and structure your content so it’s easier to understand
• Keep paragraphs short and skimmable, include white space between paragraphs (not specific to AI but helpful to your readers)
• Add internal links to guide people to more content on your site
• Use meta titles and descriptions that help the tools and readers know what information is on the page or in the post

AI tools can’t summarize what they don’t understand. Structure makes your content easier to find, feature, and share. And, honestly, readers are often overwhelmed by large blocks of text; break it up, use headers, include extra white space between paragraphs, and use bullet points, making it easier to read.

This isn’t anything new; these are things that have mattered for both traditional Google SEO and user readability for years. Again, we aren’t really changing up our strategy here; we’re continuing to do what we’ve always done and focus on 

The one thing that is new and is specific to AI SEO is to add either a table of contents, key takeaways, or a recap at the beginning or end of your blog post. AI tools use this information to help them determine if it could match what they’re looking for. You’ll see some websites include it both at the beginning and end of a post, but that feels a bit too optimized for me, so if I do it, I’m choosing one or the other. I also am not going to do it on all posts. If it doesn’t work well with the subject, I won’t be doing it because I stay focused on you, just like I tell you to stay focused on your readers. 

Create Strategic Evergreen Content

You don’t need tons of content to be visible online, but you definitely need the right content strategy to connect with your audience, generate leads, and turn visitors into buyers. You want to focus on creating evergreen content (that’s content that will still be relevant in the future). 

You also want to create content that ties to your products or services so that you can start to attract potential customers, not just visitors. If you’re creating content that doesn’t have a conversion path within your business, you’re going to struggle to grow.

It’s important to think about your audience and what information they need from you so they are ultimately interested in working with you or buying from you. 

Publish Consistently and Review Your Performance (Know Your Numbers)

The foundation we’re setting with this strategy should help your business be visible on Google and ChatGPT for years to come. It should help you attract the right people into your world so your business can grow.

This isn’t about posting on social media every day. That’s not necessary for business growth.

It’s about choosing your content channel and focusing on being consistent there. I focus on blogging and podcasting for my content channels. Most of my students do the same. You get to decide what works best for you.

When you start posting to your content channel of choice, I want you to track your performance so you can make decisions about what to create more of and what to do less.

Know what you’re tracking:

• Which blog posts are bringing in qualified leads?
• Which content pieces are being referenced by AI or sending AI leads?
• Where are your customers coming from?
• What’s working to grow your business?
• Where are you wasting time, energy, and money?

When you know your numbers, you know what to do next. If you want to grow your business, understanding your numbers is really important. You can make better decisions when you know how to find and interpret the data. 

What You Should Expect from SEO in 2026

Complete transparency, we’re seeing a decrease in website traffic for most people. I’ve talked about this before. If you’re not aware of what’s happening and why it’s happening, this post walks you through that. 

That absolutely doesn’t mean that you’re wasting time by doing SEO. It means that you need to make sure your content will be visible for both Google and AI search because a lot of the traffic is being answered in AI search instead of having people go directly to your website via a link in the search results.

You can still get leads, build your email list, grow your audience, and make money even if your website traffic is down. I am seeing it with my students (and myself) right now. AI search is replacing some of the lost Google traffic, and it will continue to increase in the next few years.

What you want to focus on now, more than just Google traffic, is where your content is showing up, who’s finding it, and are those the right people? Is there a good alignment between the content you’re putting out into the world and who’s finding it and acting upon it?

If you’re ready to do this for your business, get started with my free SEO class today, and then join me in Simple SEO Content, and I’ll walk you through how to do this step-by-step.

Final Word on What to Expect from SEO in 2026

SEO remains the foundation for visibility in the online world, the same as it has for years. You need to create content for your ideal customer and optimize it for the search engines so they know who to share it with.

Create great content that’s tied to your business revenue streams to build your business.