Last Updated on December 17, 2025
This is a wrap-up of the podcasts I made with Rob Cairns this year – https://stunningdigitalmarketing.com/category/seo-with-warren-laine-naida/. It also dovetails with my previous article Aligning SEO, Social Media & Your Website for the Year Ahead. I hope you find them useful!
Do you have your own SEO strategies that you would like to share and discuss? Drop me a line any time!
SEO has undergone more significant changes this year than ever before. AI tools now answer questions directly, social media matters as much as Google, and old tricks don’t work anymore.
I wrote about these changes all year, and I hope my insights help you understand what’s working now and what to focus on in 2026.
Here’s what we looked at this year, plus tips to help you plan 2026.
Looking Back at SEO in 2025
Are We There Yet? Understanding the SEO Journey
SEO takes time – usually 6 to 12 months before you see real results. Think of it like training for a sport, not a quick game. Focus on building trust and creating helpful content over time.
The Best Website Platform for SEO
The truth? There’s no perfect platform. The best choice is whatever you can actually use and keep updated. WordPress, Drupal, or simple website builders all work – if you handle the basics like site maps and fast loading times.
Website Performance Beyond the CMS
Speed matters, but so does making your site easy to use. If visitors can’t find what they need or your site is hard to navigate, search engines will push you down in rankings.
All SEO is Off-Page SEO: Fight Me
Your website isn’t everything anymore. Many people find answers without clicking any links. That’s why your brand needs to show up everywhere – on social media, in reviews, and across the web – not just on your own site.
Are We Still Building Bridges? The Truth About Link Building
It’s not about collecting tons of links anymore. One mention from a trusted source in your field is worth more than hundreds of random links. Focus on building real relationships.
Boosting Your Visibility in Search and AI Search
AI tools like ChatGPT now answer questions directly, so your content needs to be easy for them to read. Break your information into clear sections with simple facts that AI can quickly find and share.
Which SEO Tactics We Should Not Employ
Stop using old tricks from years ago. Don’t stuff keywords everywhere or ignore platforms like Bing and social media. If you’re trying to trick robots instead of helping real people, you’re hurting yourself.
Aligning SEO, Social Media, and Your Website
These three things work together, not separately. Use social media to get noticed and your website to provide detailed information. They should support each other like teammates.
SEO Planning for 2026
This year showed us that AI tools answering questions directly is now the norm. The goal shifted from “getting clicks” to “being the trusted source.” Technical tricks don’t work anymore – what matters now is being helpful and accessible to everyone.
6 Best Practices for 2026
- Make Your Content AI-Friendly: Break information into clear, simple chunks that both people and AI can easily understand.
- Show Up Where Your Audience Already Is: Don’t just wait for people to visit your website. Be active on LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, or wherever your audience hangs out.
- Make Your Site Easy for Everyone: If your site works well for people using screen readers or other assistive tools, search engines will reward you.
- Write for People, Organize for Computers: Create content that answers real questions naturally. Use technical tools only to help computers understand your helpful content.
- Be Patient and Consistent: No shortcuts work. Treat your website, social media, and search strategy as one connected system. Give it at least 6 months to show results.
- Don’t be Afraid to Fail: Listen, if you aren’t willing to make mistakes – in public – this business isn’t for you. Everyone fails!
AI BONUS INSIGHT: Why Being Trustworthy Matters More Than Ever
I asked Gemini what it thought we should focus on going forward.
You talk a lot about breaking content into chunks, but AI adds another important rule for 2026: Make sure your information can be checked.
AI tools like Gemini, Perplexity, and SearchGPT are getting smarter about where they get their information. They’re starting to prefer sources that show their work- sites that include facts you can verify, mention where information comes from, and organize data clearly.
Here’s what this means for you: Don’t just make a claim and move on. Show where you got your information. Link to studies, data, or sources whenever you can.
When you create “checkable content,” AI tools are more likely to use your site as a trusted source when answering questions. In 2026, the winning websites won’t just be the most popular ones – they’ll be the ones that AI trusts enough to quote.
Quick example: Instead of writing “Most people prefer online shopping,” write “According to a 2025 retail study by XYZ Research, 73% of consumers prefer online shopping” and link to that study.
This small change makes a big difference in whether AI sees you as reliable.
Note from the Author: Doing due diligence is not just an AI thing.
Remember “E-E-A-T”? Google’s “Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust” signal. So, in addition to the expertise you bring to your field, the authority you have, and the trust you exhibit, Google (and AI – and your customers!) also look at your experience.
To quote Google: “Does content also demonstrate that it was produced with some degree of experience, such as with actual use of a product, having actually visited a place, or communicating what a person experienced?”
Wrapping Up
The biggest lesson from 2025? Stop chasing quick fixes and start building something real. Focus on being helpful, trustworthy, and accessible. Pick one or two changes from this guide, give them time to work, and remember: the websites that win in 2026 will be the ones that help people the most.
Drop me a line with your questions or SEO tips!