SEO Trends to Watch in 2026

Every January, SEO blogs publish their annual "trends" predictions. Most of them are vague enough to never be wrong — "content will be important" and "user experience matters" are not exactly groundbreaking insights.

I want to do something different. Here are the specific, concrete shifts I am seeing in SEO right now, along with exactly what you should do about each one.

1. AI Overviews Are Eating Click-Through Rates

This is the elephant in the room. Google's AI Overviews (formerly SGE) now appear for a huge percentage of informational queries, and they are absolutely crushing organic click-through rates for certain types of content.

If your content strategy is built entirely around answering simple informational questions, you have a problem. Google is answering those directly.

What to do about it:

• Focus on topics that require depth, nuance, and personal experience — things AI Overviews cannot replicate
• Target commercial and transactional intent keywords where users want to take action
• Build your brand so people search for you specifically
• Create content that provides unique data, opinions, and frameworks

2. E-E-A-T Is More Important Than Ever

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Google has been pushing this for years, but in 2026 it has become the single biggest differentiator between content that ranks and content that does not.

The extra "E" — Experience — is the game-changer. Google wants to see that content creators have actual, first-hand experience with the topics they write about.

What to do about it:

• Add author bios with real credentials to every piece of content
• Include first-hand experience — screenshots, case studies, "I tried this and here is what happened"
• Get mentioned on authoritative sites in your industry
• Keep your content accurate and up to date

3. Core Web Vitals: The Bar Keeps Rising

Google's page experience signals are not new, but the performance bar keeps getting higher. In 2026, sites with poor Core Web Vitals are actively being pushed down in rankings.

The three metrics that matter:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) — How fast does your main content load? Target under 2.5 seconds.
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP) — How responsive is your page? Target under 200ms.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) — How stable is your layout? Target under 0.1.

What to do about it:

• Run your site through Google PageSpeed Insights monthly
• Optimize images — use modern formats like WebP and AVIF
• Minimize JavaScript bundles
• Use lazy loading for below-the-fold content

4. Topical Authority Beats Individual Keywords

The days of ranking a single page for a competitive keyword without broader topical coverage are over. Google now evaluates whether your entire site demonstrates authority on a subject.

This means you need topic clusters — comprehensive coverage of a subject across multiple interlinked pages, not just one great article.

What to do about it:

• Map out the key topics your site should be known for
• Create pillar content (comprehensive guides) and cluster content (specific subtopics)
• Interlink your content strategically
• Cover topics deeply rather than broadly

5. Video SEO Is No Longer Optional

Video content is everywhere in search results. Google is increasingly showing video results, video carousels, and even timestamped video clips directly in SERPs.

If you are not creating video content, you are leaving rankings on the table.

What to do about it:

• Create YouTube videos for your most important topics
• Add video schema markup to pages with embedded videos
• Include transcripts for accessibility and additional keyword coverage
• Optimize video titles, descriptions, and thumbnails for search

6. Local SEO Is Getting Hyper-Competitive

For businesses with physical locations, local SEO has become incredibly competitive. Google Business Profile optimization, local link building, and review management are table stakes.

What to do about it:

• Keep your Google Business Profile fully optimized and updated
• Build links from local directories, newspapers, and organizations
• Actively manage and respond to reviews
• Create location-specific content for each area you serve

7. Zero-Click Searches Demand Brand Building

More than 60% of Google searches now end without a click. Featured snippets, knowledge panels, and AI Overviews mean users are getting answers without ever visiting your site.

What to do about it:

• Focus on brand building so people search for you by name
• Optimize for featured snippets to at least get visibility
• Build email lists and direct traffic channels you own
• Create content that requires the full article to get value from

8. Technical SEO Foundations Cannot Be Ignored

With everyone investing in content, technical SEO is becoming a bigger competitive advantage. Sites with clean architecture, fast loading times, proper structured data, and solid crawlability have a real edge.

What to do about it:

• Audit your site for crawl errors and broken links regularly
• Implement structured data for your content types
• Ensure your site architecture is logical and flat
• Monitor your Core Web Vitals continuously

The Common Thread

If there is one theme across all these trends, it is this: Google is getting better at identifying and rewarding genuine quality and expertise.

The shortcuts are disappearing. The tactics that game the system are failing faster. What is left is doing the hard work of creating genuinely valuable content, building real authority, and providing an excellent user experience.

That might sound discouraging if you were hoping for a quick hack. But it is actually great news for anyone willing to put in the work — because it means your investment in quality will compound over time.