As we have learned in class, the world of Search Engine Optimization is constantly changing. The way search engines crawl websites to the way users search is totally different today than it was 10 years ago…5 years ago…1 year ago…even 6 months ago! For this reason, it is important to stay on top of what’s going on in the world of SEO, and to adjust your strategies accordingly. I read an article (2026 SEO Trends: Top Predictions from 20 Industry Experts) that I will draw from for this blog. The article provided 20 predicted trends, but I will focus on the top 3.
#1: “Relevance Engineering Will Define the Future of AI Search”
This prediction is based on the fact that conversational and personalized results have started to become “the norm.” Think about it, how often do you choose to use ChatGPT to answer questions simply because it’s conversational. I know I sure do. This can apply to SEO as well. To do well in this, you should “rebuild around personas.” Consider your target users and what exactly their looking for/what conversations they may be looking for regarding your product/service.
#2: “Back-end optimization will be crucial for agentic AI & assistants”
Because users now expect AI to be able to “personally” answer their quarries, it is vital that you make your back-end systems (structured data, executable actions) easily available to AI assistants and smart devices.
#3: “Brand sentiment and trust will influence AI visibility”
This prediction states that the AI crawling your site will search for things like “social mentions, reviews, and high-quality backlinks” to identify whether or not you have a trustworthy business. If you are determined to be a credible source of information, you are more likely to be high up on the suggested sites following a search.
These predictions are from November of 2025 and it is already evident how true they are. Consider these when creating and optimizing your SEO!
One Response
This is all good! SEO should be developed completely around the user, and having personas planned and targeted will do nothing but help. As for AI, it is becoming more and more popular to have AI assistants on websites to help solve problems and questions that the user may have too. I’ve had to communicate with them several times myself!