What Are the Best SEO Strategies to Invest in 2026?

Search has undergone a massive shift in the last few years, changing not only how customers search but also how brands must adapt. You have zero-click search solutions like AI Overviews, which quickly summarise content and reach an estimated 2 billion monthly users (and are increasing the number of no-click searches to 60%). There are also AI chatbots, AI mode, and several other AI features changing the future of SEO and search as we know it.

AI has changed the name of the search game, and the future of AI search optimisation has changed with it. It’s no wonder that the top SEO strategies for 2026 include building up your authority, earning linksHyperlinks, also known as links, are the connection points on a webpage that take you to other webpages. authentically, and rounding your content strategy out with a focus on experience and technical excellence. This guide covers exactly what’s in store for the future of SEO, and how you can prepare your business for LLM search and the wider search evolution.

The Shift Toward Topical Authority and Experience-Led Content

In 2026, brands that demonstrate real-world experience and subject-matter expertise are leading the charge, and, as a result, topical authority SEO strategies are taking priority. AI-generated content is increasingly offering less and less value for brands, highlighting the need for expert insights and fully optimised E-E-A-T content and content marketing solutions.

So yes, there’s still value in those blue links. The difference is in the approach. In 2026, experience-led SEO strategies will focus on user-first content and topic clusters that reflect lived experience, customer understanding, and human insight, while AI Overview optimisation will focus on question-led content that provides concise answers to build up that brand authority and visibility, even on zero-click searches.

AI-Assisted SEO: Automation Powered by Human Strategy

AI SEO tools like Click Insights accelerate essential website SEO optimisation by clustering keywords, analysing content gaps, optimising metadataPut simply, metadata is data that describes data. It’s a labelling system designed to help machines and humans understand what is contained within a packet of data., and suggesting internal links. These AI-assisted optimisation allows human experts to scan and understand even large-scale enterprise sites faster and more effectively than ever.

This data-backed SEO automation then works hand in hand with human-in-the-loop strategic content development, allowing us to improve sites with AI-powered technical SEO audits while leveraging human creativity and editorial judgement to create original, intent-focused content with a unique brand tone of voice that stands out from all that AI-generated noise.

Entity SEO and the Evolution of Search Intent

In 2026, search strategies will increasingly focus on entities, those real-world people, concepts, or products, allowing you to create a knowledge graphThe Knowledge Graph is a knowledge base that Google uses to organize information., build contextual relevance, and establish your brand as an expert in that field. This approach moves away from keyword-only strategies toward a full-scale search intent optimisation that reinforces your brand consistency and notoriety.

Expert SEO copywriting services will help build on-site knowledge clusters using best-practice entity SEO. We can then use expert AI tools to identify semantic optimisation opportunities, including internal linking and content gaps, helping you improve your E-E-A-T rankings and entity recognition content.

On the brick-and-mortar side, local SEO services can start building your brand’s knowledge authority in your neighbourhood and niche, allowing AI and search tools to understand your brand’s full context. This combined approach supports greater visibility in AI answers and other conversational search journeys.

Authentic Link Building & Digital PR as Authority Accelerators

Link buildingLink building is a process of acquiring links pointing to your website. These links are obtained by creating content, participating in social media or commenting on other blogs. SEO is just as important as ever; in 2026, the focus is on building authentic, context-rich backlinks earned through relationships, digital PR campaigns, and high-value content.

Gaining high-authority backlinks will increasingly focus on data-led campaigns that leverage editorial coverage, research reports, expert commentary, multimedia assets, and collaborations. With Click Intelligence’s expert link-building services, your brand will benefit from relationship-based outreach and natural link earning by working with publishers, creators, and influencers to generate those authority signals that drive rankings and build trust.

Advanced SEO Reporting and AI-Era Performance Measurement

Rankings and raw traffic alone can no longer tell you the full story on your brand’s performance in the online search ecosystem. This is because zero-click search is on the rise, both due to map searches, where Google Business Profiles (GBP) take centre stage, and to AIO.

That’s why SEO reporting in 2026 needs to go beyond. You need to do more than look at incoming traffic; consider AI performance metrics such as AI summary visibility, branded search growth, dwell time, engagement quality, assisted conversions, and, of course, long-term SEO ROI.

Click Intelligence’s reporting and insights framework, Click Insights, tracks and measures AI Overviews keywordKeywords are the words and phrases that potential customers might search for to find your business. rank trackingRank tracking is the process of monitoring how well your website is ranking for various keywords in search engines., monitors how your competitors are doing on AIO, and identifies which sources are contributing to those AI overviews. Our solution uses attribution modelling to track essential engagement signals so you can see the true business impact of your SEO ROI in 2026.

With our fully managed SEO campaigns, of course, you can connect organic visibility to your brand authority and commercial outcomes. We’ll work to improve your on-site SEO, build a 2026-ready content strategy, and continue to refine and optimise your SEO approach until you see a notable branded search uplift that contributes to your business’s bottom line.

Conclusion: Building a Future-Proof SEO Strategy for 2026 and Beyond

Your SEO investment priorities must be focused on authority building. This means investing in experience-led content, long-term authority building, authentic link earning, and organic visibility through entity SEO. To further future-proof your SEO strategy, of course, you’ll need AI-ready technical SEO and to invest in advanced performance measurement.

As always, of course, sustainable SEO growth is a long-term investment, one that will change even throughout the year. To achieve SEO success in 2026, you need to build trust and establish your brand’s expertise, all of which you can do with confidence with an expert team of SEO, content, and technical experts by your side.

Book a call to discover how we can ramp up your SEO strategy for 2026 and gain a future-proof SEO strategy you can count on today.