Search keeps changing, but the goal stays the same: help people find the best answer quickly. Here are the shifts we see across our client accounts this year, and what to do about each one.
1. AI answers raise the bar for content
Generic articles are losing clicks to AI summaries. Pages that win now share first-hand experience, original data and clear expert opinions that cannot be found anywhere else.
“Write for the person who already read three other articles and still has a question.”
2. Page experience is a ranking habit, not a project
Core Web Vitals, mobile layout and accessibility are no longer one-off fixes. Treat them like hygiene and check them every month.
- Keep pages light and images properly sized
- Use clear headings and descriptive links
- Measure real-user performance, not only lab scores
3. Brand searches beat backlinks alone
People searching for your brand name is one of the strongest signals you can earn. Social, PR and community work all feed into SEO results.
Lisa Olivers
Founder of Digitra. Writes about SEO, content and growing service businesses online.