Search engine optimisation is evolving faster than ever. With AI-driven search results, the rise of SGE (Search Generative Experience), and Google's ever-tightening EEAT requirements, the tactics that worked in 2023 are quickly losing their edge. Here are the 10 strategies our team is deploying for clients right now — and why they're delivering outsized returns.
1. Optimise for AI Overviews and SGE
Google's AI Overviews are now appearing in the majority of informational searches. Ranking in the traditional "blue links" isn't enough — you need to be the source Google's AI cites. This means structuring content with clear, direct answers to specific questions, using schema markup aggressively, and maintaining the kind of EEAT signals that build AI trust.
2. Build Topical Authority, Not Just Rankings
Google increasingly evaluates websites based on the depth of their coverage within a topic — not just individual keyword rankings. A site that comprehensively covers "home insurance" will outrank a site targeting only the exact keyword "cheap home insurance quotes" for that term, even without exact-match optimisation.
- Map all subtopics within your core subject area
- Create content clusters with a strong pillar page at the centre
- Ensure every subtopic has its own dedicated, well-optimised page
- Use internal linking to signal topical relationships to Google
3. Prioritise First-Person Experience Content (EEAT)
Google's emphasis on Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness has never been stronger. Content written from genuine first-hand experience consistently outperforms AI-generated or lightly researched articles. Include original case studies, real data, author bylines with credentials, and authentic opinions.
4. Core Web Vitals 2.0 — INP Is Now Critical
Interaction to Next Paint (INP) replaced First Input Delay as a Core Web Vital in 2024. Many sites still score poorly on INP, creating a significant ranking opportunity for those who optimise for it. Target an INP below 200ms on all pages, especially those with heavy JavaScript or third-party scripts.
5. Zero-Click SEO Strategies
With more searches than ever resulting in zero clicks (users getting their answer directly from the SERP), your SEO strategy needs to account for visibility without clicks. Featured snippets, knowledge panel presence, brand SERP management, and video carousels all drive awareness even without a visit to your site.
6. Video SEO and YouTube Search
YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, and video content is increasingly surfaced in Google web results. Creating video versions of your core content and optimising them for YouTube search is no longer optional for competitive verticals.
7. Local AI Search Optimisation
AI assistants and search features are changing local search dynamics. Optimise your Google Business Profile with detailed service descriptions, weekly posts, Q&A, and a steady stream of recent reviews. Structured data for local businesses is now a non-negotiable.
8. Programmatic SEO at Scale
For businesses with large datasets or location-based offerings, programmatic SEO — generating hundreds or thousands of unique, search-optimised pages from structured data — can deliver extraordinary organic scale. Done correctly, it's one of the highest-leverage SEO investments available.
9. Search Intent Alignment Is Non-Negotiable
Matching your content format and depth to the intent behind a query has always mattered, but in 2026, the gap between intent-matched and misaligned content has never been wider. Use Google's current top-ranking pages as your intent template before writing anything.
10. Technical Performance as a Competitive Edge
Page speed, Core Web Vitals, crawl efficiency, and structured data are now baseline requirements in competitive niches. The brands treating technical SEO as a one-time project are losing ground to those running continuous technical audits and improvements.
