Stop Optimising Pages, Start Building a Brand
I recently spent Easter at home, which meant explaining my job to old friends and family. It made me realise how much my answer has changed. In 2026, the question isn't just "How do we rank on Google?" but "How do we become the brand that AI chooses to cite?"
A lot of people think GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) will replace SEO. I don't see it that way. I see it as an expansion. The shift isn't from one to the other, it’s a shift from optimising pages to building a presence.
Presence is the New Ranking
Building a presence means existing where your customers actually live. It’s no longer enough to have a well-optimised landing page. You need to be the voice in their ears on Spotify, the face on their YouTube feed, and the trusted answer to their questions on Reddit.
When you provide value across the entire customer journey, search volume follows naturally. You aren't just chasing an algorithm; you're following the human.
The End of the Marketing Silo
We have to stop treating SEO, PR, and Social as separate buckets. I saw this firsthand in the Finnish market. When we released press releases regarding legislative changes, we didn't just get "PR coverage"; we positioned ourselves as the definitive experts. That expertise fed our SEO, which in turn fed our authority.
These departments should function as one cohesive unit. When topics are discussed, the question shouldn't be "How does this help my silo?" but "How does this strengthen our collective authority?"
Talking to the Machine (and the Human)
The way people search has fundamentally changed. In a Google search bar, we use shorthand. In an AI prompt, we ask complex, multi-layered questions.
To win in 2026, our content must do two things at once:
Cover the semantic landscape: Using deeply relevant language to satisfy long-tail AI queries.
Be undeniably unique: Moving beyond generic "how-to" content to offer real opinions and a "living" brand voice. If your content sounds like a machine wrote it, a machine will eventually replace it.
Redefining Success
If we only measure clicks, we’re missing the point. As AI provides more "zero-click" answers, our success metric must shift toward Branded Searches. When more people search for your brand by name, it means you’ve successfully occupied space in their minds. If your brand becomes synonymous with the solution the customer wants, revenue will increase even if traditional clicks decrease.
The strategy for 2026 is simple, yet difficult: Stop trying to trick the engine. Start building a brand worth citing.