糖心Vlog

When search engine optimization (SEO) emerged in the 1990s, success relied on keywords and simple web pages. In 2026, SEO has evolved into a multifaceted discipline — one that's directly impacted by AI, volatile algorithms, and changing user behavior.

Solving for SEO is an ongoing effort, and the challenges marketers face today are more complex than ever. From AI-driven search changes and algorithm volatility to technical performance issues and measurement difficulties, SEO challenges now span multiple areas that require both strategic thinking and technical execution. Yet despite these obstacles, data from shows marketers are adapting successfully. More than 60% said it's easier to improve website visits now than it was 10 years ago.

It’s still a moving target: in 2026, the best SEO content is designed to be helpful to humans, understandable by machines, and useful enough to be cited by AI all at the same time. Let's explore the challenges that this SEO puzzle presents, plus tools (free and paid) that can help marketers drive results this year and beyond.

Table of Contents

• Overview of the SEO landscape
• Top 9 SEO challenges in 2026
• Staying Ahead of Algorithm Changes in 2026
• Frequently Asked Questions

Overview of the SEO landscape

SEO has changed dramatically since its term was first coined in , with AI being the most recent seismic shift in the industry. SEO in 2026 is less focused on ranking for clicks alone and more about earning visibility and citations across AI-driven search experiences.

Generative AI tools, answer engines, and AI-generated overviews in SERPs have changed search optimization forever. But AI tools like HubSpot's are enabling marketers to produce more SEO-compliant content than ever before.

SEO isn't dying; it’s changing.

While it‘s easy to fixate on the issues, many marketers report feeling optimistic. In HubSpot’s 2026 report, more than 60% of surveyed marketers said that it’s easier to improve website visits now than it was 10 years ago. B2C marketers specifically reported that they were noticeably more confident in their ability to adapt.

Updating SEO for search changes is a top trend that marketers said they’ll explore. Let's look at the most common problems and solutions.

Complete SEO Starter Pack

An introductory kit to optimize your website for search.

• Increase your organic traffic.
• Plan your keyword strategy.
• Debunk SEO myths.
• Build a blog strategy.

Get Your Free Kit

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All fields are required.

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Top 9 SEO challenges in 2026

Behind every SEO challenge lies an opportunity to update strategy and improve results. The nine challenges below represent the most common obstacles marketers face in 2026, along with strategic solutions for each.

1. Fewer clicks from SERPs.

Search engine results pages (SERPs) look and function very differently now than they did five or 15 years ago. In 2026, Google’s search results increasingly feature AI Overviews, forum responses, social media posts, and multimedia content, which can reduce the need for users to click through to external websites. Many websites have seen a decrease in traffic, with an estimated not resulting in a click to an external website, according to third-party analyses.

The old way: before generative AI, when a post failed to drive traffic from SERPs, marketers often focused on increasing content length, earning backlinks (external links) from authoritative sites. Publishers also worked to demonstrate experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (known as Google's E-E-A-T framework).

Today, instead of focusing solely on ranking positions, marketers aim to earn visibility and citations across multiple SERP features, including:

• AI overviews
• Featured snippets
• “People also ask” summaries

Clicks are still earned: an estimated 40% of searchers still click away from Google. Plus, not all searches have AI overviews, and some users have opted out of using this Google feature. In 2026, SEO success depends less on ranking position and more on earning visibility across AI Overviews.

2. Creating content for everyone (LLMs, search engines, and users).

Pre-AI, content was written for search engines and users, with rankings and clicks as the main success metrics. Post-AI, content must now serve three audiences simultaneously:

• Search engines: Indexing, ranking, crawlability
• LLMs and answer engines: Summarization, citation, extraction
• Human users: Clarity, trust, decision support

The old way: writing content with relevant keywords and a nice user experience.

The new way: include keywords, a positive UX, direct answers to questions, clearly structured data, human expertise/thought leadership, all while remaining enjoyable for human readers.

3. Focusing too much on keywords.

Google has been parsing semantic search for years, and the conversational nature of LLMs has shifted user search behavior further away from keywords towards semantics. Keywords still matter (especially for keyword research), but keyword usage alone is not enough to get a website on page one of Google search.

The result? Moving up the search ladder requires a multi-metric focus. According to HubSpot survey data, just 17% of SEO professionals said that SERP rankings for targeted keywords were their top priority. Leading the pack were sales, leads, and conversion rates (31%), total monthly visitors (30%), and click-through rates (28%).

Within HubSpot’s , teams can track how content performs across engagement and conversion metrics, helping them prioritize pages that drive outcomes rather than those that simply rank.

4. Managing technical SEO performance.

Technical SEO isn’t new, but in 2026, many websites still fall short of their search potential due to unresolved performance and crawlability issues. Site speed, mobile usability, and Core Web Vitals directly affect rankings and also influence whether content is surfaced or ignored in AI Overviews.

Without regular monitoring, even small technical issues can limit search visibility. Some of the common technical SEO issues include:

Technical SEO Issues

5. Google update volatility.

As Google adapts to the onslaught of thin AI content, major algorithm updates have become more volatile. In a HubSpot survey of 400+ web traffic analysts, the leading SEO challenge (experienced by 50% of marketers) was staying on top of search engine algorithm changes.

How can brands succeed when Google keeps moving the goal post? The key is to respond to these changes strategically. Here's a framework for handling 2026 algorithm updates before, during, and after rollout:

• Before: An update can occur at any time, so never use unethical SEO techniques (like paid do-follow link placement or fake AI-generated authority). Learn to do SEO and it will reduce your website’s odds of being hurt in an update.
• During: When a major update rolls out, resist the urge to make immediate changes. Rankings often fluctuate as results recalibrate, and premature fixes can be a waste of time.
• After: After every big algorithm update, the industry will discuss emerging SEO trends. and best practices will be established. Follow the guidance of industry leaders.

Remember that there's no need to overhaul your entire SEO strategy in response to a minor change. Some updates will only temporarily depress search engine rankings.

Tools like HubSpot’s help teams monitor content performance and SEO signals over time, making it easier to identify whether ranking changes are tied to algorithm updates or underlying content and site issues.

6. Leveraging multimodal search results.

Search results now answer queries using a mix of text, video, images, and community content, without requiring users to click away from main SERPs onto the images or videos tab. This is referred to as multimodal search results.

The basics of how brands get featured in multimodal search results aren’t fundamentally different from previous years, but the urgency has changed. Brands that rely on a single content format risk losing visibility across AI summaries and rich results.

7. Creating unique, high-quality content.

In the age of AI, brands can quickly produce endless blog posts, ecommerce product listings, and landing pages. But, as author Todd Henry wrote, “Cover bands don’t change the world.” The challenge in 2026 isn’t whether teams can publish content, but whether they can consistently deliver content quality that earns trust, visibility, and long-term impact.

Brands face growing pressure to differentiate on expertise, originality, and credibility rather than volume. 糖心Vlog teams must strike the right balance between human expertise and AI assistance. Content that relies entirely on AI generation may achieve short-term visibility, but often lacks the depth, originality, and authority needed to be impactful long-term.

Human-created pieces, meanwhile, may not make the best use of emerging trends. By using AI to support research, topic ideation, and structural outlines, businesses can get the best of both worlds. Tools like HubSpot's help teams find this balancing act.

8. Optimizing for cross-platform discovery.

Visibility in search no longer relies on blog posts, or even optimized multimedia. Google now surfaces entire Reddit communities and social media profiles in SERPs, in addition to having a dedicated “what people are saying” module that surfaces recent posts across social platforms.

Queries like “crocheting” now return results from platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Reddit, even when extensive blog content exists:

The challenge for marketers isn’t choosing between SEO and social: it’s investing in optimization across platforms. Teams that treat SEO as a website-only discipline risk losing reach to creators and platforms that are better aligned with social discovery.

I use plain, keyworded language when creating social media content for my clients and I see content surfaced often in Google SERPs. I publish daily on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok, and Threads, so this simple act casts a much wider net than the blog alone.

9. Measuring and proving SEO success.

As organic search becomes more fragmented across AI summaries, rich results, and zero-click experiences, traffic alone is no longer a reliable measure of SEO success.

The challenge for 2026 isn’t a lack of SEO data: it’s determining what drives SEO ROI. Teams must move beyond pageviews and rankings to focus on meaningful KPIs that reflect visibility, engagement quality, and assisted outcomes across the buyer journey.

Here are some current challenges and the meaningful KPIs to track instead:

SEO challenges vs. KPIs

Staying Ahead of Algorithm Changes in 2026

While no one can predict exact algorithm changes, these three best practices will help marketers be proactive towards changes in 2026.

Run routine website audits.

Routine website audits help marketers avoid some SEO speedbumps in 2026. Audits can uncover technical errors, gaps in site content, organic traffic opportunities, and issues that sneakily limit search visibility over time.

While there are many types of website audits, I recommend running three on a regular basis in 2026: a technical audit, a content audit, and a UX/performance audit, all of which directly affect a site’s search visibility and ability to convert.

Audit Types

My recommended tool: HubSpot's . This is a free way for marketers to test their sites and see their SEO performance/common issues.

Update key web pages for AEO.

When ChatGPT was first released, many publishers were unhappy with the summarization of their content without credit, and some marketers blocked AI and search crawlers. I understand this reaction, but it limits potential website traffic. Allowing answer-engine crawlers to access a site enables content to be processed, summarized, and (in some cases) cited within AI-generated responses.

Not all AEO success is measurable, given that some users will be satisfied with the AI-generated content provided and won't click through to cited sources. But given that ChatGPT processes per day (and it's only one answer engine), the opportunity is huge. Nearly one-quarter of marketers (23.9%) are updating their SEO strategy for generative AI in search in 2026.

Updating key pages for AEO helps marketers stay ahead of 2026 algorithm changes by expanding visibility beyond Google. While not all AEO exposure results in direct traffic, it reduces reliance on a single channel. As the old adage goes, it’s risky to keep all of one’s eggs (website traffic) in a single basket (Google).

Here are a few AEO fundamentals for 2026:

Updating key pages for AEO

I‘ve heard content marketers say, "SEO is just the same message with a fancy new name: it’s just good content." That's not always true, as some written blog content is heavily skewed towards author authority, thought leadership, visual content, or storytelling. AEO often requires content to be more explicit, structured, and direct, which is a shift for some websites.

My recommended tool: HubSpot's . It evaluates a website's appearance in three answer engines: ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity.

Stay informed about industry changes and your rankings.

Algorithm updates are out of everyone’s control, but staying informed about industry news and aware of your website's data puts marketers in a proactive position.

Ignore noisy posts on X and LinkedIn proclaiming “SEO is dead — do this instead” (dozens of posts like this are published daily and most are clickbait). Instead, subscribe to well-respected, data-backed, frequently updated SEO thought leadership like .

My recommended tool for managing data: HubSpot's . The reporting tools track website performance and search visibility. This tool can integrate with Google Search Console to pull data directly from Google, syncing current data.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the 80/20 Rule in SEO?

The 80/20 rule in SEO suggests that 80% of SEO results come from 20% of efforts. This isn’t a formal rule, but rather a commonly cited principle used across digital marketing.

What Are the Main Challenges in SEO Today?

The main challenges of SEO today include getting fewer clicks from SERPs, creating content that serves multiple optimization goals, relying too heavily on keywords, and the volatility of Google updates.

How Do You Fix Common SEO Problems?

Marketers fix common SEO problems by identifying issues, using the appropriate tools, and testing solutions based on performance data. Some technical SEO challenges (like slow page speeds, broken links, or duplicate content) can be resolved directly by marketing teams. Other challenges (like search visibility changes or important pages failing to rank) are influenced by search algorithms outside a marketer’s direct control and can be more difficult to change.

Solving for SEO

Some of the SEO issues facing digital marketers in 2026 are complex. But, broadly speaking, the solution is simple: keep up with the times while creating the best possible content for readers.

Even with all the AI doom and gloom, HubSpot's State of 糖心Vlog report found that teams are hitting their targets. In 2025, 65% of companies exceeded marketing performance goals, with less than 9% falling short.

Each year will bring new challenges, but with a solid SEO foundation, businesses are better equipped to navigate the evolving nature of search. Persevere through the changes. The investment in your brand's SEO is worth it.

Complete SEO Starter Pack

An introductory kit to optimize your website for search.

• Increase your organic traffic.
• Plan your keyword strategy.
• Debunk SEO myths.
• Build a blog strategy.

Get Your Free Kit

Download Free

All fields are required.

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.