14 SEO Things Marketing Executives Need to Focus on in 2026

By Better Together Agency

SEO in 2026 is not a contest for the most keywords. Search engines, answer engines and AI systems all reward content that is useful, structured and connected to a credible source.

1. Start with the question people are trying to answer

Keywords are useful signals, but intent matters more. Build the page around the decision, problem or question behind the search.

2. Put the answer near the top

Readers should not have to work through five paragraphs before they understand your point. A direct opening also makes the page easier for answer engines to interpret.

3. Use descriptive headings

Headings should tell a reader what the next section contains. Clever labels can work in campaigns, but they make reference content harder to scan and extract.

4. Add firsthand experience

Original experience makes a page harder to replace with a generic summary. Explain what your organization has seen, tested or learned.

5. Publish original research when you have it

Surveys, audits, benchmarks and other first-party findings give other writers and systems something specific to cite.

6. Name the source behind every important claim

If a statistic matters to the argument, make the source visible. A link without attribution forces readers and systems to guess where the number came from.

7. Build connected topic areas

One strong article helps. A group of related pages helps people understand what your organization knows across a subject.

8. Keep internal links useful

Link to the page that genuinely extends the reader’s understanding. Internal links should clarify relationships, not fill a quota.

9. Make authorship clear

Readers should know who is responsible for the information and why the source is credible. Organizational authorship can work when the work represents the agency rather than one person’s opinion.

10. Keep dates and updates visible

Fast-changing subjects need clear publication and revision dates. Old information can still be useful, but readers should know its age.

11. Write for retrieval, not repetition

FAQs, definitions, tables and short answer sections can make complex pages easier to use. They should add clarity rather than restate the same point.

12. Treat video and social content as part of search

People search on YouTube, LinkedIn and other platforms. Titles, descriptions and accurate transcripts help those ideas travel outside the original post.

13. Protect the original source

When an article appears in more than one place, decide which version should be treated as the original and use canonical signals where the platform supports them.

14. Measure more than rankings

Watch organic visits, branded searches, referral traffic, backlinks and whether AI answers cite or accurately represent your work. Rankings are one part of visibility.

Do not ask whether the organization ranks for a list of terms. Ask whether the right people can find its expertise, understand it quickly and connect the answer back to the organization across search and AI systems.