Anyone else seeing weird ranking changes after the latest Google spam update?
My rankings have been moving around quite a bit since yesterday. Curious if others are seeing the same thing.
Some of the acronyms and steps have changed,
But the fundamentals are still very similar to traditional SEO.
Here's a clear breakdown of the terms you should know:
1️⃣ SEO = Search Engine Optimisation
SEO hasn’t “died”, but AI is expanding it. Good SEO means good AI visibility in almost every case. Search is up 26% since ChatGPT launched, so the pie is really getting bigger.
2️⃣ AEO = Answer Engine Optimisation
90% of AEO is just SEO done well. Don't burn your budget on tactics that do nothing. Schema isn't parsed, llms .txt has zero measurable impact, and neither do .md files. Agonising over that is not a valuable use of your time.
3️⃣ GEO = Generative Engine Optimisation
GEO is influenced by the same factors as traditional SEO. Every major LLM either pulls from Google or was trained on data weighted by the same authority signals Google uses. And so GEO is closely related to the SEO practices you were already doing.
4️⃣ AIO = AI Optimisation
AIO comes down to two things: Get mentioned on authoritative sources (so models learn you exist), and rank well in search (so they cite you live). You can think of it as a combination of PR and SEO, two disciplines that are 25+ years old.
5️⃣ SXO = Search Experience Optimisation
SXO is about optimising the full on-site experience so visitors convert as soon as search or AI sends them your way. Attention and the traffic that follows is not worth much if you don’t have a means of converting it. This is where you want to optimise your site to grab folks at the bottom of the funnel.
There are a lot of new terms being thrown around.
But a lot of them will overlap and can be solved with simple changes.
The biggest thing to remember for 2026:
SEO is not dead, but it has become more complex due to AI...
The job now is making adjustments so AI can easily cite your brand,
While you continue to optimise for Google.
That's it.
If you're still not sure where to start, the fastest way is to see it against your own brand.
We built Searchable to measure how you show up in AI search and show you exactly what to fix.
Some of the acronyms and steps have changed,
But the fundamentals are still very similar to traditional SEO.
Here's a clear breakdown of the terms you should know:
1️⃣ SEO = Search Engine Optimisation
SEO hasn’t “died”, but AI is expanding it. Good SEO means good AI visibility in almost every case. Search is up 26% since ChatGPT launched, so the pie is really getting bigger.
2️⃣ AEO = Answer Engine Optimisation
90% of AEO is just SEO done well. Don't burn your budget on tactics that do nothing. Schema isn't parsed, llms .txt has zero measurable impact, and neither do .md files. Agonising over that is not a valuable use of your time.
3️⃣ GEO = Generative Engine Optimisation
GEO is influenced by the same factors as traditional SEO. Every major LLM either pulls from Google or was trained on data weighted by the same authority signals Google uses. And so GEO is closely related to the SEO practices you were already doing.
4️⃣ AIO = AI Optimisation
AIO comes down to two things: Get mentioned on authoritative sources (so models learn you exist), and rank well in search (so they cite you live). You can think of it as a combination of PR and SEO, two disciplines that are 25+ years old.
5️⃣ SXO = Search Experience Optimisation
SXO is about optimising the full on-site experience so visitors convert as soon as search or AI sends them your way. Attention and the traffic that follows is not worth much if you don’t have a means of converting it. This is where you want to optimise your site to grab folks at the bottom of the funnel.
There are a lot of new terms being thrown around.
But a lot of them will overlap and can be solved with simple changes.
The biggest thing to remember for 2026:
SEO is not dead, but it has become more complex due to AI...
The job now is making adjustments so AI can easily cite your brand,
While you continue to optimise for Google.
That's it.
If you're still not sure where to start, the fastest way is to see it against your own brand.
We built Searchable to measure how you show up in AI search and show you exactly what to fix.
I'm curious if anyone else in the market research industry is seeing the same trend in 2026.
We're noticing that organic traffic, AI referrals, and overall website visits continue to grow, but the number of qualified leads and report inquiries has dropped significantly.
Some possible reasons I've been considering:
AI search tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews) are answering users' questions without sending them to vendor websites.
More visitors are in the early research stage rather than ready to purchase.
Increased competition from free market reports and AI-generated summaries.
Longer B2B buying cycles and tighter budgets.
Buyers comparing multiple vendors before submitting an inquiry.
More traffic from informational keywords instead of commercial-intent searches.
SEO seems to be changing faster than ever with AI search, Google updates, and the growing importance of E-E-A-T signals.
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Over the past year, I've noticed that factors such as content quality, author credibility, structured data, and brand mentions appear to be becoming more important than simply targeting keywords.
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For those working in SEO:
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• What strategy has delivered the best results for you in 2026?
• Are you seeing traffic growth from AI search platforms?
• Which SEO trend do you think is most underrated right now?
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Interested to hear what others are experiencing.