AI SEO trends 2026: What will shape search next year

Hello, my friend!

Hope your weekend is going well!

Over the past few months, I’ve been collecting insights, testing new tools, and learning directly from top SEO experts during the SEO IRL conference in Toronto. And after connecting the dots, one thing is clear:

SEO is entering its next big shift.

That’s why I put together a full breakdown of AI SEO Trends 2026 — what’s changing, what’s becoming outdated, and what you should focus on to protect and grow your traffic this year and beyond.

These trends are based on my own experience working with brands, running my website, and chatting with some of the smartest minds in SEO.

Here’s a quick preview of what you’ll find inside:

1️⃣ E-E-A-T is at the core of AI SEO

2️⃣ Topical authority matters more than ever — go deep, not wide

3️⃣ AI citations rise as the “new backlinks”

4️⃣ SEO becomes multichannel

5️⃣ AI-powered workflows speed up SEO tasks

6️⃣ Traditional KPIs fade — AI visibility becomes the new metric

If this got your curiosity going, here’s a link to the article. 👇 It’s free to read.

What you might have missed

Last week, I finally shared my full SEO content strategy — the same one that brought in over $40,000 from my website in 2025.

The response on LinkedIn surprised me 🙈

• 170 likes

• 7.5k+ impressions

• 56 comments

• 1 repost

If you're wondering how a solopreneur can earn $40k through affiliate deals and brand partnerships, feel free to check out the article.

For the Premium members: 👋

Here’s what’s new in the content library:

• October 2025 Affiliate report: $4,716.36. in affiliate and sponsorships.

• September 2025 Affiliate report: $8,102.18 in affiliate and sponsorships.

• $20k+ from my website in 8 months —here’s how: It’s my 2,000-word case study, where I share everything that helped me grow & monetize my site.

• Google hit my site … then I doubled my traffic, where I show the impact of the Google Core Update on various websites (including mine), and highlight common characteristics of the top-performing sites.

• $12,000+ from my website in 5 months: I’m sharing my top-performing affiliate programs and landing pages that generate the most revenue.

• Optimize like a Pro: Here's what I do: I use these 9 content optimization strategies to rank on page one.

• My approach to affiliate marketing: Mistakes, learnings & new strategy

• How I ranked #8 on Google in just 6 days: The SEO strategy that got me on Google in a few days.

Want in?

You can become a Premium member for just $7 one-time payment. You’ll get behind-the-scenes tips, real strategies I use to grow my site, and answers to your questions. 🧠💡

Have a great weekend!

Victoria

P.S. You can review last week’s newsletter here.