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Most people know they “should do something about SEO”, but fewer know what it actually involves — and even fewer know where to start. Here's the honest explanation, and what you can do about it in 2026.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimisation”.
It's the practice of making your website as visible as possible in search engines' organic — that is, non-paid — results. But SEO isn't just about showing up. It's just as much about controlling how you appear: which title and description are displayed, and whether the search engine presents you with star ratings, prices, FAQ answers or other elements that encourage your target audience to click.
Strictly speaking, SEO applies to all search engines — YouTube, Amazon, Bing, etc. But in practice, it's almost all about Google, which, as of 2024, had around 94 per cent of the search market in Norway.
What has changed is that “search” is no longer limited to ten blue links. Google now shows AI-generated summaries (AI Overviews) at the top of many searches. ChatGPT, Perplexity and other AI tools answer questions directly. Visibility in these channels requires a broader understanding of what SEO really is.
How does SEO work in practice?
Google uses automated programs — Googlebot — that continuously visit and analyse web pages. They read the content, follow your links and send the information back to Google's massive index. When someone searches, the algorithm retrieves the pages it deems most relevant and authoritative for that specific search.
The ranking is determined by over 200 factors. SEO specialists typically work within four fields:
- On-page SEO — the content and structure of the page itself: headings, keyword usage, text quality, internal links, meta titles and image captions.
- Off-page SEO — what happens off your site: links from other websites, brand mentions and local visibility via Google Business Profile.
- Technical SEO — the underlying infrastructure: speed, mobile-friendliness, URL structure, crawlability, HTTP status codes and structured data.
- Analytical SEO — measuring and understanding the results: which keywords drive traffic, which pages convert, and what the data tells you about the next steps.
In 2026, there is also a fifth, rapidly growing field: GEO — Generative Engine Optimisation. This involves optimising content so it gets cited and recommended by AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews. More on that below.
What I often see go wrong with SEO
After many years as an SEO consultant, I see the same mistakes repeat themselves.
- Tactics before strategy. The business starts publishing blog posts without doing any keyword research. They write about what they find interesting, not what their target audience is actually searching for. After six months, traffic hasn't changed, and the conclusion is that “SEO doesn't work”.
- Technical and content in separate silos. I constantly see websites with brilliant content that Google can barely crawl — because the technical infrastructure is a mess. And the reverse: technically perfect sites with no content that actually answers what people are searching for.
- Mass production of AI content without quality assurance. Google has become very good at identifying content that adds no real value. More content does not equal better content.
SEO vs. SEM: A quick overview
| Feature | SEO (organic) | SEM/SEA (paid) |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per click | No direct cost | £1–£25+ per click |
| Timeframe | 3–6 months to see results | Immediate visibility |
| Long-term effect | High — builds up over time | Stops when the budget stops |
| Control over placement | Indirect — via content | Direct — you bid |
| Best for | Long-term growth and branding | Campaigns and quick visibility |
My recommendation for most small businesses: start with SEO as your foundation, and use paid advertising tactically to plug gaps while your organic visibility builds. The two channels complement each other best when they work in parallel.
SEO in a world of AI search: How to get it right
Here’s something I find many SEO consultants don't talk about enough: rankings are no longer the only thing that matters.
Google now displays AI Overviews at the top of a growing number of searches. Studies from 2025 show that the CTR for the top position without an AI Overview is 35–40 per cent. With an AI Overview above your result, it can drop to 13–20 per cent. That’s not a minor adjustment — it’s a fundamental change in how traffic is distributed. At the same time, the use of AI search tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity is growing rapidly.
Visibility in 2026 is about two things at once: ranking well in traditional search results, and being cited as a source in AI-generated answers. The latter is what GEO is all about.
GEO is not a replacement for classic SEO. It places partly different demands on your content:
- Clear, self-contained definitions early in the text (AI models tend to pull the first clear definition they find).
- A fact-based, authoritative voice rather than marketing language.
- Structured content with clear answers to specific questions.
- Links to and from authoritative sources.
The good news: good SEO content and good GEO content overlap to a large extent. The foundation is the same.
Your SEO action plan: Step by step
| Step | What to do | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Do keyword research — start with 5–10 realistic keywords | 2–3 hrs |
| 2 | Run your site through PageSpeed Insights and Search Console; fix the top three technical issues | 1–2 days |
| 3 | Audit your existing content; update and strengthen it before publishing new material | Ongoing |
| 4 | Build an internal link structure with descriptive anchor text | Ongoing |
| 5 | Set up a weekly check-in with Google Search Console | 15 min/week |
| 6 | Think GEO from the start: clear definitions, direct answers, structured content | Ongoing |
In summary: My take on SEO
If I'm being completely honest: SEO isn't sexy. It's not a quick fix, and it rarely delivers immediate results. But it's one of the few channels that actually builds lasting value — visibility you own, not rent.
What has changed in 2026 is that “good SEO” and “visibility in AI search” are largely the same thing: good, credible, structured content that answers real questions. That makes SEO more relevant, not less.
Start with one step. Do your keyword research. Check Search Console. Write one good article. Build from there.
Further reading on SEO (for the particularly interested)
- Google Search Central — Google's own guidelines for ranking, indexing and technical requirements
- Search Engine Journal — ongoing news and analysis from the SEO industry
- Ahrefs Blog — data-driven studies on keywords, CTR and link building
- Moz — Beginner's Guide to SEO — a solid introduction to the fundamental principles
- First Page Sage — Google CTR report — up-to-date click-through rate data by position, including the effect of AI Overviews
