9 SEO predictions for 2026 (from the pros) - from a Matt Diggity Newsletter
Most SEO experts are pushing tactics that won't survive the next 6 months.
Meanwhile, the people who actually track Google's algorithm daily are saying something completely different.
Here's what Barry Schwartz (founder of Search Engine Roundtable) and David Quaid (who Google calls "the king of SEO") are seeing:
1. Google updates are getting quieter, not smaller
Barry tracks every Google algorithm shift. His observation? Google confirmed only 3-4 major updates in 2024 compared to 6-8 in previous years.
But here's the twist: unconfirmed updates are happening constantly.
What this means: Google isn't slowing down changes. They're just not announcing them anymore.
Stop waiting for Google to tell you when things shift. Start monitoring your own rankings weekly and watch for patterns across your entire portfolio.
2. Topical authority just became non-negotiable
David pointed to the December 2024 update as a turning point. Sites trying to rank for everything got hammered.
HubSpot lost 300 million visits and 200 million ranking positions by chasing traffic outside their core expertise.
The new reality: Google is tightening what it considers "your lane."
Strategy that works:
Map out every subtopic in your core niche
Stop chasing tangential traffic
Build depth in one area before expanding
Each piece of content should reinforce your expertise in a specific domain
Going wide used to build authority. Now it destroys it.
3. AI Mode probably won't be the default (yet)
Everyone's panicking about AI Mode becoming default in 2026.
Barry's take after working directly with Google? Not happening yet.
Why? The hallucination problem is still too severe.
According to YouTube data, nearly 30% of users watch live streams weekly. People want to verify information from real humans, not just AI summaries.
What to do: Keep building for traditional search while preparing for AI visibility. Don't abandon proven tactics for speculative plays.
4. Reddit's dominance has an expiration date
Barry has watched this pattern repeat for 20 years.
Yahoo Answers dominated, then died. Quora was next. Wikipedia had its moment. Now it's Reddit.
The cycle always plays out the same way: platform ranks well, SEOs flood it, quality drops, Google moves on.
Reddit will likely stay strong through 2026. But the smart play? Don't build your entire strategy on someone else's platform.
Own your domain. Use Reddit as a distribution channel, not your foundation.
5. Backlinks aren't going anywhere
Despite what you're reading, backlinks remain irreplaceable.
David's point: Google tested ranking without links. It completely failed.
The shift isn't that links matter less. It's that Google is using more signals alongside links (like NavBoost user metrics).
But here's the problem: if AI Mode becomes more prevalent, new sites lose the traffic they need to build engagement signals.
This makes backlinks even more critical for new sites trying to compete.
Focus on high-quality digital PR, relevant guest posts, and earning citations from trusted sources in your niche.
6. Listicles are gaming AI citations right now
Multiple studies show ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini cite listicles constantly.
Glenn Gabe found that self-promotional listicles (where companies rank themselves number one) are getting picked up by LLMs at scale.
Some sites are pumping out 4,000-5,000 pages of these listicles, ranking for every micro-niche variation.
Will this last? Barry says it looks "cheap" and "will backfire."
The play: structured content with clear formatting works. But get OTHER trusted sources to cite you through digital PR. Self-promotion won't survive long-term.
7. Video is eating text-based search
According to search data, YouTube is now the most clicked website in search results.
Not Reddit. YouTube.
Barry's strategy: take one keyword, put it at the beginning of your video title and description, talk about it in the video.
The multiplier: repost the same video with different blog post titles and it'll rank again for new keywords.
Plus, YouTube auto-generates vertical clips from horizontal videos now. One 30-minute video becomes 15+ pieces of content.
If you're not on YouTube targeting search keywords, you're invisible to a massive traffic source.
8. The critical skill for 2026? Communication, not tactics
David's answer on what skills matter most: critical thinking.
Barry's take: being able to communicate your value to clients as metrics shift.
Here's why this matters: traditional metrics are breaking down.
You can't rely on traffic numbers when AI Mode doesn't give click data. You can't show conversions the same way when the user journey fragments across platforms.
The SEOs who survive will be the ones who can prove ROI even when the attribution models fall apart.
9. Multi-domain strategy is making a comeback
David mentioned this quietly, but it's significant.
If you have multiple domains ranking in the top 10, you have better chances of capturing traffic and appearing long-term.
This used to be considered spammy. Now, with topical authority constraints tightening, having focused domains for different verticals makes strategic sense.
The key: each domain needs genuine expertise in its specific niche. Not thin affiliate sites.
Most SEO advice comes from people guessing at what works.
This comes from people who talk to Google directly.
Want to see where your site stands on these critical factors?
Click here to claim your free strategy audit.
To your continued success,
Matt Diggity