SEO – Search Engine Optimisation – has evolved to become more than just keywords and meta descriptions. If you didn’t already know this, then AI summaries and chatbot answers have shown you it is so. Add social media into the mix of “being found,” and the term ‘SEO’ starts to sound like a misnomer.
SEO – some have begun calling it SXO – Search eXperience Optimisation, is a comprehensive strategy for establishing and projecting trust and expertise throughout your entire digital marketing.
My view is that SEO, or SXO (let’s just call it ‘Search’) must be a priority in everyone’s online marketing strategy – B2C or B2B. It’s not a nice-to-have. It’s not an option.
Why? Well, as Finola always says, “If you’re not being cited on certain topics, it’s all a bit pointless.” I love that – it hits the nail squarely on the head.
In today’s marketplace – super-saturated with synthetic media, and social amplifiers to “pump up our visibility”, real, human-validated expertise, experience, authority, and trust are (still) the ultimate differentiator.
Search is the mechanism – and hopefully remains so – that proves this to search engines, social media platforms, and, critically, to the large language models (LLMs).
Where SEO is Heading and How Your Business Can Easily Adapt
There is no need to reinvent the wheel. You’ve probably been busy doing various aspects of SEO without even knowing it, but prioritizing SEO will make your marketing more effective.
Here are three recommendations I would suggest for adapting to search in 2026:
1. Focus on Off-Page & Cross-Platform Visibility
Today’s search happens off-site – meaning that being cited, shared, mentioned on other platforms, social media, video, etc., matters more than optimizing your own site’s metadata. Your content should “travel,” not just “rank.”
2. Use AI Tools – but Responsibly: Combine AI + Human Judgment
AI can help create content, structure text, and speed up workflows. But you shouldn’t treat it as a replacement for your expertise. People should still edit, fact-check, add real value, and their own insight, to ensure content stands out.
If everyone is churning out AI content, then simply not doing that gives you an edge over your competition. If not, then what differentiates you from your competition?
3. Prioritize User Experience (UX), Accessibility, and Content Quality over Keywords
Instead of focusing on keywords or backlinks, build websites and content that are usable, accessible, helpful, and tailored to real user needs. Get into conversations on social media. Be proactive – and be engaged!
Keywords and backlinks come and go. Good UX + good content = sustainable visibility.
Why Press Releases Matter: The Original Visibility Tool
The press release has evolved from a traditional PR tool to a highly strategic off-page SEO asset and a critical AI visibility tool.
I relied on PR professionals and press releases in the 90’s and 2000s. They were de rigueur if you wanted anyone to find you. They validated your work. They cut through the noise of the dotcom bubble, which today seems as quaint as walking into the kitchen to answer the phone.
Press releases were visibility before SEO. Their foundational role in authority-building has only been increased by AI.
Here’s how I think you can still use them:
Training and Citation in Generative Systems
PRs are a valuable source of content cited by LLMs. By distributing content via a reputable source, you ensure that your story functions as both news and training data for systems like Google AI, ChatGPT, and co.
This is crucial because AI learns from relevance, not recency. Making a well-structured press release is a long-term signal that trains AI on how to answer questions about your industry – and ideally citing your business as the source.
Domain Authority (DA) and Earned Media
The primary value of a press release comes from the earned media it generates. When a high-authority media site publishes a mention or article about your business, the resulting backlinks can enhance your Domain Authority (DA).
Domain authority signals trust to search engines. That can lead to an increase in impressions in the SERPs and possibly traffic to your website.
In fact, a mention from a trusted publication will often outrank your own search visibility (the LinkedIn factor, mentioned below), providing immediate and high-value exposure while strengthening your foundational SEO metrics.
The LinkedIn and Thought Leadership Connection
If your focus is on achieving an All-Star LinkedIn profile, this ties directly into both SEO and the establishment of Thought Leadership. LinkedIn profiles are rapidly indexed content (I have seen Google index an article on LinkedIn within 12 hours, while taking a week to index the same article published on a website).
Are your customers on LinkedIn? B2B procurement, or B2C lead generation? Regardless, optimizing the structure of your content to match your customer’s process ensures you are found and referenced as a subject matter expert.
A press release acts as the official, authoritative announcement of your expertise, which is then amplified on social channels like LinkedIn to reinforce your positioning.
Press Releases Fit Perfectly into the Future of Search
The fundamentals still matter. If you want your business to be a success, stick to the basics – even our AI prompts require us to clearly define the Why, What, Who, Where, When, and How of a given task.
It’s up to you to ensure your press release moves beyond mere communication to deliver tangible impact: generating high-authority citations, boosting DA, and becoming a cited AI source.
Press releases – what they achieve
- Build off-page visibility
- Feed multi-platform “search experiences”
- Strengthen authority & trust (E-E-A-T)
- Work well within human+AI content workflows
- Create narrative signals that AI uses to evaluate brands
In fact, press releases become more important in an AI-driven search world – not less.