Let me start with what might sound like a contradiction: SEO is both overrated and undervalued at the same time.
Overrated because most ecommerce brands approach it as a traffic game. Undervalued because those same brands miss what actually makes it work.
If you’re wondering whether SEO deserves attention in 2026, the real question isn’t about rankings or keywords. It’s about whether you’re willing to build authority that compounds over time, or whether you’re just chasing another channel to fill the funnel.
How GEO and AI Overviews Are Changing SEO (And What Actually Stays the Same)
There’s a lot of noise right now about GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation). How to show up in ChatGPT. How to get cited by Claude. How to optimise for AI overviews in Google.
And honestly? It’s the same conversation we’ve been having about SEO for 20 years.
Create valuable content. Make it discoverable. Build authority. Help people solve problems.
The tools change. The tactics evolve. But the fundamentals remain the same.
GEO isn’t a new discipline. It’s just SEO for a different interface. And if your content strategy is fundamentally weak, optimising for AI isn’t going to save you any more than keyword stuffing saved anyone in 2010.
Where Most Ecommerce Brands Get SEO Wrong: Treating It as a Traffic Channel, Not an Authority System
Most ecommerce businesses treat SEO like a traffic acquisition channel. They build product pages, write blog posts around keywords, and hope Google sends buyers.
The problem isn’t the tactic. It’s the architecture.
SEO treated as a standalone channel is fragile. It depends on algorithms you don’t control, ranking factors that shift without warning, and competitors willing to outspend you on content production.
But SEO as part of a broader authority system? That’s different.
When your content serves customers between purchases, when it builds expertise that makes people trust your judgment, when it creates value independent of whether someone clicks “add to cart” today, you’re not just optimising for search engines. You’re building a growth asset.
The Real Value of SEO in 2026
Here’s what SEO still does better than almost any other channel:
It creates compounding visibility. A well-ranked piece of content keeps working. It doesn’t reset every month like ad spend. It doesn’t disappear when you stop posting like social media. Good content builds on itself.
It captures intent at the right moment. Someone searching for a solution is already problem-aware. They’re looking for answers. If your content provides those answers and builds trust, you’re not interrupting them. You’re serving them.
It forces you to think beyond the transaction. To rank for anything meaningful, you have to create content that’s actually valuable. You can’t just optimize product descriptions and call it a strategy. You have to help people, teach them something, solve problems they’re actually facing.
It builds authority that transfers. When someone discovers your brand through helpful content, they don’t just remember the article. They remember that you were useful. That compounds across every other touchpoint.
The Hard Truth: SEO Only Works as a Long-Term Growth Architecture
SEO only works as a growth system if you’re willing to play a long game.
If you need traffic next week, SEO isn’t the answer. If you’re looking for a quick win to hit this quarter’s targets, you’re in the wrong channel.
SEO is architecture, not tactics. It requires consistency, patience, and a willingness to create value before you extract it.
Most ecommerce brands aren’t set up for that. They’re optimised for conversion, not for relationship. They want customers who buy now, not audiences who trust them over time.
And that’s fine. But don’t confuse tactics with strategy.
Should You Prioritise SEO in 2026? Only If You’re Building a Long-Term, Retention-First Brand
Here’s my answer: it depends on whether you’re building a brand for the next quarter or the next decade.
If you’re still dependent on paid media, if your growth resets every time you pause ad spend, if you’re trading margin for volume, then yes, you need SEO. But not as another acquisition channel. As part of a fundamental redesign of how your business grows.
SEO works when it’s integrated into a retention-first architecture. When your content serves existing customers, builds authority, and creates ongoing relevance between purchases. When it’s not about traffic, but about trust.
The brands that win with SEO in 2026 won’t be the ones chasing keywords or optimising for AI citations. They’ll be the ones creating content so valuable that people seek it out, share it, and trust the brand behind it.
That’s not SEO as a channel. That’s SEO as a growth system.
And yes, it still matters. Maybe more than ever.
But only if you’re willing to build it the right way.
The bottom line: SEO isn’t dead. GEO isn’t different. The game is the same as it’s always been: create real value, serve your audience consistently, and build authority that compounds. If you’re not willing to do that, no amount of optimisation will save you. If you are, SEO remains one of the most powerful growth assets you can build.
The question isn’t whether it works. It’s whether you’re willing to build it properly.
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