The way people find and choose businesses online has changed more in the past year than in the previous decade combined. If your website marketing strategy still looks like it did in 2023, you’re already behind.
The biggest change is probably no huge surprise. AI and LLMs have massively changed the way people research and become aware of businesses. Less people are starting these searches in Google and other search engines. They’re asking ChatGPT, or similar AI models. They’re using AI overviews. They’re getting answers from AI tools before they ever click on a traditional search result.
This changes everything about how you need to think about your website and marketing in 2026.
Your website is the foundation, not an afterthought
Here’s what hasn’t changed: your website is still the centre of everything you do online.
Think about it. Someone might hear about your business from a friend. Two weeks later, they see your post on Instagram. They join your newsletter to get a free guide or resource. Eventually, they search for you directly or click through from somewhere else.
The customer journey is messier than ever. People bounce between channels, devices, and platforms before they make a decision. But your website shows up at almost every stage of that journey. And it’s usually the last place people go before they actually contact you or make a purchase.
Social media platforms come and go. Email providers change. Google updates its algorithm every few months. But your website? That’s the one thing you actually own and control.
Every marketing channel you use should eventually point people back to your website. It’s not just another marketing channel. It’s the foundation that makes all your other marketing work.
Know what you want your website to do
Most businesses have shallow goals for their websites. “Get more leads.” “Increase sales.” “Generate more inquiries.”
Those aren’t bad goals. But they’re not strategic goals.
Here’s the thing: leads and sales don’t just happen because you want them to. They happen because you’ve built the underlying foundations that make them possible.
Better goals focus on creating real value:
Build tools that help people. A calculator, a resource library, a useful checklist. Something that gives people a reason to engage with your website beyond just reading about your services.
Create content that answers real questions. The questions your customers actually ask before they’re ready to buy. The information they need to make good decisions.
Make sure your website truly reflects your business. Not what your business was three years ago. What it is now, and where it’s heading.
Understand your customer deeply. What problems are they trying to solve? What do they need to know before they trust you enough to make contact?
Use a framework like SMART goals to add clarity. Instead of “get more leads,” try “publish one helpful resource that addresses common customer questions, with a goal of 50 downloads per resource within three months.”
Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Relevant. Time-bound.
That’s a goal you can actually build a strategy around.
Make it easy for people to find you
SEO isn’t dead. It’s just evolved.
The good news? What makes a website good for traditional SEO also makes it good for AI discovery. The fundamentals are the same.
Quality content matters more than ever. Not content written for search engines. Content written for real people that answers their actual questions about topics related to your business.
Focus on expertise and trust. Show that you understand your customers’ problems and you’re in a position to solve them. AI tools and search engines both reward websites that demonstrate genuine expertise.
Local search still works. For Australian businesses serving local areas, making sure you show up in local search results is essential. That means accurate business information, local content, and genuine connections to your area.
Stop obsessing over tiny details. Yes, there are hundreds of ranking factors. No, you don’t need to optimise for all of them. Get the foundation right first. The tiny tweaks that might move the needle by 0.1% can wait.
The strategy here is simple: build a genuinely good website with helpful content. That works for Google, for AI overviews, for ChatGPT, and for actual human visitors.
Content that actually helps people
When clients ask me “what should we write about?”, my answer is always the same: plan first.
Think like your customer. What questions do people always ask before they engage with your business? What do they need to know about your products or services before they’re ready to make a decision?
Then make sure those topics are things people actually search for. Do basic keyword research. Or just use common sense and think about what phrases people would use if they were looking for answers to those questions.
Answer common questions. The ones you hear over and over from customers. The ones that come up in every sales conversation.
Show your expertise. Share what you know in a way that builds trust. Demonstrate that you understand the problem and you know how to solve it.
Be genuinely useful. Not salesy. Not pushy. Just helpful. Give people real information they can use, whether they become a customer or not.
The businesses winning with content in 2026 are the ones treating it strategically, not just filling a blog because someone said they should.
Speed and performance matters
People are impatient. Attention spans are shorter than ever.
If your website doesn’t load quickly, people leave. It’s that simple.
According to Google’s research, 53% of mobile visitors leave a page if it takes longer than three seconds to load. Three seconds. That’s not much time.
But it’s not just about user experience anymore.
Google uses load time as a ranking factor. A slow website is less likely to show up in search results.
AI tools favour fast, quality websites. When ChatGPT or other AI systems are scanning websites to include in their responses, they have a time limit. If your website loads slowly, they might not get all your content. Or they might skip your site entirely and use a faster competitor instead.
Think about it from the AI’s perspective. If there are multiple sources with similar information, and one loads in half a second while yours takes five seconds, which one is it going to use? The fast one.
A fast website helps users, helps with search rankings, and makes it more likely that AI tools will actually use your content as a source.
The basics of website performance aren’t complicated. Good hosting. Optimised images. Clean code. Regular maintenance. But the impact on your marketing results is huge.
Got a WordPress site? Check out this deep dive on how to speed up a WordPress site.
Integration with other marketing
Your website doesn’t exist in isolation.
Email marketing, social media, offline advertising, word of mouth, networking events. All these channels work together, and your website sits at the centre of that web.
The consumer journey used to be straightforward. Someone would see an ad, visit your website, and make a decision.
Now? It’s messy.
Someone hears about you from a friend. They check out your website. Two weeks later, they see your post on Facebook and come back through social media. A month after that, they download a resource from your website and end up on your email list. They get your newsletter for three months before they finally call you.
That’s the reality of how people make decisions now. Multiple touchpoints. Multiple channels. Lots of time between first contact and final decision.
But notice what’s consistent? The website is involved at almost every stage. And it’s usually the last thing people visit before they actually take action and contact you.
Make sure all your marketing channels point back to your website. Every social post. Every email. Every piece of offline marketing. Give people a clear path back to where they can learn more, get more value, and eventually work with you.
Track, measure, and improve
Analytics can be overwhelming. There are hundreds of metrics you could track.
Most of them don’t matter.
Focus on conversions. Website enquiry forms, quote requests, purchases. The actions that actually lead to business results. That’s what matters.
Track traffic, but don’t obsess over it. Here’s something interesting: since AI tools have started changing how people research, many businesses have seen organic traffic decline while actual revenue increased. People are finding answers elsewhere, but when they’re ready to buy, they still come to your website.
Watch the basics. Time on page. Pages per session. Where people are coming from. How they’re moving through your website. These metrics give you a sense of whether your website is working, but they’re not the whole story.
Set aside time every quarter to actually review your analytics. Look for patterns. See what’s working. Make adjustments based on what you learn.
But remember: the goal isn’t perfect data. The goal is understanding whether your website is helping your business grow.
What this means for your business
Website marketing in 2026 isn’t about chasing the latest trend or gaming the algorithm.
It’s about building a genuinely good website that helps real people. One that loads quickly, provides useful information, and makes it easy for people to work with you.
A website that works for traditional search, for AI discovery, and most importantly, for the actual humans who visit it.
The businesses that win in 2026 will be the ones that focus on quality, trust, and genuinely helpful content. The ones that understand their customers and build websites that serve them well.
The good news? You don’t need to do everything at once. Start with the foundation. Make sure your website is fast, accessible, and genuinely useful. Build from there.
Ready to plan your website marketing strategy?
If you’re reading this and thinking “I need to sit down and actually plan this out properly,” you’re right.
Book a free 15-minute website strategy introduction session with me. We’ll talk through what your business needs from your website in 2026 and how to build a strategy that actually works for your goals.
Not ready to talk yet? That’s fine. Take some time to think strategically about your website. What does it need to do? What’s missing? How does it need to adapt to support where your business is heading?
The businesses that take this seriously now will be the ones still winning in 2026 and beyond.
