Blogging for SEO in 2026: What Actually Works (and What Doesn't)

Everyone says blogging is dead. Google disagrees — and so does your next qualified lead. Here's why your blog is still the most underrated trust-building tool on your website. I've sat down with Alison Verhalen, founder of AV Writing Services, to break down why blogging still matters in 2026 — for SEO, for lead generation, and for building real authority. They cover the breadcrumb content strategy that turns casual visitors into qualified buyers, how to format long content so people actually read it, the right (and wrong) way to use AI in your content workflow, and why trying to game the system with stolen content always backfires. In this episode, we cover: → Why Google still dominates 80%+ of search and how blogs feed its algorithms → The breadcrumb strategy: guiding visitors from awareness to trust to a sales call → How to format long-form content so humans and bots both love it → Republishing evergreen content the right way (unpublish, update, republish) → The myth of ranking #1 on Google overnight — and what actually works → Using AI to repurpose your own content without becoming another source of AI slop Alison's Favourites: 📚 Book: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 🎬 Film: Sinners 📺 TV Show: Severance 🛠️ Tool: SERPstat (serpstat.com) — keyword research, audits, domain analysis 🔁 Habit: Morning stretching with music before walking the dog Find the guest: 🌐 Website: https://avwritingservices.com ✉️ Email: [email protected] 💼 LinkedIn: Search "Alison Ver Halen." 🎬 YouTube: Alison Verhalen Content Marketer Resources mentioned in this episode: • SERPstat (serpstat.com) — SEO keyword research and auditing tool • Claude — LLM used for content ideation and repurposing • ChatGPT, Perplexity — mentioned as popular LLMs for search • StreamYard — live streaming tool (affiliate link in description) • Canva — design tool mentioned in context of content repurposing • Google — search engine dominance and algorithm updates discussed • Instagram x Google integration — SEO opportunity announced late 2024 • YouTube — highlighted as Google-owned platform with built-in SEO advantage 👉 Want to learn more about Alison’s work? Visit: https://avwritingservices.com/ #bloggingforentrepreneurs #seotips2026 #contentmarketing #solopreneur #bloggingtips