One of the biggest challenges this year has been the shift in how people search. Instead of short "SERP style" phrases like "garage door repairs Perth", we are seeing far more long, conversational questions such as "who is the best garage door repair company near me that can come today and is not too expensive". That sounds small, but it changed everything across our projects. Keyword tools, tracking and old content structures were built around short phrases. We had to rethink research, rebuild pages around full questions, and teach clients that one clean, clear answer block is now more valuable than stuffing in every keyword variation. It took time to adjust, but once we leaned into long form questions, we saw better matches in AI overviews and higher intent leads.
Our product categories got too broad. Some great Japanese items were getting buried and people couldn't find them, so our search rankings dropped. This year we're trying something different. We're highlighting our bestsellers and making dedicated pages for things like Japanese snacks or decor. This should make shopping easier for customers and help our numbers online.
We messed up last year. During a site migration, we forgot to update our location data and our Google Maps rankings dropped. Once we figured it out, we rebuilt everything and set up a check. My rule now is simple: write down any schema changes and test with Google's tools after every big site update. It's the only way to not make that same mistake again.
We got caught off guard in 2025 by Google's core update, which tanked our product and category page rankings. Tracking it closely and then adding comparison tables and fixing our content structure brought things back to normal. My plan for 2026 is simple: frequent SERP audits and pulling our content team into technical reviews from the start. If you got hit like we did, I'd suggest doing the same.
Our Insurancy guides started dropping in Google rankings. We dug into the data and it was clear Google wanted real experience, not just information. Our basic content wasn't cutting it anymore. So we started adding actual client stories and had our brokers write their perspectives. My advice? Make sure your content has real-world value, not just technical SEO. That's what made the difference for us.