Rewind Series - Revisiting SEO Trends You Can't Ignore

In the final episode of our Rewind Series, Caitlyn and Meredith revisit the most-listened-to episode in Digital Marketing for Contractors history: SEO Trends You Can’t Ignore — and update it for 2026.

When the original episode aired, Google had just rolled out more than 5,000 algorithm updates in a single year, and the industry was bracing for massive change. Now, two years later, those predictions didn’t just come true — they accelerated.

In this episode, we break down what SEO fundamentals still matter, what has changed dramatically, and what contractors must do now to stay visible as AI search, engagement signals, video, and Google Business Profile become fully integrated into modern SEO.

You’ll learn:

• Why AI is changing how people search — not replacing SEO
• What E-E-A-T means for contractor websites today
• Why thin location pages actively hurt rankings
• How engagement metrics now influence SEO performance
• Why video SEO is no longer optional
• How Google Business Profile is now core to SEO
• What a 2026-ready SEO checklist actually looks like

If you want to future-proof your website, improve rankings, and attract higher-quality leads, this episode is a must-listen.

Want to find out how we can create a custom digital marketing game plan for your contractor business? Schedule a call with us at fatcatstrategies.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:10

Welcome to Digital Marketing for Contractors, a podcast for home improvement contractors to help you crush your lead goals and take your business to the next level. Join us each episode as we give you powerful insights and practical tips on the best digital marketing strategies to help you grow your home improvement business. Let's get started.

Caitlyn Noble: 0:30

Welcome back to Digital Marketing for Contractors, the Rewind Series. I am Caitlin. And I'm Merida. And today we are reviewing our top episode of all time. We have been reviewing them, just so you know. But this is one of the top ones. Um, this is the last one we're gonna review of this rewind series for now, unless you guys tell us do more. There's plenty of content to go around. Um, so what's today's topic about?

Meredith Medlin: 0:58

So we're gonna be rewinding a big one. It's SEO trends that you can't ignore. Originally, we said in 2025. Um, that's when we were staring down all the crazy algorithm changes of 2024. Um, and I don't think anybody realized how quickly things were changing and how quickly they've kept changing. Um, so that's the truth.

Caitlyn Noble: 1:20

And here we are, uh two weeks out from 2026. We got through it, y'all. We did. Can't believe it. Uh we said this back at the end of last year, which was 2024. Google made 5,000 algorithm updates in 2024 alone. That's about 13 updates a day. That's just not even fair.

Meredith Medlin: 1:41

What I mean, there's plenty of other things to be doing besides updating an algorithm, but we're just the passengers on this Google ride. We are. And if you think that 2025 slowed down, surprise it did not. So, this episode we're gonna talk about uh what we said in the original episode, comparing it to what is true now, um, then going ahead and updating everything for 2026. And of course, we're gonna give you actionable steps that you can go ahead and apply now to make sure that you're keeping up.

Caitlyn Noble: 2:13

We are gonna rewind first before we get into what is trending and changing. So that original episode, don't forget, like we said, 5,000 changes in one year from Google, the worst. But because of it, our search behavior had to change.

Meredith Medlin: 2:30

Absolutely. So we rocked through a couple of trends that we were already seeing for 2025. Those included AI and machine learning, experience and engagement signals, the rise of EEAT, and which means experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Yes. Um, voice search, video search, the local quote unquote near me search, um, content quality over quantity, and consolidating a bunch of low-value location pages.

Caitlyn Noble: 3:06

All of that, all of those were trends that they were that they were predicting for 2025.

Meredith Medlin: 3:11

All of them.

Caitlyn Noble: 3:11

And spoiler alert. Yep, it did. But don't forget, the one most relatable parts of the episode was when I told the story about breaking my phone. Oh my gosh, I remember that. And I had to use Chat GPT, not Google, to fix it. Wow. That for me was a turning point in realizing that search is no longer synonymous with Google.

Meredith Medlin: 3:38

Absolutely. Um, even back then, we were saying contractor websites have to evolve, um, they have to meet the needs of voice search, AI search, and question-based uh queries. Um, but let's go ahead and talk about what hasn't changed because even with 13 plus updates a day, some SEO fundamentals are stronger than ever.

Caitlyn Noble: 4:01

Yeah.

Meredith Medlin: 4:01

Um, what's the first one?

Caitlyn Noble: 4:04

What is still true? AI is not replacing SEO, but it is changing how people search. People continue to ask Chat GPT, Gemini, and other tools for answers before looking to Google. This is the truth. I've seen it in real time. I have done it.

Meredith Medlin: 4:21

Absolutely. Absolutely. Um, number two, still true. EEAT still dominates rankings. And what is that again? Experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness. The acronym still matters. It does.

Caitlyn Noble: 4:37

Uh, what's still true? Number three, voice search continues to grow. People speak in questions, so Google rewards content that answers questions directly. Absolutely.

Meredith Medlin: 4:50

Number four, it's still true. Video is a search signal. It is. Google still crawls your YouTube, uses it as a search engine. So use it.

Caitlyn Noble: 4:59

Keep that in mind. Number five, still true. Local SEO matters more than national SEO for contractors. Of course, it's like a no-brainer. Of course. Homeowners are still searching for roof replacements near me, siding installers in Raleigh, window replacement cost in Name a City. Chicago. Chicago. Love it. All of that still matters.

Meredith Medlin: 5:26

It does. And number six, um, quality beats quantity. We said it perfectly in the last episode. Content quality over quantity.

unknown: 5:35

Yeah.

Meredith Medlin: 5:35

It's not new, but it's super important. Don't put out a bunch of posts if it's all junk.

Caitlyn Noble: 5:41

Absolutely. Um, okay, so now what's different? What's changed? Um this is what's getting more interesting because this is where SEO is shifting and it's shifting very dramatically.

Meredith Medlin: 5:53

For sure.

Caitlyn Noble: 5:54

So the first difference AI search is now mainstream behavior. In that original episode, we told the story about using Chat GPT to fix my phone. And it wasn't just a funny moment, it was truly a preview of what was to come. Right. For 2026, AI search is now a normal part of homeowner behavior. People ask, how much does it cost to replace a roof in Raleigh? What's the best window brand for hot climates? Why is my siding warping? And they're asking AI models first. What's the same? Homeowners still want quick, authoritative answers. What's new? Google AI overviews like AI tools such as Chat GPT pull from high quality contractor websites to answer them. It doesn't matter where you are, they're just pulling to answer those questions. Well, what do we do if that's where they're pulling? Okay, good, glad you asked. That's why we're here. You need to add a QA section to each service page answering what is dot dot dot, how much does dot dot dot, how long does dot dot dot.

Meredith Medlin: 7:06

Okay, so we're talking FAQ section.

Caitlyn Noble: 7:08

An FAQ section, why does should I add an FAQ section to each service page answering those questions? This makes your content easier for AI to pull as an authoritative answer.

Meredith Medlin: 7:23

Okay, we will strive to Top that one. Yeah, we will strive to make our website content easier for robots to digest. Um we do that for our clients. Um, so yes, we are staying on top of it. Um, difference number two, thin location pages don't work at all anymore. Um, so back in our previous episode, we called it when we said the days of repeatable location-based pages with short content, that doesn't work. And we were right. 2025 was the year that Google punished those thin pages. Yeah, no bueno. Um 2026 is gonna be the year that Google just completely ignores them. So um what's the same? Local SEO still matters. It I mean, I know it's honest.

Caitlyn Noble: 8:07

Yeah.

Meredith Medlin: 8:08

Um, if you're still writing a bunch of thin location pages, it's it's not not doing you any good. It's harming you.

Caitlyn Noble: 8:16

And we're talking thin.

Meredith Medlin: 8:17

We're talking thin.

Caitlyn Noble: 8:18

We're talking like two paragraphs.

Meredith Medlin: 8:20

Two paragraphs. What's worse is if it's duplicate content and it's thin.

Caitlyn Noble: 8:24

And it's written by AI.

Meredith Medlin: 8:25

Yeah, it's just a triple whammy. No, just just don't.

Caitlyn Noble: 8:29

How are we gonna make this better?

Meredith Medlin: 8:31

We're gonna make it better. Um, we're gonna consolidate our location pages. So if you do or did have a bunch of thin location pages on your website, let's go ahead and consolidate those bad boys. Um, Google actually prefers um one authoritative city or metro page. Um, so all of the small towns around, let's take Chicago from earlier. Um, let's take all of those smaller towns, the content from those pages. Let's pick the best content from it and condense it into one authoritative city page for Chicago.

Caitlyn Noble: 9:05

Um I'll say, like, I mean, uh an easy example for this is like you still need to call out the cities, you still need to call it the metric.

Meredith Medlin: 9:14

Right, use those names.

Caitlyn Noble: 9:15

But like I'm telling you, like past tense is you know, Chicago bathroom remodeler, Chicago tub to shower conversion, Chicago bathtub installation, Chicago shower installation. That's not important. Just have a general Chicago bathroom remodeler page.

Meredith Medlin: 9:36

Um mention those all those services on it, of course. Yes.

Caitlyn Noble: 9:40

So I think that answered that.

Meredith Medlin: 9:42

Yeah.

Caitlyn Noble: 9:44

Difference number three user engagement metrics now directly influence ranking. I don't even know what that means. User engagement metrics now directly influence ranking. Let's talk about that. We talked about dwell time in the original episode when we said, okay, it's coming back to me now. Dwell time is when someone spends time on your site and then goes back because they didn't find what they need. So in 2026, Google measures more user behavior signals like now than ever, including scroll depth, time on page, button interactions, engaged sessions, internal link clicks, and bounce back to search. All of that can be tracked on Google Analytics, which we had a previous episode. Please make sure you have Google Analytics installed on your website. What's the same? Engaging content still wins, obviously. What's new? If users don't interact with your content, your rankings are gonna drop quickly. So how do we fix this, Meredith? We're gonna update your content with comparison charts, video explainers, cost calculators, before and after sliders, and as we mentioned, interactive FAQs. More engagement equals higher rankings. Absolutely. I feel like I had two really good ones. I don't know about yours.

Meredith Medlin: 11:07

No, I think they were fine. Um they were fine. Um, I will hit you with number four though. Um, GBP is now fully integrated into Core SEO. And if you did not listen to the last episode, go listen to it. Go listen to it. I'm telling you, GBP is the core of your digital storefront. Wow. Are you okay? No, I'm not. Um, I'm really upset because some people don't know that GBP is the core of their digital storefront now. Um we used to treat GBP separate from SEO, but they are so integrated. Um, it's really one of the most important factors for your SEO. Um, GBP is signaling influence for organic search, maps, AI overviews, which we know are more and more important to homeowners, um, your local pack, brand authority, and reviews. So we've got some action items. And again, if you go back to last week's episode, um, you're gonna get a free checklist, but make sure that your GBB content is worked into your SEO workflow. So that's adding three to five photos weekly, two to three postweekly, asking for reviews from your customers during the final walkthrough, and encouraging reviews that mention the product that you installed and the city that you installed it in. So again, just gonna keep plugging it. Last episode, GBP, rewind, go listen to it and get our checklist. It's free.

Caitlyn Noble: 12:34

Another difference. Video SEO is now mandatory, it's not optional. We have been skirting around video, skirting.

Meredith Medlin: 12:42

It's scary for some contractors, I think.

Caitlyn Noble: 12:44

It's scary. I mean, I mean, we're using our faces, our voices right now. Like we're not filming this. Yeah, but it can be intimidating. It can be intimidating.

Meredith Medlin: 12:54

It doesn't have to be.

Caitlyn Noble: 12:55

You don't have to put on makeup if you want to. I'm like trying to think of things that would stop me from recording a video.

Meredith Medlin: 13:02

I know.

Caitlyn Noble: 13:03

But video is exploding. This has not changed for 2026. Video content now influences search rankings, dwell time, which we explained in a few steps back, AI training data, local trust, and customer conversions. Action item, add a short form video to each service page, each location page, your home page, your Google business profile, and your blog post. Short form.

Meredith Medlin: 13:31

And it doesn't have to be professionally made video, right?

Caitlyn Noble: 13:33

Please, no. And then y'all are adding it to your YouTube channel, and then we're taking it from your YouTube channel and we're adding it to all these other places. It's a win-win-win-win-win.

Meredith Medlin: 13:41

Yeah, multi-purpose it. Set your phone up. Yes. Hit record on a job site, all the better. Well, be authentic.

Caitlyn Noble: 13:49

And I'm like saying this to us too, but like, you know, your agency, if you have one or whoever's doing your blog content, your, you know, they should be able to provide you in addition to that content that they're gonna post on your website. Ask them to provide you with a a script, a short script. Yeah. No brainer. Yeah, if you want something. If you can't talk, yeah, yeah, no, on the fly.

Meredith Medlin: 14:11

Absolutely.

Caitlyn Noble: 14:12

I struggle to.

Meredith Medlin: 14:13

Hey, I'm glad we're podcasting. Yay! Um, all right, difference number six, um, almost to the end here, is that 2026 SEO requires multi-channel consistency. Um, that wasn't true two years ago, but in 2026, Google expects to see consistent signals across your website. It's a good reminder. GBP, social reviews, citations, video like YouTube, um, and even your local PR. Um, so if your content appears fragmented or it's inconsistent, your SEO rankings are gonna suffer. So make sure that you're creating a unified content calendar that includes your blog topics, good advice, service page updates, GBP themes, social content, video scripts, um, local PR tie-ins. Just make sure that everything that you're focusing on on one channel, you're focusing on across the others.

Caitlyn Noble: 15:02

I think that's uh one of the most important tips. And it's easily forgotten. Yeah. Um the last difference, lucky number seven, AI generated content must be edited by humans to rank.

Meredith Medlin: 15:18

So I can't just spit something out in chat chat GPT and think that it's y'all done.

Caitlyn Noble: 15:24

Y'all. We have inherited websites where that has been done.

Meredith Medlin: 15:28

So clearly.

Caitlyn Noble: 15:29

So clear well, not not even just clearly. There's the rankings don't exist. Right. So I mean, shame on you know, agencies if that's your methodology. It doesn't work. You're gonna hurt, you know, your clients' performance performance and results. Um so this is the part that people don't want to hear. AI content versus human-edited content. Google can tell. It it just can.

Meredith Medlin: 15:54

A robot knows a robot.

Caitlyn Noble: 15:55

A robot knows a robot. Use AI to draft ideas, use humans to add local details. Only you're gonna know those local details. Right. Um, add expertise, add real homeowner examples, like pull reviews directly off of your Google Business profile and link them to that page. Some some project photos. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, add project photos and videos. Uh, add product knowledge. Don't just take it. That seems like the easiest thing to do is to generate a blog post from um ChatGBT and post it. Okay, you're like, yay, well, don't I get a point for just at least posting? You actually don't. No.

Meredith Medlin: 16:37

That could actually ding your SEO.

Caitlyn Noble: 16:39

Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't.

Meredith Medlin: 16:41

Yeah.

Caitlyn Noble: 16:41

So okay.

Meredith Medlin: 16:43

I I think we're through all of our differences.

Caitlyn Noble: 16:44

Yeah. I mean, the list could go on, but those are the seven most important.

Meredith Medlin: 16:48

It is, it is. So um, if we could try to boil down 2026 SEO into a checklist, this is what it's gonna be like. Um, and don't worry, we will put this on the website so you can put down your pen and paper. Add a QA section to every service page on your website.

Caitlyn Noble: 17:05

And service pages, like just so you guys like know, like this is the page that's that bathroom remodel page. That's okay, we talked about a location page. That's one thing. But like, hey, we sell bathroom remodels. Make sure there's a QA section.

Meredith Medlin: 17:19

Yeah, for sure. Every product at the bottom of your showers page, at the bottom of your tubs page, everything. Um then consolidate your location page into one metro page. We don't need two paragraphs on one page for seven different cities. Consolidate those onto one main page of that metro area.

Caitlyn Noble: 17:39

I'm talking like 1,500 to 2,000 words about you being an exterior modeler in Chicago. And like, you can go into the granular neighborhoods, like, but like that's so much more important than those individual itty bitty pages. For sure. I'm gonna keep interrupting, I'm sorry.

Meredith Medlin: 17:57

Please, I'd love nothing more. So add video to your top five service pages. So maybe just go ahead and do a little service page audit and revamp, making sure you got FAQs on those bad boys, and go ahead and record a video if you don't have one and throw it on there.

Caitlyn Noble: 18:13

You're gonna add the video to YouTube, which is gonna help, and then you're gonna take that YouTube video and embed it on the website page.

Meredith Medlin: 18:21

Exactly. And throw it on social while you're at it. Um GPP profile. Yep. Oh my god, look at it tying all in. I love it. One video does a million things. It does. Um, so you're also gonna optimize for AI search. Um, this comes back to question-based content, making sure that you're answering questions that homeowners are asking. Um, you're gonna improve your engagement by adding interactive content. We talked about obviously video comparison charts, cost calculators, things that are gonna get your readers engaged. Yeah. Um, update your GBP profile weekly. Once a week is fine. Yeah, that's fine. More bonus points. Like two, three. Yeah. We love to see it. Um build EEAT. You can do that with owner bios, um, including expert content. And again, EEAT is not just an exaggerated way of saying eat, it is experience, it is experience. Expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthy worthiness. I'm all tripped up now. I'm thinking about my life.

Caitlyn Noble: 19:22

You've said it seven times. I know.

Meredith Medlin: 19:23

I'm always hungry. Um, number eight, ensure your website loads quickly.

Caitlyn Noble: 19:27

We didn't talk enough about that, but I think that's super important.

Meredith Medlin: 19:30

I feel like we might should do an episode on that.

Caitlyn Noble: 19:33

Let's do it. Oh well.

Meredith Medlin: 19:35

It won't be a rewind, it'll be a new episode. It will be.

Caitlyn Noble: 19:37

So yeah, let us know if you so your website loading is part of that SEO to-do list.

Meredith Medlin: 19:44

It is. Um, it directly affects how your website is going to show up because it is the performance of your website, is how quickly it loads. That's part of it. Um, so if you do these eight things that we just talked about, I know it seemed like a lot more than eight, but go to the website. I get this checklist. If you do those eight, you're gonna be head of the majority of the contractors in your area. Guarantee it.

Caitlyn Noble: 20:08

That's awesome. Um so if you want help implementing these shifts or you want us to audit your SEO, which would we would happily do. Yeah, let us take a look. Um full free uh and give you a priority plan. We have a free SEO audit checklist. Again, you just have to go to fatcatstrategies.com backslash SEO. It can't be easier than that. That's a hard one. So hard. I mean the hardest part is spelling our business name.

Meredith Medlin: 20:38

I struggle with it every day. Every day.

Caitlyn Noble: 20:41

Fatcatstrategies.com backslash SEO. Exactly.

Meredith Medlin: 20:44

Or just shoot us an email and we'll we'll send you the link. Shoot us an email. Um request a full SEO audit from our team. We'll show you exactly what's working, what you have that's kind of outdated, and what we think you should prioritize for 2026 to get the most results out of your website.

Caitlyn Noble: 21:01

It's gonna be here before we know it.

Meredith Medlin: 21:02

Two weeks. Two weeks.

Caitlyn Noble: 21:04

I think this is gonna release in 2026. So my God, we're in the future? Yeah, we're in the future. So if you're listening to this, it's 2026. Go get that audit from us and we will help you get things in order for a badass year. So thanks for joining us for this last rewind episode for now. Um believe it or not, we've recorded over 60 episodes. We picked our top four in terms of what y'all loved. Um, so we will probably be doing more of these because information does change.

Meredith Medlin: 21:38

It does. Algorithms change. Looking at you, Google, 5,000 times.

Caitlyn Noble: 21:42

SEO changes.

Meredith Medlin: 21:43

SEO changes, it moves fast, but you don't want to have to keep up alone. So lean lean on us. We're here. We're here.

Caitlyn Noble: 21:51

How else? How else can you stay in touch with us?

Meredith Medlin: 21:53

You could follow us on social. You could subscribe to our podcast right here. Um we have an awesome newsletter too, by the way. We do. So if you don't know how to get signed up for it, reach out to us in one of the many ways that we provide. Um, we are happy to chat with you one-on-one if you have any questions about anything we talked about. Um, but yeah, we look forward to serving more of you guys in 2026. And thanks for listening.

Caitlyn Noble: 22:21

Yeah, thank you guys so much, and happy new year if we haven't already said it. Hope this is an amazing year for everybody. See you next time.

SPEAKER_00: 22:29

Digital marketing for contractors is created by Fat Cat Strategies. For more information, visit fatstrategies.com.