SEO

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the work of making your website visible in organic search results. SEO is long-term and sustainable, and it builds credibility in a way that paid advertising never can.

At Carnaby, we have worked with SEO for a long time and followed its development through to today’s AI-driven search. We have seen every “Google is going to disappear” wave come and go. SEO has changed along the way, but it is still here.

Google AI Overviews and AI Mode now give AI-generated answers directly in Google Search. The organic foundation you build through SEO also creates the conditions for appearing in those AI answers.

The myth that AI would wipe out SEO

“AI is replacing SEO”, people say, but the data shows something else

We have seen the headlines: ChatGPT is taking over, Perplexity is replacing Google and SEO traffic is disappearing.

AI is changing how people search, but not whether they search. Most people still search on Google.

Google AI Overviews and AI Mode are also broadening the use of AI. Suddenly, ordinary users encounter AI-generated answers directly in their usual search flow.

How search engines work

Understand the machinery behind the search results

To succeed with SEO, you need to understand how search engines work.

1. The search engine’s “spiders” discover content by crawling

Google uses automated robots (often called “spiders” or “crawlers”) that continuously visit websites to find new and updated content. They follow links from page to page and from website to website.

If your site has technical obstacles, such as broken links, blocks in robots.txt or slow loading, the spiders may struggle to find your content. Without crawling there is no indexing, and without indexing there is no visibility.

2. The search engine analyses and stores content when indexing

Once a page has been crawled, Google analyses the content: text, images, structure and metadata. The page is stored in Google’s gigantic index, a kind of library catalogue for the whole web.

Google has to understand what the page is about in order to show it for the right searches. Poor structure, unclear content or technical errors can lead Google to index your page incorrectly or not at all.

3. Through ranking, the search engine decides what to show

When someone searches, Google goes through its index based on the query and ranks pages according to many factors and signals:

• Relevance: does the content match the searcher’s intent?
• Authority: is the site a credible source?
• Technical quality: is the page fast, secure and usable?
• User experience: do visitors get what they are looking for?
• User history: how has the user searched in the past?
• Geography: where is the user?

Being in Google’s index is not enough. The page has to rank high enough to be seen, which takes strategic work on content, technology and authority.

4. The search engine generates context in an AI layer

With AI Overviews and AI Mode, Google now adds an AI layer on top of traditional ranking. The AI compiles information from several sources into a single answer.

For a page to be cited in AI answers, it needs the same foundation as one that ranks highly: clear content, technical quality and authority.

Modern SEO optimises for the whole chain: crawling, indexing, ranking and the chance to be cited in AI answers.

Modern SEO rests on three pillars

What determines success with SEO today

SEO looks different in 2026 than it did in 2016. Google’s algorithms have become more sophisticated, and cheating rarely works in the long run. Instead, modern SEO is built on three pillars:

1. Understand the user’s search intent

Every search has an intent behind it. Someone searching for “running shoes” might want to:

• Buy running shoes (transactional intent)
• Learn about different types (informational intent)
• Compare brands (evaluative intent)
• Find the nearest shop (local intent)

The result is content that helps the user, which Google rewards with higher rankings.

2. E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust

Google wants to show credible sources, especially for topics that affect people’s lives: health, finance and law. These are known as YMYL (Your Money or Your Life).

E-E-A-T is a quality framework and not a ranking factor in itself. Google’s systems use a range of signals to try to capture what the framework describes.

3. The site must work flawlessly from a technical point of view

Good content is not enough if the site is technically broken. Google favours sites that are fast, secure and usable.

The technology becomes a competitive advantage, not an obstacle.

These three pillars reinforce each other. Good content without a technical foundation gets no traffic. Technical perfection without relevant content brings no conversions.

How we work with SEO

We analyse search behaviour, structure, content and technology

At Carnaby, we start by analysing search behaviour. We then review the website in three parts: structure, content and technology. The analyses lay the foundation for sustainable organic visibility.

1. How we carry out a search behaviour analysis

How do your audiences search? Which keywords do they use? What intent lies behind the searches? Where are they in the decision-making process?

We map search volumes, trends, the competitive situation and search intent to build a data-driven content strategy.

Read more about search behaviour analysis →

2. How we carry out a website analysis

How well does the website meet the audience’s needs? Is the right content there? Is it logically structured? Does it answer the search intent?

We analyse existing content, identify gaps and prioritise improvements that drive traffic and conversions.

Read more about website analysis →

2.1 How we analyse the structure

How is the site organised? Is the information architecture logical for both users and search engines? Can Google crawl all the important pages?

We review the URL structure, internal linking, navigation and hierarchy to get the most out of both user experience and crawlability.

Read more about structure analysis →

2.2 How we analyse the content

Is the content relevant, unique and valuable? Does it answer the right questions? Does it build E-E-A-T? Is it optimised for both users and search engines?

We evaluate content quality, identify room for improvement and create guidelines for future content production.

Read more about content analysis →

2.3 How we carry out a technical SEO audit

Does the site work technically? Are loading times acceptable? Is there structured data? Is anything blocked by mistake? Are the Core Web Vitals in the green?

We carry out in-depth technical reviews and identify everything from catastrophic errors to micro-optimisations.

Read more about technical SEO audits →

Together, the analyses give a complete picture of where your website stands and what it takes for it to grow organically.

Why SEO is an investment, not a cost

SEO delivers long-term results that grow over time

SEO is no shortcut to quick results. It takes time to build authority, improve the technology and create content that ranks. But the work can pay off well over time.

SEO builds an asset. The longer you work strategically with SEO, the more robust your organic visibility becomes.

Do you want to grow organically?

We can help you create sustainable organic visibility, both when you are building SEO from scratch and when you want to optimise existing positions.

We always start with an analysis of the current situation. Then we build a strategy that balances quick improvements with a long-term foundation.

Contact us for a conversation about your SEO potential →