With so many changes happening across digital marketing, it’s no surprise business owners are overwhelmed, or downright confused!

Here are 10 common questions brands consistently ask in 2026, in relation to digital marketing, SEO, and AI. These questions reflect the industry’s current anxiety about AI disruption, measurement challenges, and resource allocation in a rapidly changing landscape.

1. “How long does SEO take to show results?” Brands want realistic timelines for seeing traffic increases and ROI from SEO investments.

2. “Should we be worried about AI taking our search traffic?” The biggest concern right now – whether AI Overviews and ChatGPT will cannibalize their organic traffic.

3. “What’s our actual ROI from content marketing?” Moving beyond vanity metrics to understand which content actually drives conversions and revenue.

4. “Do we need to optimize for ChatGPT/Perplexity separately from Google?” Whether AI search engines require different optimization strategies than traditional SEO.

5. “Should we be using AI tools to create our content?” Balancing efficiency with quality concerns and potential search engine penalties for AI-generated content.

6. “How do we rank for voice search and AI assistants?” Understanding how conversational queries differ from typed searches and how to capture that traffic.

7. “Is our current agency/in-house team actually delivering results?” Brands struggle to evaluate SEO performance and whether they’re getting value for their investment.

8. “What should we prioritize: more content or better content?” The quality versus quantity debate, especially with tighter budgets and AI content proliferation.

9. “How important are backlinks still?” Whether traditional link-building matters in an AI-driven search landscape or if other factors dominate.

10. “Should we invest in paid search or can organic alone work?” Balancing paid and organic strategies, especially as organic click-through rates decline due to AI features.