Should I Still Be Writing Blogs for My Website in 2026?
Yes, this is a blog about blogs. So if you’re reading this, maybe the answer is yes, blogs are still relevant for websites in 2026. But just because you’re here doesn’t mean writing blogs will be the best use of your marketing budget.
In the early 2000s, blogs were the mainstream form of content that would bring people to websites. Where it first started as a sort of ‘online diary’, it quickly grew into a prominent communication channel for businesses across various sectors. It could be argued that we’re now seeing a similar trend towards user-curated content, as people value authentic content and online forums now feature in many query-based searches.
Consumer behaviour in 2026 has split traditional search across multiple channels. So while blogs can still act as a gateway to your website, their impact is far more nuanced, and so businesses are understandably considering whether it’s a touchpoint worth investing in.
Blogging - the Powerhouse of the 2000s and 2010s
Starting in the mid-2000s, before TheFacebook (the ‘The’ was dropped a year after launch) took off, bloggers formed online communities centred around the blog content they produced. These creators often commanded impressive authority as they were considered experts within their niches. Brands also capitalised on the connection people had with blogs. According to Wix data, the SkySports blog attracts over 47 million visitors each month.
Did you know? It’s widely thought that the first blog on the internet, Justin Hall’s Links.net, was created in 1994 and is still running to this day.
One of the biggest shifts we’ve seen in SEO and digital marketing in the last two decades is away from blogs and towards social media posts, LLMs, and more visual resources. Generic informational content has been hit the hardest, with Google AI Overviews and generative responses reducing clicks across the board. Afterall, why would you read a 2,000-word blog when you’re given a summary of the top three resources?
Is Blogging Still Relevant in 2026?
Like many aspects of digital marketing and SEO, blogging is a completely different beast now compared to 10 or 15 years ago. This is largely due to shifts in how people consume content and other digital trends. It’s estimated that the average daily time spent on social media was 141 minutes in 2025. Data also predicts that the global number of social media users is predicted to reach almost 6 billion by 2027.
The case against blogs
The number one case against blogs is that traffic from informational and ‘how to’ searches, which would normally be catered for by blogs, is now hoovered up by AI overviews, video content, and people using LLMs. This is what’s given rise to so-called ‘zero click searches’, where users no longer need to interact with brands to find the answers they want.
The decline in blog traffic could also reflect the diversification of search on a larger scale. There’s evidence that more people are utilising search functionality on social media to find helpful content. The result is less focus on website content and more on user-generated content, typically on social media. Younger generations have even taken to using social media to refine their initial Google searches and delve deeper. Brands can seek to be the subject of relevant conversations on social media platforms, or try to develop specialised blogs to capitalise on this trend, if it affects their audience.
Finally, over time, it’s easy for blogs to grow to contain hundreds of posts. As your website becomes bigger and bigger, it can lead to issues if you aren’t careful. For instance, an old blog might have outbound links which are now 404s. Additionally, checking and updating your website’s portfolio of blogs can turn into a time-consuming job that needs to be done.
The case for blogs
Blogs in 2026 primarily serve as a way to build trust by providing key information and answering users’ questions. Having a blog section is valuable for any business, as it provides more gateway pages for people to discover your brand. Or, if they already know your business from social media or outreach, blogs offer a way for users to get to know your values and offerings.
Another potential touchpoint that has emerged is users discovering blog content through generative AI. As LLMs get their information from the web, any blog you publish has the chance of being featured in the ‘sources’ tab for the answer. So even when a user isn’t using Google, they could still discover your website through blog content that paints you as a source of authority.
On the topic of LLMs, answers from these models often contain a mixture of perspectives on a topic in an effort to provide as much information as possible. This can lead to vagueness or statements which aren’t backed up. Blogs present an opportunity for brands to provide traceable evidence and real transparency. Ironically, becoming a voice of authority through blog content means you’re more likely to be featured in generative answers.
How To Drive Leads Through Blogs
With the rise of ChatGPT and other AI content generators, basic blog content can be created at scale in minutes. The 2026 B2B Content and Marketing Trends Report found that blogs and other types of owned media (assets, email, website) were a top 3 area for AI investment by marketers. This means that, although the baseline has been raised, businesses now have a greater opportunity to rise above it by putting out high-quality blog content. If you’re inexperienced with blogging and thinking “easier said than done”, these tips are here to help.
1. Add unique value elements
With AI-powered tools, anyone can create a 1000+ word blog post in seconds. The issue with this is that these tools will pull information from all over the web to produce something that looks very similar to preexisting posts on the same topic. And if they do reference sources, it typically lacks real analysis. Clear judgments built on evidence and reasoning, reference to case studies, and business insights all help build authenticity. Even if you provide the same answers in your blog, doing so in your voice and tone is essential to reinforce your brand image.
2. Make it easy to read
Over time, many business bloggers lose sight of who they’re writing for. Unless you’re trying to serve other business owners in your industry, make sure to convert any jargon into terms that can be understood by anyone. Lists are also a great tool to provide lots of information in a digestible package. Lastly, on this point, your blog should answer any questions quickly. People don’t appreciate being forced to scroll past reams of text to find what they want. Expanding on the information with additional context, nuances, examples, and other topic FAQs will naturally bulk out the rest of your blog.
3. Avoid cannibalising landing pages.
When it comes to planning what to write a blog about, it’s often best to target a specific keyword. However, businesses need to make sure their website blogs aren’t competing with key landing pages for the same keyword. What you can do is use blogs to create a content cluster around a topic, with your service/category page at the centre. This is the foundation of a good content marketing strategy, as it leads back to the page which will ultimately generate revenue for your business.
4. Use blog content across channels
Don’t forget to promote your published blog posts across social media and email. Not only does this provide content for other marketing channels, but it also puts your blog in front of people who are more likely to be interested, as they already follow your brand. Similarly, your blogs should contain internal linking to support other pages on your site.
Are Blogs a Future-Proof Marketing Strategy?
Just as SEO isn’t being replaced with GEO or AEO (see ‘SEO vs Generative Engine Optimisation’), blogs do still have their place in digital marketing in 2026 and beyond. Ultimately, blogs have marketing value because they help increase brand search visibility, whether it’s buyers doing research, or search engine crawlers and AI systems looking for content to reference.
One golden rule with blog content is to focus on ‘evergreen’ topics where possible. This means the blog post and its information stay relevant for its entire lifetime. News and announcements are best left to your business’s social media accounts, affiliate articles, and email broadcasts. As long as your blogs meet Google’s EEAT fundamentals for creating helpful content, you’ll be in a strong position to generate traffic.
Finally, once you’ve published a blog, don’t forget to go back and update it now and then. This helps let Google know that your blog is being maintained and is more likely to contain up-to-date information, encouraging recrawls of your site. It also helps weather the storm of Google core updates.
Conclusion
The role of blogs in the marketing funnel has changed due to the nature of consumer behaviour in 2026. Where blogs used to be the driving force behind user engagement and conversion, they’re now simply one touchpoint among the many that’s often required to secure a sale. This doesn’t mean their significance has diminished, merely that their role within your overall approach to SEO and digital marketing has changed.
Succeeding with blogs in 2026 can seem intimidating given the prominence of social media, ads, and video content. However, rather than conflict with one another, all these elements can work together to generate warm leads. When users are ready, effective blogs will give them the tools they need to convert to paying customers.
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