Local search has gotten more complicated, but the businesses winning in 2026 aren’t doing anything groundbreaking. This is a plain-English breakdown of the six pillars of local SEO, what the latest ranking factor research actually says, and how AI search is raising the bar on fundamentals most businesses haven’t fully nailed yet.
Most SEO reports are full of metrics that look good on a dashboard but don’t connect to anything that actually matters to your business. In this piece, Zach Karl runs through the SEO KPIs that are still relevant in 2026 and the ones that have lost their usefulness, from keyword rankings and impressions to branded search volume, AI referral traffic, and revenue. If you’re not sure whether you’re tracking the right things, this is a good place to start.
Choosing between an SEO freelancer and an agency is one of the more confusing decisions a small business owner can make, mostly because no one explains what you’re actually getting with either. Zach Karl has worked on both sides of that equation, as an agency-side SEO and as an independent consultant. Here’s his honest breakdown of how the two models compare.
The internet has gotten worse, and SEOs deserve some* of the blame. In this first post from Search Dog Consulting, Zach Karl lays out his approach to SEO in the age of AI: why the old metrics are losing relevance, how to create content that actually earns attention, and what it means to build a brand that shows up everywhere your audience is searching, scrolling, or existing.