An SEO Shift I Noticed This Summer - Vancouver & Vancouver Island Businesses
Over the last three months, I've noticed a shift in how people are finding my clients' websites. For years, the home page and product or service pages were where most visitors entered the website. This summer, I noticed something different: blog posts were showing up more often than product pages. Not every client experienced this. The pattern was limited to websites where we had consistently prioritized publishing helpful articles over a long period of time.
The interesting part is that this shift didn't happen at the expense of overall traffic. In fact, traffic continued to grow steadily. Using one client's analytics as an example:
Total users grew by 75% from July 2023 to June 2026.
Organic search traffic grew by 103% over the same period.
Why This SEO Shift Might Be Happening
I can't say for certain what's causing the shift. One possibility is that Google is rewarding pages that answer specific questions. A product page explains a service. A blog post can answer dozens of related questions around that service. As search becomes better at matching those questions with useful content, it's not surprising that blog posts are showing up more often.
Product and service pages are still essential for converting visitors into customers. But blog posts seem to be bringing more people to the website in the first place.
Whether this is a temporary trend or the direction search is heading, it reinforces something I've believed for a long time: websites shouldn't stay static. The clients seeing this shift are the ones that keep adding new content, answering customer questions, and treating their website as something that grows with their business.
And if someone emails you tomorrow claiming they've cracked Google's algorithm and can guarantee first place on Google, I'd politely move that email to the trash. Google doesn't publish exactly how its ranking algorithms work, and they're constantly evolving.
Writing Blog Posts for SEO
So... should every business start a blog? Probably.
Not because Google says so, but because your customers already have questions. If you answer them on your website, you create another way for people to find you.
Start by answering the questions your customers already ask. Every phone call, email, or consultation is a potential blog post.
A few ideas:
Explain a common misconception about your product or service.
Compare two options customers ask about all the time.
Walk people through what to expect before, during, or after working with you.
Share why you do something differently than others in your industry.
Update older posts instead of always starting from scratch.
You don't need to publish every week. Consistency matters more than volume. A website that grows over time gives search engines more opportunities to match your content with what people are looking for.
Need Help with Your SEO Content Strategy?
Don't Have Time to Write? Most business owners don't. They're busy running the business.
If you're a business in Vancouver, the Comox Valley, or anywhere on Vancouver Island, I can help. I work with businesses to plan and write blog posts, website content, and social media that answer customer questions and support long term SEO.
If you're ready to build a content strategy instead of wondering what to post next, let's chat.
