Hey friend,

How’s it going? 🌻

It's that time of year again when I evaluate all the strategies and actions of 2025 one by one.

And I gotta say, there were several of those moments when I was like "what was I thinking?"!! But having said that, I wouldn't change a thing because those mistakes shaped the full-stack marketer I am today.

Let me make a list of those mistakes so you don't repeat any of them in 2026. Let's go!

BDW....

1. Refreshing based on impressions, not impact

In 2025, I spent too much time optimizing blogs with high impressions but low clicks.
With AI search and GEO now reshaping how people discover your site, that approach is obsolete.

In 2026, I’ll focus on the money pages only when it comes to refresh — the ones driving demos, conversions, and engagement — not the vanity ones that just rank.

2. Underestimating the power of founder branding

For too long, I assumed that “founder-led content” was only effective for early-stage startups.
It turns out that even mid-stage brands can build serious credibility when leadership creates context.
In 2026, I plan to double down on narrative-led, founder-linked content that fuels both trust and top-of-funnel reach.

3. Ignoring the middle of the funnel

We did a great job on awareness and BOFU conversion.
However, we underinvested in the “convincing content” layer — the case studies, ROI explainers, and in-depth comparisons that move buyers from interest to intent.
In 2026, mid-funnel storytelling will be recognized as its own distinct function, rather than a filler between blogs and CTAs.

4. Not making the most of AI

Half the year went by in confusion about how to use AI to its full potential, but now I have a system.
In 2026, I’ll take it a step further: utilizing AI for research, synthesis, and persona analysis, creating tone banks, developing more customized GPTs, and integrating it with Canva, Sheets, and Notion. And I have to learn to build more efficient AI workflows.

5. Thinking CRO applies only to BOFU content

We designed CTAs for conversion pages but ignored CRO on high-traffic TOFU pieces.
In 2026, every piece — from a thought post to a blog — will lead somewhere meaningful.
If the user lands, scrolls, and leaves, the content fails, regardless of the rank.

6. Neglecting attribution clarity

I over-relied on first-touch and last-touch models, ignoring what happens in between.
Content isn’t linear anymore — users read a blog, listen to a podcast, see a carousel, then convert weeks later.
In 2026, I’ll build tracking around journeys, not touchpoints, to dive deeper into what truly moves the pipeline.

7. Letting good content stay idle

Some of our best thought-leadership lived — and died — on the blog.
In 2026, every insight gets five lives: an email edition, a LinkedIn post, a carousel, a short clip, and a newsletter angle.
Creation is phase one; distribution is the real multiplier.

8. Treating GEO as a distribution lever, not a design layer

I was early to adopt GEO — entity linking, schema alignment, conversational snippets, all of it.
But what I missed was integrating GEO at the ideation stage, not just at optimization.
In 2026, I’ll design content that’s natively readable by AI engines — structured around questions, intent clusters, and claim-authority links — so our pages become not just sources, but answers.

9. Expecting content + on-page alone to win SEO/GEO battles

In 2025, I leaned heavily on strong content and clean on-page SEO to rank in brutally competitive clusters.

What I didn’t do enough of:

• Off-page: Systematic link-building in the right ecosystems
• Technical: Pairing big content pushes with technical sprints — fixing internal linking depth, reducing page bloat, tightening redirects, and adding schema to make those pages easier for both Google and AI engines to parse.

In 2026, any strategic cluster (not every blog) will ship with a clear off-page + technical plan:

• Which domains do we want links from
• How we’ll earn those links (content swaps, quotes, co-marketing, reports)
• What technical clean-up supports that cluster (navigation, schema, redirects, page speed).

Good content is the entry ticket now — authority and technical clarity decide who actually wins the GEO battle.

10. Ignoring the fun!

For most of 2025, I was anxious. I was panicking even while running experiments and doing great work. As I received more applause, I became increasingly worried about whether I would be able to sustain it. I am still stressed as I write this. I wish that in 2026, I would trust the process more and believe in my skills. But I am not sure if that's happening, considering my high-functioning anxiety. But will try :).

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Onwards and upwards,

Sreyashi

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