10 things brands should NOT do in marketing in 2026

Brands still rely on obsolete metrics to measure the effectiveness of their marketing activities, which are of no use in the era of AI. They evaluate campaign effectiveness solely based on clicks, view SEO only through the lens of increases or decreases in organic traffic, and do not analyze what search looks like now.

The problem is that currently, about 58-60% of Google searches end without any further clicks. (1) The user gets an answer to their query in AI Overviews or AI Mode and simply disappears. Year over year, the share of zero-click searches is growing, and the CTR for top positions in Google is falling in both the US and the EU.

So how do you analyze traffic-based activities?

• Introduce new KPIs, such as Market Share, AI Visibility, or AI Overviews share.
• Analyze the full conversion path and the impact of different traffic channels on the entire customer journey.
• Combine data from GA4, CRM, marketing automation, and SEO/AI tools, rather than just looking at “traffic.”

Some clients interested in SEO services still order “ranking for X phrases” and account for SEO activities based on keyword rankings, whether they are “top 3 for a given phrase,” and treat organic traffic as the only KPI.

Meanwhile, the world of Search is changing thanks to AI tools, and organic traffic is naturally declining across industries and budgets. AI Overviews and AI Search modules are systematically “stealing” clicks from the top positions on Google. This means that visibility in organic channels increasingly means simply a quote in an AI-generated response, rather than a classic top 10 result.

What to do instead of the current approach?

• Think of SEO as Search Presence, which is a combination of classic search results, AI Overviews, and LLM responses.
• Optimize content for entity, intent, and citability (AISO process).
• Report on AI response share and brand visibility in model-generated content.

A common phenomenon that we also observe among our clients is “getting carried away” by the ease of working with AI. Of course, we agree with this, but it must be approached with caution. It is undoubtedly not worth treating AI responses as “revealed truth.” Company employees often ask AI to generate bulk content, campaign copy, or responses to customer inquiries and use it without much verification.

The problem is that generative AI often hallucinates, confuses facts, and mixes up data. The reputational risk to companies from mistakes or fake news is now comparable to that posed by security incidents or data leaks.

What should be changed in the approach to using AI at work?

• Treat AI as an assistant, not a decision-maker, especially in key areas such as strategy planning.
• Introduce an AI policy in your company: clearly define who can use the models and for what purposes, and what data can be entered into them.
• Require verification and evaluation of materials prepared by AI, especially for external communication.

A common pitfall in paid campaigns is burning through a larger budget in the hope that it will now work. When campaign results decline, brands increase their budget by 20-30% in hopes of boosting traffic and conversions, rather than considering whether the campaign itself is okay.

How to correct this mistake?

• Conduct audits of your campaign structure, conversion paths, and creative before deciding to increase your budget.
• Test alternative advertising channels, such as Pinterest or TikTok, where Meta and Google Ads may be too competitive.
• Measure CAC/LTV per channel, not just ROAS from the last click.

Basing reports on reach, impressions, follower count, and CTR will not provide a solid basis for CMO decision-making. Although there is growing pressure on many large brands to demonstrate the real contribution of marketing to company growth, internal reports are still full of metrics that do not provide management with information about sales or the profitability of activities.

What KPIs should you report?

• Switch to business KPIs: CAC, LTV, share of sales from customers acquired in the last 12 months, or the impact of marketing on the pipeline.
• Link campaigns in reports to specific business goals, not just the reach achieved.
• Reduce the number of reports – too much data can do more harm than good. Focus on 5-7 key indicators and explain them well to management.

Unfortunately, crises related to the use of images of famous people or brands, and to brand impersonation, happen often, and companies usually try to sweep such problems under the rug. Marketing trend reports with predictions for next year clearly indicate that trust, authenticity in communication, and the fight against disinformation will be the main topics in the coming years.

How to prepare for this?

• Invest in transparent communication.
• Build visible expertise based on people, not just your company logo.
• Respond to any signs of misinformation about your industry, products, or services, rather than ignoring them.

When planning content for your website, do you commission 30-50 topics on everything related to your industry? Do you generate posts using AI without a planned structure and add more content to a blog that is already overloaded? This is a simple recipe for damaging your website.

How to implement a content strategy?

• Build planned, thematic content hubs instead of random posts.
• Show the experts who create your content by name.
• Update and develop existing content instead of constantly creating new content without verifying whether the old content works and is up to date.

Many brands are still hoping that “someone will come up with something” after cookies, and at the same time keep customer data in separate silos – CRM, e-commerce, and Ads. This, combined with an attempt to recreate 1:1 attribution as in 2018, will not lead to a realistic picture of the data.

How to approach marketing data in 2026?

• Invest in first-party data (data collected legally and consciously),
• Keep data in one source (CDP, well-integrated CRM + analytics),
• Use modeling/MMM and experiments instead of pretending that “last click” tells the whole truth.

Many companies want to be leaders on Google, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, while also running a podcast and sending newsletters… and at the same time, they don’t have the resources, planned priorities, or a coherent idea. The result? Hundreds of micro-activities at the point of contact with the customer, leading to a lack of consistency and, therefore, a lack of economies of scale across any channel. Being “everywhere” at all costs will be less profitable than focusing on a few selected channels that will actually make it easier to reach potential customers.

How to plan a marketing communication strategy in 2026?

• Choose 2-3 key channels and 1-2 additional ones.
• Match the channels to the customer’s purchasing path (where they really look, not where “everyone is”).
• Set clear criteria for how far you intend to test the channels and when to abandon them.

This is the most uncomfortable but necessary point. Companies often expect marketing and performance to fix poor sales results without changing anything in their offer, product, or website, and leaving the same sales process in place. Sometimes marketing is not the problem, and you need to consider why customers are not making purchases after reaching your website.

How to change your approach?

• Treat marketing as a co-owner of the offer and customer experience.
• Combine insights from campaigns with products, pricing, UX, and customer service.
• Start the conversation with the question: “Is everything okay with our offer and product?”

If you want to take a conscious approach to marketing in 2026, choose the right companion for this journey. At Delante, we have a team of experts in SEO, AISO, SEM, and Content who will work together to help your company achieve marketing success across multiple areas. We operate primarily based on data and accurate analysis, thanks to which our clients achieve their campaign targets. Don’t wait, contact us today!

Sources:

1. https://searchengineland.com/zero-click-searches-up-organic-clicks-down-456660
2. https://martech.org/ai-is-rewriting-visibility-in-the-zero-click-search-era/
3. https://addlly.ai/blog/how-ai-hallucinations-impact-brand-reputation/
4. https://www.epsilon.com/us/insights/third-party-cookies
5. https://onclusive.com/resources/blog/marketing-trends-2026-what-professionals-say-about-the-year-ahead/