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SEO in 2026: Staying Visible in the AI Era

  • 4 weeks
  • 09-10-2026
  • Venlo
  • EUR995
Search is changing rapidly. People no longer use only Google to find information and make decisions; they also turn to ChatGPT, Perplexity, and TikTok. That means SEO in 2026 requires a new approach.

About this course

Search is changing rapidly. People no longer use only Google to find information and make decisions; they also turn to ChatGPT, Perplexity, and TikTok. That means SEO in 2026 requires a new approach.

In this course, you will learn what these changes mean for your website, content, and online visibility. You will work with the latest insights, including concepts from the book by Alex Schultz (CMO of Meta), and immediately apply them in practice using your own website, product, or organization. This ensures you can put what you learn directly into action.

What will you learn?

  • How SEO is changing because of AI tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI
  • How to improve your visibility in search engines and AI-generated answers
  • How to create content that both people and AI systems understand and trust
  • How to connect SEO to marketing goals and business growth
  • How to implement direct improvements on your own website or product
  • How to create a practical SEO plan for your organization

 

Who the course is for

This course is designed for online marketers, communication professionals, and entrepreneurs who want to understand how search is evolving and what this means for their online visibility. You do not need advanced technical SEO knowledge, but you should have an interest in strategy, content, and online growth.

 

 

Content and structure

The course consists of four modules:

In this first module, you will discover how search is changing and the role SEO plays within an organization’s overall marketing strategy. You will learn how to work with the North Star Metric: the key metric that measures growth and success for your organization. We will also examine the marketing funnel and the role of search across different marketing channels. In addition, we discuss how search behavior is changing because of AI tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and TikTok. During the workshop, you will immediately start working on a North Star and channel strategy for your own organization.
How do you ensure your content becomes visible in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI? In this module, you will learn how AI search engines select, evaluate, and cite information. You will discover which factors contribute to online visibility and trust, such as E-E-A-T, domain authority, and structured data. Afterward, you will work hands-on with techniques that are proven to work, including FAQ content, strong introductions, author pages, content structure, and brand mentions. You will analyze your own website and content and define actionable improvements you can implement immediately.
In this module, you will translate your organization’s message into content that people search for and AI systems understand. You will learn how to work with a message house, audience questions, and keyword research based on your value proposition. We will also focus on readability, structure, and writing strong introductions that perform better in search and are more frequently cited by AI systems. During this module, you will actively work on writing or improving content for your own website or organization.
The final module focuses on measurement, prioritization, and turning insights into action. You will learn how to make SEO results measurable and why traditional measurement methods are becoming less effective. We will cover topics such as incremental measurement, SEO ROI, and budget decisions. In addition, you will conduct a content audit and determine which improvements will have the greatest impact. By the end of the course, you will have developed a concrete SEO action plan for your organization, enabling you to continue immediately after completing the program.
 
 

Learning outcomes

This course opens up a whole range of opportunities:

  • A current and innovative course on SEO and AI search
  • Based on insights from 'Click Here' by Alex Schultz (CMO of Meta)
  • Strong combination of strategy and practical application
  • Directly applicable to your own website or organization
  • Taught by Marieke van de Rakt, with years of experience in SEO and online growth

About the lecturer

Marieke van de Rakt Lecturer

Marieke van de Rakt

Lecturer

Marieke van de Rakt is a partner at Emilia Capital, the investment and growth platform she co-founded together with Joost de Valk after the sale of Yoast in 2021. Through Emilia, she invests in tech and online businesses and advises portfolio companies on marketing and branding. She is also co-founder of Progress Planner.

As a lecturer in online marketing at Fontys University of Applied Sciences, she brings her hands-on experience directly into the classroom. As co-founder and CEO of Yoast, the world’s most widely used SEO platform, she helped build the company and guided it through a successful acquisition. She combines strategic entrepreneurship with deep SEO expertise and holds a PhD in the social sciences.
 

 

Practical information

  • The course is offered in both Dutch and English
  • The Dutch-language course takes place on Thursday mornings at Fontys Campus Venlo (8 October 2026, 15 October 2026, 29 October 2026 and 5 November 2026)
  • The English-language course takes place exclusively online on Friday mornings (9 October 2026, 16 October 2026, 30 October 2026 and 6 November 2026)
  • Duration: 4 half-day sessions of approximately 3.5 hours
  • Investment: €995,-
 

 

Register

Below you will find the start date of this course and a link to register.

Start date(s)


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Then registration is not possible at the moment (yet). Please feel free to contact us for more information about the course. We are happy to help! All contact details can be found at the bottom of this page.

 

Locaties en contact

Venlo

Tegelseweg 255
5912 BG, Venlo
Janet Antonissen
j.antonissen@fontys.nl