Fast, slow, and what actually holds

Hi,

January is almost over already. It went by so, so fast.

In the past few weeks, I’ve been in touch with a few different teams, and it really feels like people are moving out of early-year planning mode and into let’s do this mode. Goals are set, processes are in place, 2026 is ready to roll.

At the same time, I’ve heard a lot of unease around all the new shiny, sometimes looks-too-good-to-be-true things we see online. Yes, AI is part of that. But more broadly, it’s about the pace we’re living at. Everything moves fast. Very fast. And it can feel overwhelming.

What I find interesting is the ambivalence this creates between fast and slow: between wanting to move quickly, and knowing (often intuitively) that not everything should be rushed. A couple of things I’ve been paying attention to recently sit right at that intersection.

#1 - Markup hygiene is cool 😎

Let’s start with the boring, unsexy, and yet very important bit: schema markup.

I’ve talked about it before, and the 2025 Web Almanac shows it still holds. Markup keeps showing up as a structurally important layer, especially as AI-driven discovery evolves. Yet, it remains strangely absent from many strategic conversations.

What strikes me isn’t that structured data “works”. It’s that it’s foundational. It doesn’t feel urgent, it doesn’t look impressive, and it rarely comes with instant gratification, which makes it easy to deprioritise.

And yet, the more search and AI systems rely on interpretation, context, and relationships between entities, the more these quiet foundations matter. Not exciting. Just solid.

#2 - Siri is a Gemini ♊️

My favourite timer is getting an upgrade! 😂 I hope… 🤞

Apple and Google entering a years-long partnership, with Gemini powering Siri, feels like a strong strategic signal. It’s not about who has the best AI model, but about where leverage actually sits today.

After years of shaky development, Apple chose integration over reinvention. Alignment over ego (although I’m sure they still have plenty of that!).

AI tools merge, split, tie the knot and move in together like a very well-designed reality TV show. There’s a temptation to constantly try to keep up.

Personally, I choose to invest in solid foundations that work today, and that will still hold tomorrow. Even the biggest players seem to be making that call.

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From my desk

This tension between speed and structure shows up a lot in my work, as it's always been the case in SEO.

Most of the time, I’m brought in when things are changing, and there’s a need to step back, make sense of what actually matters, and decide where depth is worth the effort.

I find that slowing down at the right moments often makes everything else move faster afterwards.

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Work with me

If you’re at a decision point and want an outside strategic perspective before things get expensive to undo, I’m currently open to a few strategic projects.

Have a lovely end to January. 😌

Cheers,

Alizée BAUDEZ

SEO consultant

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This was originally sent as an issue of Beyond Organic, my newsletter on international SEO and AI search, on 27 January 2026. If you'd rather get the next one in your inbox than find it here later, subscribe here.