Why do rankings and organic traffic increase while qualified leads stay flat? Van Isle SEO analyzed expert responses from business leaders and marketers to uncover where SEO traffic gets lost between the search result and the sale, from mismatched search intent and weak landing pages to unclear conversion paths and poor tracking.

We analyzed 10 Google Canada business and marketing searches to see what actually ranks in 2026. The study found AI Overviews on every SERP, Reddit on 80% of searches, and commercial brands making up 43.4% of traditional organic results.

We analyzed 100 organic Google Maps listings across five contractor categories in Victoria, BC. The data suggests that proximity to the search location and review volume were the strongest measured predictors of higher rankings, while photo count and claimed-profile status showed weaker supporting relationships.