I recently audited a D2C brand in Mumbai that was ranking for 1,000+ keywords but saw its conversion rate tank. The reason? A massive gap between their "Global SEO" and "Indian Search Intent." In 2026, the Indian consumer isn’t just looking for a product; they are looking for "Vishwaas" (Trust) —specifically via direct AI summaries in Hindi/English and peer-validated proofs on YouTube Shorts and Instagram. If you aren't the "Machine-Preferred" recommendation in the local context, you are invisible to 1.4 billion people.
I used to scroll past short videos thinking, “This can’t be the future of content.” But here we are in 2025 — and short videos aren’t just surviving, they’re thriving . Whether you love them or loathe them, they’ve become one of the fastest ways to connect, grow, and actually be seen online. In this post, I’m sharing my honest experience — the ups, the downs, what surprised me, and what’s actually working right now.