SEO in 2026
Majestic.com
SEO is continuing to change at an alarming pace. And yet, in some sense, the principles of good SEO remain the same.
Hello, and welcome to SEO in 2026 – a significant repository of current thinking from many of the world’s leading SEOs.
We're pleased to be able to welcome you to the fifth book and fifth series in this podcast, now well and truly an annual tradition, brought to you by Majestic.
“How people search has seen a bigger shift in the last 12 months than the last 12 years, and this makes SEOin2026 a must-read for anyone working in the industry. Majestic has brought together 117 of the SEO industry's brightest minds to share their insights into what matters, and what doesn't, to continue to drive growth with organic search during a period of massive uncertainty, and the book should be seen as a valuable reference point to keep your strategy on the right track.”
JAMES BROCKBANK
Managing Director and Founder, Digitaloft
“I highly recommend that every SEO professional set aside a couple of days for SEOin2026. You'll thank me for helping you plan your year effectively. I'm extremely grateful to have the opportunity to work alongside some of the world's leading SEO champions.”
NITIN MANCHANDA
Founder & Chief SEO Consultant, Botpresso
“This collection of wisdom from many of the best minds in SEO today is a great line in the sand of where we as an industry are, what problems we face, and how we tackle them. Anyone in SEO or marketing should be dipping into this on a regular basis.”
SIMON COX
Technical SEO Consultant, Cox and Co. Creative
“This series continues to be the industry’s leading source of the most timely advice a marketer could ever want. The most forward-thinking SEO experts in the world come together once a year to create this invaluable collection of new knowledge that should never be passed up on!”
PAM AUNGST CRONIN
President and Founder, Pam Ann Marketing and Stealth Search and Analytics
“2025 has been a sprint for the SEO industry, with AI reshaping how we understand visibility, relevance, and authority. SEOin2026 is not just another trends book; it’s a roadmap for what’s actually coming. I loved being part of it and seeing how experts around the world approach the same challenges from different angles.”
RAMONA JOITA
SEO Consultant and Founder
“David is good at drawing out the substance of a conversation. He will explore the topic and challenge assumptions, steer the conversation into an unexpected direction, and build on your ideas – making you think a bit deeper and sharper. Our recent conversation flew by as always, and as always – I’ve come out energised about the topic with more to think about.”
SUKHJINDER SINGH
Freelance SEO Consultant
Hello, and welcome to SEO in 2026 – a significant repository of current thinking from many of the world’s leading SEOs.
We're pleased to be able to welcome you to the fifth book and fifth series in this podcast, now well and truly an annual tradition, brought to you by Majestic.
“How people search has seen a bigger shift in the last 12 months than the last 12 years, and this makes SEOin2026 a must-read for anyone working in the industry. Majestic has brought together 117 of the SEO industry's brightest minds to share their insights into what matters, and what doesn't, to continue to drive growth with organic search during a period of massive uncertainty, and the book should be seen as a valuable reference point to keep your strategy on the right track.”
JAMES BROCKBANK
Managing Director and Founder, Digitaloft
“I highly recommend that every SEO professional set aside a couple of days for SEOin2026. You'll thank me for helping you plan your year effectively. I'm extremely grateful to have the opportunity to work alongside some of the world's leading SEO champions.”
NITIN MANCHANDA
Founder & Chief SEO Consultant, Botpresso
“This collection of wisdom from many of the best minds in SEO today is a great line in the sand of where we as an industry are, what problems we face, and how we tackle them. Anyone in SEO or marketing should be dipping into this on a regular basis.”
SIMON COX
Technical SEO Consultant, Cox and Co. Creative
“This series continues to be the industry’s leading source of the most timely advice a marketer could ever want. The most forward-thinking SEO experts in the world come together once a year to create this invaluable collection of new knowledge that should never be passed up on!”
PAM AUNGST CRONIN
President and Founder, Pam Ann Marketing and Stealth Search and Analytics
“2025 has been a sprint for the SEO industry, with AI reshaping how we understand visibility, relevance, and authority. SEOin2026 is not just another trends book; it’s a roadmap for what’s actually coming. I loved being part of it and seeing how experts around the world approach the same challenges from different angles.”
RAMONA JOITA
SEO Consultant and Founder
“David is good at drawing out the substance of a conversation. He will explore the topic and challenge assumptions, steer the conversation into an unexpected direction, and build on your ideas – making you think a bit deeper and sharper. Our recent conversation flew by as always, and as always – I’ve come out energised about the topic with more to think about.”
SUKHJINDER SINGH
Freelance SEO Consultant
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jun 5, 2024 • 18min
There's a lot that SEOs can learn from Paid Search - with Dave Cousin
Dave Cousin believes that SEOs like to think Paid Search is easy, they get all the data they need in black and white; so why then don't we SEOs use paid search's data to make things a bit easier for us? Discussion points include:Why should SEOs be working more closely with paid search?How can paid search make the SEO’s life easier?What can SEOs learn from paid?What can paid learn from SEOs?Why is this particularly relevant for 2024?
Jun 4, 2024 • 16min
Staying Ahead in International SEO: Embrace & Keep Track of Relevant Events - Sara Fernández Carmona
David and Sara discuss the importance of staying ahead in International SEO: embrace and keep track of market-relevant events.Talking points include:How do you ensure that you’re aware of every event?I can understand how an event can impact traffic and impressions, but how can an event impact rankings?Understanding user behaviour and intent - why is this particularly unique for international SEO?Spike in impressions but not followed by clicks - why was this and what can you do about it?Leveraging seasonal trends and opportunities - how do you plan?
Jun 3, 2024 • 16min
Businesses should get clued up on how to Influence their Local Knowledge Panel - Claire Carlile
David and Claire discuss why businesses should get clued up on how to manage and influence their Local Knowledge Panel.Talking points include:What is Google’s New Merchant Experience?Why has Google done this?What do you have to do to sign-up?What is the upside?Is there any downside?How do you influence your Local Knowledge Panel BEYOND the functionality provided in the NMX?Why is this important?How do you measure the impact of this?
May 31, 2024 • 18min
Optimise your use of Google Business Profile - with Greg Gifford
David and Greg discuss the importance of optimising your use of Google Business Profile.Talking points include:What are the key changes in Google Business Profile over the past year?How has the verification process changed?Google will restrict content or access if there's a violation of their policies - what are these policies?There are Clearer standards on who can own and manage business profiles - why is this and what are the changes?What are the new guidelines on user contributions?Businesses should have only one profile to avoid discrepancies on Google Maps and Search - what happens if you have 2 profiles?Specific instructions for appointment-based businesses and those with varying operational hours - what are these?What are the current best practices for content posting?What are the current best practices for getting found?Will a business without a physical address ever have an opportunity with Google Business Profile?
May 30, 2024 • 20min
Using generative AI to supercharge your productivity and business outcomes - with Si Shangase
David and Si discuss the importance of using generative AI to supercharge your productivity and business outcomes.Talking points include:Why?What software and systems are you referring to?How do you set them up?How do you integrate this with the rest of your business and your clients?Are there any downsides?
May 29, 2024 • 17min
Focus on outcomes rather than outputs - with Chris Alderman
Chris Alderman shares that in 2024 you should focus on outcomes rather than outputs, and that best practices are great but they need to lead to your site being found easier.Discussion points include:What do you mean in practice by focusing on outcomes rather than outputs?What sort of outcomes do you like to focus on?How does this alter your SEO strategy?How does this alter your SEO activities on a day-to-day basis?You say that focusing on outcomes can make it easier to find a site - what do you mean by that?How does focusing on outcomes rather than outputs impact the way that SEOs should work with other marketing functions?
May 28, 2024 • 16min
Leverage AI to support you & accelerate your SEO workflows beyond content generation - Aleyda Solis
David and Aleyda discuss the importance of leveraging AI to support you and accelerate your SEO workflows beyond content generation.Aleyda says: “Start leveraging AI for the day-to-day SEO tasks within your workflow in a smart way – in a way where you take care of the quality, but you use it to accelerate the tasks that you need to do.”What SEO workflows can be enhanced with AI?“There are now tools that use AI, like the Horseman SEO crawler, which integrates with the OpenAI API to provide you with suggestions and recommendations for the issues it finds when crawling your website. If it identifies that you have title or description issues, because they’re empty, duplicated, or too long, it will give you suggestions to make them shorter or populate them with descriptive information. You can develop your SEO recommendations much faster by using these tools to support you."
May 24, 2024 • 17min
Start incorporating programmatic approaches and rule-based automation into your SEO – Lazarina Stoy
Lazarina Stoy, an SEO and Data Consultant, discusses innovative programmatic approaches and rule-based automation in SEO. She emphasizes the importance of incorporating these strategies responsibly to enhance content quality and align with brand voice. The conversation explores the shift from traditional methods to AI-driven techniques, warning against over-reliance on automation. Lazarina also highlights practical examples like structured page templates and the balance needed between human involvement and technology for effective SEO practices.
May 23, 2024 • 18min
Think better, rush less - with Katie McDonald
David and Katie discuss the importance of thinking better, and rushing less.Talking points include:- We can use AI to get stuff done faster- For everything?- What should we use AI for? - We shouldn't rush the thinking part- What thinking part?- AI can't do that; it doesn't know your audience, not truly.- AI can’t do thinking?- Understand your client's business first, plan your research, PRIORITISE and then figure out how to use AI to accelerate that plan and get results faster.
May 22, 2024 • 16min
Look after your CTR as the most precious KPI for your organic strategy - with Carmen Dominguez
Carmen Dominguez shares with David Bain that in 2024 you should look after your CTR as the most precious KPI for your organic strategy.Talking points include:Why is your CTR so important?Why is click through rate a KPI?How do you keep track of your CTR - what software do you use?How do you identify the terms that you need to optimise for?How do you influence your CTR?What other KPIs do you track?
