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
Jan 25, 2024 • 15min
Accept and prepare for the fact that Schema is becoming less relevant – with Anne Berlin
Anne Berlin believes that we need to accept and prepare for the fact that Schema is becoming less relevant.Discussion points include how 2024 will be the year that structured data implementation plateaus. Anne believes that NLP has evolved to the point where most structured data is superfluous, except in a few use cases such as for publishers that have page resources prioritization/page speed or rendering issues.
Jan 24, 2024 • 20min
Don't forget your basics, good strategy doesn't have to be complicated! - Andy Mollison
David and Andy discuss why it's important not to forget your basics and that good strategy doesn't have to be complicated!Discussion points include:- You say that a good strategy doesn't have to be complicated! What is a good strategy?- You talk about complicated tricks and tools available - what shouldn’t you be doing?- What about AI?- How do you know what newer tips and tactics to listen to?
Jan 23, 2024 • 16min
Branded keywords will become increasingly more important than generic keywords - Austine Esezobor
Austine Esezobor and David Bain discuss why branded keywords will become increasingly more important than generic keywords.Discussion points include:What is an entity?Why will branded keywords become more important?What strategy takes best advantage of branded keywords in 2024?Do you not focus on generic keywords at all?What is your keyword research process?
Jan 22, 2024 • 16min
Entity building for better EEAT - with Sara Moccand-Sayegh
Sara Moccand-Sayegh and David Bain discuss entity building for better EEAT.Discussion points include:How do you build a digital entity?What are the key elements that search engines need to know and how do you teach them?What content do you need before you apply your Schema?What other sites do you need to be on to cement your entity’s authority?You say that when there is understanding, you can get a Twitter Carousel. How does this work?Will search engines and AI not get clever enough not to need Schema?
Jan 19, 2024 • 15min
The new AI landscape flips around the technical SEO rules - with Ulrika Viberg
Ulrika Viberg and David Bain discuss how the new AI landscape we all have found ourselves in flips around the technical SEO rules.Discussion points include:What are the rules for technical SEO in 2024?How has AI altered this?How do we focus better on semantics on how does this assist AI?How do we better position our AI for AI?How do we mark up our content better for machines?Can we automate the marking up of our content?
Jan 18, 2024 • 19min
The resurgence of BrandSEO due to the rise of SGE - with Miracle Inameti-Archibong
Miracle Inameti-Archibong and David discuss the resurgence of BrandSEO due to the rise of SGE.Discussion points include:What does brand SEO actually mean?How do you improve your brand SEO?How do you work closely with other marketing teams to promote the brand?What does brand SEO success look like?How do you measure brand SEO performance?What brand SEO opportunities does SGE offer?Any other SGE opportunities?Any SGE concerns?
Jan 17, 2024 • 17min
Combatting cannibalisation and utilising the reviews system to take advantage of Google’s updates
In this episode, David and Charlie discuss why you should be combatting cannibalisation and utilising the reviews system to take advantage of Google’s updates.Topics include:- What are the biggest cannibalisation issues?- How does cannibalisation impact SEO?- How does this impact content?- What do you mean by utilising the reviews system?- How do reviews positively impact SEO?
Jan 16, 2024 • 16min
Use Connected Schema Markup to prepare your organization for AI - with Martha van Berkel
Martha van Berkel and David discuss how to use connected Schema Markup to prepare your organization for AI and build your company's knowledge graph.Discussion points include:What does optimizing your site and using schema markup in a connected way mean?What are your 3 tips for doing "connected" schema markup? Why does this matter?Why this is important for what's changing in Search - (SGE, ChatGPT/Bing)?How does this position SEO to be the hero in preparing marketing data for broader AI initiatives? What does this mean for the future role of SEO?
Jan 15, 2024 • 19min
The Importance of Visual Elements is going to be more important than ever - Mufaddal Sadriwala
Mufaddal and David discuss the Importance of how visual elements are going to be more than ever in the new world of SGE.Discussion points include:Why are visual elements becoming more important?What are examples of the visual elements you mean?How do you optimise these visual elements?Where do they appear?What measurable result does this deliver?
Jan 12, 2024 • 17min
Consider Google’s incentive to index your site and prepare for the next chapter of the internet – with Jono Alderson
Independent Technical SEO Consultant Jono Alderson advises that you cast an impartial eye across your site, asking why Google would want to crawl, index, and rank what you’re offering.
