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
Nov 18, 2021 • 17min
Use the SERPs as your best and most up to date SEO tool - with Omi Sido from Canon Europe
Check out the rest of the content from "SEO in 2022" here:http://seoin2022.com/Questions in this episode include:How do you use the SERPs as an SEO tool?What information do you look for in the SERP?How do you use that information?How do you do this at scale?How reactive should you be to a changing SERP?
Nov 17, 2021 • 17min
Cut reliance on cold outreach and start thinking about assets that drive links - Stacey MacNaught
Check out the rest of the content from "SEO in 2022" here:http://seoin2022.com/Questions in this episode include:Does cold outreach not work anymore?What kind of assets drive the best links?How do you drive as many links as possible initially, as soon as you publish something?What kind of links are ideal links nowadays?
Nov 16, 2021 • 18min
Focus on Businesses, Not Content Creators When it comes to link building - with Bibi Raven
Check out the rest of the content from "SEO in 2022" here:http://seoin2022.com/Questions in this episode include:How do you focus on businesses?Why not content?What does this mean in practice?How do you approach businesses?What are a few specific steps that an SEO needs to do, to start putting this into action?
Nov 15, 2021 • 23min
Review the tiered links to your website & the tiered links to your competitor's - with Bill Hartzer
Check out the rest of the content from "SEO in 2022" here:http://seoin2022.com/Questions in this episode include:What do you mean by tiered links?How do you measure the value of tiered links?How much authority can tiered links pass on?What are you looking for when you’re looking at tiered links to your competitor's websites?How do you obtain tiered links?
Nov 14, 2021 • 17min
Focus on semantic SEO and natural language processing - with Koray Tuğberk GÜBÜR from Holistic SEO
Check out the rest of the content from "SEO in 2022" here:http://seoin2022.com/Questions that David asks in this episode include:Semantic SEO is the process of building more meaning into the words you use in your content - how do you do that in practice?By focusing on natural language processing I presume that you mean that Google will continue to get better at understanding the true meaning behind all of your content?
Nov 13, 2021 • 17min
Focus on actual expertise as part of your content strategy - with Lily Ray
Check out the rest of the content from "SEO in 2022" here:http://seoin2022.com/Questions that David asks in this episode include:Whose experience are you referring to - the writer of the reader?What value does focusing on actual experience provide?What does this mean in practice for the content?What impact does it have on the reader?How does this fit into your overall content marketing strategy?
Nov 12, 2021 • 17min
Originality is overrated, don't force it if it doesn't come naturally - Rejoice Ojiaku from Incubeta
Check out the rest of the content from "SEO in 2022" here:http://seoin2022.com/Questions in this episode include:What are a few specific steps that an SEO needs to do, to start putting this into action?How often should an SEO be doing this?What does success look like? How do you measure the value of doing this?How does this dovetail in with the rest of your SEO activities? And how does an SEO articulate the value of doing this to a general marketer?
Nov 11, 2021 • 17min
Answer your customers' questions efficiently - with Brianna Anderson from BEAST Analytics
Check out the rest of the content from "SEO in 2022" here:http://seoin2022.com/Questions in this episode include:How do you discover the most important questions that you should be answering?What does answering the customers' questions efficiently actually mean in practice?Should all these answers be published on your website, and be easily accessible by search engines?How do you determine the optimum form to publish the answers to these questions for SEO? (Video / text / longform)What kind of call to action if any should you be looking to include on answer pages?How do you optimize these answers for the SERP?How does this play with social media and chatbots - should you be answering the same questions there too?
Nov 10, 2021 • 14min
Never forget that your job is to help searchers get the answers that they’re looking for - Heba Said
Check out the rest of the content from "SEO in 2022" here:http://seoin2022.com/Questions that David asks in this episode include:What does it mean in practice to help searchers get the answers that they’re looking for?How do you determine the questions that you should be answering?What are your thoughts on how you optimize answers to questions?You say that Google Search Central is your friend in crime - why’s that and what can you learn there?Why should an SEO look at the whole marketing funnel and not just organic sessions?
Nov 9, 2021 • 17min
Create something of value that your competitors can't replicate - with Barry Adams, Polemic Digital
Check out the rest of the content from "SEO in 2022" here:http://seoin2022.com/Questions that David asks in this episode include:What would be some examples of things that a competitor can’t replicate?What brands are doing this really well?How does this provide SEO value?How do you determine the item of value that you should create?How do you measure success?
