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
May 30, 2025 • 18min
Tap into your first-party data - with Debbie Chew
Debbie Chew shares the importance of tapping into your first-party data.Talking points include:What are the most common forms of first party data?What tends to be the most useful first party data for SEO?How should SEOs work with other teams to find better first party data?How do we better understand our audience with first party data?How do we analyse first party data?What do you do if you don’t have much first party data to work with?How do you create new first party data?What kinds of questions should you be asking in surveys to create really useful new first party data?What are some creative ways to use first party data?What are some examples of using first party data in content?Should you share first party data with AI?Read the full transcript of Debbie's interview at: https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/debbie-chew
May 29, 2025 • 21min
SEOs need to get more familiar with analytics - with Marco Giordano
Marco Giordano shares that SEOs need to get more familiar with analytics.Talking points include:What analytics knowledge do SEOs need to know about?Do you primarily use GA4?How much analytics knowledge is enough?How should SEOs be using analytics packages on an ongoing basis?How should analytics inform SEO strategy?Should SEOs be learning coding?Does this apply to non-technical SEOs?Read the full transcript of Marco's interview at: https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/marco-giordano
May 28, 2025 • 23min
Why brand representation and interpretability matter in the era of LLMs - with Nik Ranger
Nik Ranger shares why brand representation and interpretability matter in the era of LLMs.Talking points include:Why does AI rank matter?How do you measure visibility on LLMs?What is the impact of this on visibility?What are typical gaps in the model’s understanding and what does a brand do to deal with this?How to maximise brand representationHow does this impact purchasing decisions?What’s the difference between a brand and an entity?Read the full transcript of Nik's interview at: https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/additional-insights/nik-ranger
May 27, 2025 • 16min
A site migration is like moving house - with Sanja Markovic
Sanja Markovic shares that a site migration is like moving house.Talking points include:What do you mean by a site migration?How do you prepare for a site migration?How much time do you need to prepare?What teams should be involved?When is a site migration considered to be successful?What are the most common reasons why site migrations failHow to avoid making mistakes in a site migration? Read the full transcript of Sanja's interview at: https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/sanja-markovic
May 26, 2025 • 16min
Use a migration briefing document before you start working on a migration - with Nikki Halliwell
Nikki Halliwell shares the importance of using a migration briefing document before you start working on a migration.Talking points include:What are the key elements in a migration briefing document?Who do you work with?How do you sell the need for this?Where do you gather information from?What issues are likely to be solved by creating a migration briefing document?Read the full transcript of Nikki's interview at: https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/nikki-halliwell
May 23, 2025 • 17min
5 SEO tasks when migrating your site in 2025 - with Emma Russell
Emma Russell shares 5 SEO tasks when migrating your site in 2025.Emma's key points are:1. Understand if it’s an opportunity for growth2. Benchmarking what you have now3. List all of your requirements 4. Make friends with dev5. Test test testRead the full transcript of Emma's interview at: https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/emma-russell
May 22, 2025 • 17min
Do you have control of all of your domains? With Andrew Optimisey
Andrew Optimisey shares about he importance of controlling all of your domains.Talking points include:What does controlling all of your domains mean in practice?Who should be responsible for your domains?When should you buy a new domain and when should you build a new project on an existing domain?When should you change a domain for an existing project?When should you let a domain name expire?What do you do from an SEO perspective when you decide to let a domain name expire?What do you do if you have let an old domain expire, and you realise that this was a mistake. Is there any way to go back?What can you do if a spammer or scammer gets hold of your domain?What do you think of the newer domains - Is .com always best?When selecting a new domain, is brand or domain more important?Read the full transcript of Andrew's interview at: https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/andrew-cock-starkey
May 21, 2025 • 18min
Understand the cost as well as value of organic traffic - with Helen Pollitt
Helen Pollitt shares the importance of understanding the cost as well as value of organic traffic.Talking points include:What is the difference between the cost and value of organic traffic?Why do we need to know the cost?How do we calculate the value?What do you mean by organic traffic in all forms?How do you prefer to calculate ROI?How does this lead into defining an SEO strategy?How often should this work be done?How is it changing due to AI and new technology?Read the full transcript of Helen's interview at: https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/additional-insights/helen-pollitt
May 20, 2025 • 17min
It’s time to get serious about the internet and energy consumption - with Andy Frobisher
Andy Frobisher shares that it’s time to get serious about the internet and energy consumption.Talking points include:What companies are trying to go net zero?Does this have a positive business case?What does this mean for the overall size of pages on websites?What are the best ways to reduce the page speed of a web page in 2025?What does this mean for algorithms moving forward?What does this mean for SEO planning?How can Core Web vitals help us with this?How do we forecast a revenue increase or cost reduction as a result of reducing page speed?Read the full transcript of Andy's interview at: https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/andy-frobisher
May 19, 2025 • 17min
Inventory management is now more important then ever - with Bastian Grimm
Bastian Grimm shares that inventory management is now more important then ever.Talking points include:What do you mean by Inventory management?How do you know which content to focus on?What do Google do when they can’t keep up with crawling and indexing the web?Should you get rid of some content?What content should you get rid of?What’s an example of poor quality content, produced by AI?What is state-of-the-art AI that SEOs should be using?What parts of your SEO and content production should you be using AI for?How else can AI help with your SEO performance?Read the full transcript of Bastian's interview at: https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/bastian-grimm
