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
Mar 10, 2025 • 15min
Don't forget the human touch - with Desmond Boateng
Desmond Boateng shares the importance of not forgetting the human touch, hosted by David Bain.Discussion points include:How do you know when to use the human touch and when to rely on AI and automation?When does the use of AI go too far?You say that Google is smart enough to recognize your AI content - surely if you’re subtle with your use of AI content then this won’t be obvious to Google?How do you go about demonstrating the human touch?How does incorporating the human touch make a positive difference to Google?Are there other search engines that you focus on too, or primarily Google?
Mar 7, 2025 • 16min
The return to Human Written Content - with Julia Carolin-Zeng
In this episode, Julia Carolin-Zeng discusses the return to human written content, how the flood of AI content has caused a decrease in qualityand seeing a return to content written by humans with a human voice.Talking points include:How do you measure this decrease in quality?Is AI not getting better and better?How can human writers possibly compete with the speed of AI?What does “with a human voice mean”?What aspects of human writing can compete with AI?Are search engines not ambivalent nowadays if something has been written by AI - is it not just all about user experience?What is your process for creating an article?
Mar 6, 2025 • 15min
SEO in 2025 is about task completion and query satisfaction - with Arnout Hellemans
Arnout Hellemans shares that SEO in 2025 is a lot about task completion and query satisfaction. This means that UX and CRO will start to play an even bigger part in the ordering of documents.Discussion points include:What do you mean that SEO in 2025 is a lot about task completion and query satisfaction?How do you optimize for task completion and query satisfaction?What role will UX and CRO play in SEOWhat metrics will Google look at specifically?What are some examples of UX and CRO improvements that a site can make? How do you measure the impact of the improvements for UX and CRO that you make?How does UX and CRO impact the overall content strategy?How should an SEO with in-house UX and CRO teams?Where does brand fit in?
Mar 5, 2025 • 17min
Focus on creating original, expert-driven content with real stories and insights - with Jade Pruett
Jade Pruett shares the importance of focusing on creating original, expert-driven content with real stories and insights - and that Google rewards value over keyword stuffing.Discussion points include:What does the best original content look like at the moment?What do you mean by expert-driven content?Can you use internal and external experts?What kind of real stories and insights do Google prefer?What is your preferred way of producing this type of content?Should we try to produce vide, audio and written content at the same time?How do you structure your content for maximum impact? (Visual content and coding)Do you advise creating social posts from this content?How does expert-driven content fit into a marketing strategy?
Mar 4, 2025 • 19min
In 2025, SEO strategies will prioritise user experience - Fabio Embalo
In this episode, Fabio Embalo shares that in 2025, SEO strategies will prioritise user experience, leverage AI-driven content and branding synergy, and emphasise mobile-first indexing, as search engines evolve to deeply understand user intent and content relevance.Discussion points include:How do we use AI and Machine Learning to analyse search trends?And what about content strategies - how do we use AI and Machine Learning to refine that?Can we use it to better understand user intent?How is search changing through the more prominent use of visual and voice search?And how is mobile use evolving and how is that impacting SEO?How do you optimise for user experience?Is quality always better than quantity?Where does branding fit into this?
Mar 3, 2025 • 16min
Accessibility will be a ranking factor - Heike Knip
According to Heike Knip's conversation with David Bain, accessibility will be a ranking factor in 2025.Topics discussed include:Why will Accessibility be a ranking factor?How important will it be?What does Accessibility seem more important now than it used to be?How will it impact rankings?What legislation is going to enforce this?What will SEOs and UX professionals have to do to comply with the law?How will they know that their accessibility has improved?What software can they use to monitor their site accessibility performance?What software can they use to find new accessibility issues?Read the full transcript of Heike's interview at https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/heike-knip
Feb 28, 2025 • 16min
Optimize both for both search engines and users - with Sara Fernández Carmona
Sara Fernández Carmona shares the importance of optimizing for both search engines and users. Hosted by David Bain.Discussion points include:How would you define accessibility?In 2025, the European Union will enforce the European Accessibility Act - how would you summarise that and what does that mean for SEOs?What are the areas that providing good accessibility offers beyond visual impairments?-Cognitive disabilities: clear and straightforward content benefits those with cognitive challenges.-Auditory disabilities: transcripts and captions make audio content accessible.-Motor disabilities: ensuring keyboard navigability helps users who cannot use a mouse.-Temporary disabilities and situational impairments: accessibility also addresses temporary disabilities and situational impairments: for example, a person with a broken arm might find it difficult to use a mouse but can navigate via keyboard, and a parent holding a baby might need to use voice commands instead of touch gestures.And does inclusive language form part of this?What are the business benefits?What are some practical steps to get started with better accessibility today?
Feb 27, 2025 • 16min
Accessibility is sexy again (with the changes to the European Accessibility Act) - Billie Geena Hyde
Billie Geena Hyde shares that Accessibility is sexy again (with the changes to the European Accessibility Act). Hosted by David Bain.Discussion points include:What changes have we seen to the European Accessibility Act?How does this affect SEOs?What are examples of the real data and facts around accessibility?How do we measure the value of improving accessibility?What are some big opportunities for SEOs?Can we use AI to assist with this?How does this fit into a digital strategy?
Feb 26, 2025 • 16min
Adapt to AI search trends with strong brand authority - Yordan Dimitrov
Yordan Dimitrov shares the importance of adapting to AI search trends with strong brand authority.Discussion points include:What AI search trends are you referring to?How do you adapt to AI search trends with strong brand authority?What does strong brand authority look like?How do you measure strong brand authority in the age of AI?How will AI search trends continue to evolve?How will this impact the need to continue to adapt as a brand?What are the key elements to creating a successful brand in 2025?
Feb 25, 2025 • 16min
Customer Experience is the Alpha and Omega of SEO in 2025 - with Martina Zrzavá Libřická
Martina Zrzavá Libřická shares that Customer Experience is the Alpha and Omega of SEO in 2025 - with David Bain.Discussion points include:What does Customer Experience becoming the Alpha and Omega of SEO actually mean in practice?Why is customer experience so important to SEO?What data should SEOs be looking for to find out more about their users?Which other in-house teams should you involve to make this a success?What information are you looking to find out from customers?What should you do with this information?How should this data impact their SEO strategy?How do SEOs know if this work has been a success?Can you measure the success from revenue or more traditional SEO metrics?How will customer experience continue to evolve in 2025?
