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
Aug 28, 2024 • 16min
Create the best content, and you'll succeed regardless of changing rules - Ana Llorente
SEO is constantly evolving, but one thing remains constant: Google's goal is to provide the best results for users. While the signals (CTR, time on page, etc.) may change, Google's focus on quality does not. By creating the best content, you'll succeed regardless of changing rules.David and Ana discuss:How do you optimize for Google to provide the best results to users?How does Google measure quality?How do you create the best content?What type of content works best nowadays?How do you know that you’ve created the best content?What do you track to ensure that you’re consistently measuring the best content?How do you build content creation into an SEO strategy?Hoow do you measure success?
Aug 21, 2024 • 17min
Use AI to gain deeper insights into user intent and refine your keyword strategy - Azahara Corrales
David and Azahara discuss the importance of using AI to gain deeper insights into user intent and refine your keyword strategy.Talking points include:How do you use AI to gain deeper insights into user intent?How do you ensure that you’re targeting the right users?How does this lead on to refining your keyword strategy?How do you make sure that keywords aren’t missed?What do you mean by a cohesive approach?What AI tools do you use?How do you continue to refine your approach?What are the advantages of this versus a more traditional approach?What are your thoughts on how your approach will continue to evolve in the future?
Aug 14, 2024 • 17min
Why you shouldn't let your technical SEO slip after the Helpful Content Update - Andy Frobisher
David and Andy discuss why you shouldn't let your technical SEO slip after the Helpful Content Update.Talking points include:Google launched the Helpful Content Update in mid-2022. What was that about, and has anything changed since then?How has the helpful content changed SEO?Why do you say that you shouldn't let your technical SEO slip after the Helpful Content Update?What are the key aspects of technical SEO that yo9u shouldn’t let slip?Is this the same for every industry?How do you track technical SEO success?
Aug 7, 2024 • 17min
It's crucial to diversify your content strategy in the age of AI - with Carlos Estevez
David and Carlos discuss why it's crucial to diversify your content strategy in the age of AI.Talking points include:How would you summarise the way that AI is transforming content marketing?Why diversify your content strategy with video?Why did you mention TikTok first?What does a good TikTok SEO strategy look like?Why does this fit into the customer journey?What other video platforms do you recommend?How do you measure the impact of a video SEO strategy?How do you think that this will continue to evolve over the coming year?
Jul 31, 2024 • 16min
Accept you don't know what is going on - with Kalin Karakehayov
David and Kalin discuss the importance of accepting that you don't always know what is going on.Talking points include:What do you mean by that?What precisely do you have to accept you don't know what is going on?Why does this matter?How does this impact the way that you actively do SEO?How does this impact the software that you work with?How does this impact your strategy?How does this impact the way that you manage a team?To turn your tip around, what should you know that is going on?
Jul 24, 2024 • 18min
Ensure your link-building strategies align with user needs rather than algorithms - Tamara Novitović
David and Tamara discuss the importance of ensuring that your link-building strategies align with user needs rather than algorithms.Talking points include:How do you align your link-building strategies with user needs?What kind of user needs are you referring to?You talk about evading spam risks during core updates - what spam risks are you talking about and can you give me an example of a core update that has made it more likely for a site to be flagged as a spammer?Should you just target your link building strategies at driving traffic now?What mistakes do you tend to see with link building strategies?What link building strategies tend to work best now?What metrics track user-focused link-building success for SEO?How is link building changing in the world of AI?
Jul 17, 2024 • 19min
Expand your content ideation and keyword research beyond Google - with Rejoice Ojiaku
David and Rejoice discuss why you should expand your content ideation and keyword research beyond Google.Talking points include:What do you mean by Social Media SEO?How do people begin their searches on social media?How do you track this?How can you determine the most appropriate content ideas to be targeting?How do you optimise for social media?Where does this fit into the customer journey?Do you find that people use Google search as well, further down the buyer journey?Can you determine keyword volumes?How can you forecast likely results based on what you intend to target?
Jul 10, 2024 • 17min
Utilise your internal data to find exactly what your customers want - with Naomi Francis Parker
David and Naomi discuss the importance of using your internal data to find exactly what your customers want.Talking points include:What internal data should you be utilising?What are examples of wishes that you’ve discovered that customers are looking for?What sort of experience are you talking about when you’re saying that this is what you should use to address this?What systems and tools do you use to make this procedure more effective?What measurable impact does this have on SEO?Competitors - how do you know that their content is hitting it out of the park?
Jul 3, 2024 • 17min
Break the built-in failure cycle and run campaigns that delight your client - with Lucia Dello
David and Lucia discuss the importance of breaking the built-in failure cycle and running campaigns that delight your client.Talking points include:What is the built-in failure cycle?What causes it?What can you do to stop it and change it?What are examples of campaigns that delight a client?How do you make this more likely to happen in the future?How do you replicate this or automate this?
Jun 26, 2024 • 18min
TTR - Time to Result - is key when planning page content - with Dan Taylor
David and Dan discuss why Time to Result - is key when planning page content.Talking points include:What do you specifically mean by TTR - it sounds like Largest Contentful Paint!What are the key ways to ensure that the user’s key initial focus is on the content that is likely to satisfy their query?What are some of the mistakes that websites make to distract users from what they’re looking for?How can SEOs help to avoid this?How can you measure the impact of this from an SEO perspective?How does this impact best practice for mobile design?How will user satisfaction continue to impact SEO success in the future?
