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 15, 2024 • 16min
Target low volume, high ROI keywords - with Araminta Robertson
Araminta Robertson shares with David Bain the importance of targeting low volume, high ROI keywords in 2024.Key discussion points include:Why focus on keywords that have under 50 searches per month?What’s your perspective on targeting zero-volume keywords?How do you know if keywords are likely to be high ROI?How do you go about interviewing your salespeople or conducting customer research?What do you mean by targeting them with in-depth content?What tools do you use to assist you with this process?
May 14, 2024 • 17min
Prepare a database for your brand, company, product, service, offering & yourself - Olesia Korobka
David and Olesia discuss why you should build a database for your brand, company, product, service, offering & yourself.Talking points include:What is this database for?Is this for search engines?How does it help you understand your:- own marketing positioning,- Voice- customers better.Is this what users want instead of the SERP?
May 13, 2024 • 18min
Learn to work with large volumes of data and assess scale - with Pedro Dias
David and Pedro discuss the importance of learning to work with large volumes of data and assess scale.Talking points include:AI will gradually empower content creators to produce at scale, and SEOs to analyse large volumes of data - how?It's important to know what can be automated - what can, what can’t?It's time to move past algorithm-chasing and correlations - for every industry?Does every SEO have do learn to work with large volumes of data and assess scale?
May 10, 2024 • 20min
How to use SEO Data to improve processes & prevent future damage - with Marco Giordano
David and Marco discuss how to use SEO Data to improve processes and prevent future damage.Marco says: “Use SEO data to improve processes and prevent future damage."What SEO data are we talking about here?“Mostly Search Console data, analytics, and crawl data from a crawler like Screaming Frog. If possible, you should be integrating non-SEO data as well.Non-SEO data is any data that is not purely SEO: customer data, sales data, etc. It could be content information, like the author of a given article, which can still provide a lot of value for SEO.”
May 9, 2024 • 16min
Google algorithms are all about signal input - with Kaspar Szymanski
David and Kaspar discuss why Google algorithms are all about signal input.Talking points include:What is signal input?How can SEOs control signal input?Google seems to issue more and more penalties all the time. Should SEOs be worried?Does Bing Search matter?Does any other search engine matter?Once the latest hype fades, what does really count in SEO?What is hype and what is something that matters - and how do you tell the difference?Performance or Backlinks - what's more important?
May 8, 2024 • 16min
Stop focusing on links and link numbers and instead, focus on strategy - Lau Miguez
Lau Miguez shares with David Bain that in 2024 you should stop focusing on links and link numbers and instead, focus on strategy.Discussion points include:Why shouldn’t you focus on links and link numbers?What do you mean by focus on strategy?What does your strategy look like?How does the strategy that you recommend result in more, better quality links?What links are more effective nowadays?How do you measure the impact of your activities?
May 7, 2024 • 18min
What are the key elements of getting set up with your analytics? | Krzysztof Marzec
David and Krzysztof discuss the key elements of getting set up with your analytics.Talking points include:What are the key elements of getting set up with your analytics?What is your definition of a bounce rate?How do you merge analytics with Google Search Console data?How do you record user sessions with Microsoft Clarity?What metrics are you tracking on a regular basis?What are the pros and cons with GA4?What other options do Microsoft Clarity bring to the table?
May 3, 2024 • 16min
Start doing SEO testing to prove the SEO concepts you preach - Olga Zarr (SEOin2024)
David and Olga discuss the importance of doing SEO testing to prove the SEO concepts you preach.Talking points include:How do you know what to test?How do you test?What software do you use?How long should tests last?How often should you test?What shouldn’t you test?What don’t you test yet, but do you intend to test in the future?
May 2, 2024 • 15min
Strive to achieve stakeholder buy-in in an ever evolving SERP - Sally Raymer (SEOin2024)
David and Sally discuss the importance of striving to achieve stakeholder buy-in in an ever-evolving SERP.Talking points include:Why is this important?Who are the key stakeholders?How do you achieve stakeholder buy-in?How do you appeal to different stakeholders?How do you continue to work with different stakeholders?How does this impact the role of SEO moving forward?Why does the ever-evolving SERP landscape make this necessary?
May 1, 2024 • 16min
Diversify your traffic sources - with Elena Dyulgerova
According to Elena Dyulgerova, it;s essential that you diversify your traffic sources in 2024.Talking points include:Where are the best sources to diversify traffic sources from?What are the most valuable sources of traffic?How does Pinterest optimization work best in 2024?Is Pinterest only for e-commerce?How does this differ by industry?How do you optimise for different platforms?
