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
Apr 30, 2024 • 17min
Raise the status of SEO within the business – with Ash Nallawalla
Ash Nallawalla from CRM911 Digital believes that SEO deserves a bit more recognition – and businesses will benefit greatly from giving SEO managers a bigger voice. Discussion points include:Where in a corporate structure should an SEO manager sit?What do they need to control?What do they need to influence?How do they manage to climb the organisation hierarchy?
Apr 29, 2024 • 16min
Ensure that SEO takes its rightful place as a strategic business function – with Helen Pollitt
Helen Pollitt says that you need to ensure that SEO takes its rightful place as a strategic business function.Discussion points include:Why has SEO been traditionally been considered a marketing channel?Why is it imperative that SEO is fully integrated into design, brand, engineering, customer services and UX teams?How should a company change their focus from "SEO as a marketing channel" to "SEO as a strategic business lever"?
Apr 26, 2024 • 19min
As an SEO you need to think like a product manager - with Gus Pelogia
Gus shares that you can improve your impact by taking inspiration from how product managers operate.Gus says: “Think like a product manager.""For me, it’s about following a process of discovery, testing, and seeing whether the things that you’re doing actually have an impact or not. Let’s say you believe that you can improve indexation on a website. That’s your hypothesis. Then, you’re going to start with the discovery phase: what are the possible things you can do to solve this problem? There are many different ways that you can do this, depending on the size of your website and the resources that you have."
Apr 25, 2024 • 16min
Foster a collaborative environment to achieve success – with Montserrat Cano
You can diversify your own approach and skillset, but International SEO and Digital Marketing Specialist Monsterrat Cano is a firm believer in strength in numbers. It’s foolish to work alone, she says.Discussion points include:Can every SEO collaborate - even in-house SEOs working by themselves?How do you collaborate during a- migration process- recession- algorithm update- tech integration
Apr 24, 2024 • 18min
Learn from what's currently ranking, but offer something different with your content - Ashley Segura
In this episode David and Ashley discuss the importance of learning from what's currently ranking, but offer something different with your content.Discussion points include:How do you learn what you should be ranking for?How do you learn what’s currently ranking?How do you offer something different with your content?How do you know that search engines will prefer your content?What type of content tends to be more effective nowadays?How often should you update your content?
Apr 23, 2024 • 14min
Start integrating video into your SEO strategy – with Sara Taher
If you’re looking for a new weapon to add to your arsenal, Sara Taher from Assembly Global says that video is the way to go. She believes that this is where users and search engines are turning their attention.Sara says: “Integrate video content into your SEO strategy, be it long-form, short-form, vertical, horizontal, or square videos.”"You want to leverage video on the SERPs themselves and also on other platforms as well – like YouTube and TikTok. You basically want to create video content that you can also post on your website. For each of those, there are values that they are going to bring to your business."
Apr 22, 2024 • 17min
SEOs need to know about Performance Max ads - with Navah Hopkins
Navah Hopkins believes that SEOs need to know about Performance Max ads.Discussion points include:What are Performance Max ads?What will iOS17 do for tracking and attribution of your marketing campaigns?What creative works best? Ad or landing page perspective or both?Why are they different?What does adapting content to visual first placements mean?Why are they better?Is there any downside?Why are they important for SEO?How should paid and SEO work together?
Apr 19, 2024 • 22min
Use multimedia to slice across channels - with Crystal Carter
Crystal Carter believes that you should be using multimedia to slice across your marketing channels.Discussion points include:What do you mean by slicing?Does multimedia work for every type of content?What stage in the customer journey does multimedia content work for?Does multimedia replace content?Do you mean multimedia off site?What does the ideal content production process look like?How is AI changing multimedia content?
Apr 18, 2024 • 17min
Befriend other marketeers and go holistic - with Izzy Wisniewska
Izzy Wisniewska believes that you should befriend other marketeers and go holistic in 2024.Talking points include:What does holistic actually mean in practice?How do you unite as a marketing department in a large organisation?How does a content team, PR team, video team join forces with sEO to deliver a more effective customer experience?What other teams impact areas like:EEAT, technical performance, user experience, speed, user intent, content qualityWhat does this mean for channel team members - do they need to train themselves on other channels?How do you measure success?Who gets credit for a customer purchase?
Apr 17, 2024 • 18min
Know your audience, meet their search intent & ensure your content is “Helpful” - Sukhjinder Singh
In this episode, David and Sukhjinder discuss the importance of knowing your audience, meet their search intent & ensure your content is “Helpful”.Discussion points include:Why is knowing your audience and meeting their search intent even more important in the age of SGE?How do you know your audience?How do you meet their intent?How do you ensure that your content is helpful for both users and search engines?What does having E.E.A.T.-worthy content actually mean?How is this changing in 2024 and beyond?
