SEO in 2026

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500

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Oct 2026

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About the show

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

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 14, 202616 min

Never treat localization as the last step - Kseniya Dvarakouskaya

Kseniya Dvarakouskaya says that the biggest mistake in international SEO in 2026 is treating localization as the last step — real ranking growth in new markets starts with local keyword research from scratch, not translating what already works in English. Talking points include: Why translation is not localization when it comes to SEO — and where teams lose ranking potential - What local keyword research actually looks like (native speakers, local SERPs, market-specific search intent) - Cultural differences in search behavior — examples from Japanese, Korean, German, Spanish markets - Common mistakes: word-for-word translation of English keywords, ignoring local competitors, mixing Simplified and Traditional Chinese, using LATAM Spanish for Spain - Real case: what changes when the localization team is involved from day one vs at the end of the launch - How localization teams and SEO teams should collaborate in practice

October 7, 202619 min

Misinformation isn't just an SEO problem — it's a user safety problem - Sean Barber

In YMYL spaces like health, misinformation isn't just an SEO problem — it's a user safety problem. Macmillan Cancer Support shares how they proactively fight misinformation while staying visible in an AI-driven, zero-click search world. Talking points include: - Why is misinformation especially dangerous in YMYL sectors like health? - How does Macmillan approach content strategy proactively rather than reactively? - Which E-E-A-T signals matter most for building trust at scale? - How do you issue corrections without undermining user confidence? - How do you stay visible in AI-summarised, zero-click results? - What tools help you catch misinformation trends early? Read the full transcript of Sean's interview at https://majestic.com/seo-in-2026/additional-insights/sean-barber

September 30, 202616 min

Sitemaps are often treated as an afterthought - Carlos Manuel Sánchez Donate

Carlos Manuel Sánchez Donate shares that sitemaps are often treated as an afterthought, but they're a direct line of communication with both search engines and LLMs about what matters on your site. Splitting and customizing them by content type can unlock better crawl visibility and sharper Search Console auditing. Talking points: - Why do you think sitemaps are so underrated in SEO today? - How exactly do sitemaps help LLMs understand a site better than llms.txt? - What's your process for splitting content into separate sitemaps? - Any real example where sitemap segmentation improved indexing or visibility? - How do segmented sitemaps make Search Console auditing easier? - What's a common sitemap mistake you see sites making? Read the full transcript of Carlos's interview at https://majestic.com/seo-in-2026/additional-insights/carlos-sanchez-donate

September 23, 202615 min

Forget keywords. AEO is about going deep - Jenna Hannon

Jenna Hannon suggests that you forget keywords. AEO is about going deep: build public documentation on your site that answers every specific question a prospect might ask at each stage of the buying journey. Key talking points: What sort of public documentation are you referring to? How do you know the specific questions that your prospects might ask? How do you prioritise the questions to answer? How do you know the volume and type of content required to answer a question? How do you know how the questions map to the different stages of the buyer journey? How do you go about mapping the answers? Read the full transcript of Jenna's interview at https://majestic.com/seo-in-2026/additional-insights/jenna-hannon Watch the original SEOin2026 series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOr75FiG9ta37FH130S-qu3H9N0h7Ly0I Watch more SEOin2026: Additional Insights: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOr75FiG9ta3j5bYmsVBggEsBxwhGSX41

September 16, 202617 min

Build a translation layer beneath your site - Juliette van Rooyen

Juliette van Rooyen shares that we need to make sure categories and labels are clearly understood by AI & Search engines by adding a machine-readable layer that maps them to the entities and taxonomies the web already knows & trusts. Talking points include: What is a translation layer beneath your site? Why is it important to make sure your categories and labels are clearly understood by AI & Search engines? What does a "translation layer" mean, in practical terms? Why is this "translation layer" important enough to spend resources on? What data sources should you be mapping to? Does this apply just to eCommerce websites?

September 9, 202619 min

SEO Gets the Click. Trust Gets the Conversion - Irwin Hau

Irwin Hau shares that SEO gets the click, but trust gets the conversion. Talking points include: What do you mean by trust gets the conversion? Why do most websites fail despite strong SEO? What do you mean by the psychology behind trust and user behavior? How is AI changing search but not human decision-making? What are the subtle credibility mistakes hurting conversions? What are some small website changes that can dramatically improve results?

September 2, 202617 min

Going back to roots analysis thanks to consent-free analytics tools - Jean-Marc Courtiade

Jean-Marc Courtiade talks about the importance of going back to roots analysis thanks to consent-free analytics tools. Talking points include: What is a consent-free analytics tool? When is consent required? What data can we obtain on a consent-free basis? What countries is this relevant to? How do you blend all the data together to produce a complete picture? Is there still a place for asking for consent for certain data or is it not worth it?

August 26, 202615 min

Make sure that content quality is high across every page on your website - Astley Cervania

Astley Cervania talks about the importance of making sure that content quality is high across every page on your website. Talking points include: - The importance of maintaining your website and not just always prioritizing building out new content - Search engines don't evaluate pages in isolation – algorithm updates expose quality inconsistencies across your entire domain, so strong blog content alone won't compensate for neglected landing pages or thin programmatic content elsewhere on the site - Every page needs to earn its place, meaning addressing real search intent, writing that resonates, having a genuine POV, and a clear connection to a business outcome (e.g., user signups) - The practical takeaway: before focusing on building out lots of new content, look at what you already have. Prune what adds no value, revamp what's gone stale, and make sure every page on your site would pass your own quality bar.

August 19, 202618 min

Focus Beyond the Website: Shifting from Google Clicks to Multi-Platform Discovery - Sara Warneryd

Sara Warneryd shares the importance of shifting from Google clicks to multi-platform discovery. Talking points include: *Understanding Search as Discovery: Why user journeys are shifting from a single Google search to multi-platform exploration, and what this means for your brand. * Creating content for the platforms, not the click: How to format your knowledge so it delivers full value directly on Reddit, TikTok, or YouTube, keeping users engaged where they are. * Mapping High-Impact Sources: How to identify and prioritize the influential channels where your audience actually seeks advice

August 12, 202614 min

Don't forget: You're a marketer first and an SEO second - with Daisy Shevlin

Daisy Shevlin shares that you're a marketer first and an SEO second. Talking points include: What does being a marketer first really mean? Some SEOs' downfall is when it comes to relating how the work we do generates money for the business How do we do this? - AI search requires a more holistic approach to making your brand visible than ever before What does this holistic approach look like? How do we measure success? - You need to partner with stakeholders both within and outside the marketing organisation to be successful What partnerships are key and why?