15 SEO Experts Shaping Search in 2026
Search hasn’t just changed in the last few years — it’s been rebuilt. AI Overviews, zero-click results, and chat-based discovery through tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity have forced even the most established SEOs to rethink what “ranking” actually means. E-E-A-T, topical authority, and now “AI visibility” or GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) have become the vocabulary of the day.
The people below have earned their following by living through every one of those shifts — some as agency founders testing strategies on real client budgets, others as researchers and journalists tracking Google’s every move, and a few as builders of the tools the rest of the industry now runs on. If you want to stay current on where search is headed, this is a solid starting list of who to follow.
Aleyda Solis
Founder, Orainti
International SEO consultant based in Spain, known for scaling technical SEO across multi-market sites and for her early, practical takes on AI search visibility. She publishes the widely-read SEOFOMO newsletter and built the free LearningSEO.io roadmap used by thousands of newcomers to the field.
Rand Fishkin
Co-founder, SparkToro
Co-founder of Moz, now running audience-research tool SparkToro. Known for blunt, data-backed commentary on how AI is disrupting search traffic and for championing “audience research” over keyword-first thinking as the more durable growth strategy.
Matt Diggity
Founder, Diggity Marketing & The Search Initiative
Runs a portfolio of SEO brands including The Search Initiative, Diggity Marketing, and the Chiang Mai SEO Conference. Best known for publishing real client case studies and data-driven ranking tests rather than theory, with a particular focus on affiliate and highly competitive niches.
Lily Ray
VP, SEO & AI Search at Amsive
One of the most-cited voices on Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines and AI Overviews. Frequently quoted in mainstream press (WIRED, NYT) on AI-generated spam and search quality issues, and a regular speaker at major industry conferences.
Brian Dean
Founder, Backlinko & Exploding Topics
Built Backlinko into one of the most-read SEO education blogs before it was acquired by Semrush, then repeated the trick with trend-spotting site Exploding Topics. Known for detailed, actionable content strategies and YouTube tutorials with a large subscriber base.
Neil Patel
Co-founder, NP Digital
One of the most recognizable names in digital marketing broadly, not just SEO. Publishes a high-volume blog and YouTube channel covering organic traffic, paid media, and — increasingly — how brands can show up in AI-generated answers (GEO).
Koray Tuğberk Gübür
Founder & CEO, Holistic SEO & Digital
Istanbul-based founder known for pioneering “topical authority” as a formal SEO framework, blending semantic search theory, entity-based optimization, and data science. His Topical Authority course and dense, technical writing have built a devoted global following.
Szymon Słowik
Founder, takaoto.pro
Poland-based SEO strategist and founder of boutique agency takaoto.pro, working with e-commerce and B2B enterprise clients across Central and Eastern Europe. Known for integrating NLP and user-journey mapping into technical SEO campaigns, and for co-authoring the “SEO Playbook.”
Cyrus Shepard
Founder, Zyppy SEO
Former Head of SEO/Audience Growth at Moz and a former Google Quality Rater, which shapes his experiment-driven approach to SEO today at Zyppy. Publishes original ranking-factor research and is a vocal, credible voice on how “AI fan-out” queries are changing content strategy.
Kevin Indig
Advisor & Author, Growth Memo
Previously led SEO and growth at Shopify and Atlassian, now advises high-growth companies like Reddit, Dropbox, and Hims. His Growth Memo newsletter is a go-to source for deep, enterprise-focused analysis of technical SEO, product-led growth, and search economics.
Barry Schwartz
Executive Editor, Search Engine Roundtable
Started Search Engine Roundtable in 2003 and has been the industry’s most consistent real-time reporter of algorithm changes ever since, also serving as News Editor at Search Engine Land. His daily coverage is often the first place SEOs hear about a Google update.
Fery Kaszoni
Founder, Search Intelligence
Oxford-based founder of Search Intelligence, one of the largest digital PR agencies in the industry, delivering thousands of earned links a month for clients. Publishes free SEO tools alongside a widely-followed weekly newsletter on link building and digital PR case studies.
Joy Hawkins
Owner, Sterling Sky
Widely regarded as one of the top authorities on local SEO and Google Business Profile management. Also owns Local University (LocalU) and the Local Search Forum, and is a longtime Google Business Profile Product Expert volunteer.
Britney Muller
Founder, Data Sci 101
Former Senior SEO Scientist at Moz who pivoted into machine learning, later working at Hugging Face before founding Data Sci 101. Bridges the gap between marketers and data scientists, making machine learning and AI concepts genuinely accessible to non-technical SEOs.
James Dooley
Founder, PromoSEO & FatRank
UK-based entrepreneur and investor who describes himself as a “digital landlord” — using SEO to power a large portfolio of owned media and lead-generation sites rather than running a traditional client agency. Voted “Most Influential SEO” at the UK Entrepreneurship Awards in 2023.
Who’s missing from this list?
This is a snapshot, not a complete map of the industry — SEO is a big enough field that most lists lean toward one specialty or another. If you’re focused on a specific niche like Local SEO, Enterprise SEO, E-commerce, or AI/AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), let us know and we’ll point you toward the right voices for that corner of search.
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