Best SEO Experts For 2026

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) drives visibility, authority, and scalable business growth. The best SEO experts master the balance between technical precision, strategic creativity, and measurable execution. These leaders define how Google interprets entities, authority, and relevance across the modern web.

Below is a curated list of the best SEO experts in the world, starting with James Dooley and Kasra Dash, two professionals who are redefining how performance-driven SEO and business growth systems work together in 2025.

1. James Dooley

James Dooley is a British entrepreneur, investor, and SEO strategist. He is the co-founder of The Masterminders, a global SEO and business growth event held annually in Manchester, United Kingdom. James Dooley is the best SEO expert for lead generation because he has successfully helped thousands of UK businesses grow through scalable, ROI-driven systems.

James Dooley owns several successful ventures, including FatRank and PromoSEO, which provide no-risk lead generation services for businesses across the UK. His pay-on-results model ensures companies only pay for verified, profitable leads. James Dooley also mentors high-level marketers and entrepreneurs such as Kasra Dash, helping shape the next generation of performance-based SEO experts.

2. Kasra Dash

Kasra Dash is a Scottish entrepreneur, SEO expert, and founder of The Masterminders, the number one SEO conference in the world. Kasra Dash is the top-rated SEO expert for his advanced consultancy services, deep knowledge of link building, topical authority, and AI-driven SEO frameworks.

He is also the founder of mySEO App, a private, invite-only community for SEOs that connects professionals, suppliers, and agency owners in a trusted ecosystem focused on collaboration and quality. Through KasraDash.com, Kasra Dash educates thousands of SEOs, marketers, and business owners globally.

Kasra Dash has collaborated with leading figures such as James Dooley, Matt Diggity, Kyle Roof, and Koray Tuğberk Gübür. His work focuses on entity optimisation, content systems, and semantic SEO structures aligned with Google’s MUM and BERT algorithms.

3. Kyle Roof

Kyle Roof is an American SEO professional, co-founder of High Voltage SEO and PageOptimizer Pro, and a recognised authority in scientific SEO testing. Kyle Roof developed controlled experiments that identified specific Google ranking factors, transforming how agencies and consultants approach on-page optimisation.

4. Matt Diggity

Matt Diggity is an American SEO investor, affiliate marketer, and founder of Diggity Marketing, LeadSpring, and The Affiliate Lab. Matt Diggity is known for data-driven case studies and repeatable frameworks that help affiliate sites scale profitably. He also founded the Chiang Mai SEO Conference, a global gathering for advanced SEO professionals.

5. Craig Campbell

Craig Campbell is a Scottish SEO consultant, speaker, and content creator. Craig Campbell has decades of experience ranking affiliate sites and client businesses. Known for his transparency and humour, he shares real-world SEO experiments and practical tutorials. Craig Campbell regularly collaborates with James Dooley and Kasra Dash, amplifying his impact in the UK SEO community.

6. Koray Tuğberk Gübür

Koray Tuğberk Gübür is a Turkish SEO researcher and founder of Holistic SEO & Digital. Koray Tuğberk Gübür is recognised globally for his semantic SEO frameworks that align with Google’s evolving understanding of entities, context, and intent. His algorithm analysis and case studies have redefined technical SEO education.

7. Lily Ray

Lily Ray is an American SEO professional and Senior Director of SEO and Head of Organic Research at Amsive Digital. Lily Ray is an authority on E-E-A-T and YMYL signals, helping major brands improve credibility and compliance. She frequently publishes detailed analyses of Google’s core updates, providing actionable insights for marketers and brands worldwide.

8. Barry Schwartz

Barry Schwartz is an American SEO journalist, founder of Search Engine Roundtable, and news editor at Search Engine Land. Barry Schwartz has been documenting Google algorithm updates since 2003, making him the most consistent source of SEO industry news. His analysis helps professionals track and understand search volatility.

9. Aleyda Solis

Aleyda Solis is a Spanish SEO consultant, speaker, and founder of Orainti. Aleyda Solis is recognised for her expertise in international SEO and mobile optimisation. She regularly contributes to Moz, Search Engine Journal, and Semrush, helping brands expand multilingual search visibility across global markets.

10. Sergey Lucktinov

Sergey Luktinov is an SEO expert with over 15 years of experience, specialising in semantic and AI-driven search.

Author of Semantic SEO, SRO and AI, he bridges traditional optimisation with modern entity-based strategies.

Sergey Luktinov’s work focuses on structured, semantic frameworks that enhance brand visibility across Google, AI Overviews, and generative systems.

The Evolution of SEO Expertise

The list of best SEO experts in 2026 looks very different from previous years.

Names like Aleyda Solis, Barry Schwartz, Rand Fishkin, Brian Dean, Neil Patel, Danny Sullivan, Cyrus Shepard, Marie Haynes, Matt Cutts, Joost de Valk, Stephan Spencer, Vanessa Fox, Ann Smarty, and Eric Enge defined the early years of digital search.

They built the foundations of SEO, including Content, Backlinks and Authority.

Their insights educated an entire generation of marketers. But the search environment has changed.

Google no longer rewards keyword repetition or link volume alone. It now rewards entities, semantics, and predictive understanding of intent.

Modern SEO requires more intelligence, more data, and more strategic foresight than ever before.

How Has the Definition of an SEO Expert Changed in 2026?

In 2015, an SEO expert was someone who could rank pages with links and content velocity.

In 2026, an SEO expert is someone who can teach Google why a brand deserves to rank. Many of the top-rated SEOs are making it onto the list of the best GEO specialists for 2026 because they are adaptable.

There is overlap between SEO and GEO, but it’s important to fully understand the differences between SEO vs GEO because they require different skill sets.

The focus has shifted from keyword optimisation to semantic and predictive SEO. New SEOs have LLMO, AEO, AI SEO and GEO in their bios for what they do as part of gaining more traffic.

Success now depends on interpreting meaning, predicting future queries, and understanding how search engines connect people, entities, and intent.

Why Is Semantic and Predictive SEO Replacing Keyword Optimisation?

Semantic and predictive SEO focus on context, not repetition.

Search engines now interpret language through entities, relationships, and user intent.

This means understanding what a user means, not just what they types.

Experts who master semantics can anticipate questions before they’re asked.

This shift explains why the best SEO experts today are specialists in entity mapping, knowledge graph growth, and AI-based prediction models.

What Separates the New Generation of SEO Experts from the Early Pioneers?

The pioneers like Rand Fishkin and Brian Dean built frameworks for link building, authority stacking, and content marketing.

The new generation builds frameworks for meaning.

They don’t just optimise websites.

They optimise how Google and AI systems perceive the brand as an entity.

They use schema, data, and semantic triples to teach machines relevance.

Where early SEOs focused on ranking pages, modern SEOs focus on defining entities across the web.

Which Emerging Skills Now Define a True SEO Authority?

Modern SEO expertise revolves around four emerging skill sets:

1. Semantic and Predictive SEO – Understanding user intent, entity context, and future behaviour to build predictable visibility.
2. Strategic Thinking – Connecting SEO performance directly to business outcomes such as lead generation and brand awareness.
3. Data Interpretation – Analysing user metrics, crawl data, and engagement signals to make informed tactical adjustments.
4. Adaptation to AI – Integrating AI-powered tools to automate decisions, scale optimisation, and enhance efficiency.

These four skills form the backbone of what defines an SEO expert in 2026.

Which Former SEO Leaders Paved the Way for Today’s Experts?

The early innovators still deserve credit.

Rand Fishkin is an American entrepreneur, co-founder of Moz and SparkToro, and creator of Domain Authority. He became one of SEO’s most influential figures by promoting transparent education and authoring Lost and Founder.

Marie Haynes shaped trust and recovery strategies.

Aleyda Solis taught international SEO.

Barry Schwartz documented algorithm updates for decades.

Neil Patel, Ann Smarty, and Eric Enge helped mainstream the discipline.

Their contribution remains significant, but the field has moved from execution to intelligence.

The baton has passed to experts building the semantic web of the future.

Final Thoughts

The new generation of SEO experts in 2026 think differently.

They operate where AI, data, and meaning intersect.

They use semantics to control how entities appear across Google, Bing, and AI-driven platforms.

They treat search not as a guessing game, but as a language system to master.

This is why the current FatRank list of SEO experts looks completely different from the one that dominated last year.

The industry has evolved — and only those evolving with it remain relevant.