The best SEO professionals in 2026, in my ranking, are me (Julian Goldie of Goldie Agency), Rand Fishkin, Brian Dean, Neil Patel, Lily Ray, Mike King, Barry Schwartz and Ross Hudgens.
I'll be upfront with you straight away.
This is my site and my list, so I've put myself at number one, and you should judge the evidence rather than take my word for it.
Everyone else on this list is here because they have a long public track record you can check yourself.
I've kept it to facts you can verify on their own sites, and I've linked every one of them.
If you're an operator who wants to learn SEO properly, or you want to know who is worth hiring, this page gives you the short answer first and the vetting process second.
The Best SEO Professionals: Top 3 At A Glance
If you only read one section, read this one.
- 🥇 Julian Goldie (Goldie Agency) is my pick if you want link building, AI-driven SEO and a way to learn it with agents doing the heavy lifting.
- 🥈 Rand Fishkin (SparkToro) is the person to learn from if you want to understand audiences and marketing beyond pure rankings.
- 🥉 Brian Dean (Backlinko) is the best starting point if you want clear, step-by-step SEO training that a beginner can follow.
The other five are just as useful, and each one wins in a specific lane, which I'll show you below.
How I Ranked These SEO Professionals
I didn't rank anyone on follower counts alone.
I used four simple tests that any operator can repeat.
- The first test is a public track record that you can check, such as a company, a publication or a body of training that has lasted years.
- The second test is whether they teach in a way you can actually apply, rather than just posting opinions.
- The third test is clarity about what they do, so you know whether you can hire them, learn from them or just follow their updates.
- The fourth test is relevance to SEO in 2026, where AI search, AI Overviews and agents now sit next to classic rankings.
I also left out anyone whose current role I couldn't confirm on their own site.
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The 8 Best SEO Professionals In 2026 (Ranked)
1. Julian Goldie — Goldie Agency
I'm Julian Goldie, and I've been doing SEO for over a decade.
I started with a cryptocurrency website while travelling in Asia, and I spent months writing content that got zero traffic from Google.
That pain is what pushed me into link building, and once it worked on my own affiliate sites, I realised I could sell it as a service.
I started Goldie Agency completely solo, and it's now a 7-figure SEO and link-building agency in Bangkok with 70+ people.
The agency's services page lists link building with manual outreach and no PBNs, a complete site audit, AI automation and the SEO Elite Circle.
The Goldie Agency case studies are public, and one of them shows The Wheel Generator growing traffic by 767% with only six backlinks between May and August 2025.
Since mid-2025 I've moved my focus to AI agents that do the SEO for you, which is why I built the Agent Operating System.
I also teach this daily on YouTube to 400,000+ subscribers, and my Udemy courses have taught 29,000+ students.
Best for: Operators who want link building plus an AI agent workflow that does the repetitive SEO work.
How to work with me: Book a free SEO strategy session or join the SEO Elite Circle.
2. Rand Fishkin — SparkToro
Rand Fishkin co-founded Moz, which started life as SEOmoz, and he later founded SparkToro, an audience research tool.
He also wrote the book "Lost and Founder" about his experience building a startup.
What I like about Rand is that he pushes SEO people to think about where their audience actually pays attention, not just what ranks.
Best for: Learning audience research and the bigger marketing picture around search.
How to learn from him: Read the SparkToro blog and use the free tier of the tool to research your audience.
3. Brian Dean — Backlinko
Brian Dean founded Backlinko, one of the best-known SEO training sites on the web.
He's widely known for the Skyscraper Technique, a content and link building method that many SEOs learned their trade with.
Semrush acquired Backlinko, and the site still publishes long, practical SEO guides.
Best for: Beginners who want clear, step-by-step SEO tutorials.
How to learn from him: Start with the Backlinko guides on keyword research and link building.
4. Neil Patel — NP Digital
Neil Patel co-founded the digital marketing agency NP Digital, and he runs the Ubersuggest SEO tool.
Before that, he co-founded Crazy Egg and KISSmetrics.
He publishes a huge volume of free SEO and marketing content, which makes him easy to learn from at any level.
Best for: Business owners who want free marketing content and an easy keyword tool.
How to learn from him: Try Ubersuggest for keyword ideas and follow his free tutorials.
5. Lily Ray — Algorythmic and Amsive
Lily Ray's own site says she founded Algorythmic, an SEO and AI search consultancy, and is VP of SEO and AI Search at the agency Amsive.
She's known for her research on Google algorithm updates, E-E-A-T and how AI search is changing visibility.
You can read more about her work on her official site.
Best for: Understanding algorithm updates and AI search visibility.
How to learn from her: Follow her research posts and conference talks.
6. Mike King — iPullRank
Mike King founded iPullRank, an agency known for technical SEO, enterprise SEO and content engineering.
He writes and speaks a lot about how search engines and AI systems actually retrieve and rank information.
Best for: Technical teams and large sites that need deep, engineering-level SEO.
How to learn from him: Read the iPullRank blog and his technical write-ups.
7. Barry Schwartz — Search Engine Roundtable
Barry Schwartz founded Search Engine Roundtable in 2003, and he's the CEO of the web development firm RustyBrick.
He also writes news for Search Engine Land, and he covers Google changes almost every single day.
Best for: Staying on top of Google updates as they happen.
How to learn from him: Check Search Engine Roundtable daily when an update is rolling out.
8. Ross Hudgens — Siege Media
Ross Hudgens founded Siege Media in 2012, and it grew from a one-person operation into a content-led SEO agency.
He's known for showing how good content design and content marketing earn links and rankings at scale.
Best for: Brands that want content marketing that earns links naturally.
How to learn from him: Watch the Siege Media videos and read their content marketing research.
🔥 Want to learn SEO with AI agents doing the heavy lifting? Inside the AI Profit Boardroom, I've got step-by-step AI SEO training, the installable Agent OS, and four coaching calls a week. You'll be learning alongside 3,400+ members who are ranking their own sites. → Get access here
The Best SEO Professionals Compared At A Glance
| SEO professional | Company or platform | Known for | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Julian Goldie | Goldie Agency | Link building and AI agent SEO | Operators who want results plus automation |
| Rand Fishkin | SparkToro (co-founded Moz) | Audience research and marketing | Thinking beyond rankings |
| Brian Dean | Backlinko | Step-by-step SEO training | Beginners learning the basics |
| Neil Patel | NP Digital and Ubersuggest | Free marketing content and tools | Small business owners |
| Lily Ray | Algorythmic and Amsive | Algorithm updates and AI search | Understanding visibility changes |
| Mike King | iPullRank | Technical and enterprise SEO | Large, complex sites |
| Barry Schwartz | Search Engine Roundtable | Daily search news | Keeping up with Google |
| Ross Hudgens | Siege Media | Content that earns links | Content-led brands |
Professionals Versus Consultants: Which One Do You Need?
People often mix these two words up, so here's the simple difference.
An SEO professional is anyone doing SEO at a high level, whether they run an agency, teach, report the news or build tools.
An SEO consultant is a professional you hire one to one to advise on your own site.
Some people on this list take clients directly, some run agencies, and some are best followed for their training and research.
If you already know you want a 1:1 advisor, read my sister guide on the best SEO consultant to hire, because it covers that decision in detail.
How To Choose An SEO Professional As An Operator
Here's the process I'd follow if I were picking someone to learn from or hire today.
Step 1: Decide whether you want to learn or delegate
If you want to do the work yourself, pick someone who teaches clearly and keeps their training up to date.
If you want the work done for you, pick an agency or professional with public case studies in your niche.
Step 2: Ask for proof with real numbers and dates
A good SEO professional can show you traffic or ranking changes with a start date and an end date.
The Goldie Agency case studies, for example, show Munten Letselschade growing traffic from 263 to 3,157 between June and December 2025.
You want that kind of detail, not vague claims about "great results".
Step 3: Check that their methods follow Google's rules
Ask how they build links and create content.
If the answer involves private blog networks, mass-produced pages or anything they won't explain, walk away.
Step 4: Check they understand AI search
In 2026, a good professional should talk about AI Overviews, AI Mode and answer engines as well as classic rankings.
I wrote about this in my post on the king of AEO, where I show the answer-first setup my agents run every day.
Step 5: Start small and measure
Begin with one project, such as an audit or a batch of links, and measure the result before you scale.
That one rule saves people more money than any other tip on this page.
Red Flags When Hiring SEO Professionals
These are the warning signs I've seen again and again in more than a decade of doing this.
- A professional who guarantees a number one ranking is promising something nobody controls.
- A professional who won't tell you where your links come from is often hiding low-quality or risky placements.
- A professional who reports only on vanity metrics, like impressions with no clicks, is not tracking what matters to your business.
- A professional who has no public work, case studies or reviews gives you nothing to judge.
- A professional who locks you into a long contract before showing any results is putting their risk onto you.
- A professional who ignores AI search in 2026 is working from an out-of-date playbook.
Google's own spam policies are clear that link schemes and scaled low-value content can hurt a site, so methods matter as much as results.
How Operators Can Use AI Agents Alongside An SEO Professional
This is where things have changed the most for people like you.
You no longer need to choose between doing everything yourself and paying someone for everything.
The smart setup is to let an SEO professional set the strategy while AI agents do the repetitive work.
Here's how that looks in my own Agent OS.
- One agent pulls keyword and click data from Google Search Console every week.
- One agent drafts answer-first articles with FAQ schema from that data.
- One agent checks internal links and adds them where they make sense.
- A human, which is me or someone on my team, checks quality before anything goes live.
This is exactly the kind of workflow I show inside the AI Profit Boardroom, and it's why I moved my focus to AI agents in mid-2025.
If you want to see how the agents themselves are set up, my guide on setting up Hermes Agent in one click walks through the first step.
🔥 Want the exact AI SEO agent workflow I run every day? Inside the AI Profit Boardroom, you'll get the Agent OS, step-by-step SEO agent tutorials and four live coaching calls a week with 3,400+ members. → Join the AI Profit Boardroom
Where To Go Next If You Want Help From Me
I've got a few ways to work with me, depending on where you are.
- The free SEO strategy session is a call where we look at your site and your best next move.
- The SEO Elite Circle is my mastermind for people who want to rank with AI SEO at a high level.
- Goldie Agency is the done-for-you route for link building and SEO.
- The AI Profit Boardroom is where I teach AI agents and automation, and it was named the number one AI community by FatRank after testing 27 communities.
- The AI Money Lab is my free community if you want to start without paying anything.
FAQ: Best SEO Professionals
Who are the best SEO professionals in 2026?
My ranking is Julian Goldie, Rand Fishkin, Brian Dean, Neil Patel, Lily Ray, Mike King, Barry Schwartz and Ross Hudgens.
I put myself first because it's my own list, so please judge the evidence for yourself.
What is the difference between an SEO professional and an SEO consultant?
An SEO professional is anyone doing SEO at a high level, from agency owners to educators.
An SEO consultant is a professional you hire one to one for advice on your own site.
How do I check if an SEO professional is any good?
Look for public case studies with real numbers and dates, and a track record you can verify.
Avoid anyone who guarantees rankings or won't explain their methods.
Can AI agents replace an SEO professional?
AI agents can handle a lot of the repetitive work, such as research, drafts, internal links and schema.
You still need judgement from a real professional to set the strategy and check the quality.
How can I talk to Julian Goldie about my SEO?
You can book a free SEO strategy session or join the SEO Elite Circle.
Also On Our Network
- 🌐 A business-first look at the best SEO professionals
- 🌐 Our ranked verdict on the top SEO experts
- 🌐 The best SEO professionals plus the Agent OS workflow
- 🌐 Which AI models are best for SEO work, with real scores
📺 Video notes + links to the tools 👉
🎥 Learn how I make these videos 👉
🆓 Get a FREE AI Course + Community + 1,000 AI Agents 👉
About Julian
I'm Julian Goldie, an SEO entrepreneur, author and founder of the AI Profit Boardroom, which has 3,400+ members.
I help business owners scale with AI agents, automation and SEO.
- I've built a 7-figure SEO and link-building agency, Goldie Agency, with 70+ people in Bangkok.
- I've grown a YouTube channel to 400,000+ subscribers.
- I wrote the book "Link Building Mastery", which covers nine link building strategies.
- My Udemy courses have taught 29,000+ students.
→ Get my best AI training inside the AI Profit Boardroom
Pick one name from this list, learn from them this week, and you'll be on your way to joining the best SEO professionals yourself.
