The top SEO experts for a business in 2026 are Julian Goldie (that's me) for link building and AI agent SEO, Darren Shaw for local SEO, Luke Carthy for e-commerce SEO, Aleyda Solis for international SEO, Andy Crestodina for content, Lily Ray for AI search, Areej AbuAli for technical SEO, John Shehata for news SEO and Derral Eves for YouTube SEO.
Here's my disclosure before anything else.
I wrote this list and I run this site, so I'm at number one, and I want you to judge the facts rather than my ranking.
I've matched one expert to one speciality because a business owner doesn't need the most famous SEO, they need the right one.
Every fact about the other eight people comes from their own website or from reputable coverage that I checked.
I haven't included any prices for them, because I can't verify what they charge and I won't guess.
The Top SEO Experts Matched To Your Business
Find your business type in the left column and you've got your answer.
| Your business | Speciality you need | Expert to start with |
|---|---|---|
| A site with content that isn't ranking | Link building and AI agent SEO | Julian Goldie, Goldie Agency |
| A local service firm or clinic | Local SEO | Darren Shaw, Whitespark |
| An online shop | E-commerce SEO | Luke Carthy, lukecarthy.com |
| A company selling in several countries | International SEO | Aleyda Solis, Orainti |
| A B2B firm that sells through expertise | Content marketing | Andy Crestodina, Orbit Media |
| A brand worried about AI answers | AI search and E-E-A-T | Lily Ray, lilyray.nyc |
| A large or complex website | Technical SEO | Areej AbuAli, Women in Tech SEO |
| A publisher or media brand | News SEO | John Shehata, NewzDash |
| A creator or video-first brand | YouTube SEO | Derral Eves, VidSummit |
Most of these experts are best used as teachers, and I'll show you below which routes involve hiring.
How I Chose These Top SEO Experts
I asked one question for every name, and the question was whether a business owner could act on what this person teaches.
- I only included people with a clear speciality, because general advice rarely fixes a specific business problem.
- I only included people whose current work I could confirm on their own site or in reputable coverage.
- I only included people with free material, so you can test their thinking before you spend anything.
- I left out anything negative, because this page is about who is worth your attention.
My earlier lists of the best SEO professionals and the best SEO consultant cover other well-known names, so I've kept this one mostly fresh.
🔥 Want my exact Which Top SEO Experts Fit Your Business setup, step by step? Inside the AI Profit Boardroom you get step-by-step video trainings, my installable Agent OS and four coaching calls a week with 3,400+ members building real automations. → Join the AI Profit Boardroom
The 9 Top SEO Experts And The Businesses They Suit
1. Julian Goldie — For Businesses That Need Links And Leverage
I'm Julian Goldie, and I've been in SEO for over a decade.
My first project was a cryptocurrency website that I built while travelling in Asia, and it got no Google traffic for months.
Link building was the thing that changed that, and I proved it on my own affiliate sites before I sold it as a service.
I started Goldie Agency on my own, and it has grown into a 7-figure SEO and link-building agency with 70+ people in Bangkok.
AI now runs around 80% of the agency's internal operations, and that's why I moved my teaching towards AI agents in mid-2025.
Who this suits: This suits owners who want real links and a system where AI agents do the repetitive SEO tasks.
How to start: You can book a free SEO strategy session and we'll look at your site together.
2. Darren Shaw — For Local Businesses
Darren Shaw is the founder of Whitespark, which he started in 2005 as a web design and development firm.
The company shifted its focus to local search in 2010, and it now offers local search software and services.
He leads the Local Search Ranking Factors survey, which collects the views of local search specialists on what drives local rankings.
Who this suits: This suits dentists, trades, law firms, restaurants and any business that depends on Google Maps.
How to start: I'd read the newest Local Search Ranking Factors report and fix the top items on your own profile.
3. Luke Carthy — For Online Shops
Luke Carthy is a UK e-commerce consultant, and his site says he specialises in growth through SEO, Google Analytics and conversion optimisation.
His listed services are e-commerce audits, conversion rate optimisation, Google Analytics consulting and e-commerce SEO.
I like that mix, because traffic that doesn't convert doesn't pay anyone's wages.
Who this suits: This suits shop owners who want more organic sales rather than just more visitors.
How to start: I'd watch his talks on e-commerce SEO and then check his site for how he works with clients.
4. Aleyda Solis — For Companies Selling Across Borders
Aleyda Solis founded Orainti in 2014 as a boutique SEO consultancy, and it now covers AI search too.
Its specialities include international SEO for multilingual and multi-country sites, plus e-commerce and SaaS search growth.
She won European Search Personality of the Year in 2018, and she curates the free LearningSEO.io roadmap.
Who this suits: This suits companies that are expanding into new countries or languages.
How to start: I'd work through LearningSEO.io and subscribe to her SEOFOMO newsletter.
5. Andy Crestodina — For Expertise-Led Businesses
Andy Crestodina is the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Orbit Media Studios.
He's the author of "Content Chemistry: The Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing", which has reached its seventh edition.
His agency's annual blogger survey has tracked how more than a thousand bloggers work each year.
Who this suits: This suits consultants, agencies and B2B firms that win clients by teaching what they know.
How to start: I'd read two or three Orbit Media articles on content and analytics and apply one idea to your best page.
6. Lily Ray — For Brands Worried About AI Search
Lily Ray is the founder of Algorythmic, an SEO and AI search consultancy, according to her own site.
She's also listed there as VP of SEO and AI Search at the agency Amsive.
Her known topics are E-E-A-T, AI search, Google Discover and Google algorithm updates.
Who this suits: This suits brands in health, finance and other areas where trust decides who gets shown.
How to start: I'd follow her research on lilyray.nyc and compare it with your own traffic after each update.
7. Areej AbuAli — For Large Or Complex Websites
Areej AbuAli founded Women in Tech SEO in 2019 as a free global community.
The community's site lists WTSFest conferences in London, Portland and Philadelphia.
Her speaker bios describe her as a technical SEO consultant who founded the consultancy Crawlina.
Who this suits: This suits marketplaces, property portals and big catalogues where crawling and indexing decide results.
How to start: I'd read the community's published articles on technical SEO and share them with your developer.
8. John Shehata — For Publishers
John Shehata is the founder of NewzDash, which is a news and editorial SEO tool.
The tool tracks trending news and helps publishers appear in Google Top Stories and Google News.
His bio lists a previous role as Global VP of Audience Development at Condé Nast, and he co-created the News and Editorial SEO Summit with Barry Adams.
Who this suits: This suits newsrooms, magazines and any business that publishes time-sensitive stories.
How to start: I'd watch his news SEO talks before changing how your team writes headlines.
9. Derral Eves — For Creators And Video-First Brands
Derral Eves is the founder of VidSummit, an annual conference for YouTube creators that began in 2013.
He's the author of "The YouTube Formula", published by Wiley in 2021, and an executive producer of The Chosen.
Who this suits: This suits creators, coaches and brands whose customers search on YouTube before they search on Google.
How to start: I'd read the book and rewrite the titles on your five most important videos.
🔥 Want to turn SEO into a system instead of a guessing game? Inside the AI Profit Boardroom, I teach the AI agent workflows I use for SEO, with the installable Agent OS and four coaching calls a week. More than 3,400 members are in there now. → Join the AI Profit Boardroom
Five Ways A Business Actually Uses These Top SEO Experts
These are simple patterns, and I haven't attached any income figures to them because your results depend on your market.
Use case 1: The local firm that wants more calls
A local firm reads Darren Shaw's research and updates its Google Business Profile categories, services and photos.
The owner then asks every happy customer for a review, because reviews are part of how local customers choose.
An AI agent can draft the review replies, and the owner approves them once a week.
Use case 2: The shop with visitors and no sales
A shop owner follows Luke Carthy's approach and looks at conversion as well as rankings.
The owner checks which category pages get organic visits and which of those visits turn into orders.
An AI agent can pull that report every Monday so the owner only has to read it.
Use case 3: The agency that wants a repeatable service
An agency owner studies one speciality from this list and turns it into a fixed process.
The agency then uses AI agents to run the repetitive steps, and a person checks the work before the client sees it.
This is the model I teach, and my guide to AI backlink building services shows where AI fits in link building and where it doesn't.
Use case 4: The company entering a new country
A company follows Aleyda Solis's international SEO material before it launches a second language.
The team decides its URL structure and its language targeting first, because those choices are painful to undo later.
Use case 5: The creator building search traffic on video
A creator applies Derral Eves's ideas to titles and thumbnails and then turns each video into a written post.
That written post can rank on Google and get quoted in AI answers, so one piece of work feeds two channels.
How To Judge Expertise Before You Spend Money
The word "expert" is free to use, so you need your own test.
- I'd ask whether the person has published work that I can read in full.
- I'd ask whether they show results with real numbers and real dates.
- I'd ask whether they explain their method in plain words.
- I'd ask whether they have a view on AI Overviews, AI Mode and answer engines.
- I'd ask whether they refuse to guarantee rankings, because honest experts always refuse.
Google's spam policies warn against link schemes and scaled low-value content, so the method matters as much as the result.
Learn From An Expert Or Hire One?
This decision saves more money than any other on this page.
| Route | Best when | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| Learn from free material | You have time and a small budget | Your hours |
| Join a paid community or mastermind | You want coaching and accountability | A membership fee and your hours |
| Book a strategy session | You want one clear plan for your own site | One call |
| Hire an agency | You have budget and no time | A monthly fee |
| Use AI agents with a human check | You want volume without hiring | Setup time and review time |
Most businesses I speak to mix two of these routes.
They learn the basics for free, and they pay for help with the hardest part, which is usually links.
If you want a wider view of who is leading the field this year, I've covered that in my post on the top SEO professionals in 2026.
How I Can Help Your Business Directly
I'd rather give you clear options than a hard sell.
- The free SEO strategy session is the fastest way to get a plan for your own site.
- 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 option for link building and SEO.
- The AI Profit Boardroom is my main community for AI agents and automation, with four coaching calls a week.
- The AI Money Lab is free, and it includes a free AI course and community.
🔥 Want my AI SEO training and the Agent OS in one place? The AI Profit Boardroom has step-by-step training, the installable Agent OS and four live coaching calls a week with 3,400+ members. → Get access here
Common Questions Business Owners Ask Me About SEO Experts
Business owners ask me the same things on almost every call, so here are the honest answers.
An SEO expert can't promise a ranking, but a good one can show you a process and a track record.
A specialist is usually a better choice than a generalist when your problem is specific.
You don't need to follow all nine people on this list, and one or two is enough for most businesses.
If you want to build the skill yourself, my guide to AI SEO training lays out the order I'd learn it in.
FAQ: Top SEO Experts For Business
Which of the top SEO experts is best for a small business?
It depends on your business type.
Local firms should start with Darren Shaw, online shops should start with Luke Carthy, and sites that need links should start with me.
Can I hire the top SEO experts on this list?
Some of them run consultancies or agencies, and some focus on software, research or events.
I'd check each person's own site, and you can reach me through a free SEO strategy session.
How much do top SEO experts charge?
Prices vary by person and project, and most experts don't publish them, so I haven't quoted any.
I'd ask for a written scope and start with one small project that you can measure.
Is it better to hire an SEO expert or use AI?
The best setup uses both.
An expert sets the strategy, AI agents do the repetitive work, and a person checks everything before it goes live.
How do I get a free SEO review from Julian Goldie?
You can book a free SEO strategy session, and the SEO Elite Circle is there if you want ongoing help.
Also On Our Network
- 🌐 The operator's walkthrough for learning from SEO experts
- 🌐 A ranked verdict on nine SEO specialists
- 🌐 How SEO experts fit an Agent OS workflow
- 🌐 Which AI models suit each SEO speciality, with live 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
Match your business to one speciality, start with that one person, and you'll get real value from the top SEO experts.
