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Top SEO Experts In 2026: One Per Speciality, And How They Fit An Agent OS

By Julian Goldie · 7 October 2026 · agentos.guide

The top SEO experts in 2026, one per speciality, are Julian Goldie for link building and AI agent SEO, Aleyda Solis for international SEO, Lily Ray for AI search, Areej AbuAli for technical SEO, Darren Shaw for local SEO, Andy Crestodina for content, Luke Carthy for e-commerce SEO, John Shehata for news SEO and Derral Eves for YouTube SEO.

This is my own list on my own site, so I've ranked myself first, and you should judge the evidence rather than the position.

Every other name is here because of a public track record that you can check on their own website.

Below you'll get the ranked table, a six-step quick-start and the way each speciality turns into an agent skill inside an Agent OS.

The top SEO experts, one per speciality

Here is the complete answer in one table.

I'm at number one because this is my own list, and I'd rather say that plainly than hide it.

The order after me reflects how often I think a typical site owner needs each speciality, and it isn't a measured score.

Every fact about the other eight people comes from their own site or from reputable coverage.

How I picked the top SEO experts

I used three rules, and you can use the same rules on anyone you find.

• The first rule is that the person must be publicly known for one clear speciality.
• The second rule is that I must be able to confirm their current work on their own website.
• The third rule is that they must publish free material, so you can learn before you pay for anything.

I also wanted this list to differ from my guides to the best SEO professionals and the best SEO consultant, so most names here are new.

Quick profiles of the top SEO experts

1. Julian Goldie: link building and AI agent SEO

I've been doing SEO for over a decade, and it began with a cryptocurrency site that I built while travelling in Asia.

That site got no Google traffic for months, and learning link building is what fixed it.

I started Goldie Agency solo, and it's now a 7-figure SEO and link-building agency in Bangkok with 70+ people.

In mid-2025 I moved my focus to AI agents that do the SEO for you, and that work became the Agent Operating System.

You can book a free SEO strategy session or join the SEO Elite Circle if you want my help directly.

2. Aleyda Solis: international SEO

Aleyda Solis founded Orainti in 2014, and it's a boutique SEO and AI search consultancy.

Her consultancy lists international SEO, e-commerce and SaaS search growth among its specialities.

She won European Search Personality of the Year in 2018, and she curates the free LearningSEO.io roadmap.

She also publishes the SEOFOMO newsletter.

3. Lily Ray: AI search and E-E-A-T

Lily Ray's own site lists her as the founder of Algorythmic, an SEO and AI search consultancy.

The same page lists her as VP of SEO and AI Search at the agency Amsive.

She's known for work on E-E-A-T, AI search, Google Discover and Google algorithm updates.

4. Areej AbuAli: technical SEO

Areej AbuAli founded Women in Tech SEO in 2019, and it's a free global community for SEOs and marketers.

The community runs the WTSFest conferences in London, Portland and Philadelphia.

Her speaker bios describe her as a technical SEO consultant and the founder of the consultancy Crawlina.

5. Darren Shaw: local SEO

Darren Shaw founded Whitespark in 2005, and he moved the company's focus to local search in 2010.

He leads the Local Search Ranking Factors survey, which is widely cited in local SEO.

6. Andy Crestodina: content marketing

Andy Crestodina is the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Orbit Media Studios.

He wrote "Content Chemistry: The Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing", which is in its seventh edition.

His agency also runs an annual survey of more than a thousand bloggers.

7. Luke Carthy: e-commerce SEO

Luke Carthy's site describes him as an e-commerce consultant who specialises in growth through SEO, Google Analytics and conversion optimisation.

He's based in the UK, and his services include e-commerce audits and e-commerce SEO.

8. John Shehata: news SEO

John Shehata founded NewzDash, a news and editorial SEO tool that helps publishers appear in Google Top Stories and Google News.

His company bio lists a former role as Global VP of Audience Development at Condé Nast.

He co-created the News and Editorial SEO Summit with Barry Adams.

9. Derral Eves: YouTube SEO

Derral Eves founded VidSummit in 2013, and it's an annual conference for YouTube creators.

He wrote "The YouTube Formula", which Wiley published in 2021, and he's an executive producer of The Chosen.

🔥 Want the exact AI SEO setup I run inside my Agent OS?

Inside the AI Profit Boardroom you get the installable Agent OS, step-by-step video tutorials, four coaching calls a week and 3,400+ members building real automations.

→ Get access here

Quick-start: get value from the top SEO experts this week

A list of names is useless until you act on it, so here is the quick-start I'd give a friend.

• Step one is to name your biggest SEO problem in one sentence.
• Step two is to match that problem to one speciality in the table.
• Step three is to spend one focused hour on that expert's best free material.
• Step four is to write what you learned as a numbered checklist.
• Step five is to hand the checklist to an AI agent and review what it produces.
• Step six is to measure clicks in Google Search Console after four weeks.

I'd repeat that loop with a second speciality only when the first one runs without you.

How the top SEO experts fit an Agent OS workflow

The Agent Operating System is my dashboard for running a crew of AI agents with one shared memory.

Each agent can load a skill, and a skill is just a clear set of instructions for one job.

The experts on this list are where good instructions come from.

When an expert explains a process well, I can turn that process into a skill and let an agent run it.

This table shows how I map each speciality to an agent skill.

The pattern never changes.

The expert sets the standard, the agent does the volume, and a person approves the result.

Why shared memory matters for SEO

Most AI tools forget your site the moment you close the chat.

In an Agent OS, the agents share memory, so the technical agent and the content agent both know your brand, your pages and your past decisions.

That means the link building agent doesn't pitch a page that the technical agent has already flagged as broken.

Why a person still checks everything

AI agents write quickly, and they can also be confidently wrong.

Google's spam policies warn against link schemes and scaled low-value content, so unchecked automation is a real risk.

Every workflow I teach has a review step before anything is published or sent.

My guide to ranking number one with Claude AI SEO shows that review loop in practice.

🔥 Want the exact AI SEO setup I run inside my Agent OS?

Inside the AI Profit Boardroom you get the installable Agent OS, step-by-step video tutorials, four coaching calls a week and 3,400+ members building real automations.

→ Get access here

How to judge whether someone is a real SEO expert

The title "SEO expert" costs nothing, so I use a simple test.

• A real expert has published work that you can read from start to finish.
• A real expert has a clear speciality and admits what they don't cover.
• A real expert shows numbers with dates and explains how they were achieved.
• A real expert has a view on AI Overviews, AI Mode and answer engines.
• A real expert refuses to guarantee rankings.
• A real expert explains their methods in plain words.

I'd walk away from anyone who fails two of those checks.

You can run the same test on me, and my story and proof are on the Julian Goldie SEO page.

Learn from an expert or hire one?

Most people on this list are teachers first, and only some of them take clients.

Before you try to hire a named expert, I'd check their own site, because many of them focus on software, research or events.

I haven't listed prices for anyone else, because I can't verify them.

A 30-day plan built on the top SEO experts

This is the plan I'd follow if I were starting again with one website.

• In week one, I'd run a technical check and fix anything that stops pages being crawled or indexed.
• In week two, I'd rewrite my five most important pages so each one answers its main question in the first two lines.
• In week three, I'd start link building to those five pages with honest, personal outreach.
• In week four, I'd add the speciality that fits my business, such as local, e-commerce or YouTube.

Each week uses one speciality and one expert's thinking, which keeps the work focused.

An agent can do the checking, drafting and reporting in every one of those weeks.

I've mapped the same idea to a full learning path in my guide to AI SEO training.

Mistakes people make with lists of SEO experts

I've seen these mistakes for more than a decade, and I've made a few of them myself.

• Following nine experts at once gives you nine sets of ideas and no finished work.
• Copying a tactic without checking its date can leave you using advice from before AI search.
• Hiring on reputation alone can leave you with a famous name and a poor fit.
• Skipping measurement means you never find out which idea actually helped.
• Automating without review means you can publish the same mistake a hundred times.

If you want a list built around who led the field this year, my guide to the top SEO professionals in 2026 takes that angle.

Where to go next if you want my help

These are the routes I offer, from free to done-for-you.

• The free AI Money Lab gives you a free AI course and community.
• The free SEO strategy session is a call where we look at your site and pick your next move.
• The SEO Elite Circle is my mastermind for people who want to rank with AI SEO at a high level.
• The AI Profit Boardroom is where I teach the full Agent OS, with four coaching calls a week and 3,400+ members.
• Goldie Agency is the done-for-you option for link building and SEO.

The AI Profit Boardroom was named the number one AI community by FatRank after testing 27 communities.

FAQ

Who are the top SEO experts in 2026?

My list by speciality is Julian Goldie (link building and AI agent SEO), Aleyda Solis (international), Lily Ray (AI search), Areej AbuAli (technical), Darren Shaw (local), Andy Crestodina (content), Luke Carthy (e-commerce), John Shehata (news) and Derral Eves (YouTube). It's my own list, so judge the evidence for yourself.

How do I judge whether someone is a real SEO expert?

Look for published work, a clear speciality, numbers with dates, a view on AI search and methods they explain in plain words. Avoid anyone who guarantees rankings.

Should I learn from SEO experts or hire one?

Learn from them when you have time and want the skill yourself. Hire when you have budget and little time. Many people do both and use AI agents for the repetitive work.

How do SEO experts fit into an Agent OS?

An expert's process becomes a skill, which is a clear set of instructions for one job. An AI agent runs the skill, the agents share memory about your site, and a person approves the result.

How can I get SEO help from Julian Goldie?

You can book a free SEO strategy session at go.juliangoldie.com/strategy-session, join the SEO Elite Circle mastermind, or learn the Agent OS workflow inside the AI Profit Boardroom.

Final word on the top SEO experts

Pick the one speciality your site needs most, learn it from the person who owns it, and let your agents run the checklist.

That's how a list of names becomes real work, and it's how you get the most from the top SEO experts.

Related guides on agentos.guide

→ The Best SEO Professionals In 2026

→ The Best SEO Consultant: How To Choose

→ Rank #1 With Claude AI SEO

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