Want to learn more about search engine optimization? So you should learn from the best experts. Reading top SEO blogs and publications is a good start. Also, participated in SEO conferences, but that’s not all. We share strategies, tactics, tips, tools, data, and much more on social media as well as conferences as well as articles, research, and blog posts. You will learn something new every day from this list of 202 SEO experts. So if you are looking to learn more about SEO, you better follow them.
Table of Contents
Why does this list of SEO experts exist?
The term “SEO expert” is used a lot today. Just do a Google search on “following SEO experts” and you will come across numerous lists. The problem with most of these lists is that they are mostly exaggerated. Why?
- They are a deceptive way for an anonymous author to put his name next to several SEO experts and be counted as one of them.
- They are published by unknown SEO agencies to attract links and shares.
- They include people who are great in other areas of marketing (social networks, content marketing, etc.) but are not SEO experts.
- They include people who are no longer active in the field of SEO (or even never reached a suitable level). For example, while Matt Cutts, a former engineer who was the head of the Webspam team at Google, would have been great for a list coming out in 2013, it’s not 2013 anymore and he won’t be on the current list.
- Include popular experts who share bad information and bring the industry into disrepute.
That’s why almost a year ago, we created the first version of this list of the top writers and industry experts to follow or listen to if you want to stay up-to-date on SEO today.
How to collect top SEO experts:
The list you see now in this article has been updated and according to search engine journals, it is the most up-to-date list of the highest quality SEO experts to follow, we did not create this list by one person.
This list was created with the help of the wonderful judges who helped us compile it, whose names you can see below.
- Loren Baker, founder of Search Engine Journal and Foundation Digital
- Jenny Halasz; Head of JLH Marketing
- Alexandra Tachalova, founder of Digital Olympus
- Purna Virji, Chief Global Engagement Officer at Microsoft
(Note: none of the referees had the right to vote for themselves and their presence in this list did not affect their right to referee.)
This post is not meant to reward anyone who has ever been an SEO expert or held the title of SEO. This post is also not intended to create a popularity contest that favors the number of social media followers over expertise.
People on this list are actively present in the SEO scene or are sharing SEO knowledge, information, and analysis. (either on social networks, or in blog posts or speaking at conferences) Here you will also find our main judging criteria (although, like Google, our scoring algorithm included more than 200 rating signals!):
- Do they currently do SEO? (not mandatory)
- Do they talk about SEO at conferences? (or webinars, podcasts, etc.)
- Are they sharing good SEO content on social media?
- Do they write good content about SEO for blogs and publications?
The main idea of this article is to help you find good people who know a lot about SEO and want to share their knowledge. This is just one way for us to direct you to SEO experts who can help you improve your work and progress. While we’re very happy that there are hundreds of SEO experts in the world who are doing great work but are little known, if they’re not getting exposure and sharing information, they don’t matter in the context of the list you’re about to read.
Although we don’t mean to offend any of the hardworking SEOs, if you don’t expose yourself to the larger SEO community, it’s the equivalent of ranking on the second page of Google results. Our goal with this list is to showcase the people who are driving the industry forward and share unique analyses, knowledge, tips, ideas, and more. Finally, there is no ranking order in this list from best to least best (!). Each person on this list has their values. Instead of trying to start alphabetically, we decided to randomize the introductions.
Who is not on the list of top SEO experts in the world?
To be honest, these kinds of articles are always controversial. After a post like this goes live, there are always a few reactions you can expect:
- Those on the list: In general, they are proud and even surprised. It always feels good to make someone’s day.
- Those who are not on the list: After they quickly check and realize they are not on the list, they set Twitter on fire. Usually, it’s “This person doesn’t do SEO at all”, “you put this person and that person so this list is useless”, or “Lists like this devalue our industry”.
Again, no list is perfect, but we have tried to create the least imperfect list possible. If no one is on the list, there’s always next year.
Honorable mentions
For this year’s list, the search engine journal did not include any employees or spokespersons from the major search engines as part of the 202-strong list of SEO experts. We believe that every SEO professional should always keep an eye on these people to keep up with the latest updates and get suggestions directly from search engines because these people are usually constantly tweeting, writing, and talking. they do. (during seminars, conferences, and webinars)
Google:
- Gary Illys, webmaster trends analyst
- Nathan Johns, Search Quality Analyst
- John Mueller, Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst
- Danny Sullivan, Search Public Relations
Bing
- Frederic Dubut, Chief Planning Officer
- DuckDuckGo
- Gabriel Weinberg, Founder and CEO
List of 202 top SEO experts
Now we come to the main part of this article and what you are looking for, the list of top SEO experts to follow. The people you see on this list have something to say about SEO and if you want to increase your skills and knowledge in this area, the best thing to do is to follow them all.
Areej AbuAli
Founder of Tech Seo
Follow Areej AbuAli on Twitter
Follow Areej AbuAli on LinkedIn
Dave Davies
Founder of Beanstalk Internet Marketing
Follow Dave Davies on Twitter
Follow Dave Davies on LinkedIn
Read Dave Davies’s articles in Search Engine Journal
Dan Taylor
Head of Research and Development at SALT Agency
Follow Dan Taylor on Twitter
Follow Dan Taylor on LinkedIn
Read articles by Dan Taylor in Search Engine Journal
Jes Scholz
International Digital Director at Ringier Agency
Follow Jes Scholz on Twitter
Follow Jes Scholz on LinkedIn
Read Jes’s articles in Search Engine Journal
Fili Wiese
Seo Specialist at SearchBrothers.com
Follow Fili Wiese on Twitter
Follow Fili Wiese on LinkedIn
Ruth Everett
SEO technical analyst at DeepCrawl
Follow Ruth Everett on Twitter
Follow Ruth Everett on LinkedIn
Read Ruth’s articles in Search Engine Journal
Tyler Reardon
SEO Manager at Chewy
Follow Tyler Reardon on Twitter
Follow Tyler Reardon on LinkedIn
Carolyn Shelby
Technical SEO and news on ESPN
Follow Carolyn Shelby on Twitter
Follow Carolyn Shelby on LinkedIn
Christoph C. Cemper
Founder and CEO of LinkResearchTools
Follow Cristoph on Twitter
Follow Cristoph on LinkedIn
Craig Campbell
SEO consultant and teacher at Craig Campbell SEO
Follow Craig Campbell on Twitter
Follow Craig Campbell on LinkedIn
Jackie Chu
Global SEO Manager at Uber
Follow Jackie on Twitter
Follow Jackie on LinkedIn
Jeff Ferguson
Partner of Amplitude Digital
Follow Jeff on Twitter
Follow Jeff on LinkedIn
Read Jeff’s articles on Search Engine Journal
Ross Hudgens
Founder and CEO of Siege Media
Follow Ross on Twitter
Follow Ross on LinkedIn
Cindy Krum
Founder and CEO of MobileMoxie
Follow Cindy on Twitter
Follow Cindy on LinkedIn
Jan-Willem Bobbink
Freelance SEO consultant
Follow Jan-Willem on Twitter
Follow Jan-Willem on LinkedIn
Valentin Pletzer
Head of SEO at BurdaForward GmbH
Follow Valentin on Twitter
Follow Valentin on LinkedIn
Lily Ray
SEO Manager at Path Interactive
Follow Lily on Twitter
Follow Lily on LinkedIn
Read Lily’s articles in Search Engine Journal
Suganthan Mohanadasan
Founder and Head of Technical SEO at Snippet Digital
Follow Suganthan on Twitter
Follow Suganthan on LinkedIn
Andrea Volpini
Founder and CEO of WordLift
Follow Andrea on Twitter
Follow Andrea on LinkedIn
Anna Crowe
Assistant Editor at Search Engine Journal and Content Manager at LeadFeeder
Follow Anna on Twitter
Follow Anna on LinkedIn
Read Anna’s articles in Search Engine Journal
Christopher Jones
Founder of LSEO
Follow Kristopher on Twitter
Follow Kristopher on LinkedIn
Read Kristopher’s articles on Search Engine Journal
Taylor Berg
Senior SEO Manager at Talkspace
Follow Taylor on Twitter
Follow Taylor on LinkedIn
Brodie Clark
SEO consultant at Brodie Clark Consulting
Follow Brodie on Twitter
Follow Brodie on LinkedIn Read Brodie’s articles on Search Engine Journal
Motoko Hunt
President and International Search Marketing Consultant at AJPR
Follow Motoko on Twitter
Follow Motoko on LinkedIn
Read Motoko’s articles in Search Engine Journal
Barry Schwartz
President and owner of RustyBrick
Follow Barry on Twitter
Follow Barry on LinkedIn
Adam Riemer
President Adam Riemer Marketing
Follow Adam on Twitter
Follow Adam on LinkedIn
Read Adam’s articles on Search Engine Journal
Carrie Hill
Local SEO Specialist and SEO Analyst at Sterling Sky Inc
Follow Carrie on Twitter
Follow Carrie on LinkedIn
Mordy Oberstein
Interface in the SEO community at Wix
Follow Mordy on Twitter
Follow Mordy on LinkedIn
JP Sherman
Search and Find Manager at Red Hat
Follow JP on Twitter
Follow JP on LinkedIn
Carolyn Lyden
SEO leader and owner of Search Hermit
Follow Carolyn on Twitter
Follow Carolyn on LinkedIn
Read Carolyn’s articles in Search Engine Journal
Steven Kang
Founder of SEOSignalsLab
Follow Steven on Twitter
Follow Steven on LinkedIn
John Shehata
Audience Director at Conde Nast
Follow John on Twitter
Follow John on LinkedIn
Abby Hamilton
Affiliate SEO Manager at Merkle
Follow Abby on Twitter
Follow Abby on LinkedIn
Read Abby’s articles in Search Engine Journal
Michael King
Founder of iPullRank
Follow Michael on Twitter
Follow Michael on LinkedIn
Read Micael’s articles on Search Engine Journal
Kevin Indig
SEO Manager at Shopify
Follow Kevin on Twitter
Follow Kevin on LinkedIn
Read Kevin’s articles on Search Engine Journal
Jamie Indigo
SEO technical consultant at Not a Robot
Follow Jamie on Twitter
Follow Jamie on LinkedIn
Read Jamie’s articles on Search Engine Journal
Max Prin
Head of Technical SEO at Merkle
Follow Max on Twitter
Follow Max on LinkedIn
Andy Betts
Senior SEO consultant
Follow Andy on Twitter
Follow Andy on LinkedIn
Read Andy’s articles on Search Engine Journal
Claire Carlyle
Digital Marketing Consultant at Claire Carlile Marketing
Follow Claire on Twitter
Follow Claire on LinkedIn
Andy Simpson
Local and technical SEO expert
Follow Andy on Twitter
Follow Andy on LinkedIn
Damon Gochneauer
Founder of Aspiro Agency
Follow Damon on Twitter
Follow Damon on LinkedIn
Alexis Sanders
Senior SEO Manager at Merkle
Follow Alexis on Twitter
Follow Alexis on LinkedIn
Read Alexis’ articles in Search Engine Journal
Cyrus Shepard
Founder of Zippy
Follow Cyrus on Twitter
Follow Cyrus on LinkedIn
David Mihm
Founder of Tidings
Follow David on Twitter
Follow David on LinkedIn
Mindy Weinstein
Founder and CEO of Market MindShift
Follow Mindy on Twitter
Follow Mindy on LinkedIn
Read Mindy’s articles on Search Engine Journal
Jason Barnard
Owner of Kalicube
Follow Jason on Twitter
Follow Jason on LinkedIn
Read Jason’s articles on Search Engine Journal
Lukasz Zelezny
SEO consultant and expert
Follow Lukasz on Twitter
Follow Lukasz on LinkedIn
Krystal Taing
Solution Engineer and Strategic Partnerships at Uberall
Follow Krystal on Twitter
Follow Krystal on LinkedIn
Tim Capper
SEO consultant in Online Ownership
Follow Tim on Twitter
Follow Tim on LinkedIn
Marcus Tober
Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Searchmetrics
Follow Marcus on Twitter
Follow Marcus on LinkedIn
Christina Brodzky
Founder and SEO consultant at MediaSesh
Follow Christina on Twitter
Follow Christina on LinkedIn
Kelvin Newman
Founder of BrightonSEO
Follow Kelvin on Twitter
Follow Kelvin on LinkedIn
Arnout Hellemans
Consultant at OnlineMarketThink
Follow Arnout on Twitter
Follow Arnout on LinkedIn
Aysun Akarsu
Data Scientist at DatAlzer
Follow Aysun on Twitter
Follow Aysun on LinkedIn
Paddy Moogan
Founder of Aira
Follow Paddy on Twitter
Follow Paddy on LinkedIn
Shaun Anderson
SEO Consultant at Hobo-web.co.uk
Follow Shaun on Twitter
Follow Shaun on LinkedIn
Bibi Lauri Raven
Link builder on BibiBuzz
Follow Bibi on Twitter
Follow Bibi on LinkedIn
Loren Baker
Founder of Search Engine Journal
Follow Loren on Twitter
Follow Loren on LinkedIn
Read Loren’s articles in Search Engine Journal
Rob Woods
Owner of Rob Woods Consulting
Follow Rob on Twitter
Follow Rob on LinkedIn
Izzy Smith
SEO technical analyst at Ryte
Follow Izzi on Twitter
Follow Izzi on LinkedIn
Trond Lyngbo
Founder of Search Planet AS
Follow Trond on Twitter
Follow Trond on LinkedIn
Gerry White
SEO Manager at RiseAtSeven
Follow Gerry on Twitter
Follow Gerry on LinkedIn
Cassie Gillette
Chief Digital Officer at KoMarketing
Follow Casie on Twitter
Follow Casie on LinkedIn
Read Casie’s articles on Search Engine Journal
Darren Shaw
Founder and President of Whitespark
Follow Darren on Twitter
Follow Darren on LinkedIn
Alan Bleiweiss
Legal SEO consultant at Alan Bleiweiss Consulting
Follow Alan on Twitter
Follow Alan on LinkedIn
Read Alan’s articles in Search Engine Journal
Jori Ford
Head of Marketing at FoodBoss
Follow Jori on Twitter
Follow Jori on LinkedIn
Bill Hartzer
CEO of Hartzer Consulting
Follow Bill on Twitter
Follow Bill on LinkedIn
Read Bill’s articles in Search Engine Journal
Andrew Optimised
Founder of Optimise
Follow Andrew on Twitter
Follow Andrew on LinkedIn
Amanda Jordan
Local Search Analyst at LOCOMOTIVE
Follow Amanda on Twitter
Follow Amanda on LinkedIn
Casey Markee
Founder of Media Wyse
Follow Casie on Twitter
Follow Casie on LinkedIn
Saijo George
Head of SEO Strategy at Supple
Follow Sajio on Twitter
Follow Sajio on LinkedIn
Marie Haynes
Owner of Marie Haynes Consulting
Follow Marie on Twitter
Follow Marie on LinkedIn
Andy Drinkwater
Freelance SEO consultant at IQSEO LTD
Follow Andy on Twitter
Follow Andy on LinkedIn
Wil Reynolds
Founder and Vice President of Innovation at Seer Interactive
Follow Wil on Twitter
Follow Wil on LinkedIn
Faye Watt
SEO Manager at Superdry
Follow Faye on Twitter
Follow Faye on LinkedIn
Oliver H. G. Mason
Freelance technical SEO
Follow Oliver on Twitter
Follow Oliver on LinkedIn
Joe Hall
SEO consultant and management analyst at Hall Analysis LLC
Follow Joe on Twitter
Follow Joe on LinkedIn
Kate Toon
Founder of Stay Tooned Inc
Follow Kate on Twitter
Follow Kate on LinkedIn
Brian Harnish
SEO leader at iLoveSEO
Follow Brian on Twitter
Follow Brian on LinkedIn
Read Brian’s articles on Search Engine Journal
Martin MacDonald
Founder of MOG Media Inc.
Follow Martin on Twitter
Follow Martin on LinkedIn
Maret Reutelingsperger
SEO and inbound marketing consultant at Mobe Digital
Follow Maret on Twitter
Follow Maret on LinkedIn
Dr. Pete Meyers
Marketing Researcher at Moz
Follow Pete on Twitter
Follow Pete on LinkedIn
Ryan Jones
Group Head of SEO at Razorfish
Follow Ryan on Twitter
Follow Ryan on LinkedIn
Read Ryan’s articles on Search Engine Journal