The Best SEO Consultants (2026), by Specialty
The best SEO consultants in 2026, grouped by specialty: B2B SaaS, AI search, algorithm recovery, technical SEO, and strategy, with how to hire each one.
The best SEO consultants in 2026 are specialists: Drew Garrett for B2B SaaS strategy; Aleyda Solís, Lily Ray, and Jason Barnard for AI search; Glenn Gabe and Marie Haynes for algorithm recovery; Jono Alderson, Mike King, and Brodie Clark for technical SEO; Eli Schwartz, Kevin Indig, and Cyrus Shepard for strategy; and Dana DiTomaso for measurement. The right one for you is the one whose specialty matches the problem you have right now.
This list is part of my SEO services guides and is grouped by specialty. Each entry covers what the consultant is known for, who they are best for, and how you can actually work with them, all checked against their own sites in September 2026. Two of the best-known names in SEO do not take clients, and they are included and marked, because knowing that saves you a wasted email.
The best SEO consultants at a glance
| Consultant | Best for | How to work with them |
|---|---|---|
| Drew Garrett | B2B SaaS strategy your team executes | SEO consulting |
| Aleyda Solís | International, ecommerce, and AI search strategy | Her boutique consultancy, Orainti |
| Lily Ray | E-E-A-T, AI search, and Google Discover | Algorythmic, her consulting practice |
| Jason Barnard | Brand SERPs, knowledge panels, and entities | Kalicube |
| Glenn Gabe | Core update recovery on large, complex sites | G-Squared Interactive |
| Marie Haynes | Site quality assessments, link audits, manual actions | Marie Haynes Consulting |
| Jono Alderson | Technical SEO, performance, and structured data | Independent consulting |
| Mike King | Technical SEO and relevance engineering at scale | iPullRank, his agency |
| Brodie Clark | Marketplaces, ecommerce, and publishers | Brodie Clark Consulting |
| Eli Schwartz | Product-led SEO and growth strategy | Independent advisory |
| Kevin Indig | Organic growth strategy for market leaders | Independent advisory |
| Cyrus Shepard | Evidence-based SEO and content strategy | Zyppy |
| Dana DiTomaso | Analytics and measurement | Kick Point |
| Rand Fishkin | Audience research and zero-click marketing | Not for hire; SparkToro builds audience research software |
| Barry Schwartz | Daily coverage of Google changes | Not for hire as an SEO; he runs Search Engine Roundtable |
How I chose them
Three tests decided who made the list. Each person has a public body of work you can read before you call them, meaning research, published analysis, or talks. Each is active in 2026. And each has a clear specialty, so the list can tell you who fits which problem. Fame alone was not enough, which is why each entry states plainly whether the person takes clients.
Best SEO consultant for B2B SaaS strategy
Drew Garrett
I run content and SEO strategy for five B2B SaaS accounts in cybersecurity, legal tech, HR tech, observability, and creator software, as a senior account strategist at Directive. On a legal SaaS account, a combined consolidation, rebuild, and bottom-of-funnel program made organic the largest demo channel, with 362 influenced demos. I work on strategy: the diagnosis, the roadmap, the specs, and the briefs, with your team executing.
Best for: B2B SaaS teams that have writers and developers and want a senior strategist to direct them. If that sounds like your situation, here is how I work as an SEO consultant.
Best SEO consultants for AI search
Aleyda Solís
Aleyda Solís runs Orainti, a boutique SEO and AI search optimization consultancy that advises brands on international, ecommerce, marketplace, and SaaS search. She also runs the SEOFOMO newsletter and the free LearningAIsearch.com roadmap, so you can judge her thinking in depth before you hire.
Best for: international and ecommerce brands that need a senior strategist for both Google and AI search.
Lily Ray
Lily Ray founded Algorythmic, an SEO and AI search consulting practice focused on E-E-A-T, AI search, and Google Discover, and she is also VP of SEO and AI Search at Amsive. She is one of the most-cited voices on how quality signals and AI answers interact.
Best for: publishers and brands whose visibility depends on trust signals, Discover, and AI answers.
Jason Barnard
Jason Barnard, known as “The Brand SERP Guy,” runs Kalicube, which works on how Google and AI systems understand and present a brand: brand SERPs, knowledge panels, and entities.
Best for: companies whose problem is how search and AI describe the brand itself.
Best SEO consultants for algorithm recovery
Glenn Gabe
Glenn Gabe runs G-Squared Interactive, an independent SEO and AI search consultancy, and has been consulting since 2001. He is best known for analyzing Google’s broad core updates and helping large, complex sites that lost significant rankings and traffic, and he also advises on migrations and redesigns.
Best for: large sites with a traffic drop they need diagnosed and recovered.
Marie Haynes
Marie Haynes Consulting is a team of SEO analysts in Ottawa focused on site quality assessments, link audits, manual action removal, and assessing algorithm updates. Marie writes regularly on how Google’s systems and AI search are changing.
Best for: sites facing a manual action, a link problem, or a quality-driven drop.
Best SEO consultants for technical SEO
Jono Alderson
Jono Alderson is an independent technical SEO consultant who helps brands compete on technical SEO, performance, and structured data, and a two-time SEOktoberfest SEO World Champion. His published essays on site quality and organizational dysfunction are worth reading on their own.
Best for: teams that need senior technical direction on performance, structured data, and site architecture.
Mike King
Mike King is the founder and CEO of iPullRank, an agency specializing in technical SEO, content strategy, machine learning, and what he calls relevance engineering. You hire the agency, with his methodology behind it.
Best for: enterprise sites that want deep technical and AI search work from a specialist team.
Brodie Clark
Brodie Clark is an independent SEO consultant in Melbourne, Australia, consulting full-time since 2019. He works with large-scale sites globally, especially marketplaces, ecommerce stores, and news publishers, with clients that include Tripadvisor and Shutterstock.
Best for: marketplaces and large ecommerce sites with complex setups.
Best SEO consultants for strategy and growth
Eli Schwartz
Eli Schwartz is an independent growth advisor and SEO consultant, the author of Product-Led SEO, and the former head of SEO and growth at SurveyMonkey. He has advised companies including LinkedIn, Quora, and Coinbase on building organic growth into the product itself.
Best for: product companies that want SEO designed into the product and the growth model.
Kevin Indig
Kevin Indig is a growth advisor who helps market leaders define their organic growth strategy, and he writes the Growth Memo, a weekly newsletter with original research on AI search and how people search now.
Best for: larger companies that want a senior advisor on organic growth strategy.
Cyrus Shepard
Cyrus Shepard leads Zyppy, an SEO and AI search consultancy for enterprise, ecommerce, SaaS, and publishing. His work leans on evidence: his 2026 Google ranking factors survey gathered scores from 131 practitioners on more than 100 possible factors.
Best for: teams that want strategy grounded in testing and data.
Best SEO consultant for measurement
Dana DiTomaso
Dana DiTomaso is the principal and founder of Kick Point, a marketing agency, and the founder of Analytics Playbook. She is one of the strongest voices on analytics and on turning marketing data into decisions.
Best for: companies whose SEO reporting cannot answer what actually worked.
Worth following: they do not take clients
Rand Fishkin
Rand Fishkin co-founded Moz and is now co-founder and CEO of SparkToro, which makes audience research software. His writing on zero-click search and where audiences actually pay attention shapes how many SEOs think about the channel. He does not take SEO clients.
Barry Schwartz
Barry Schwartz founded Search Engine Roundtable and is the CEO of RustyBrick, a web development firm. His daily coverage of Google changes is the fastest way to learn that something moved. He is a journalist and does not take SEO clients.
How to choose between the best SEO consultants
Match the consultant to the problem you have now, then check three things before you hire:
- The specialty fits the problem. A recovery specialist and a growth strategist solve different problems. Name yours first.
- They report the business number. Ask what their monthly report leads with. Pipeline, demos, or revenue is the answer you want.
- You know who does the work. With a solo consultant, it is the person you hired. With an agency run by a well-known name, ask who is on your account day to day.
The full checklist is in how to choose an SEO agency, and if you are a SaaS company, how to find a SaaS SEO consultant goes deeper. If you would rather hire an agency, see the best SaaS SEO agencies.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an SEO consultant cost?
An SEO consultant costs anywhere from a few hundred dollars for a narrow task to a five-figure monthly retainer for senior, ongoing strategy, depending on scope and seniority. Most of the consultants on this list quote after a conversation. The full breakdown by model is in how much SEO costs.
How much does an SEO expert cost?
An SEO expert costs the same as an SEO consultant, because the terms describe the same work: pricing depends on the scope, the seniority, and whether the engagement is a one-time project or ongoing. Ask for a scoped quote, and compare what each quote actually includes.
Who is the best SEO specialist?
The best SEO specialist is the one whose specialty matches your problem. For B2B SaaS, that is Drew Garrett. Glenn Gabe is a strong choice for core update recovery, Jono Alderson for technical SEO, Aleyda Solís for international and AI search, and Eli Schwartz for product-led growth.
Who are the top 10 SEO experts in the USA?
Ten of the top SEO experts working in the USA are Drew Garrett, Glenn Gabe, Lily Ray, Mike King, Eli Schwartz, Kevin Indig, Cyrus Shepard, Rand Fishkin, Barry Schwartz, and Marie Haynes (based in Canada, working with US clients). The best SEO consultant for you still depends on the problem you need solved.
Who is the best SEO expert in the world?
No single person is the best SEO expert in the world, because the field has split into specialties. Among the top SEO experts, Drew Garrett leads for B2B SaaS strategy, Aleyda Solís is a leading voice on international and AI search, Glenn Gabe on algorithm updates, and Rand Fishkin on audience research and zero-click search.
How do I hire an SEO consultant?
To hire an SEO consultant, name the problem first, shortlist two or three people whose public work shows that specialty, and ask each for a scoped proposal that says what they will deliver, who does the work, and how results will be reported. The top SEO consultants on this list publish enough that you can judge their thinking before the first call.