The 10 Most Influential SEO Experts of 2022
The world of digital marketing saw a massive expansion in the span of the last ten years or so. This growth coincided with the rise of social media and advancements in smart technology but saw an even further acceleration in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, more and more companies relied on their eCommerce arm, organic web traffic, and ability to perform social media and SEO-based marketing. Now, SEO is one of the most crucial elements for any brand that wants to remain competitive and relevant in today’s fast-paced and highly competitive economy.
SEO, which stands for search engine optimization, is how Google and other search engines find and rank the internet’s content. The better your SEO strategies, the higher your web content will rank when a user makes a relevant query. This high ranking translates to more organic web traffic and a higher likelihood that inbound traffic will enter a customer journey, in turn generating more sales.
The following names are some of the best and brightest in the world of SEO, and their resumes greatly speak for themselves.
Lily Ray
(Lily Ray)
First on the list is a heavy-hitter in the world of SEO, literally and figuratively, with a passion for SEO and fitness. Lily Ray is one of the pioneering women in the SEO industry and has made a name for herself in more than one way.
She currently serves as the senior director of SEO and Head of Organic Research at Amsive Digital. Not only that, but with the little free time she has, Lily flies around the world to speak at SEO conferences regarding updates to the Google algorithm and how they’ll impact SEO practices moving forward.
With over 12 years of SEO experience already under her belt, Lily Ray looks to continue being a thought leader in the SEO space for years to come.
Aleyda Solis
(Aleyda Solis)
The next name on the list is another superstar making a splash in the SEO ocean. Aleyda is a well-known presence in the international SEO marketplace. Through her boutique agency, Orainti, she works with everything from well-established international companies to startup organizations just getting the ball rolling. Aleyda specializes in developing SEO strategies in highly competitive market spaces with complex environments requiring a highly personalized, in-depth, and scalable approach toward organic growth.
Aleyda’s resume includes a number of awards and recognitions for her excellence in the field, including the European Search Personality of the Year in 2018. She was also named one of the top 59 female marketing and growth experts you should be following by Hubspot, amongst a number of other awards. If you have Aleyda on your SEO team, you can trust that you’re in good hands.
Eli Schwartz
(Eli Schwartz)
Next up to the stellar names on this list is Eli Schwartz. Eli Schwartz is an SEO professional with well over a decade of experience running and managing SEO campaigns for big-name brands.
More than that, though, Eli Schwartz is the best-selling author of Product Led SEO: the Why Behind Building Your Organic Growth Strategy. This book fundamentally changed the game for many digital marketing professionals and others heavily involved in SEO marketing.
When he’s not working with brands like WordPress, Shutterstock, Coinbase, or Zendesk, Eli Schwartz also spends time traveling across the world to speak at marketing events. His work has been published by Techcrunch, Y Combinator, Entrepreneur Magazine, Fast Company, Hubspot, and many more top-tier media sites.
Ethan Smith
(Ethan Smith)
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a name on this list that doesn’t have some major achievements already tacked to their name; Ethan Smith is no different. Ethan is the current CEO of Graphite, a premier SEO and growth marketing agency based in San Francisco. Graphite helps build SEO and content strategies for Netflix, Upwork, Reforge, and Neiman Marcus, to name a few.
Beyond that, Ethan has also acted as an SEO advisor to Masterclass, Netflix, and Ticketmaster. He’s a published author for Venturebeat, Inc Magazine, and MarketWatch.
Mike King
(Mike King)
The list of SEO shakers and movers only gets more robust with the addition of Mike King. Mike was the 2020 Search Engine Land Awards: Search Marketer of the Year. He’s also the founder of iPullRank, a digital marketing agency that’s relatively young but making strides with each passing month.
Mike King leads iPullRank with 14 years of digital marketing experience and 25 years of web development experience. His experience speaks for itself, and he prides himself on using creativity in everything that he does.
John Shehata
(John Shehata)
Another well-known name in the world of digital marketing, publishing, and SEO is John Shehata. John serves as the Global Vice President of Audience Development Strategy & Partnerships at Condé Nast.
With over 23 years of digital marketing experience, John has worked with a number of Fortune 500 companies and top national brands.
Besides his storied resume, John is most well-known for founding multiple ventures, including the world’s largest conference on SEO for news, NESS.
Brian Dean
(Brian Dean)
This list of SEO experts and thought leaders wouldn’t be complete without a link-building expert included; this is Brian Dean‘s bread and butter.
Brian Dean is the founder of Backlinko, co-founder of Exploding Topics, and has established himself as one of the foremost thought leaders in building SEO links. SEO link-building plays a major role in digital marketing, and Brian Dean is on the short-list of the best and brightest link-building experts in the world.
Bernard Huang
(Bernard Huang)
Bernard Huang is the co-founder of Clearscope, the leading content optimization platform. Clearscope works with other notable brands, like Adobe and Condé Nast, to improve their organic search traffic.
Although Clearscope is already recognized as a leader in the content optimization industry, it’s also a startup organization that’s quickly growing and constantly making strides in the content marketing industry.
Izzi Smith
(Izzi Smith)
Izzi Smith brings a bit of fun and flair wherever she goes. She has made a name for herself as a bright young star in the world of international SEO and currently resides in Munich, Germany.
Izzi works as a Senior Ecommerce Manager at Kurzgesagt and is a leading expert on writing snippets. Not only that, but she has spoken about the topic on stages around the world. Her work has even led her to be a guest on the Google Search podcast.
Cindy Krum
(Cindy Krum)
Last but certainly not least, to wrap up our list of incredibly influential SEO experts is Cindy Krum, yet another making huge waves in the SEO industry. Cindy is not only the founder of Mobile Moxie, which helps brands easily track their SEO metrics across the entire landscape of the internet but is also the author of Mobile Marketing: Finding Your Customers No Matter Where They Are.
Additionally, Cindy Krum continues establishing her mobile marketing expertise as a speaker at SEO and marketing events and conferences worldwide.
