SEO has changed dramatically in 2026. Search is no longer limited to traditional blue links. Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, along with AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Gemini, are changing how users search for information and discover websites, brands, and businesses. This means SEO professionals now need to focus not only on Google rankings and organic traffic, but also on visibility across AI search engines, answer engines, and generative search results.
This shift has brought terms such as AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), AI SEO, and LLM visibility into the mainstream SEO conversation. For SEO professionals, content marketers, affiliate marketers, bloggers, and digital marketers, staying updated with these changes is becoming increasingly important.
SEO podcasts offer an easy way to follow Google algorithm updates, AI search trends, content strategy, technical SEO, link building, local SEO, and emerging search technologies directly from industry experts.
To help you find the right sources, we’ve rounded up the best SEO podcasts to listen to in 2026, covering everything from traditional search engine optimization to AEO, GEO, and the future of AI-powered search.
1. Inside A Hustler’s Brain
Host: Jitendra Vaswani
Best for: SEOs who want AI search strategy from someone actively adapting to it.
Inside A Hustler’s Brain is hosted by Jitendra Vaswani and features conversations with entrepreneurs, marketers and digital-business operators.
The show’s positioning makes it particularly relevant to people interested in the overlap between SEO, affiliate marketing, digital growth and AI. Its website currently lists 100+ episodes and describes the show as focused on conversations with people building online businesses.
For SEO professionals, the value is less about following one rigid framework and more about hearing how experienced marketers think about organic growth, business models, content and the changing digital landscape.
Good fit for: Affiliate marketers, content businesses, freelancers, founders and SEO professionals looking beyond technical optimization.
Keep in mind: Because the podcast covers broader digital-business topics, not every episode is purely about SEO.
2. Search Off the Record
Hosts: Google’s Search Relations team (Martin Splitt, Gary Illyes, John Mueller, Lizzi Sassman)
Best for: Getting Google’s actual perspective, not third-party speculation
Search Off the Record remains one of the most useful podcasts for anyone who wants to understand how Google Search works from Google’s own perspective.
The show covers topics around crawling, indexing, ranking, Search systems and changes to the search experience. This makes it especially useful as AI features become more deeply integrated into Search.
Google’s current Search documentation makes one point particularly clear: SEO fundamentals remain relevant for AI Overviews and AI Mode. Pages still need to be crawlable, indexable and eligible for normal Search, and there are no special schema requirements for appearing in these AI experiences.
Good fit for: Technical SEOs, in-house teams, agencies and marketers who want information directly from Google’s Search ecosystem.
Keep in mind: This is Google’s official perspective, so it should be treated as an explanation of Google’s systems and guidance rather than independent industry criticism.
3. Search News You Can Use
Host: Marie Haynes
Best for: Google updates, AI search and changing SEO systems
Marie Haynes’ Search News You Can Use is a strong option for marketers who want ongoing coverage of Google Search and AI developments.
Her current work covers subjects including Google algorithm changes, AI search, Gemini, agentic search and new ways of measuring visibility. Her site also highlights work around preparing websites for agentic search and improving visibility in AI systems such as ChatGPT.
That makes the podcast particularly relevant to the 2026 SEO landscape, where marketers increasingly have to think beyond traditional rankings.
Good fit for: Experienced SEOs, consultants and marketers tracking Google and AI search developments.
Keep in mind: This is more update-driven than a traditional SEO fundamentals podcast, so older episodes may have less long-term relevance.
4. The Search Engine Journal Show
Host: Loren Baker and Search Engine Journal contributors
Best for: SEO and broader digital marketing news
The Search Engine Journal Show covers much more than traditional SEO.
Episodes span SEO, PPC, social media, content marketing, search trends and digital strategy, often featuring industry practitioners and specialists. Recent episodes have also addressed AI recommendations, changing search behavior and the metrics used to measure SEO performance.
That broader scope is useful for marketers whose jobs extend beyond organic search.
Good fit for: Digital marketers, SEO managers, agencies and in-house marketing teams.
Keep in mind: Because the podcast covers multiple marketing disciplines, you may need to choose the episodes most relevant to your SEO goals.
5. The Ahrefs Podcast
Host: Tim Soulo
Best for: SEO-minded founders, marketers and business operators
The Ahrefs Podcast, hosted by Ahrefs CMO Tim Soulo, focuses on conversations with people involved in online business and digital marketing.
The show is particularly useful when you want to understand the business side of SEO rather than simply collect another list of tactics.
Recent episodes have also moved directly into AI search topics, including a conversation focused on how to rank in ChatGPT and another discussing zero-click marketing.
Good fit for: Founders, SEO strategists, content marketers and growth professionals.
Keep in mind: This is more conversational and strategic than a step-by-step technical SEO course.
6. Authority Hacker Podcast
Hosts: Gael Breton and Mark Webster
Best for: Content sites, affiliate SEO and AI experimentation
Authority Hacker is especially relevant for people building content websites, affiliate businesses and organic-growth assets.
The podcast’s current focus has expanded heavily into AI. Its official site describes the show as covering AI workflows, testing, business experiments and real-world results, with more than 3 million downloads. Recent October 2026 episodes include discussions around ChatGPT, Claude, AI-generated content and AI tools used in real business workflows.
This practical testing angle is valuable because AI SEO is evolving too quickly for theory alone to be enough.
Good fit for: Affiliate site owners, content entrepreneurs, SEOs and marketers experimenting with AI.
Keep in mind: Some episodes are broader AI-business discussions rather than traditional SEO.
7. Content and Conversation
Host: Ross Hudgens
Best for: Content marketing and SEO-driven growth
Ross Hudgens’ Content and Conversation focuses on the relationship between content, organic search and marketing growth.
For content teams, this type of podcast can complement more technical SEO resources by focusing on questions such as:
How should content strategies be developed?
What makes content useful enough to earn attention?
How does content contribute to organic growth?
Where do SEO and content marketing overlap?
This is particularly relevant as Google continues emphasizing helpful, reliable, people-first content rather than content created primarily to manipulate rankings.
Good fit for: Content strategists, SEO writers, agencies and marketing teams.
Keep in mind: It is more content-focused than technical-SEO-focused.
8. Experts on the Wire
Host: Dan Shure
Best for: Long-form SEO conversations
Experts on the Wire takes a long-form interview approach to SEO.
Instead of trying to cover an entire topic in a few minutes, the podcast gives experienced practitioners room to explain how they think about search, content, technical SEO and digital marketing.
That format is useful when you’re trying to understand the reasoning behind a strategy rather than simply copying a checklist.
Good fit for: SEO consultants, experienced practitioners and marketers who enjoy detailed interviews.
Keep in mind: Longer episodes require more time than short news-focused podcasts.
9. Beers and SEO with Barry and Steve
Hosts: Barry Adams and Steven Wilson-Beales
Best for: Publisher SEO, Discover and AI search
Beers and SEO is particularly useful for people working in digital publishing and news SEO.
Barry Adams and Steven Wilson-Beales discuss subjects including AI Mode, zero-click search, SEO for publishers, Google Discover and the impact of AI on digital publishing. The podcast launched around these issues as publishers reassessed how search traffic works in an AI-driven environment.
Steven Wilson-Beales currently describes his work as focused on helping publishers get found in Google, Discover and AI assistants such as ChatGPT.
Good fit for: News publishers, editorial teams, digital media companies and publishing-focused SEOs.
Keep in mind: Many discussions are specifically relevant to publishers, so ecommerce and SaaS SEOs may find the subject matter narrower.
10. SEO Unplugged
Host: Itamar Blauer
Best for: Practitioner-led SEO discussions
SEO Unplugged is built around conversations with SEO practitioners sharing real-world experience.
The podcast covers subjects including technical SEO, link building, analytics, enterprise SEO and AI search. Its official site currently lists 45+ conversations.
The single-topic interview format makes it relatively easy to find episodes related to a particular SEO problem.
Good fit for: SEO professionals looking for practical experience rather than purely theoretical advice.
Keep in mind: The release cadence is slower than weekly SEO news podcasts.
11. The Best SEO Podcast
Host: Matthew Bertram
Best for: AI search, GEO, AEO and LLM visibility
For marketers specifically focused on AI visibility, this podcast is one of the most directly relevant options.
Hosted by Matthew Bertram, The Best SEO Podcast now positions itself around AI-driven visibility and being found, named and cited by AI search systems. Its current site lists 680+ episodes, more than 5 million downloads and 145 episodes categorized specifically around AI Search and LLM Visibility.
This makes it particularly relevant for marketers researching terms such as:
GEO, AEO, LLM visibility, AI search optimization, ChatGPT visibility and generative search.
Good fit for: SEO managers, agencies, founders and marketers actively exploring AI search visibility.
Keep in mind: Some episodes assume a working understanding of traditional SEO and digital marketing.
12. Marketing O’Clock
Hosts: Greg Finn, Jess Budde, Christine Zirnheld and the Cypress North team
Best for: Weekly SEO, PPC and digital marketing news
Marketing O’Clock is designed for marketers who want to keep up with the industry’s latest developments without reading dozens of news sites every week.
The show covers SEO, PPC, social media and digital marketing news and continues to release weekly episodes. As of now, the podcast had reached Episode 450.
Its current episodes cover developments in Google Search, Google Ads and other major platforms.
Good fit for: Busy marketers, agencies and digital marketing teams.
Keep in mind: SEO is only one part of the show, so some episodes will focus heavily on paid or social marketing.
13. Local Marketing Institute
Hosts: Greg Gifford and Ben Fisher
Best for: Local SEO and Google Business Profile
For businesses that depend on local customers, locations, maps or service areas, the Local Marketing Institute Podcast is much more relevant than a general SEO podcast.
The show focuses on local search, Google Business Profile, reviews, social media, digital advertising and websites for local businesses.
Its 2026 episodes have also covered AI-related local-search developments, including AI Mode, AI performance data in Search Console, Google Business Profile updates and AI-generated review responses.
Good fit for: Local businesses, franchise marketers, agencies and local SEO specialists.
Keep in mind: The local-search focus makes it less useful for purely national or international SEO strategies.
14. Niche Pursuits Podcast (SEO episodes)
Host: Spencer Haws
Best for: Niche websites, content SEO and affiliate businesses
The Niche Pursuits Podcast is particularly relevant to people interested in building and growing niche websites.
Its SEO-related discussions typically cover areas such as keyword research, content strategy, monetization, organic traffic and building websites from scratch.
This makes it a useful complement to technical SEO podcasts for anyone working on affiliate sites, informational websites or small content businesses.
Good fit for: Niche-site owners, affiliate marketers, bloggers and independent SEO practitioners.
Keep in mind: The podcast also covers broader online-business topics, so not every episode is specifically about SEO.
Best SEO Podcasts in 2026: Comparison Table
Podcast | Host(s) | Best For | Main Topics |
|---|---|---|---|
Inside A Hustler’s Brain | Jitendra Vaswani | SEO, AI & online business | SEO, affiliate marketing, AI, entrepreneurship |
Search Off the Record | Google Search team | Google Search insights | Crawling, indexing, ranking, AI Search |
Search News You Can Use | Marie Haynes | Search & algorithm updates | Google, AI Search, agentic search |
Search Engine Journal Show | Loren Baker & guests | Broad digital marketing | SEO, PPC, social, content |
Ahrefs Podcast | Tim Soulo | Growth & SEO strategy | SEO, business, marketing, AI |
Authority Hacker Podcast | Gael Breton, Mark Webster | Content & affiliate sites | SEO, AI, content sites, online business |
Content and Conversation | Ross Hudgens | Content marketing | Content strategy, SEO, links |
Experts on the Wire | Dan Shure | Deep SEO discussions | SEO strategy, technical SEO, consulting |
Beers and SEO | Barry Adams, Steven Wilson-Beales | Publisher SEO | News SEO, Discover, AI search |
SEO Unplugged | Itamar Blauer | Practical SEO | Technical SEO, AI, analytics, links |
The Best SEO Podcast | Matthew Bertram | AI visibility | GEO, AEO, LLM visibility, SEO |
Marketing O’Clock | Cypress North team | Weekly marketing news | SEO, PPC, social |
Local Marketing Institute | Greg Gifford, Ben Fisher | Local SEO | Google Business Profile, local search, reviews |
Niche Pursuits Podcast | Spencer Haws | Niche websites | SEO, content, keyword research, monetization |
How to Choose the Right SEO Podcast in 2026
The right podcast depends on what part of search you are trying to improve.
For AI SEO, AEO and GEO
Look for podcasts that regularly discuss: AI Overviews → AI Mode → LLM visibility → ChatGPT → Gemini → citations → entity understanding → generative search
Google’s own documentation stresses that appearing in AI Search still depends on the same fundamental requirements as normal Search, including crawlability, indexability, useful content and strong site structure.
For technical SEO
Choose shows that discuss: crawling, indexing, JavaScript SEO, structured data, internal linking, site architecture and Search Console.
For content SEO
Focus on podcasts covering: search intent, topical relevance, content quality, digital PR, link acquisition and content distribution.
For local SEO
Prioritize podcasts focused on: Google Business Profile, Google Maps, reviews, local rankings and local visibility in AI-powered search.
For publishers
Look for discussions around: Google Discover, news SEO, zero-click search, AI referrals and changing publisher traffic patterns.
SEO vs AEO vs GEO vs AI Search: What Should You Focus On?
These terms are increasingly used interchangeably, but they describe slightly different areas of search optimization.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) focuses on improving a website’s visibility in search engines.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) focuses on making content useful and understandable for systems that provide direct answers.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is commonly used for optimizing visibility in generative search experiences and AI-generated answers.
AI search optimization / LLM visibility focuses more specifically on whether a brand, website or entity is discovered, mentioned and cited by AI systems.
The important point is that these shouldn’t be treated as completely separate replacements for SEO. Google’s own documentation says its AI Search experiences are grounded in its existing Search systems and that traditional SEO best practices continue to matter.
How to Optimize Your Content for AI Search in 2026
Following SEO podcasts is useful, but the information only matters when you apply it to your website. Google’s current guidance provides several practical principles that remain important for AI Search:
Make your content discoverable.
Your important pages should be crawlable, indexable and connected through internal links.
Answer the query clearly.
Use descriptive headings, concise explanations, tables, lists and FAQ sections where they genuinely help the reader.
Add original value.
AI systems have access to huge amounts of commodity information, so original research, first-hand experience, examples, data and expert commentary can make content more useful.
Keep important information in text.
Do not hide essential information exclusively inside images, videos or interactive elements.
Keep structured data accurate.
Your schema should match the visible content on the page. Google says there is no special schema markup required specifically for AI Overviews or AI Mode.
Strengthen entity signals.
Clearly identify people, companies, products, organizations, locations and relationships so both traditional search engines and AI systems can better understand what your page is about.
Build topical authority instead of publishing isolated articles.
Create interconnected content around a subject and use internal links to establish context.
Update content when facts change.
AI search systems value current information, particularly for pricing, product specifications, regulations, software features and other time-sensitive topics.
Measure visibility beyond traditional rankings.
Google launched dedicated Search Console reporting for visibility from generative AI features in 2026, alongside the existing Web performance reporting.
Quick Links:
FAQs: Best SEO Podcasts in 2026
Inside A Hustler's Brain and SEO Unplugged both work well for beginners. Jitendra's show grounds AI-era SEO in real operating experience, while SEO Unplugged's single-topic format makes it easy to find exactly the concept you're trying to learn.
Inside A Hustler's Brain and The Best SEO Podcast by Matthew Bertram are the strongest picks specifically for AI search and GEO. Both treat AI's impact on search as the central topic rather than an occasional side note.
No show on this list is exclusively about GEO (generative engine optimization), since the discipline is still forming. The Best SEO Podcast and Inside A Hustler's Brain currently cover it most directly, folding GEO strategy into their broader SEO coverage.
Search Off the Record is your only option here. It's produced by Google's own Search Relations team and remains the most direct source for how Google talks about its own search systems.
Conclusion: Best SEO Podcasts in 2026 for the AI Search
SEO in 2026 is no longer just about tracking blue-link rankings.
Search visibility now includes traditional organic results as well as AI Overviews, AI Mode, answer engines, conversational search and other generative experiences. Google says its generative Search features are creating new opportunities for websites to appear, while continuing to rely on core Search and quality systems.
That is why staying current matters.
A good SEO podcast can help you understand what is changing, test whether new advice is actually useful and separate practical developments from short-lived industry hype.
For the broadest learning path, build a listening mix around Google Search, algorithm updates, content, technical SEO, local SEO and AI search visibility rather than relying on a single show.
And one more thing: don’t optimize for AI at the expense of humans. Google’s guidance continues to emphasize helpful, reliable, people-first content, with the purpose of the content mattering as much as the optimization itself.
