It’s good to have someone to look up to - a mentor, if you like. A person who can guide you and show you the ropes. 


While it’s great to have someone like this in your personal life, it is equally as important to have a guru in your professional life too, someone who has faced and overcome problems you are currently going through, or even someone who is in the know and can give sound advice.

In the insanely fast-paced world of digital marketing this is more relevant than in any other industry. In this blog I will list the top five SEO influencers who are doing wonders in the industry.

What they don’t know isn’t worth knowing, and I’d highly recommend subscribing to their blogs or at least following them on Twitter.

Matt Cutts

Having joined Google back in 2000, Matt Cutts used to be in charge of Google’s Webspam team. In other words, he was responsible for ensuring the quality of the websites that appear in the Google search results.

As a prominent spokesperson for Google, it was always beneficial to hear straight from the proverbial horse's mouth. Some of the useful guidance Matt provided includes this piece of wisdom:

"The objective is not to ‘make your links appear natural’; the objective is that your links are natural."

Though Matt has been on sabbatical since July 2015, it is beneficial to go through all of the old resources on his blog, especially if you're new to the industry as it helps to give context. Consider it background reading.

Follow Matt Cutts on Twitter

Avinash Kaushik

Avinash Kaushik has been Google’s digital marketing evangelist for just under ten years. As well as publishing content regularly to his blog and speaking at leading conferences such as Search Engine Watch and MozCon, Avinash has also shared his knowledge through the books he has written: Web Analytics 2.0 and Web Analytics: An Hour A Day.

What really stands out about Avinash is his commitment to his craft and his determination to teach others as well. This is proven by the fact that he co-founded Market Motive, an online marketing education website that uploads fresh content every day. It is reassuring that hard work and contribution is recognised in our industry, and Avinash has won a number of awards along the way, including the ‘Most Influential Industry Contributor’ from the Web Analytics Association in 2011.

Follow Avinash Kaushik on Twitter

Dixon Jones

Dixon Jones entered the SEO arena back when internet marketing was just starting, And there was no where near as many specialists as there are nowadays. Those who have gained authority for themselves, like Dixon, have done so through testing their hypothesis and then sharing their findings through their blogs and conferences.

For the past seven years, Dixon has been spearheading the marketing team over at Majestic, the world's largest link intelligence database, and transformed it into one of the most authoritative search brands around.

In an interview with Web SEO Analytics, Dixon advised:

"I think every SEO needs to come up with their own definition of what constitutes a 'good' link." 

This is really good advice as it’s not always black and white, and can differ from industry to industry.

Follow Dixon Jones on Twitter

Rand Fishkin

RandFishkin is the face of Moz, one of the most popular digital marketing analytics software platforms. It also hosts a thriving community that encourages learning and sharing of digital marketing knowledge, including the must-see Whiteboard Friday.


Rand first became passionate about the internet back in 1993 while still in high school, and after playing with Microsoft Frontpage and building websites in the late '90's, Rand moved into consulting, assisting banks, doctors, law firms, and small businesses based in Seattle with their websites. It was in 2002 that Rand got involved in the field of search marketing and he hasn’t looked back since.

Over the last decade, Rand has had the opportunity to speak at Google, Facebook, Microsoft and many other industry leading conferences, so you can trust his wisdom.

Follow Rand Fishkin on Twitter

David Mihm 

With a wealth of experience and wisdom behind him, David specialises in local search marketing. Based in Portland, Oregon, David runs his boutique agency, aptly named David Mihm, where he has helped a number of local businesses develop effective digital marketing strategies.

In 2009, David co-founded GetListed.org, a tool to help small businesses create and optimise their presence in local directories, which was acquired by Moz in 2012. Since the acquisition of the tool David has served as Moz’s Director of Local Search Strategy.

As well as speaking at industry events, David regularly writes for Search Engine Land and Moz. I highly recommend going through his past posts as they are very helpful, in particular The 2015 Local Search Ranking Factors.

Follow David Mihm on Twitter