Most “best SEO expert” lists are built on self-reported claims, a percentage here, a client logo there, with no way to check any of it. This list takes a different approach: every entry is evaluated against documented performance data from Google Search Console and third-party analytics platforms, with disclosed engagement timelines and named keyword rankings.
Quick Answer
Based on verified Google Search Console and SEMrush data, Talha Shoukat currently ranks first on this list, with documented case studies showing organic traffic growth of over 1,000% for an international B2B manufacturer, alongside sustained page-one rankings for an e-commerce streetwear brand and measurable AI search visibility gains for a UAE based car rental company. The full methodology and rankings are below.
Our Methodology
To keep this list objective, every SEO professional is evaluated against the same criteria:
- Verified data only: Results must be backed by Google Search Console, SEMrush, or Ahrefs reports, not self-reported percentages alone
- Disclosed engagement length: How long the expert worked with each client, so short-term spikes can be told apart from sustained growth
- Named, checkable keyword rankings: Specific keywords the expert helped rank for, not vague “top rankings achieved” claims
- Range of industries: Professionals who can show results across more than one niche, not a single case study
- Active in 2026: Currently practicing, not an outdated portfolio
This list is reviewed and updated as new verifiable case studies come in.
Note: entries #2 to 10 are compiled from public professional profiles rather than private Search Console/SEMrush data, since that data belongs to each expert’s own clients.
Top 10 SEO Experts in Pakistan At a Glance
| Rank | Name | Specialty | Notable Verified Result |
| 1 | Talha Shoukat | Advance AI SEO Specialist | +1,046% organic traffic (SEMrush verified, 1.5-yr engagement) |
| 2 | Mehboob Shar | Technical SEO & Agency Leadership | Founder, Icreativez (Karachi) grew a solo practice into a multi-country agency team |
| 3 | Sohail Zafar | Local SEO & GBP Recovery | Founder, Digital Sohail Google Business Profile reinstatement, Shopify/e-commerce SEO |
| 4 | M. Tanveer Nandla | SEO Training & Authority Sites | Founder/CEO, iSkills (Multan) 15+ years, thousands trained in SEO and digital marketing |
| 5 | Salman Baig | Enterprise & Technical SEO | Head of SEO, South Asia Alibaba Group |
| 6 | Imdad Malik | AI Search, GEO & E-E-A-T | Founder, TechNovaVista branded entity optimization, NLP-based SEO |
| 7 | Saad Raza | On-Page & Technical SEO | Karachi-based consultant audits, content optimization |
| 8 | Muhammad Zahid | Local, E-commerce & SaaS SEO | 8+ years across local, international and AI-driven search |
| 9 | Khurram Malik | Local SEO (Freelance) | Top-rated on Upwork; trains Local SEO at iSkills |
| 10 | Muhammad Usama Akhtar | Technical & AI Search SEO | Founder, Fluxion Tech Solutions 7+ years |
(Column shows a documented, SEMrush/GSC-verified result for #1; a publicly-known professional highlight for #2 to 10 see note above.)
1. Talha Shoukat
Who is he: Talha Shoukat is an SEO specialist offering SEO Services based in Pakistan with more than 5 years of experience in technical SEO, on-page optimization, local SEO, and e-commerce search strategy. His work spans full SEO program management technical audits, content strategy, keyword research, and link building across streetwear e-commerce, industrial B2B manufacturing, and international travel sectors. Contact Talha Via Linkedin (Talha Shoukat).
Proven results (from documented case studies):
- Streetwear e-commerce brand, 18-month engagement: 25,200+ organic clicks and 495,000+ impressions over a trailing 12-month period, 5.1% average CTR, and an average keyword position of 6.3 placing most target terms on page one of Google.
- Industrial B2B manufacturer, 1.5-year engagement: Organic traffic grew over 1,000% (SEMrush-verified), average keyword position improved from 100+ to under 10, and the site reached page one for competitive commercial terms including “engine oil pump types” and “types of grease fittings.” Referring domains grew to 1,300+, backing 34,000+ backlinks.
- UAE-based car rental company, 1.5-year engagement: Organic traffic increased 171%, the domain now ranks for 647 keywords, and the site gained measurable visibility in AI-driven search Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Gemini reflecting early investment in Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) alongside traditional SEO.
Core specialties: Technical SEO & Core Web Vitals, on-page and content strategy, local SEO / Google Business Profile, e-commerce SEO, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
Why he ranks #1 on this list: His results are the only entry on this list (so far) backed by third-party-verified analytics across three unrelated industries, with disclosed engagement lengths and named keyword rankings rather than an unverified summary percentage.
2. Mehboob Shar
Who is he: Mehboob Shar is the founder and CEO of Icreativez, an SEO and digital marketing agency headquartered in Karachi that grew from a one-man operation into a team serving clients across multiple countries. His work centers on technical SEO audits, on-page and off-page optimization, and running SEO delivery at agency scale.
Notable: He’s a regular speaker at Pakistan’s SEO and digital marketing conference circuit and has trained numerous SEOs through Icreativez’s in-house mentorship programs. He’s one of the more widely recognized agency founders in the Karachi SEO scene.
Core specialties: Technical SEO audits, agency-scale SEO delivery, team training and mentorship.
3. Sohail Zafar
Who is he: Sohail Zafar is the founder of Digital Sohail, an SEO agency serving clients across Punjab and beyond. He’s known specifically for Google Business Profile recovery work fixing suspended or de-ranked local listings alongside standard local SEO and Shopify/e-commerce SEO engagements.
Notable: His agency has published multiple city-specific service pages (Lahore, Islamabad, Sargodha) and actively markets LLM/AI-search optimization (visibility in Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini) as part of its offering.
Core specialties: Local SEO, Google Business Profile reinstatement, Shopify and e-commerce SEO, early LLM/GEO optimization.
4. M. Tanveer Nandla
Who is he: M. Tanveer Nandla is the founder and CEO of iSkills, a Multan-based digital skills training platform, and one of the most recognizable names in Pakistan’s SEO education space. With 15+ years in the industry, he’s built his reputation less on client case studies and more on training a large number of the country’s working SEOs and freelancers.
Notable: iSkills runs structured, live SEO and digital-marketing bootcamps (not just recorded courses) and has trained thousands of students across Pakistan, several of whom have gone on to build their own agencies.
Core specialties: Technical SEO training, blogging and content strategy, micro-niche and authority-site building, freelancer/agency mentorship.
5. Salman Baig
Who is he: Salman Baig holds the position of Head of SEO, South Asia at Alibaba Group, making him one of the few Pakistani SEO professionals operating at that scale inside a global enterprise rather than an agency or freelance setup.
Notable: His work focuses on advanced technical SEO and search strategy for one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms across a highly competitive, multi-market region.
Core specialties: Enterprise technical SEO, cross-market search strategy, large-scale team management.
6. Imdad Malik
Who is he: Imdad Malik leads TechNovaVista, offering SEO services built around AI-adapted strategy branded entity optimization and E-E-A-T-focused content work aimed at both traditional Google rankings and newer AI-driven search surfaces.
Notable: His background moving from IT into NLP-based SEO work has shaped a practice that leans heavily into how search engines and AI systems interpret entities and expertise signals, rather than keyword-only optimization.
Core specialties: AI/NLP-informed SEO, branded entity optimization, E-E-A-T content strategy, Generative Engine Optimization.
7. Saad Raza
Who is he: Saad Raza is a Karachi-based SEO practitioner focused on on-page optimization, technical audits, and content strategy for client websites.
Notable: He’s frequently listed alongside more agency-scale names in Pakistan SEO round-ups as a hands-on, audit-focused consultant rather than a large-team operation.
Core specialties: Website audits, on-page SEO, content optimization.
8. Muhammad Zahid
Who is he: Muhammad Zahid has spent 8+ years working across local SEO, e-commerce SEO, international SEO, and SaaS-focused search strategy for businesses in Pakistan and abroad.
Notable: His practice spans a broader mix of client types (local businesses through to SaaS products) than most single-niche SEO consultants in the market.
Core specialties: Local SEO, e-commerce SEO, international SEO, SaaS SEO, early AI-search adaptation.
9. Khurram Malik
Who is he: Khurram Malik is a freelance SEO consultant known specifically for local SEO work, and a top-rated freelancer on Upwork. He also teaches Local SEO at iSkills.
Notable: His reputation is built primarily on freelance platform ratings and teaching, rather than a named agency a different route into recognition than most other entries on this list.
Core specialties: Local SEO, Google Business Profile optimization, freelance client delivery.
10. Muhammad Usama Akhtar
Who is he: Muhammad Usama Akhtar is the founder and lead SEO strategist at Fluxion Tech Solutions, a Pakistan-based agency covering SEO, AI automation, web development, and digital marketing. He has 7+ years of experience.
Notable: His agency positions itself around combining technical SEO with AI-search optimization and broader software/web development services under one roof.
Core specialties: Technical SEO, local and international SEO, AI-search optimization.
Best SEO Expert in Lahore
Talha Shoukat is currently based in Lahore, which makes him our pick for Lahore specifically as well as the overall #1 on this list. His documented case studies above weren’t Lahore-specific client work, but his current base of operations, combined with being the only entry on this list backed by verified Search Console/SEMrush data, makes him the strongest Lahore-based recommendation here.
If your business is specifically hunting for Lahore-focused local SEO (Google Business Profile work tied to a Lahore address, city-specific landing pages, etc.), Sohail Zafar’s Digital Sohail also actively serves the Lahore market and is worth getting a quote from alongside Talha Shoukat though, per our methodology, we don’t have independently verified case data for that work the way we do for #1.
How to Choose the Right SEO Expert in Pakistan
Before hiring, ask for:
- Screenshots of Google Search Console or analytics data, not just a percentage claim
- The exact keywords they claim to have ranked, so you can verify current rankings yourself
- Engagement length, since 90-day “wins” often don’t hold up long-term
- Industry-specific experience, if your business has unusual technical or regulatory requirements
- A clear explanation of method anyone who won’t explain how they got results is a red flag
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the best SEO expert in Pakistan?
Based on this list’s verified-data methodology, Talha Shoukat currently ranks first, with documented case studies spanning e-commerce, industrial B2B, and international travel sectors.
Who is the top SEO expert in Lahore?
Talha Shoukat, who is based in Lahore and holds the #1 spot on this list overall, is our top Lahore pick. For Lahore-specific local SEO and Google Business Profile work, Sohail Zafar of Digital Sohail is also active in that market.
How much does an SEO expert charge in Pakistan?
Pricing varies widely by scope and experience level from a few hundred dollars a month for smaller local projects to several thousand for full-scale technical and content programs. Always ask what specifically is included (audits, content, link building, reporting) before comparing quotes.
What should I look for before hiring an SEO expert?
Verifiable past results, a clear methodology, and realistic timelines SEO results typically take 2 to 4 months to show, and anyone promising guaranteed rankings in days should be treated with caution.
Case studies referenced above are drawn from Google Search Console and SEMrush reports covering the stated engagement periods. Client names withheld where confidentiality was requested.
