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John Morabito is the founder of Winston Digital Marketing and SVP of Search Innovation at Stellar Rising. Expect to learn how to automate SEO work using AI, including Claude skills, connectors, and multi-agent workflows. John shares experiments where agents create and publish content from call transcripts and other inputs, driving major traffic growth and increased leads, while stressing the need for human oversight throughout. 00:00 Can AI run an SEO agency? 01:27 Introduction 03:38 Welcome, John Morabito 04:43 Claude Skills Origins 06:55 The Winston testing lab 08:49 Agentic blog post creation 11:02 How traffic leads to results 15:05 From content to revenue 18:02 Keeping humans at the centre 18:40 Agency automation ideas 23:09 How to align deliverables 27:16 Maintaining guardrails for AI 31:45 Local search reality check 33:47 Use regulations when building AI skills 35:15 Why agencies still matter 38:10 Inside the content pipeline 41:06 Interview your clients to get expertise 43:59 Skills vs workflows 46:22 Recommendation: Actionable tip 48:22 Recommendation: SEO tool 50:58 Recommendation: Something fun 53:35 Where to follow John 54:32 Episode wrap-up Follow John: Website: https://www.winstondigitalmarketing.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-morabito-29459655/The new rules of search: https://www.winstondigitalmarketing.com/whitepapers/the-new-rules-of-search/

Nathan Gotch joins Search with Candour to discuss the state of AI search in 2026. Topics include: how the demand for GEO and AI search optimisation has grown recentlyhow much traditional SEO rankings and AI search citations crossoverthe fragmentation of search across different AI search engines Follow Nathan: Get Nathan’s book ‘AI SEO for dummies’: https://www.amazon.co.uk/AI-SEO-Dummies-Nathan-Gotch/dp/1394418981The Rankability study: https://www.rankability.com/blog/ai-search-statistics/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nathangotch Chapters 00:00 The state of AI search 01:48 Introduction 03:34 Welcome, Nathan Gotch 05:55 Study methodology 07:57 ChatGPT citations don’t match the SERPs 12:03 one category marketing playbook 15:17 UGC and agent-led outreach 19:48 The demand shift 24:13 How to sell AI SEO to clients 28:11 Is SEO still SEO? 28:46 Do backlinks still matter? 30:00 Why AI needs more than traditional search 32:17 Authority and inventory gaps 37:18 AI vs Google quality filters 39:23 Taking the kitchen sink approach 41:59 Do title tags still matter? 46:21 Reviews as a top priority 49:08 Recommendations 53:18 Wrap up

This live podcast event brings together The SEO Mindset and Search with Candour podcasts at Komedia in Brighton. The trio of hosts explore mixed feelings about hustle culture, its long-term harm, burnout and disconnection and redefining success beyond productivity. They also share practical steps for career longevity: intentional planning, setting boundaries, routines, self-reflection, and listening to your body to know when hard work is worth it and when to rest. Sponsored by SISTRIX: https://www.sistrix.com/ Sponsored by Majestic: https://majestic.com/ Follow The SEO Mindset podcast: https://theseomindset.co.uk/ Chapters 00:00 Live show kickoff 00:34 Meet the hosts 04:08 Sponsored by SISTRIX and Majestic 10:29 What is hustle culture? 16:28 Pressure and burnout 23:59 Redefining success 27:49 Career longevity goals 32:10 Intentional career choices 34:13 Burnout to better fit 38:21 Freelance flexibility tradeoffs 40:40 Routines and boundaries 47:10 Journaling and self-insight 48:34 Finding your ikigai 50:17 Enjoy your hobbies without pressure 53:39 Start small and learn 55:27 Key takeaways wrap up 59:48 Where to find us

Welcome to season 5 of Search with Candour! Jack sits down with SEO veteran Charlie Whitworth to discuss whether SEO and “GEO” are essentially the same and which traditional SEO strategies still work for AI search. Follow Charlie Whitworth SEO: https://www.whitworthseo.com/HIVE MCR: https://hive-mcr.co.uk/AIR SEO: https://www.whitworthseo.com/air-seo-ai-ready-seo-campaigns/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-authentic-seo/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whitworthseo.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/hivemcr/ Chapters 00:00 Highlight 01:36 Introduction 04:27 Meet Charlie Whitworth 05:33 Why this matters now 10:43 Good SEO = Good GEO 14:05 GEO bro debate 15:56 Data and measurement 21:46 KPIs that still matter 25:12 Technical SEO still wins 27:28 Content structure for LLMs 35:46 Pruning and cannibalisation 38:40 Content pruning done right 41:06 Brand mentions vs backlinks 44:34 Good products beat spam 47:07 Old tactics you need to stop 49:03 Testing and reprioritising 51:03 No silver bullets for GEO 56:39 Ignore the noise 58:11 Cloudflare bot settings 01:01:18 Recommendations: Log file analysis 01:05:03 Recommendation tool: WAIKAY 01:07:22 Fun recommendation: The Streets 01:08:40 Wrap up

Recorded the day after the first SearchNorwichXL, this episode recaps the last four weeks of SEO news from the Core Updates newsletter: Google rolling out google.com/goto pass-through URLs to deter scraping amid the SERP API lawsuit (with rank-tracking tools finding workarounds); Google Search Console’s generative AI performance reporting rolling out globally, showing impressions for AI Overviews/AI Mode, alongside a toggle to opt sites out of generative AI features without affecting organic rankings; data suggesting nearly all People Also Ask results are AI-generated; and a Google AI Contribution pilot in Search Console that tests paying publishers when their content significantly contributes to AI-generated responses in Gemini, AI Overviews, and AI Mode. News stories https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-goto-tracking-41957.htmlhttps://searchengineland.com/google-search-console-ai-performance-reports-and-search-generative-ai-control-rolling-out-globally-486269https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7503164423075725313/https://9to5google.com/2026/09/17/google-ai-contribution-pilot-tests-paying-websites-when-theyre-used-in-ai-results/Chapters 00:00 Welcome and recap 01:11 SearchNorwichXL highlights 02:15 September 2026 news 02:40 Google’s new goto redirect URLs 05:26 GSC AI reports rollout 08:42 AI Overviews takeover People Also Ask 11:15 Google pilots new publisher payment program 15:44 Season five teaser 17:21 Wrap up

Jack Chambers-Ward hosts a crossover episode of Search With Candour with Mel Barfield from Indie Business Club, discussing personal branding through shared interests, authenticity, and community. The conversation covers balancing personal brand with employed work, using hobbies (ranging from board games and films to music and cheese) to create relatable connections, and how small signals like presenting yourself authentically can create new connections. Jack & Mel also discuss how who you work with affects your brand reputation and why being nerdy about the things you care about is so important. Follow Mel: Website: https://allcopymel.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniebarfield/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0DTopTvMDkklkmpAfshIjWYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@indiebusinessclubpodChapters 00:00 Introduction 00:25 How Jack and Mel met 03:23 Freelancing advice 09:05 Building your brand with podcasting 14:42 Nerd Signals That Connect 16:14 Board games and playtime 21:21 Content consumption habits 24:08 Band t-shirts and relatability 25:58 Cheese discussion 30:49 The ethics of who you work with 33:17 LinkedIn gurus 35:55 Choose your clients carefully 42:31 Should you niche down? 44:21 Essentialism and focus 48:38 Futureproof your personal brand 53:44 How to be relatable 59:19 See It. Say It. Sorted. 01:04:45 Hobbies create connections and opportunities 01:08:19 Align your personal brand with your values 01:09:41 Find your audience 01:11:33 Don’t write like your audience is children (unless they’re children) 01:14:46 Curiosity builds rapport 01:18:39 Being nerdy works 01:22:46 Building a brand while employed 01:27:20 Conference recognition 01:29:21 Hot takes on LinkedIn 01:34:13 Wrap up 01:41:42 Where to follow us

🌟 SearchNorwichXL - 24 September 2026: https://searchnorwich.org/ 🎟️Get your tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/searchnorwichxl-a-one-day-seo-conference-with-world-class-speakers-tickets-1985283700992?discount=podcast Jack Chambers-Ward previews SearchNorwichXLand shares two talks from past SearchNorwich events: First, Seb Atkinson shows how ChatGPT’s Code Interpreter is the cheat code you need to start automating SEO tasks and improve your data analysis abilities using Python - no prior coding skills required! Seb discusses the kinds of SEO activities you can automate with Python and how to use ChatGPT to get started, including what tools to use, example projects and prompts, how to resolve errors, and how to use ChatGPT to develop your own coding skills. Second, Mark Williams-Cook from Search Norwich 19, explains why using conceptual models is doing "advanced SEO" and what he learned from the Google exploit he discovered last year.  Also, Mark describes how SEO is just like the video Theme Park (yes, seriously) ⌚ Time stamps 00:00 Introduction 02:39 ChatGPT's Code Interpreter: Your secret weapon for SEO automation success - Seb Atkinson 20:33 Improving your SEO with conceptual models - Mark Williams-Cook 47:03 Wrap Up

Topics discussed: New EU transparency rules requiring clear labelling of AI-generated or AI-altered content across formats Microsoft Clarity is adding branded vs non-branded segmentation for AI query/citation reporting and share of authority Anthropic’s Claude embedding watermarks/metadata Google is expanding AI Mode with interactive visualisations, quizzes, Lens learning features, and Notebook/Gemini integrations Google is introducing google.com/goto redirecting tracking URLs aimed at reducing scraping abuse, with major rank-tracking tools saying it doesn’t impact tracking data News stories: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/08/02/ai-generated-label-becomes-mandatory-in-the-eu-for-companieshttps://clarity.microsoft.com/blog/branded-non-branded-queries/https://www.cloudflare.com/press/press-releases/2026/cloudflare-adds-aeo-visibility-dashboard-to-its-aeo-suite-showing-brands-whether-ai-assistants-are-recommending-them/https://support.claude.com/en/articles/16266773-how-claude-marks-ai-generated-contenthttps://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-goto-tracking-41957.htmlTime stamps 00:00 Coming up on the show 00:26 Introduction 01:45 EU AI-labelling rules 06:31 Microsoft Clarity AI brand query filters 11:31 Claude watermarking update 15:45 Google AI visual tools 22:49 Google anti-scraping URLs 25:54 What’s coming up on season 5 28:05 Wrap up

Jack Chambers-Ward continues the hype for SearchNorwichXL by highlighting talks from Arnout Hellemans and Brendan Bennett, who will be speaking at SearchNorwichXL. Arnout’s talk from SearchNorwich 16 is titled ‘How to work on your SEO without paying for tools’, and Brendan’s talk from SearchNorwich 19 is titled ‘It’s not me, it’s you: Why your SEO or agency (probably) hates you’ 🎟️ Get 25% off SearchNorwichXL tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/searchnorwichxl-tickets-1985283700992?discount=podcast Chapters 00:00 Introduction 03:19 Arnout Hellemans’ talk 23:43 In-between talks 24:26 Brendan Bennett’s talk 49:18 Wrap up

Jack Chambers-Ward and Mark Williams-Cook present a preview of SearchNorwichXL, their upcoming conference on 24 September 2026. Mark and Jack discuss the talks they’re looking forward to and give a preview of what to expect on the day. Use ‘MONDAYSWC’ to get 20% off your tickets: ⁠https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/searchnorwichxl-tickets-1985283700992?discount=mondayswc⁠For more information about SearchNorwichXL: https://searchnorwich.org/ Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:29 Mark’s first pick: Arnout Hellemans 08:36 Jack’s first pick: Giulia Panozzo 16:37 Mark’s second pick: Adam Gent 25:22 Jack’s second pick: Future Of Search Panel 31:14 Mark’s third pick: Myriam Jessier 39:14 Jack’s third pick: Martin Splitt 42:20 Discount code and tickets 43:43 Mark’s upcoming speaking schedule 46:55 Thanks and wrap up

Candour’s Principal SEO Consultant, Brendan Bennett and Design Lead Mark Salisbury join Search with Candour to discuss the growing overlap between SEO, design, UX, and brand, and how AI/LLMs and emerging agentic experiences affect the way we build and use websites. The Candour trio also explore what brand means beyond just a logo, how third-party signals like reviews, Reddit, and search results shape perception, and how SEOs measure brand through metrics such as brand search volume, sentiment, and frameworks like Google’s HEART. The conversation covers trust signals, page clarity, semantic HTML, the tension between brand-led copy and keyword-focused headings, and the risk of AI-generated “slop” versus human differentiation. Follow Mark and Brendan: Website: https://withcandour.co.uk/Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-salisbury-701b8911/Brendan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanbennett1989/Chapters 00:00 Welcome, Brendan Bennett and Mark Salisbury 01:09 Design vs SEO No Versus 03:01 Why Brand Matters Now 09:45 Defining Brand Beyond Logos 17:17 Brand Metrics and Frameworks 22:40 SERP Signals and Trust Issues 27:19 When Brand Beats SEO 33:01 AI Websites and Human Proof 36:12 Luxury Branding vs AI Content 42:05 Websites as Experiences 42:48 Designing for Agents 43:50 Trust and Spend Thresholds 45:47 Technical SEO Meets Semantics 49:10 Brand Voice vs Keywords 53:31 Traffic vs Conversion Tradeoffs 56:43 What Makes a Site Good 59:04 Trust Signals and UX Proof 01:02:14 Vibe Coding and Web Slop 01:03:44 Future of SEO and Design 01:08:51 Recommendations: Actionable tips 01:12:00 Recommendations: Tools to try 01:15:23 Recommendations: Fun things like dancing and video games

Jack Chambers-Ward hosts a July 2026 AI search and SEO news roundup on Search With Candour. This episode covers everything from new Google Trends features and social media data tracking in Google Search Console to research about ads in Google AI Mode and if Google punishes AI-generated content. Links to articles https://www.linkedin.com/posts/analyzing-search-interest-just-got-more-powerful-share-7478017577340968960-qsi3/https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7480247562084638720/https://seranking.com/blog/google-ai-mode-ads/https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/google-com-is-now-ai-mode-s-2-cited-domainhttps://ahrefs.com/blog/google-doesnt-punish-ai-content/https://www.similarweb.com/corp/reports/2026-generative-ai-landscape/https://www.axios.com/2026/07/23/yelp-reviews-chatgpt-geo-partnershipChapters 00:00 Coming up on this episode 00:29 Introduction 01:53 Live Podcast returns on 7 October 2026 04:19 Google Trends new comparison feature 09:31 ChatGPT adds Yelp reviews 12:35 SE Ranking study: Ads in AI Mode 18:39 Profound study: Google cites itself more 23:01 Ahrefs study: Does Google punish AI content? 29:37 SimilarWeb Generative AI Report 36:33 Wrap up

Liv Day and Ellie Wraith from Digitaloft join Search with Candour to explain how to turn client expertise into SEO gold and why you need to create content your competitors can’t copy. They explain why unique, non-commodity content matters more in the AI era, how to extract insights from hesitant clients, and how to build processes (checklists, writer access to experts, ongoing client questions) to ensure information gain. They discuss using first-party data (sales, customer service transcripts), surveys, and sources like Reddit to uncover real audience pain points, plus repurposing interviews and video assets across site pages based on page goals. Follow Liv & Ellie: Digitaloft: https://digitaloft.co.uk/ Liv on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-day-seo/ Ellie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliewraith/ Chapters 00:00 Welcome to Search with Candour 02:46 Introducing Ellie Wraith 03:38 Introducing Liv Day 04:30 Why expertise matters now 09:48 Measuring information gain 15:12 Client chats vs keyword research 18:17 Handling hesitant experts 27:25 Personal brands and authority 32:53 What is trust in the AI era 35:10 Convincing clients to get on camera 37:04 Proving real Experts 39:30 Repurposing your content and assets 41:58 Technical difficulties 42:05 Finding Proprietary Data 46:50 Measuring Content Success 51:03 Recommendations: Ask more questions and prioritise based on your bottom line 54:01 Recommendations: Collate customer service data and check Reddit 56:44 Recommendations: Summer gigs and Widow’s Bay 59:00 Where to Follow and Wrap

Jack Chambers-Ward recaps the biggest SEO news from June 2026 on Search With Candour. Jack covers Google’s “Preferred Sources” expanding from Discover into AI Mode and AI Overviews, the new Search Console generative AI performance reporting and contrasts it with Bing Webmaster Tools’ expanded AI visibility reporting. He also highlights the new ability to connect Google Business Profile to GA4 for richer local reporting and a landmark German court ruling that Google can be held liable for false claims in AI Overviews, treating them as Google’s own content. Links to news stories https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/search/original-high-quality-content-search/https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/search/a-new-profile-to-help-publishers-and-creators-highlight-their-work-on-search/https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/06/gen-ai-performance-reportshttps://blogs.bing.com/search/June-2026/New-AI-Visibility-Insights-in-Bing-Webmaster-Tools-Intents-Topics-Citation-Share-Comparehttps://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16930347https://the-decoder.com/landmark-german-ruling-declares-googles-ai-overviews-are-googles-own-words-and-makes-it-liable-for-false-answers/ Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:27 Preferred sources expand to AI Mode 05:08 Google adds creator Search Profiles 08:32 GSC AI performance reporting 10:25 Bing AI visibility tools 17:23 Google Business Profile data in GA4 22:34 German court finds Google liable for AI Overview content 31:11 Wrap up

Sean Barber joins Search with Candour to discuss fighting misinformation in the health industry. Misinformation has been exacerbated with the growth of LLMs and AI, which increasingly cite piecemeal sources in ways that can mislead or endanger users. Sean and Jack share examples such as incorrect CPR guidance and confusing emergency and non-emergency phone numbers. Follow Sean: Website: https://www.searchwithsean.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SearchWithSeanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanrbarber/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/searchwithsean.bsky.social 00:00 Fighting misinformation in YMYL industries 01:36 Meet Sean Barber 05:15 Why misinformation spreads so quickly 08:09 AI Overviews causing health risks 11:26 Patience versus accuracy 15:02 Organisation-wide strategies for companies fighting misinformation 21:19 The importance of transparency and reputation 26:28 Defensive vs proactive tactics 29:51 Proving your expertise 34:01 Put experts on camera 37:58 Low-budget video setup 39:51 Authenticity beats big productions 41:10 Why showing your face matters 43:13 How to build trust signals 46:18 AI search and funding 50:03 Bad press is actually bad press 52:59 Always keep a human in the loop 55:11 Recommendations: Sean’s actionable tip 57:41 Recommendations: Sean’s SEO tools 59:38 Recommendations: TV and movies 01:03:54 Episode wrap-up