Host: Sean Barber — https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanrbarber/ (He/Him)

In this Real Talk With Sean episode, I'm joined by Simon Cox, Andy Strager, Tory Gray and Kristine Schachinger for a wide-ranging discussion on where the web is heading — the future of websites, the agentic web, AI security, how to stay sane in a noisy industry, getting dev work over the line, and the big one: whether we should hit pause on AI at all.

We look at what online companies might look like in three years, why the web will endure but matter differently, the coming wave of agent-driven security problems, how to cut through the daily noise of updates, the real techniques for getting dev tickets prioritised (and winning over the C-level), and a genuinely open debate on AI's environmental, surveillance, jobs and safety trade-offs.

My Guests:

Simon Cox — https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonmcox/

Andy Strager — https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-strager/

Tory Gray — https://www.linkedin.com/in/torygray/

Kristine Schachinger — https://www.linkedin.com/in/kschachinger-seo/

Topics Covered:

- The Web in Three Years: Whether websites survive the AI era, why corporate sites may consolidate, and what's left when retrieval stops being the point

- The Agentic Web & Bot-to-Bot Activity: The infrastructure layer that still needs building, WebMCP, and why some categories of SaaS may actually grow

- Agent Security & the Coming Wave of Hacks: Why agents are fundamentally insecure, real breach examples, and why trust may be the biggest brake on adoption

- Is the Web Still Worth Exploring?: The "samey" templated internet, where the interesting pockets still live (the Fediverse), and whether the Wild West is really over

- Staying Sane in a Noisy Industry: How each guest actually keeps up with Google updates and AI news without drowning — and why "staying in your lane" matters

- Getting Dev Tickets Over the Line: Speaking the dev's language, giving them workable detail, and making their job easier instead of harder

- Winning Buy-In & Beating the C-Level Blocker: Translating SEO into business impact, securing executive sign-off, and why the hardest person to convince is often at the top

- Would You Hit Pause on AI?: An honest panel debate on whether we should stop, slow down, or keep going

- AI, Data Centres & the Environment: Responsible vs cheap data centres, the real local impact, and the energy cost of the AI boom

- Surveillance, Military & AI's Real Revenue: Why the current money is in surveillance and military, cognitive offload, and the case for stronger guardrails

- AI, Jobs & the Missing Juniors: Why pausing could give humans time to retrain — and which jobs actually survive

Thank you to our partners:

SEO Gets, the easy-to-use analytics and reporting tool for your GSC & GA4 data.

Be sure to check out the tool and use code search10 for 10% off: https://seogets.com/

Linkavista — A backlink marketplace built for SEOs who want more transparency. With access to thousands of websites, real traffic insights through Google Search Console connections, and an easier way to find relevant opportunities.

Use code SEAN10 for 10% extra credit on your first order: https://linkavista.com/

Host: Sean Barber – https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanrbarber/ – He/Him

In this episode of Search With Sean, I’m joined by a panel of experienced local SEO experts to discuss how local search is changing, the growing impact of AI and what businesses should be focusing on to improve their local visibility today.

Joining me for this discussion are:

Darren Shaw – https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenshawwhitespark/

Greg Gifford – https://www.linkedin.com/in/greggifford/

Joy Hawkins – https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyhawkins/

Daniel Brooks – https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmbrooks/

Dayna Lucio – https://www.linkedin.com/in/dayna-lucio-90749028/

The panel discuss:

- What's changed most in local SEO over the last 12 months

- AI Local Packs and the changing Google search results

- Why reviews, recency and review diversification matter

- How AI is changing the local customer journey

- Google vs ChatGPT and other AI platforms for local search

- Why traditional local SEO is no longer enough

- Building visibility across websites, listings, social platforms and third-party sources

- Local content strategies for both traditional and AI search

- Brand and entity consistency across different platforms

- What businesses should prioritise in local SEO today

Topics covered include:

- Google Business Profiles and Local Packs

- AI search and local visibility

- Google vs ChatGPT for local discovery

- Reviews, review recency and third-party review platforms

- Multi-location and enterprise local SEO

- Awards and third-party recognition

- Local content and audience pain points

- FAQs, query fan-outs and content freshness

- Entity and brand consistency

- Local listings and citations

- Measuring local SEO beyond rankings and clicks- The changing local customer journey

⭐ Special offer from Darren Shaw / Whitespark

Try Whitespark's Local Ranking Grids for free at https://whitespark.ca/ and get 50% off your first month for any paid plan with promo code: seanbarber50

Thank you to our partners:

SEO Gets, the easy-to-use analytics and reporting tool for your GSC & GA4 data. Be sure to check out the tool and use code search10 for 10% off:https://seogets.com/

Linkavista — A backlink marketplace built for SEOs who want more transparency. With access to thousands of websites, real traffic insights through Google Search Console connections, and an easier way to find relevant opportunities.

Use code SEAN10 for 10% extra credit on your first order:https://linkavista.com/

Host: Sean Barber – https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanrbarber/ – He/Him

In this episode of Search With Sean, I’m joined by a panel of experienced digital PR experts to discuss what makes a successful digital PR campaign today, how AI is changing the industry and how smaller brands can generate meaningful coverage without enormous budgets.

Joining me for this discussion are:

James Roach – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesroachpr/

Thomas Chivers – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomchivers/

Pat Ahern – https://www.linkedin.com/in/pahern/

The panel discuss:

- The digital PR campaigns delivering the strongest results right now

- Why reactive PR and expert commentary have become so effective

- How brands can create genuinely useful and newsworthy campaigns

- Using AI without losing authentic expert insight

- How to stand out in increasingly crowded journalist inboxes

- The growing problem of fake AI-generated experts

- Whether paywalls reduce the value of digital PR coverage

- How smaller brands can achieve results with limited budgets

Topics covered include:

- Why traditional “best cities for…” campaigns are losing their impact

- Combining different datasets to create useful and original stories

- Preparing expert commentary before major news events

- Building commentary banks through recorded client conversations

- Using Claude, NotebookLM and transcription tools to organise expert knowledge

- Keeping creativity and first-hand experience at the centre of PR

- Testing subject lines, pitches and expert credentials- Creating “proof of life” packs to verify genuine experts

- AI detection, watermarks and the risk of false positives

- Measuring brand awareness and SEO value beyond direct traffic

- Using reactive PR, Google Trends and proprietary data on smaller budgets

Thank you to our partners:

SEO Gets, the easy-to-use analytics and reporting tool for your GSC & GA4 data.

Be sure to check out the tool and use code search10 for 10% off: https://seogets.com/

Linkavista — A backlink marketplace built for SEOs who want more transparency. With access to thousands of websites, real traffic insights through Google Search Console connections, and an easier way to find relevant opportunities.

Use code SEAN10 for 10% extra credit on your first order:https://linkavista.com/

Host: Sean Barber – https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanrbarber/ – He/Him

In this episode of Search With Sean, I’m joined by a panel of experienced speakers, marketers and communications experts to discuss how to prepare for public speaking, manage nerves and deliver presentations that audiences genuinely remember.

Joining me for this discussion are:

Erica Anderson Rooney – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/

Molly St. Louis – https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-st-louis-4359bb55/

Jamie D’Alessandro – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jldalessandro/

Marjolein Schollaert – https://www.linkedin.com/in/marjoleinschollaert/

Joshua Squires – https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshsquiresrva/

The panel discuss:

- How to prepare effectively for a talk or presentation

- Rehearsal techniques that build confidence and improve delivery

- Whether speakers should memorise presentations or use cue cards

- Practical ways to manage nerves and anxiety

- Developing an authentic public-speaking style

- How storytelling, emotion and actionable advice make talks memorable

Topics covered include:

- Structuring presentations around a clear narrative

- Practising speeches aloud and identifying difficult phrases

- Personalising talks for a particular audience

- Memorising openings, closings and key transitions

- Using notes, slides and stage positions as prompts

- Reframing nerves as excitement

- Finding friendly faces within the audience

- Avoiding unhelpful comparisons with other speakers

- Combining personal stories with practical takeaways

- Creating emotional connections and memorable “aha” moments

Thank you to our partners:

SEO Gets, the easy-to-use analytics and reporting tool for your GSC & GA4 data.

Be sure to check out the tool and use code search10 for 10% off: https://seogets.com/

Linkavista — A backlink marketplace built for SEOs who want more transparency. With access to thousands of websites, real traffic insights through Google Search Console connections, and an easier way to find relevant opportunities.

Use code SEAN10 for 10% extra credit on your first order:https://linkavista.com/

Host: Sean Barber — https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanrbarber/ (He/Him)

In this Search With Sean panel episode, I’m joined by Chloe Meadows, James Brockbank, Amanda Walls, Vince Nero and Natalie Trice to discuss the changing role of digital PR and how it fits into the future of SEO, AI search and brand building.

We explore how digital PR has evolved beyond simply earning links, why brand mentions and authority are becoming increasingly important in an AI-driven search landscape, and what separates campaigns that create real business impact from those that simply generate coverage.

The panel also discusses campaign relevance, journalist relationships, measuring PR success, avoiding vanity metrics, and why digital PR needs to work alongside SEO, content and wider marketing teams.

My Guests:

Chloe Meadows — https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloemeadowspr/

James Brockbank — https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-brockbank/

Amanda Walls — https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandajwalls/

Vince Nero — https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinnero/

Natalie Trice — https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-trice/

Topics Covered:

- What Digital PR Means In 2026: How the discipline has evolved from link building into a broader brand authority and trust-building strategy

- Digital PR vs Link Building: Why digital PR should not simply be viewed as a way to earn links and why context, relevance and reputation matter more

- AI Search & Brand Authority: How digital PR can help search engines and AI models understand who brands are and what they are trusted for

- Building Entities & Trust Signals: Why mentions, expertise and third-party validation are becoming increasingly important

- The Relationship Between SEO & Digital PR: Why PR cannot operate in isolation and needs to align with SEO, content, product and wider marketing goals

- Why Relevance Matters More Than Ever: Moving away from generic campaigns and focusing on topics that genuinely connect with audiences and brands

- Creating Digital PR Campaigns That Stand Out: Why creativity, emotion, uniqueness and understanding your audience are critical to breaking through journalist inboxes

- The Changing Role Of Journalists: How media challenges, crowded inboxes and changing publishing models are impacting PR professionals

- Brand Building vs Vanity Metrics: Why coverage numbers, link counts and estimated reach are not enough without understanding the real impact

- Measuring Digital PR Success: Moving beyond awareness metrics and focusing on business outcomes, conversions and meaningful influence

- Can Digital PR Fix A Broken Brand?: Why PR cannot replace strong products, technical SEO, good content or customer experiences

- The Future Of Digital PR: How AI, search changes and evolving consumer behaviour will continue shaping the industry

Thank you to our partners:

SEO Gets, the easy-to-use analytics and reporting tool for your GSC & GA4 data. Be sure to check out the tool and use code search10 for 10% off: https://seogets.com/

Linkavista — A backlink marketplace built for SEOs who want more transparency. With access to thousands of websites, real traffic insights through Google Search Console connections, and an easier way to find relevant opportunities.

Use code SEARCH10 for 10% extra credit on your first order:https://linkavista.com/

Host: Sean Barber — https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanrbarber/ (He/Him)

In this Real Talk With Sean episode, I’m joined by Jess Joyce, Natalia Witczyk, and Jade Pruett for a wide-ranging discussion covering the future of SEO, AI search, data reporting, content creation, social media, and how marketers can adapt in an increasingly AI-driven world.

We look at how teams should approach the growing amount of data available to them, why storytelling is becoming more important than ever, how brands can maintain a human edge in AI-generated content, the future of international SEO, and the challenges surrounding social media and younger generations.

My Guests:

Jess Joyce — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessjoyce/

Natalia Witczyk — https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliawitczyk/

Jade Pruett — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jade-pruett/

Topics Covered:

- The Data Overload Problem: With more platforms, tools, and AI data available than ever, how marketers can avoid being overwhelmed and focus on meaningful insights

- Creating Stories From Data: Why reporting is moving away from dashboards and toward explaining what the numbers actually mean for businesses

- The Search Data Challenge: The limitations of GA4, Search Console, third-party tools, attribution, and why a single source of truth may not exist

- Using Data Across The Business: Bringing together SEO, PPC, sales, customer insights, and other teams to create a clearer picture of performance

- AI, MCPs & The Future Of Reporting: How AI tools will increase the amount of available data and make storytelling skills even more important

- Moving Beyond Vanity Metrics: Why marketers need to focus more on conversions, revenue, donations, and real business outcomes rather than traffic alone

- Humanising Content In An AI World: Why expertise, personal experiences, opinions, and human perspectives are becoming the biggest differentiators

- The Last 20% AI Can’t Create: How brands can use subject matter experts, customer stories, and original insights to build trust

- International SEO In The AI Era: Why localisation will become increasingly important as AI models struggle with regional differences and cultural context

- Creating Content AI Cannot Replicate: The importance of communities, user-generated content, real experiences, and building genuine authority

- AI As A Collaboration Tool: Using AI for research, brainstorming, and workflows while keeping humans involved in the final output

- The Future Of Social Media For Younger Generations: Discussing age restrictions, mental health concerns, online safety, and the impact of social platforms

- AI, Algorithms & Online Responsibility: Exploring the balance between freedom, safety, moderation, and the future direction of online platforms

Thank you to our partners:

SEO Gets, the easy-to-use analytics and reporting tool for your GSC & GA4 data. Be sure to check out the tool and use code search10 for 10% off: https://seogets.com/

Linkavista — A backlink marketplace built for SEOs who want more transparency. With access to thousands of websites, real traffic insights through Google Search Console connections, and an easier way to find relevant opportunities.Use code SEARCH10 for 10% extra credit on your first order:https://linkavista.com/

In this episode of Search With Sean, I’m joined by a panel of leading News SEO and digital publishing experts to discuss the biggest challenges facing online news publishers today and how the industry can adapt in a rapidly changing search landscape.

Joining me for this discussion are:

Barry Adams – https://www.linkedin.com/in/barryadams/

Nicola Agius – https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-agius-8b330956/

Steven Wilson-Beales – https://www.linkedin.com/in/swilsonbeales/

Alison Moss – https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-moss-804a5537/

Clara Soteras Acosta – https://www.linkedin.com/in/clara-soteras-acosta/

Jordan Mazza – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanmazza/

The panel discuss:

- How AI search, AI Overviews, and changing user behaviour are reshaping the future of news discovery

- Why publishers need to focus less on chasing traffic and more on loyalty, retention, and creating audiences that return

- How Google Discover is evolving and why traditional publishing strategies need to change

- The importance of understanding audiences, identifying what they truly value, and creating content around their needs

- Why quality, originality, expertise, and unique perspectives are becoming more important in an AI-driven search environment

- The role of communities, newsletters, podcasts, events, and other channels in building stronger relationships with audiences

- Whether publishers should prioritise subscriptions, brand building, audience engagement, or a combination of approaches

- How independent journalists, creators, and personal brands are changing the way people consume news

- Why people increasingly trust individuals and experts rather than just traditional media organisations

- How publishers can improve transparency, demonstrate expertise, and rebuild trust with audiences

- The impact of AI-generated content and misinformation on the future of journalism

- How niche publishers and specialist brands can compete against larger organisations

- The future role of journalists, content creators, and human-first storytelling in digital publishing

Thank you to our partner, SEO Gets, the easy-to-use analytics and reporting tool for your GSC & GA4 data. Be sure to check out the tool and use code search10 for 10% off: https://seogets.com/

In this Real Talk With Sean episode, I’m joined by Jack Chambers-Ward, Mordy Oberstein, Matthew Pyke, and Dawn Anderson for a wide-ranging discussion that goes beyond just AI - focusing on how marketing teams are structured today, how industry conferences are evolving, and where AI is heading in the future of search and digital marketing.

My Guests:

Jack Chambers-Ward — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlwchambers/

Mordy Oberstein — https://www.linkedin.com/in/mordyoberstein/

Matthew Pyke — https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewjpyke/

Dawn Anderson — https://www.linkedin.com/in/msdawnanderson/

Topics Covered:

- Breaking Down Silos in Marketing Teams: How SEO, PPC, dev, and brand teams can work more collaboratively

- Team Structures in an AI Era: Why organisations are shifting toward integrated “growth” models

- Internal Communication & Leadership Alignment: Why cross-team communication and senior ownership is critical for change

- AI Search vs Traditional SEO: How teams are adapting to evolving search behaviour

- Revenue vs Commercial Impact of Marketing: Moving beyond vanity metrics toward real business outcomes

- The State of Industry Conferences: Sponsorship influence, speaker selection, and content quality concerns

- What Makes a Strong Conference Talk: Case studies, practical insights, and avoiding generic narratives

- Conference Format & Audience Mismatch: Why 20-minute talks and “beginner + expert” blending is problematic

- Lack of In-House Voices: Why operator and brand-side perspectives are underrepresented

- AI Security, Risk & Build Quality: Concerns around AI-built tools, SaaS risk, and unintended vulnerabilities

- Speed of AI vs Safety & Governance: Regulation lag, accountability, and responsibility debates

- Cultural Pushback on AI Content: Fatigue, sameness of outputs, and growing scepticism

- Future Skills in Marketing Teams: Soft skills, technical awareness, and becoming “T-shaped” communicators

Thank you to our partner, SEO Gets, the easy-to-use analytics and reporting tool for your GSC & GA4 data. Be sure to check out the tool and use code search10 for 10% off: https://seogets.com/