Search with Candour

HiveMCR 2026 Recap - SEO talks, AI Search panel, live comedy and more

Jack Chambers-Ward gives a recap of his experience at HiveMCR 2026 including all of the talks, panels and events over the two-day event hosted by Charlie Whitworth. The event included live music, stand up comedy and talks from Jono Alderson, Dawn Anderson, Alex Moss, Sophie Brannon and many more. Sponsored by Trendos - the AI search visibility tool. [https://trendos.com/ad-radar?utm_medium=influencers&utm_source=creators&utm_campaign=search-with-candour-adradar] With Trendos, you can see who’s buying ads in your AI search results. Trendos now tracks ChatGPT sponsored placements and is the first tool to reveal which competitors are paying to appear in the AI answers your customers see every day.  Use code CANDOUR to get a 5% discount on any paid plan.  Try Trendos.com ChatGPT AdRadar now [https://trendos.com/ad-radar?utm_medium=influencers&utm_source=creators&utm_campaign=search-with-candour-adradar] Chapters 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:02:19 - Trendos ad 00:05:08 - Thursday at HiveMCR 00:05:52 - Nikki Halliwell’s talk 00:06:35 - Jess Atkinson’s talk 00:07:09 - Manchester SEO All-stars panel 00:08:10 - Token Honey 00:09:21 - Friday at HiveMCR 00:09:41 - Alex Moss’s talk 00:11:05 - Sophie Brannon’s talk 00:12:20 - Dawn Anderson’s talk 00:13:49 - Jono Alderson’s talk 00:16:19 - AI Search panel - Ben McKay, Nick Handley, Itamar Blauer and Gus Pelogia 00:17:21 - Itamar Blauer’s talk 00:18:22 - Areej AbuAli’s talk 00:20:16 - Brand and digital PR panel - Lisa Paasche, Harry Clarkson-Bennett, Jono Alderson, Shannon McGuirk and Ashley Liddell 00:21:20 - Gus Pelogia’s talk 00:22:22 - Ashley Liddell’s talk 00:23:40 - Gianluca Fiorelli’s talk 00:24:19 - Steve Paine’s talk 00:25:14 - Wrap up panel - Charlie Whitworth, Dawn Anderson, Luke Cope and Ned Poulter 00:27:02 - Live comedy by Katie Lingo 00:27:40 - Live comedy by Rich Wilson 00:29:06 - Live comedy by Jeff Innocent 00:29:49 - Wrap up and outro

Conversation with Adam Gent | How Google's index actually works and why indexing matters

Adam Gent returns to Search with Candour to discuss how Google’s indexing works and why large websites should monitor it closely. Adam explains that statuses like “URL unknown to Google” can mean Google has deprioritised and effectively forgotten pages, and that Search Console may misreport or fail to alert when pages are actively de-indexed. He describes a “130-day rule” for indexing, where low page quality can affect the status of existing pages. They also cover index bloat on large websites, the importance of long-term indexing, and practical steps like segmenting sitemaps by site sectioning or seasonality. Follow Adam Indexing Insight [https://indexinginsight.com/] Follow Adam on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamagent/] Follow Adam on Bluesky [ttps://bsky.app/profile/adoubleagent.bsky.social] Adam at SearchNorwichXL [https://searchnorwich.org/adam-gent] Chapters 00:00 Highlight reel of Adam Gent 01:40 Introduction 04:57 Why index monitoring matters 08:11 Search Console blind spots 10:29 URL unknown to Google 13:13 Why Adam built Indexing Insight 14:04 The 130-day rule for indexing 15:28 What page quality means 21:36 Site sections and patterns 29:37 Index bloat on big sites 32:20 Cleaning up for AI visibility 33:51 Indexing ratios that matter 36:44 Is indexing getting harder 37:33 Short-term vs long-term indexing 40:50 Demand-led recovery 44:29 Indexing misconceptions explained 48:39 Sitemaps for seasonality 52:11 Reducing Search Console noise 55:44 Recommendations 01:03:15 Wrap up

SEO News Recap (April–May 2026): Google AI Mode in SERPs, How to Build Agent-Friendly Websites & Gemini in Chrome

Jack Chambers-Ward delivers an SEO news recap covering key stories from April 2026 into early May. He highlights Google testing AI Mode directly in the “All” tab, AI Mode’s agentic restaurant bookings, AI Mode side-by-side browsing in Chrome desktop (US), and Google’s Audio Overviews appearing on SERPs beyond Search Labs. He also discusses Google’s official guidance on building agent-friendly websites—how agents use screenshots, raw HTML, and the accessibility tree—and notes Gemini in Chrome rolling out worldwide, potentially boosting Gemini adoption. Google tests AI Mode in the main search tab - https://brodieclark.com/notes/#apr-2026 [https://brodieclark.com/notes/#apr-2026]  Google Search Console impressions error - https://xcancel.com/brodieseo/status/2040311550406472112 [https://xcancel.com/brodieseo/status/2040311550406472112]  Agentic restaurant bookings - https://xcancel.com/Google/status/2042626811083853857 [https://xcancel.com/Google/status/2042626811083853857]  AI Mode can open in side-by-side view - https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/search/ai-mode-chrome/ [https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/search/ai-mode-chrome/]  Google tests Audio Overviews - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-testing-audio-overviews-wild-41207.html [https://www.seroundtable.com/google-testing-audio-overviews-wild-41207.html]  How to build agent-friendly websites - https://web.dev/articles/ai-agent-site-ux [https://web.dev/articles/ai-agent-site-ux]  Gemini in Chrome - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nataliawitczyk_yes-gemini-integrated-in-chrome-is-now-rolling-activity-7456789716202508288-He8k/ [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nataliawitczyk_yes-gemini-integrated-in-chrome-is-now-rolling-activity-7456789716202508288-He8k/] Get your tickets for SearchNorwichXL: https://searchnorwich.org/ [https://searchnorwich.org/]  Time stamps 00:00 Intro 01:22 AI Mode hits main search tab 05:38 Search Console impressions bug 07:35 AI restaurant booking agents 11:09 AI Mode adds split-screen mode in Chrome 18:47 Audio Overviews on SERPs 21:51 How to build agent-friendly websites 30:15 Gemini in Chrome goes global 38:28 Wrap up

The Efficiency Paradox: Why AI Isn’t Actually Making Your Life Easier (Live at Ironworks Studios in Brighton)

In this eighth live collaboration between SEO Mindset and Search with Candour, the hosts discuss the “efficiency paradox” and why AI can increase overwhelm rather than make life easier. Jack Chambers-Ward, Sarah McDowell and Tazmin Suleman debate the pressure to use AI, environmental and job concerns, hallucinations and misuse for legal/medical advice, de-skilling, declining human interaction, and the value of friction and curiosity. Audience Q&A covers practical uses (timestamps, concise messages, event planning), handling forced AI adoption with boundaries, and a discussion of physical books and focus. Sponsors Sponsored by SISTRIX [https://www.sistrix.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=searchwithcandour&utm_campaign=livepodcast] Sponsored by Majestic [https://majestic.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=searchwithcandour&utm_campaign=livepodcast] Follow The SEO Mindset Podcast https://theseomindset.co.uk/ [https://theseomindset.co.uk/]  Follow Search with Candour Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8c8k5Yy8FltVNsIsP1iUCSXDfE5cq2pM [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8c8k5Yy8FltVNsIsP1iUCSXDfE5cq2pM] Follow on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4AILSpWLI74daOhECb8Hm0 [https://open.spotify.com/show/4AILSpWLI74daOhECb8Hm0] Chapters 00:00 Live Show Kickoff 01:23 Meet the hosts 02:48 Sponsors and SISTRIX Data 07:33 Majestic Books and Q&A 09:35 Efficiency Paradox Setup 11:00 AI Overwhelm and Pressure 17:48 Expectations vs Reality 21:52 Hallucinations and Misuse 26:00 Deskilling and Bad Bread 31:14 Maps Memory and Connection 37:34 Productivity as Self Worth 37:55 Rest As Productivity 38:35 Efficiency Versus Quality 40:50 AI Replacing Coworkers 42:36 Friction Builds Skills 47:56 Embrace Failure And Process 50:13 Life Beyond Work 55:46 Audience Q And A Uses 01:01:07 Forced AI And Boundaries 01:11:50 Profit Motives And Reliance 01:16:02 Books Comeback And Focus 01:22:57 Wrap Up And Thanks

Conversation with Mark Williams-Cook | Do People Also Ask Questions Improve Rankings? + Google’s Crackdown on Self-Promo “Best” Listicles

Jack Chambers-Ward and Mark Williams-Cook are back in the Candour studio to discuss if People Also Ask questions improve rankings and Google’s recent crackdown on self-promotional listicles. Sponsored by Trendos [https://trendos.com/?utm_medium=influencers&utm_source=creators&utm_campaign=search-with-candour] No demo required. No paywall. Free plan available. Check your brand’s AI visibility now → Trendos.com [https://trendos.com/?utm_medium=influencers&utm_source=creators&utm_campaign=search-with-candour] They discuss a Chris Green study using AlsoAsked API, SERP scraping, and OpenAI to score whether top-20 ranking pages fully/partially answer related People Also Ask questions, finding a strong correlation in the top five positions, strongest for commercial/transactional queries and weaker for informational/navigational. The conversation shifts to geographic personalisation in search and AlsoAsked’s city-based selector, plus upcoming talks referencing regional question differences. They then cover major traffic losses seen around late January for sites relying on self-promotional “best X” listicles and programmatic comparison pages, noting some core product pages survived while other pages were suppressed. Chris Green’s AlsoAsked study: https://alsoasked.com/insights/paa-ranking-correlation [https://alsoasked.com/insights/paa-ranking-correlation]  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9dfEjlmZx0 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9dfEjlmZx0]  Time stamps 00:00 Introduction 01:18 Back in the studio with Mark 02:48 PAA study setup 06:03 Methodology and scoring 08:10 Why commercial queries win 11:58 Regional PAA insights 16:40 Sponsor: Trendos [https://trendos.com/?utm_medium=influencers&utm_source=creators&utm_campaign=search-with-candour] 20:39 Listicle crackdown begins 23:37 Self promo listicles 26:15 Traffic drop fallout 28:57 Honesty beats hype 31:25 Gemini warning cards 34:17 No awards strategy 37:37 Fan out award signals 41:56 Wrap up and upcoming events