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

How to rank in ChatGPT and AI search: Get AI traffic with listicles

Léo Poitevin, founder and CEO of Astrak Agency, joins Search with Candour to discuss why your competitors may be recommended in ChatGPT and other AI search tools while you are not. Topics discussed: * Why AI search engines are easier to manipulate than Google * How to identify competitors in AI search * How to build trust signals for AI search * How to use listicles and guest posts to rank in AI search * The risks of self-promotional listicles Follow Léo: * Astrak Agency: https://astrak.agency/en/ [https://astrak.agency/en/] * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leo-poitevin/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/leo-poitevin/] * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@leopoitevin [https://www.youtube.com/@leopoitevin] Get your tickets for SearchNorwichXL [https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/searchnorwichxl-tickets-1985283700992] Chapters 00:00 Highlights of Léo Poitevin 01:03 Introduction 05:24 Leo’s SEO background 07:14 Are LLMs easier to game than Google? 07:47 Google is good at fighting spam 12:36 AI competitor research 15:16 Competitor research for GEO 19:47 Tracking volatility 25:13 Imperfect data and KPIs for AI search 30:11 A listicle strategy that works for LLMs 33:01 Léo case studies 36:07 The risks of listicles 37:16 Self promotional listicles 38:04 Ranking shifts in ChatGPT 39:06 Listicles penalised by Google 41:48 Testing new limits 43:05 Links versus mentions 46:18 Black Hat vs White Hate SEO 49:15 Influencers and guest posts 52:34 What hurts AI search 56:20 Recommendation: Actionable tip 57:51 Recommendation: Tool 59:57 Recommendation: Cozy games 01:05:14 Where to follow Léo 01:06:44 Episode wrap-up

Search with Josh Bachynski | The ethics of AI SEO, the new ranking factors & evidence-based marketing

Host: Jack Chambers-Ward | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlwchambers/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlwchambers/] | He/him In this episode of Search with Candour, I’m joined by Josh Bachynski, CEO at Be Found Everywhere. With over 20 years of experience, Josh shares insights on ethical marketing and why an evidence-based approach to SEO is important for AI search optimisation. Topics discussed: * Why AI Mode is the biggest change in search since 1998 * How the ranking factors compare to the traditional 10 blue links * Why marketers must adapt to AI or get left behind * Why testing is so important in making strategic decisions * Google’s definition of consensus and non-commodity content * How to find trustworthy sources in SEO * The difference between virtue signalling and truly ethical marketing Chapters 00:00 Introducing Josh Bachynski 01:16 Introduction 04:15 Why evidence-based SEO is so important 07:05 The new ranking factors for AI search 15:00 Google’s definition of consensus and E-E-A-T 18:18 The ethics of Google’s business model 23:07 Google Ads incentives 27:34 Learn to embrace AI and adapt 36:11 Defining ethical marketing 41:18 Truthful ethical marketing 42:12 Virtue signalling and positivity 43:28 Use AI for good 44:03 Google is not moral 47:55 Adapt or lose jobs 50:37 Evidence-based SEO testing 53:55 Finding trustworthy sources in SEO 59:08 Accountability in communities 01:03:30 Recommendation: Actionable tip 01:08:36 Recommendation: Tools and software 01:14:03 Recommendation: Something fun 01:16:48 Where to follow Josh 01:18:31 Episode wrap-up and upcoming guests Follow Josh * Website: https://bfeai.com/ [https://bfeai.com/]- Use code BEEFY-JOSH-20 for 20% off * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-bachynski/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-bachynski/] * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/jbachyns [https://www.youtube.com/jbachyns] Watch / Listen on YouTube - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8c8k5Yy8FltVNsIsP1iUCSXDfE5cq2pM&si=xl4cMh_ngcMhrJ0- [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8c8k5Yy8FltVNsIsP1iUCSXDfE5cq2pM&si=xl4cMh_ngcMhrJ0-] Subscribe to Core Updates for weekly SEO news and SEO tips - https://coreupdates.com/ [https://coreupdates.com/]

What SEOs should learn about UX from web designers

Laura Iancu joins Search with Candour to talk about the growing crossover between SEO and UX and how we should all thinking about “search experience optimisation” (SXO) instead of traditional SEO. Follow Laura: Searchpedia: https://searchpedia.co.uk/ [https://searchpedia.co.uk/] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-iancu-seo/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-iancu-seo/] Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/searchpedia.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/searchpedia.bsky.social] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@searchpedia [https://www.tiktok.com/@searchpedia] Chapters 00:00 Intro trailer 01:37 Introduction 03:53 Why SXO matters 05:05 Building a common language 09:44 How often to have these conversations 13:17 Sell the value, to get buy-in 17:55 Show, don't tell 25:26 Go beyond best practices 30:27 Take a culture-first approach to research 34:33 The benefits of heatmaps 36:57 UX basics for SEOs 41:41 Designers should stay flexible 42:43 SEO basics for design teams 44:52 AI search shifts 47:30 Testing LLM Visibility 48:44 Laura’s perfect website 51:16 A dream of smarter site search 54:33 Personalisation vs bots 01:00:01 Recommendations: Actionable tip 01:01:47 Recommendations: Tools and software 01:03:49 Recommendations: Books and games 01:10:31 Where to find Laura 01:11:45 Episode wrap-up

Buying Links vs Digital PR: Risks, Costs, and What Actually Works (with Vince Nero from BuzzStream)

Host: Jack Chambers-Ward (he/him) [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlwchambers/] Vince Nero, BuzzStream’s Director of Content Marketing, joins Search with Candour to discuss whether paying for digital PR is the same as buying links. Vince shares research on link marketplaces, noting many sites have zero organic traffic and only a tiny fraction qualify as high-quality. With some top-tier paid placements averaging thousands of dollars per link, often rivalling or exceeding monthly digital PR retainers. Vince and Jack also discuss relevancy vs authority, referral traffic and business impact, the growing value of brand mentions for AI visibility, and how creating owned, original assets and proprietary data can drive long-term coverage. Follow Vince * Buzzstream [https://www.buzzstream.com/⁠ ] * Buzzstream podcast [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWuoOU-8n6fOpQVCszF1JFWEAyTtXhUpb&si=lA8nq5P1FDPKZ827⁠ ] * Follow Vince on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinnero/⁠] * Vince’s previous episode [https://withcandour.co.uk/podcast/the-benefits-of-digital-pr⁠ ] Vince's recommendations: * Actionable tip: Create unique content for digital PR pitches and host that content on your website. * Recommended tool: Xofu [https://xofu.com/] * Something fun: Mina the Hollower [https://www.yachtclubgames.com/games/mina-the-hollower/] and Widow's Bay [https://tv.apple.com/gb/show/widows-bay/umc.cmc.1zzly0vah46bnvnwf0qkrjhh2] Chapters 00:00 Highlight reel 01:12 Introduction 04:47 Welcome Vince Nero 05:38 Digital PR vs link buying 08:48 Link marketplaces data 12:47 Quality metrics relevancy 17:13 Google risks penalties 21:45 Cost value comparison 32:02 Digital PR long-term wins 36:07 The importance of owned assets 44:00 AI mentions new value 46:51 Linked vs unlinked mentions 48:25 When links don’t matter 49:46 Big brand campaign metrics 50:45 AI as a status signal 52:55 Non-AI agency debate 54:15 Trusting Google guidance 55:17 Search relations vs Google Corp 01:01:00 guidelines vs case studies 01:03:01 Recommendations: Actionable tip 01:04:24 Recommendations: Tool/software 01:05:37 Recommendations: Something fun 01:15:28 Where to find Vince 01:16:28 Episode wrap up and next guests

AI for Human SEO + “Maybe It Isn’t JavaScript” (Crystal Carter & Martin Splitt) | SearchNorwich highlights

Host Jack Chambers Ward shares a special episode of Search With Candour highlighting two talks from SearchNorwich 18 ahead of the first SearchNorwichXL conference on 24 September 2026. 🎟️SearchNorwichXL tickets: https://searchnorwich.org/ [https://searchnorwich.org/] In the first talk, Crystal Carter (Wix) discusses using AI tools for “actual intelligence” in SEO by emphasizing human experience, real examples, and opinion, noting forum visibility (e.g., Reddit) and practical ways to add EEAT-style signals, primary-source content, and social proof while using tools like transcribers, image enhancers, and NotebookLM. In the second talk, Martin Splitt (Google) presents “Maybe it isn’t JavaScript,” explaining that many indexing issues blamed on JavaScript are actually caused by blocked resources (e.g., robots.txt blocking APIs), caching/CDN behavior, or incorrect status codes in SPAs, and recommends using Search Console and rendered HTML to diagnose problems. 00:00 Introduction 00:26 Search Nor Excel Preview 01:05 SearchNorwich 18 highlights 01:49 Crystal Carter Intro 04:59 AI Reality In SEO 07:41 Why Humans Still Win 09:54 Experience Signals Matter 15:17 Real Examples And Proof 17:39 Opinions Drive Clicks 20:51 AI Tools For Humans 23:39 NotebookLM Workflow 25:32 Wix Built In AI Tools 27:40 Crystal Wrap Up 28:58 Why JavaScript Gets Blamed 30:55 Use Search Console Rendered HTML 33:04 Missing Content Cats Case Study 35:32 Robots TXT Blocking The API 37:52 Google Rendering Bug Noindex JS 41:24 Phantom Noindex From CDN Cache 47:10 SPA Error Pages Returning 200 50:57 Fixing SPA 404s Properly 51:54 Summary Tools And Q&A 54:42 Wrap up