Vince Nero (Director of Content Marketing at Buzzstream) joins Jack on this week’s episode to discuss why digital PR is the future of link building.

Sponsors:

• ⁠⁠SEO Testing - Begin your exclusive extended free trial today⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠Search 'n' Stuff - Use code CANDOUR20 for 20% off your tickets⁠

Follow Vince & Buzzstream

• Vince on LinkedIn

• Follow Vince on Twitter

• Check out Buzzstream

  Buzzstream podcast: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWuoOU-8n6fOpQVCszF1JFWEAyTtXhUpb

Time stamps

• 00:00:04 - Intro

• 00:00:56 - Sponsor: SEO Testing

• 00:03:47 - Sponsor: Search ‘n’ Stuff

• 00:06:16 - Welcome to the show, Vince Nero

• 00:08:15 - The shift towards digital PR in link building

• 00:11:47 - The benefits of digital PR

• 00:12:50 - How digital PR relates to AI Overviews

• 00:13:33 - What we can learn from the Google API leak

• 00:16:45 - Why digital PR is called ‘earned media’

• 00:20:38 - Using Ahrefs to find your competitors’ best links

• 00:22:54 - The price of a quality links in 2024

• 00:25:22 - The links that money can’t buy (in theory)

• 00:26:20 - Journalists are underpaid and overworked

• 00:28:30 - How to stand out against AI-generated content

• 00:31:10 - Align your content to your audience

• 00:31:50 - Google is looking for fresh, new content

• 00:35:45 - Freshness can help get your content featured in AI Overviews

• 00:36:35 - Vince’s blueprint for success (patent pending)

• 00:39:35 - Make the journalists job as easy as possible

• 00:41:29 - Is your pitch enough to write an article?

• 00:44:40 - The click-through rate of big publications vs niche publications

• 00:45:35 - How to build positive relationships with publications

• 00:46:34 - The crossover of traditional PR and digital PR

• 00:48:30 - Proving yourself as an expert

• 00:50:00 - There’s a publication or forum or subreddit for every niche

• 00:51:40 - Focus on the metrics that matter

• 00:51:51 - Find your tribe (Seth Godin’s advice)

• 00:54:48 - Find the balance between thinking outside the box and find your audience

• 00:58:12 - Digital PR for SEO vs brand growth

• 01:01:02 - Are unlinked mentions still valuable?

• 01:04:30 - Your site design can affect if people link to you!

• 01:06:26 - The big sites are overtaken by bad layouts and ads

• 01:08:15 - Where to follow Vince and Buzzstream

• 01:09:25 - Outro - I’ve hosted more episodes than Mark!

• 01:10:41 - Next week guest announcement

Sponsors:

• SEO Testing - Begin your exclusive extended free trial today
• Search 'n' Stuff - Use code CANDOUR20 for 20% off your tickets

Mark and Jack reunite in the Candour studio to say goodbye to Universal Analytics and Google's continuous scroll, discuss why Bing's index is more important than you think and why AI Overviews are now showing for fewer than 7% of queries.

Time stamps:

• 00:00:11 - Intro
• 00:01:14 - Sponsor: SEO Testing
• 00:05:00 - Sponsor: Search ‘n’ Stuff
• 00:07:30 - In loving memory…
• 00:08:18 - RIP to Google’s continuous scroll
• 00:14:09 - RIP to Universal Analytics
• 00:16:06 - Prompt injection leads to demotion on Bing
• 00:22:34 - The Bing index powers a lot of LLMs
• 00:34:02 - AI Overviews only show for 7% of queries
• 00:43:30 - Outro

Links and resources

• Previous episode about GA4 key events and attribution
• Previous episode about GA4 with Krista Seiden & Simo Ahava
• RIP Universal Analytics: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/11583528?hl=en
• Prompt injection with Bing: https://www.seroundtable.com/prompt-injection-bing-webmaster-guidelines-37650.html
• Bing's index is more important than you think: https://x.com/jes_scholz/status/1812693442558087653
• AI Overviews only showing for 7% of queries: https://searchengineland.com/google-ai-overviews-visibility-new-low-444048

Sponsor:

This week’s episode is sponsored by Majestic. Go to ⁠majestic.com/offers/swc⁠ to get exclusive free Lite access to Site Explorer for any one website that you control.

Nikki Pilkington joins Jack Chambers-Ward to discuss why SEO education is really important.

There needs to be less gatekeeping in SEO and more of us should share our knowledge with peers, clients and even web designers.

Follow Nikki

• Follow Nikki on LinkedIn
• Follow Nikki on Twitter
• The Non-wanky SEO Course

Time stamps

• 00:00:04 - Intro

• 00:01:05 - Majestic ad

• 00:06:12 - Interview with Nikki Pilkington

• 00:07:04 - Why is education important in SEO?

• 00:10:40 - Avoid using jargon, this won’t attract new clients

• 00:14:45 - Don’t be afraid to share tips and advice on social media

• 00:16:46 - Nikki’s experiences in the early days of SEO

• 00:18:35 - Don’t gatekeep information

• 00:20:15 - Testing and experimenting is a great way to learn

• 00:21:45 - Educate web designers to add Google Search Console from day one

• 00:25:45 - SEOs can learn a lot from developers and designers too

• 00:27:25 - PPC and SEO teams should work together

• 00:31:36 - Recurring clients

• 00:33:23 - Educating clients about SEO

• 00:35:55 - Explain why SEO things matter, rather than just telling

• 00:37:00 - Use plain English not jargon

• 00:41:00 - SEO isn’t a dark art!

• 00:43:53 - The Google API leak

• 00:51:27 - AI is useful but it’s not the be all and end all

• 00:52:35 - Vanity metics vs what actually matters

• 00:54:32 - The power of word of mouth

• 00:57:18 - Google’s tagline - Don’t be evil

• 00:58:45 - Who to learn SEO from and who to follow

• 01:01:05 - Even small details can lead to new discoveries

• 01:06:42 - Other SEOs to follow on Twitter

• 01:08:25 - Where to follow Nikki

• 01:09:22 - Outro

Josephine Rudolf is a Junior SEO Manager at Barfer's, will be graduating from the International University of Applied Sciences soon and is the newest member of the Women in Tech SEO team. She has been an SEO mentor and mentee, all before the age of 23.

Time stamps

• 00:00:04 - Intro
• 00:01:17 - AlsoAsked
• 00:03:03 - Wix Studio
• 00:04:48 - Interview with Josephine Rudolf
• 00:05:30 - Networking for introverts
• 00:06:57 - What networking is like early in your career
• 00:07:42 - Joining Women in Tech SEO
• 00:10:40 - What is an introvert?
• 00:13:26 - Common myths of introverts and extroverts
• 00:14:28 - What is social anxiety?
• 00:16:45 - How Josephine has dealt with social anxiety
• 00:19:34 - Tips and techniques to help reduce social anxiety
• 00:20:08 - Rituals and preparations
• 00:23:57 - Meeting up with friends before the event
• 00:26:58 - One-to-One meetings
• 00:28:01 - The Alter Ego Effect
• 00:32:43 - Having a physical item or drink is good to reduce social anxiety
• 00:34:33 - Self affirmations to reassure yourself
• 00:37:12 - Pacing yourself
• 00:39:15 - The peak-end theory
• 00:44:15 - The importance of aftercare
• 00:49:00 - Take notes - journaling, audio memos and photos
• 00:52:13 - The pressure of social media
• 00:55:10 - The positives of digital networking
• 01:00:56 - SEO Office Hours live chat
• 01:01:48 - How to start networking through social media
• 01:03:23 - The power of one-to-one networking
• 01:06:03 - Be authentic when you’re networking
• 01:09:53 - People will often remember the silly off-topic things about your conversations
• 01:11:22 - Cowboy cat hat
• 01:12:14 - Where to follow Josephine
• 01:13:43 - Outro

Follow Josephine on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephine-rudolf/

Josephine's Cowboy cat - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/josephine-rudolf_a-little-monday-motivation-for-everyone-activity-7213524119403835393-izqw

Sponsors:

⁠⁠This week's podcast is sponsored by Wix Studio - the web platform built for agencies and enterprises.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠This week's episode is also sponsored by AlsoAsked - the best way to access People Also Ask data at scale.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Sponsors:

This week's podcast is sponsored by Wix Studio - the web platform built for agencies and enterprises.⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠This week's episode is also sponsored by AlsoAsked - the best way to access People Also Ask data at scale.⁠⁠⁠⁠

Show notes:

Simon Lesser, CEO and co-founder of Dragon Metrics joins the podcast this week to give us a sneak peek behind the scenes of how SEO tools work.

• What data from SEO tools actually means
• What customers want vs what customers need
• Why so many SEOs use tools
• The importance of listening to your audience
• What goes into making important decisions

Follow Simon and Dragon Metrics:

• Twitter: https://x.com/DragonMetrics
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonlesser/
• Website: https://www.dragonmetrics.com/

Brightlocal's Local SEO for Good

https://www.brightlocal.com/local-seo-for-good/

Sponsors:

This week's podcast is sponsored by Wix Studio - the web platform built for agencies and enterprises.⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.wix.com/studio?utm_campaign=pa_podcast_studio_all_brnd_all_en_04/22_all__Candour^8&experiment_id=^efficiency^^hp⁠

Keep up with the latest SEO news and tips by subscribing to CoreUpdates. ⁠https://coreupdates.com/?utm=swcpodcast⁠

SEO agency red flags with Emina Demiri-Watson

Emina Demiri-Watson joins Jack Chambers-Ward for a confession session on the many sins committed by SEO agencies. If you’ve worked with or are considering hiring an SEO agency, here are some things you’ll want to avoid.

• Overpromising and underdelivering
• Lack of transparency
• How to recognise red flags
• Competition between agencies
• Spreading themselves too thin
• Lack of alignment across teams

Follow Emina:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemiriE
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emina-demiri/
• Website: https://www.vixendigital.com/
• SEOs Getting Coffee: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCZ9vc4nEbzcuLUnuJcC_c_cbcybHDhW4

Author, blogger and entrepreneur Shaunda Necole joins Jack Chambers-Ward on this week's Search With Candour to discuss how she has established her brand and topical authority in multiple niches.

• How to prove yourself as a topical authority to Google
• Why podcasts are good for proving your authenticity and authority
• Hidden gem sources of authority
• How to speak Google's "love language"
• How to build your knowledge panel
• How to build trust with your audience

Sponsors:

• This week's podcast is sponsored by Wix Studio - the web platform built for agencies and enterprises.⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.wix.com/studio?utm_campaign=pa_podcast_studio_all_brnd_all_en_04/22_all__Candour^8&experiment_id=^efficiency^^hp
• Keep up with the latest SEO news and tips by subscribing to CoreUpdates. https://coreupdates.com/?utm=swcpodcast

Follow Shaunda:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaundanecole/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shaundanecole
• Website: https://shaundanecole.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaundanecole/
• The Soul Food Pot: https://thesoulfoodpot.com/
• Vegas Right Now: https://vegasrightnow.com/

Ray Saddiq joins Jack on the podcast this week to discuss aligning your organic search and organic social channels to make the best content.

Ray & Jack discuss topics such as:

• Why is channel alignment important in modern marketing strategies?
• How have search behaviours changed?
• How important is it to adapt the language and style of content for different channels?
• How should teams communicate to ensure effective multi-channel marketing?

Sponsors:

⁠This week's podcast is sponsored by Wix Studio - the web platform built for agencies and enterprises.⁠⁠⁠ ⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠This week's episode is also sponsored by AlsoAsked - the best way to access People Also Ask data at scale.⁠⁠⁠

Follow Ray:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ray-saddiq/
• X: https://twitter.com/raysaddiq1
• Website: https://thesocialdiary.io/