Search with Candour

Chris Walsh joins Search With Candour to discuss how AI search is affecting e-commerce and whether AI search users convert at higher rates than traditional search.IDHL’s State of AI Search study shows rapid growth in AI referral sessions, AI-attributed revenue, and transactions from AI search. So what does this mean for ecommerce businesses?Follow Chris:Website: https://www.idhlagency.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-walsh-43056834/ The state of AI report: https://www.idhlagency.com/state-of-aiThe Great Convergence:https://insights.idhlagency.com/the-great-convergence-idhl Humankind by Rutger Bregman: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Humankind-Hopeful-History-Rutger-Bregman/dp/1408898934 Chapters00:00 AI Search Conversion Questions01:09 Introduction03:40 Welcome Chris Walsh04:40 Why Run the Study Now07:48 AI Transactions Outpacing Sessions10:35 How LLMs Build Intent12:28 Prompt Journeys and Influence15:13 Comparative Search Examples20:42 Seasonality and Knowledge Bases26:54 Entity Clarity and Brand Focus33:38 Evergreen Seasonal Strategy39:29 Is AI Cannibalising Google40:06 Demand vs Query Volume41:17 Discovery Shifts Beyond Google43:22 Clicks Impressions Measurement46:05 Paid Data Transparency Tension47:41 OpenAI Ads Prompt Data51:09 Subscription Models Enshittification53:41 Internet Value Exchange Breaking55:26 Publishers Lawsuit Reality Check57:49 Regulation and Practical SEO59:17 Agency Value Data Guidance01:01:27 Actionable Recommendation01:03:03 Tool Recommendation01:04:13 Fun Recommendations

Jack is joined by SEOritmo’s André Pitì to bust common AI search myths.Topics discussed and myths busted:Why AI visibility metrics are modelled estimates rather than exact numbers.How tools infer AI Overview and AI platform volumes Why spikes in direct traffic don’t automatically indicate AI trafficHow to investigate direct traffic by URL patternsSegmenting AI-related signals by geographyAnd moreFollow AndréWebsite: https://seoritmo.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andre-piti/Founding agency programme: https://beta.seoritmo.com/Chapters00:00 AI Search myth busting01:51 Introduction03:33 Meet André Pitì04:45 Why these myths need busting08:16 Myth one: AI visibility metrics09:58 How tools model search volumes17:22 Myth two: Direct traffic spikes = AI traffic19:24 Practical tracking fixes25:23 Cross referencing signals30:21 Segmenting AI traffic by location33:22 GSC location pitfalls35:58 Not all long queries are prompts39:15 GA4 location segmentation41:27 Avoiding bad GEO signals45:33 Completing the puzzle of AI search optimisation49:28 Technical readiness for crawlers51:52 Cross department alignment54:31 Recommendation: Actionable tip56:30 Recommendation: SEO tools for AI visibility58:38 Recommendation: Music and martial arts01:05:23 Wrap up

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 Introduction03:38 Welcome, John Morabito04:43 Claude Skills Origins06:55 The Winston testing lab08:49 Agentic blog post creation11:02 How traffic leads to results15:05 From content to revenue18:02 Keeping humans at the centre18:40 Agency automation ideas23:09 How to align deliverables27:16 Maintaining guardrails for AI31:45 Local search reality check33:47 Use regulations when building AI skills35:15 Why agencies still matter38:10 Inside the content pipeline41:06 Interview your clients to get expertise43:59 Skills vs workflows46:22 Recommendation: Actionable tip48:22 Recommendation: SEO tool50:58 Recommendation: Something fun53:35 Where to follow John54:32 Episode wrap-upFollow 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 enginesFollow 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/@nathangotchChapters00:00 The state of AI search01:48 Introduction03:34 Welcome, Nathan Gotch05:55 Study methodology07:57 ChatGPT citations don’t match the SERPs12:03 one category marketing playbook15:17 UGC and agent-led outreach19:48 The demand shift24:13 How to sell AI SEO to clients28:11 Is SEO still SEO?28:46 Do backlinks still matter?30:00 Why AI needs more than traditional search32:17 Authority and inventory gaps37:18 AI vs Google quality filters39:23 Taking the kitchen sink approach41:59 Do title tags still matter?46:21 Reviews as a top priority49:08 Recommendations53:18 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/Chapters00:00 Live show kickoff00:34 Meet the hosts04:08 Sponsored by SISTRIX and Majestic10:29 What is hustle culture?16:28 Pressure and burnout23:59 Redefining success27:49 Career longevity goals32:10 Intentional career choices34:13 Burnout to better fit38:21 Freelance flexibility tradeoffs40:40 Routines and boundaries47:10 Journaling and self-insight48:34 Finding your ikigai50:17 Enjoy your hobbies without pressure53:39 Start small and learn55:27 Key takeaways wrap up59:48 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 CharlieWhitworth 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/Chapters00:00 Highlight01:36 Introduction04:27 Meet Charlie Whitworth05:33 Why this matters now10:43 Good SEO = Good GEO14:05 GEO bro debate15:56 Data and measurement21:46 KPIs that still matter25:12 Technical SEO still wins27:28 Content structure for LLMs35:46 Pruning and cannibalisation38:40 Content pruning done right41:06 Brand mentions vs backlinks44:34 Good products beat spam47:07 Old tactics you need to stop49:03 Testing and reprioritising51:03 No silver bullets for GEO56:39 Ignore the noise58:11 Cloudflare bot settings01:01:18 Recommendations: Log file analysis01:05:03 Recommendation tool: WAIKAY01:07:22 Fun recommendation: The Streets01:08:40 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 storieshttps://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/Chapters00:00 Welcome and recap01:11 SearchNorwichXL highlights02:15 September 2026 news02:40 Google’s new goto redirect URLs05:26 GSC AI reports rollout08:42 AI Overviews takeover People Also Ask11:15 Google pilots new publisher payment program15:44 Season five teaser17:21 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/@indiebusinessclubpodChapters00:00 Introduction00:25 How Jack and Mel met03:23 Freelancing advice09:05 Building your brand with podcasting14:42 Nerd Signals That Connect16:14 Board games and playtime21:21 Content consumption habits24:08 Band t-shirts and relatability25:58 Cheese discussion30:49 The ethics of who you work with33:17 LinkedIn gurus35:55 Choose your clients carefully42:31 Should you niche down?44:21 Essentialism and focus48:38 Futureproof your personal brand53:44 How to be relatable59:19 See It. Say It. Sorted.01:04:45 Hobbies create connections and opportunities01:08:19 Align your personal brand with your values01:09:41 Find your audience01:11:33 Don’t write like your audience is children (unless they’re children)01:14:46 Curiosity builds rapport01:18:39 Being nerdy works01:22:46 Building a brand while employed01:27:20 Conference recognition01:29:21 Hot takes on LinkedIn01:34:13 Wrap up01:41:42 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=podcastJack 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 stamps00:00 Introduction02:39 ChatGPT's Code Interpreter: Your secret weapon for SEO automation success - Seb Atkinson20:33 Improving your SEO with conceptual models - Mark Williams-Cook47:03 Wrap Up

Topics discussed:New EU transparency rules requiring clear labelling of AI-generated or AI-altered content across formatsMicrosoft Clarity is adding branded vs non-branded segmentation for AI query/citation reporting and share of authorityAnthropic’s Claude embedding watermarks/metadataGoogle is expanding AI Mode with interactive visualisations, quizzes, Lens learning features, and Notebook/Gemini integrationsGoogle is introducing google.com/goto redirecting tracking URLs aimed at reducing scraping abuse, with major rank-tracking tools saying it doesn’t impact tracking dataNews 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 stamps00:00 Coming up on the show00:26 Introduction01:45 EU AI-labelling rules06:31 Microsoft Clarity AI brand query filters11:31 Claude watermarking update15:45 Google AI visual tools22:49 Google anti-scraping URLs25:54 What’s coming up on season 528:05 Wrap up