Search with Candour

Candour
  • 3.4 (5)
  • Marketing
  • Updated Weekly

Every Monday, Jack Chambers-Ward has in-depth conversations with SEO experts from around the world. Covering topics from attribution in GA4 to networking tips for introverts and everything in between. Search With Candour is the perfect way to kickstart your working week! https://withcandour.co.uk/podcast

  1. Sep 28

    SEO and AI News Roundup: Google’s /goto Redirects, GSC AI Reports, PAA Goes AI & Publisher Payment Pilot Program

    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 stories https://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/Chapters 00:00 Welcome and recap 01:11 SearchNorwichXL highlights 02:15 September 2026 news 02:40 Google’s new goto redirect URLs 05:26 GSC AI reports rollout 08:42 AI Overviews takeover People Also Ask 11:15 Google pilots new publisher payment program 15:44 Season five teaser 17:21 Wrap up

  2. Sep 21

    Building a Personal Brand (Without Being Cringe) | Search With Candour x Indie Business Club

    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/@indiebusinessclubpodChapters 00:00 Introduction 00:25 How Jack and Mel met 03:23 Freelancing advice 09:05 Building your brand with podcasting 14:42 Nerd Signals That Connect 16:14 Board games and playtime 21:21 Content consumption habits 24:08 Band t-shirts and relatability 25:58 Cheese discussion 30:49 The ethics of who you work with 33:17 LinkedIn gurus 35:55 Choose your clients carefully 42:31 Should you niche down? 44:21 Essentialism and focus 48:38 Futureproof your personal brand 53:44 How to be relatable 59:19 See It. Say It. Sorted. 01:04:45 Hobbies create connections and opportunities 01:08:19 Align your personal brand with your values 01:09:41 Find your audience 01:11:33 Don’t write like your audience is children (unless they’re children) 01:14:46 Curiosity builds rapport 01:18:39 Being nerdy works 01:22:46 Building a brand while employed 01:27:20 Conference recognition 01:29:21 Hot takes on LinkedIn 01:34:13 Wrap up 01:41:42 Where to follow us

  3. Sep 14

    Automating SEO With ChatGPT + Python (Seb Atkinson) & Google Exploit Insights (Mark Williams-Cook) | Search with Candour

    🌟 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=podcast Jack 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 stamps 00:00 Introduction 02:39 ChatGPT's Code Interpreter: Your secret weapon for SEO automation success - Seb Atkinson 20:33 Improving your SEO with conceptual models - Mark Williams-Cook 47:03 Wrap Up

  4. Sep 7

    August 2026 SEO and AI News: EU AI transparency law, Claude watermarks, Google’s anti-scraping URLs

    Topics discussed: New EU transparency rules requiring clear labelling of AI-generated or AI-altered content across formats Microsoft Clarity is adding branded vs non-branded segmentation for AI query/citation reporting and share of authority Anthropic’s Claude embedding watermarks/metadata Google is expanding AI Mode with interactive visualisations, quizzes, Lens learning features, and Notebook/Gemini integrations Google is introducing google.com/goto redirecting tracking URLs aimed at reducing scraping abuse, with major rank-tracking tools saying it doesn’t impact tracking data News 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 stamps 00:00 Coming up on the show 00:26 Introduction 01:45 EU AI-labelling rules 06:31 Microsoft Clarity AI brand query filters 11:31 Claude watermarking update 15:45 Google AI visual tools 22:49 Google anti-scraping URLs 25:54 What’s coming up on season 5 28:05 Wrap up

  5. Aug 31

    SearchNorwichXL Preview: SEO talks from Arnout Hellemans and Brendan Bennett

    Jack Chambers-Ward continues the hype for SearchNorwichXL by highlighting talks from Arnout Hellemans and Brendan Bennett, who will be speaking at SearchNorwichXL. Arnout’s talk from SearchNorwich 16 is titled ‘How to work on your SEO without paying for tools’, and Brendan’s talk from SearchNorwich 19 is titled ‘It’s not me, it’s you: Why your SEO or agency (probably) hates you’ 🎟️ Get 25% off SearchNorwichXL tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/searchnorwichxl-tickets-1985283700992?discount=podcast Chapters 00:00 Introduction 03:19 Arnout Hellemans’ talk 23:43 In-between talks 24:26 Brendan Bennett’s talk 49:18 Wrap up

  6. Aug 24

    The big SearchNorwichXL 2026 preview

    Jack Chambers-Ward and Mark Williams-Cook present a preview of SearchNorwichXL, their upcoming conference on 24 September 2026. Mark and Jack discuss the talks they’re looking forward to and give a preview of what to expect on the day. Use ‘MONDAYSWC’ to get 20% off your tickets: ⁠https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/searchnorwichxl-tickets-1985283700992?discount=mondayswc⁠For more information about SearchNorwichXL: https://searchnorwich.org/ Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:29 Mark’s first pick: Arnout Hellemans 08:36 Jack’s first pick: Giulia Panozzo 16:37 Mark’s second pick: Adam Gent 25:22 Jack’s second pick: Future Of Search Panel 31:14 Mark’s third pick: Myriam Jessier 39:14 Jack’s third pick: Martin Splitt 42:20 Discount code and tickets 43:43 Mark’s upcoming speaking schedule 46:55 Thanks and wrap up

  7. Aug 17

    SEO, design and brand in the age of AI | Search With Candour

    Candour’s Principal SEO Consultant, Brendan Bennett and Design Lead Mark Salisbury join Search with Candour to discuss the growing overlap between SEO, design, UX, and brand, and how AI/LLMs and emerging agentic experiences affect the way we build and use websites. The Candour trio also explore what brand means beyond just a logo, how third-party signals like reviews, Reddit, and search results shape perception, and how SEOs measure brand through metrics such as brand search volume, sentiment, and frameworks like Google’s HEART. The conversation covers trust signals, page clarity, semantic HTML, the tension between brand-led copy and keyword-focused headings, and the risk of AI-generated “slop” versus human differentiation. Follow Mark and Brendan: Website: https://withcandour.co.uk/Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-salisbury-701b8911/Brendan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanbennett1989/Chapters 00:00 Welcome, Brendan Bennett and Mark Salisbury 01:09 Design vs SEO No Versus 03:01 Why Brand Matters Now 09:45 Defining Brand Beyond Logos 17:17 Brand Metrics and Frameworks 22:40 SERP Signals and Trust Issues 27:19 When Brand Beats SEO 33:01 AI Websites and Human Proof 36:12 Luxury Branding vs AI Content 42:05 Websites as Experiences 42:48 Designing for Agents 43:50 Trust and Spend Thresholds 45:47 Technical SEO Meets Semantics 49:10 Brand Voice vs Keywords 53:31 Traffic vs Conversion Tradeoffs 56:43 What Makes a Site Good 59:04 Trust Signals and UX Proof 01:02:14 Vibe Coding and Web Slop 01:03:44 Future of SEO and Design 01:08:51 Recommendations: Actionable tips 01:12:00 Recommendations: Tools to try 01:15:23 Recommendations: Fun things like dancing and video games

  8. Aug 10

    AI Search & SEO News (July 2026): Google Trends Update, ChatGPT + Yelp, AI Mode Ads & New Studies

    Jack Chambers-Ward hosts a July 2026 AI search and SEO news roundup on Search With Candour. This episode covers everything from new Google Trends features and social media data tracking in Google Search Console to research about ads in Google AI Mode and if Google punishes AI-generated content. Links to articles https://www.linkedin.com/posts/analyzing-search-interest-just-got-more-powerful-share-7478017577340968960-qsi3/https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7480247562084638720/https://seranking.com/blog/google-ai-mode-ads/https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/google-com-is-now-ai-mode-s-2-cited-domainhttps://ahrefs.com/blog/google-doesnt-punish-ai-content/https://www.similarweb.com/corp/reports/2026-generative-ai-landscape/https://www.axios.com/2026/07/23/yelp-reviews-chatgpt-geo-partnershipChapters 00:00 Coming up on this episode 00:29 Introduction 01:53 Live Podcast returns on 7 October 2026 04:19 Google Trends new comparison feature 09:31 ChatGPT adds Yelp reviews 12:35 SE Ranking study: Ads in AI Mode 18:39 Profound study: Google cites itself more 23:01 Ahrefs study: Does Google punish AI content? 29:37 SimilarWeb Generative AI Report 36:33 Wrap up

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3.4
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Every Monday, Jack Chambers-Ward has in-depth conversations with SEO experts from around the world. Covering topics from attribution in GA4 to networking tips for introverts and everything in between. Search With Candour is the perfect way to kickstart your working week! https://withcandour.co.uk/podcast

Information

  • Creator
    Candour
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    380
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Candour
  • Show Website
    Search with Candour

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