Weekly Digital Marketing News Show | SEO, AI & Search Updates
- Sean Barber
- Jul 25, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: May 5
Search With Sean is a weekly digital marketing news show for in-house marketers, agency practitioners and SEO professionals. Each week I break down the most important stories in SEO, AI search and digital strategy — cutting through the noise to focus on what actually matters for your day job.
I'm Sean Barber, an in-house SEO at a major UK charity, and I bring a practitioner's perspective you won't get from the big agency channels. New episodes every week on YouTube and Spotify.
Subscribe to the weekly digital marketing news show on YouTube or Spotify - new episodes every week covering SEO, AI search and digital strategy
Weekly Digital Marketing News Episodes
Google AI Search Console Features, Perplexity Ads & Airbnb's AI Traffic Wins | 16 Feb
AI is reshaping both how search tools report data and how users convert — and this week's stories show the gap between early adopters and everyone else is widening fast.
In this episode:
Google's new AI-powered features in Search Console and what they mean for enhanced reporting
Perplexity pulls sponsored placements amid growing debate around ads in AI tools
How AI agents like Claude Bots are changing user experiences and search behaviour
A tutorial breakdown of keyword research for AI SEO — what's changed and what still works
Airbnb reveals AI search tool traffic is converting better than traditional Google traffic — and why that matters for every digital marketer
Featuring: Amanda Walls & Stanislav Farkas
ChatGPT Ad Costs, Publisher Coalitions & AI E-commerce Traffic Stats | 23 Feb
This week's episode is packed with data — from a landmark study on AI-driven e-commerce conversions to the growing pushback from publishers fighting back against AI content aggregation.
In this episode:
Visibility Labs study reveals ChatGPT-sourced e-commerce traffic converts 31% higher than non-branded organic search
The high costs and limited reporting metrics of ChatGPT ads — is it worth it yet?
MoneySupermarket launches the UK's first AI-driven app — what it signals for financial services marketing
The Guardian and other publishers form coalitions to combat AI-driven content aggregation
Lily Ray calls out Google's AI Overviews — and why brand visibility in AI results is now non-negotiable
Profound raises $97M Series C — what it tells us about where AI search investment is heading
Featuring: Amanda Walls, Christian Goodrich & Stanislav Farkas
Meta Acquires Moltbook, Google Maps Local SEO & AI in Mental Health | 09 Mar
From platform acquisitions to ethical red lines — this week covers the stories that go beyond the usual headlines and into the harder questions about where AI is taking us.
In this episode:
Meta's acquisition of Moltbook and what it means for the platform landscape
Claude Code's evolving role in SEO reporting workflows — practical applications for practitioners
Spotify's AI-powered playlists and what personalisation at scale looks like in practice
Google's AI-enhanced Maps and the direct impact on local SEO strategy
The ethical concerns around AI and mental health following a tragic incident involving Google Gemini — and what safeguards need to be in place
Featuring: Amanda Walls, Laura Iancu & Stanislav Farkas
Reddit vs Serp API, Human-Made Content Labels & AI in NHS Diagnostics | 16 Mar
A wide-ranging episode this week — covering legal battles over data access, the future of trust signals in content, and AI's growing and controversial role in healthcare.
In this episode:
Reddit's lawsuit against Serp API and what it means for data access across the industry
Why log file analysis is making a comeback as a core technical SEO discipline
Meta ends end-to-end encryption on Instagram — the privacy and trust implications for marketers
The rise of "human-made" content labels as a direct response to AI-generated content at scale
Facebook's push to pay creators to post — and whether it changes the content economics conversation
AI in the NHS: from diagnostics to concerns around misinformation and accuracy in healthcare settings
Zero-click search, AI-driven SEO and what it all means for visibility, trust and the future of digital marketing
Featuring: Amanda Walls, Laura Iancu & Stanislav Farkas
Google AI Agents, Meta's AI Model, Schema in the AI Age & Claude Code for SEO | 06 Apr
Machine-to-machine interactions are no longer a future concept — they're here, and this week we break down what that means practically for SEO and digital marketing strategy.
In this episode:
Google's new AI agent and why machine-to-machine interactions are becoming a key SEO consideration
Meta's updated AI model delivering real-time recommendations across platforms — including via Meta Glasses
Burger King's use of AI in marketing — what brands can learn from early adopters
John Mueller's guidance on Sitemaps for large sites — and why it still matters
Why Schema and structured data are more important than ever in an AI-dominated search landscape
Baidu's AI-powered Wiki and its play for international SEO relevance
How Claude Code is making SEO workflows more efficient — practical takeaways for practitioners
Featuring: Amanda Walls, Laura Iancu & Stanislav Farkas
Google Looker Studio Rebrand, ChatGPT Prompt Tracking & AI Agent Harassment | 13 Apr
From Google quietly renaming its own tools to the first known case of AI agent harassment — this week's episode covers the stories that signal just how fast the ground is shifting under digital marketers.
In this episode:
Google's transition from Data Studio to Looker Studio — breaking down the confusion and what it means for reporting going forward
Kevin Indig's SEMrush clickstream analysis reveals ChatGPT prompts rarely align with traditional keywords — and why that changes how we think about SEO tracking
The growing divide between keyword tracking and prompt tracking in an AI-driven search landscape
The first known case of AI agent harassment — the risks posed by autonomous AI tools and the challenges around data misuse
AI and misinformation: the latest stories and what they mean for brands and practitioners
Snapchat's job cuts and what it signals about the wider social media platform landscape
Key lessons from recent SEO migrations — pitfalls to avoid and what good looks like
Featuring: Vince Niro & Laura Iancu
Latest Monthly Digital Marketing News Episode
The big news episodes dive deep into the stories shaping digital marketing (not just the usual headlines) but a wide range of developments across AI, search, platforms, and strategy — with weekly shows covering the fast-moving updates in between.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How often is the show released? New episodes usually drop weekly, with round up shows posted monthly.
Q. Who is the show for? In-house marketers, agency SEOs and digital marketing practitioners who want a no-fluff weekly briefing on what's actually happening in search and AI.
Q. Where can I watch or listen? Every episode is on YouTube and Spotify. Links are above.
Q. Who hosts the show? Sean Barber — in-house SEO at Macmillan Cancer Support and founder of Search With Sean. Every week, I am joined by different guests who work in digital marketing.
Can I be a guest on the show? Yes — head to the Contact page to get in touch.
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