Welcome to Search With Sean: Weekly News – your concise roundup of the key stories shaping SEO, AI, search, digital PR, paid media, and digital strategy this week.

Co-Hosts:Nicola Agius – https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-agius-8b330956/

Amanda Walls – https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandajwalls/

Stanislav Farkas – https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanislav-farkas-fastraveller/

This week, we covered a wide range of hot topics in SEO, AI, and digital strategy.

Top Stories 📰

In this week’s news episode, the top stories we cover include Google’s February Core Update, which focuses on Google Discover and aims to provide more locally relevant, original, and timely content, while reducing sensationalism and highlighting the growing importance of user experience; the ongoing debate surrounding AI-driven ads, sparked by OpenAI’s integration of ads in ChatGPT as the Super Bowl approaches; Google’s crackdown on self-promotional listicles, targeting manipulative SEO tactics and reducing bias in rankings; and the rise of AI agents on Maltbook, raising concerns about AI becoming sentient as these agents interact in increasingly human-like ways.

Top Videos 🎥

In this week’s video discussions, we covered the recent Google Discover update, which emphasizes localized content and how this shift could present opportunities for niche publishers, with localized content potentially becoming the key to success in Google Discover moving forward, as highlighted in a video by Glenn Gabe; a video on Pepsi’s clever use of the Coca-Cola polar bear mascot to take playful jabs at their competitors in the Super Bowl ad space, exploring how brands are capitalizing on this high-profile marketing event; a deep dive into a study on AI overviews, revealing a significant reduction in CTR, now up to 58%, and the implications this shift will have on traditional SEO as brands need to adapt to the evolving search landscape; and the launch of ChatGPT’s new cancer-related advert, which explores the potential benefits of AI in helping patients prepare for appointments and navigate treatment, marking a significant step in AI's role in healthcare marketing.

Top Social Posts 📲

In this week’s social media discussions, we covered Lily Ray’s post highlighting the growing concern about self-promotional listicles in SEO, where companies manipulate rankings in their favour, and how Google’s new stance on this matter could signal the end of these outdated tactics, with many marketers calling for more transparency and genuine content creation; a follow-up on Ryan Law’s AI Overview study, revealing a significant increase in AI-driven traffic and a sharp decline in traditional search traffic as AI overviews continue to evolve, urging brands to rethink how they approach visibility in an AI-dominated future; as well as insights from Marie Haynes about Google’s Q4 earnings call, revealing Gemini’s impressive growth, higher engagement per user, and Google’s focus on YouTube as a premier shopping destination.