BuzzStream Digital PR and Link Building Podcast

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106

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Join host Vince Nero as he interviews link building, SEO, and digital PR experts to bring you tips and tricks for better coverage and rankings.

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60 recent

August 18, 2026Episode 5441 min

Is Journalism in Trouble? A Convo with the Press Gazette's Editor-in-Chief

In this episode of the BuzzStream Podcast, host Vince Nero talks with Dominic Ponsford, editor-in-chief of Press Gazette, about the state of journalism in the age of AI. Dominic has covered the industry since the 1990s and offers a candid, data-informed look at how publishers are losing ground to Google, Meta, and AI platforms. Plus the story behind Press Gazette's investigation into fabricated AI "experts" quoted across major UK news outlets, and what it all means for the future of PR. ⏰ Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro 03:46 – The Google/AI content bargain, and who's really benefiting 09:44 – How newsrooms are using AI today (and what's coming next) 12:22 – UK vs. US: copyright, contract law, and new legal fronts against tech giants 17:56 – Tracking the real scale of journalism layoffs 20:26 – How publishers are fighting back: subscriptions, newsletters, YouTube, events 30:06 – Exposing AI-fabricated "experts" quoted across UK media 33:40 – DMCA takedowns and the "parasite SEO" industry 36:51 – Is the PR industry in trouble? 🔗 Resources mentioned: https://pressgazette.co.uk/ https://pressgazette.substack.com/s/future-of-media-newsletter https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominicponsford/ https://pressgazette.co.uk/platforms/cloudflare-says-bot-blocking-is-fueling-publisher-ai-deals/ https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/journalism-job-cuts-in-2026-updates/ https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/faces-of-fakery-more-fake-and-ai-generated-experts-con-their-way-into-media/ List IQ — https://www.buzzstream.com/listiq/ 👍 Like this episode, subscribe for more, and share it with your colleagues.💬 Have a question for Dominic? Reply to the Press Gazette newsletter, the BuzzStream newsletter, or drop a comment below.

August 12, 2026Episode 5340 min

Personalization in AI Results with Garrett Sussman (iPullRank)

Google's Personal Intelligence, ChatGPT memory, and Gmail integrations are quietly reshaping AI search results — and almost nobody is measuring it. In this episode, Garrett Sussman (iPullRank) breaks down his hands-on experiment seeding fake personas with emails, photos, and personas to see exactly how much personalization skews AI recommendations — and what it means for SEO, digital PR, and content strategy. Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro 02:03 – How big is the personalization "slice of the pie"? 04:15 – Is personalization opt-in, or becoming the default? 08:38 – When does the opt-in actually happen? 10:11 – The experiment: building 3 synthetic Gmail personas 13:12 – Photos vs. emails 15:16 – How long does it take content to start influencing AI results? 20:12 – Citations vs. mentions: which one actually matters now? 25:02 – The unopened newsletter email that still got cited 30:47 – Tactics: how brands should actually adapt 34:25 – Did spam or trashed emails get pulled into results?🔗 Learn more about ListIQ: https://www.buzzstream.com/listiq 🔗 Connect with Garrett Sussman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrettsussman/ 🔗 iPullRank: https://www.ipullrank.com 🔗 SEO Week: https://www.seoweek.com

August 4, 2026Episode 5250 min

Inside the Newsroom with Mike Fahey

In this episode of the BuzzStream Podcast, host Vince Nero sits down with Mike Fahey, founder of Fahey Communications and a 15-year newsroom veteran (Boston, Baltimore, four Emmys) turned political press secretary and PR agency owner. Mike breaks down how newsrooms are actually structured, why pitch timing matters more than most PR pros realize, how shrinking newsroom staff is changing what gets covered, and the real strategy behind "newsjacking" a client into the news cycle — plus a few behind-the-scenes stories from campaigns, GMA bookings, and near-misses with the New York Times.Timestamps:0:00 – Intro3:44 – How a newsroom is actually structured10:01 – Building media lists that pay off for years13:46 – TV vs. digital pitching & proof of performance18:21 – Case study: pitching a data/survey story the smart way22:42 – Shrinking newsrooms & the rise of AI pitching risks31:37 – Newsjacking: how to make any brand newsworthy39:07 – Campaign trail stories & working with Steve Laffey45:14 – Final advice & where to find MikeGuest: Mike Fahey, Founder, Fahey Communications: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mifahey/https://www.faheycomm.com/https://www.buzzstream.com/listiq/See the full transcript: https://www.buzzstream.com/blog/newsrooms-with-mike-fahey/👍 Like this episode, subscribe for more, and share it with your PR colleagues.💬 Have a question for Mike? Drop it in the comments — we'll pass it along.

July 29, 2026Episode 5136 min

What Does AI Know About Your Brand? w/Dixon Jones

How do you show up in AI answers when there's no keyword to rank for and no click to track? Vince Nero talks with Dixon Jones — Majestic brand ambassador and CEO of Inlinks and Waikay ("What AI Knows About You") — about measuring and improving how LLMs understand your brand. They cover topical presence, brand hallucinations, share of voice, and the role of digital PR in the AI era. ⏰ Timestamps: 00:06 — Intro 02:30 — What Waikay means (and why the name matters) 03:08 — Why Waikay didn't copy "rank checking for AI" 05:00 — Knowledge graphs: matching your website to what AI knows 13:51 — Why small, focused brands can still win 15:39 — Keeping your brand message consistent everywhere 21:20 — Why it's so hard to "turn the ship" on legacy AI data 22:05 — Topical presence, explained in depth 26:10 — Bagging prompts into groups and finding coverage gaps 29:00 — The listicle resurgence and why LLMs lean on third parties 30:00 — Why LLMs lack a PageRank-style quality signal 34:26 — Final takeaway: get everyone aligned on one message 🔗 Try Waikay: https://waikay.io 🔗 Inlinks: https://inlinks.com 🔗 Connect with Dixon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dixonjones/ 🔗 See the whole post: https://www.buzzstream.com/blog/dixon-jones-podcast/ 🔗 Check out List IQ, BuzzStream's AI-powered media list building tool for digital PR: https://www.buzzstream.com/listiq/ Like, subscribe, and drop your questions in the comments.

July 21, 202637 min

What We've Learned About AI Mentions & Citations w/ Kevin Indig

Kevin Indig — growth advisor and author of the Growth Memo newsletter — joins the Buzzstream Podcast to break down two of his biggest recent findings: the "ghost citation" problem why proprietary research is becoming one of the most powerful levers in AI search and digital PR. We cover why AI mentions matter more than citations, how Google Search Console's new AI visibility data actually works, why search rank is still the "skeleton" of AI search, and how brands can use first-party data and newsjacking to win attention in an AI-first world. ⏰Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro 02:28 – What is a "ghost citation"? 04:19 – Google Search Console's new AI visibility data 05:44 – Citations vs. mentions: which matters more? 08:24 – How should small brands prioritize this? 11:55 – The "traffic prison" mindset problem 13:28 – Is SEO dead? 15:22 – Why digital PR is more important than ever 17:22 – Proprietary research & the "information gain" study 25:00 – Distribution: proprietary data isn't enough on its own 27:47 – Newsjacking and owning the conversation 31:55 – The two biggest brand mistakes in the AI era 🔗Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinindig/ https://www.buzzstream.com/blog/kevin-indig-2-podcast/ https://www.buzzstream.com/blog/topical-authority-podcast/ https://www.growth-memo.com/ https://www.growth-memo.com/p/why-proprietary-data-is-your-most https://www.growth-memo.com/p/the-ghost-citation-problem 🐝 ListIQ: https://www.buzzstream.com/listiq/

July 15, 2026Episode 491 hr 0 min

Winning SEO Strategies for Chaotic Times with Candour

Mark Williams-Cook and Jack Chambers-Ward from Candour join the show to dig into what's actually changing in SEO and digital PR right now. They are not the recycled takes, the mechanics underneath them: how AI query fan-outs actually work, why brand mentions might matter more than links for showing up in AI answers, what Google's core updates are really punishing, and why the agencies that share the most tend to win the most trust. ⏰ Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro & welcom 02:38 – Why extracurriculars matter (diving, boxing, comics, podcasting) 07:55 – How Candour decides what makes the Core Updates newsletter 12:31 – Does digital PR actually help you show up in AI answers? 14:37 – Query fan-outs, token probability, and the new mechanics of visibility 19:42 – What "brand" really means in the AI search era 24:36 – Life running an SEO podcast, and the industry's yearly "themes" 33:37 – How closely should you actually watch core updates? 38:37 – Is Google deprioritizing spam-fighting for AI? Black hat vs. white hat, programmatic SEO fallout 44:19 – Do clients know when they've been cutting corners? 48:26 – Why Candour gives away the "secret sauce" 56:49 – Search Norwich XL, and where to find Mark & Jack 🔗 Candour: https://withcandour.co.uk/ 📩 Core Updates newsletter: https://coreupdates.com/ 🎙️ Search With Candour podcast: https://withcandour.co.uk/podcast 📅 SearchNorwichXL — Sept 24, 2026: https://searchnorwich.org/ Full post here: https://www.buzzstream.com/blog/candour-podcast/ Building your own media list for digital PR? ListIQ pulls journalist emails, bios, and recent articles straight from Google News, so you're not doing that research by hand: https://www.buzzstream.com/listiq/

July 8, 2026Episode 4835 min

PR for the Topics Everyone's Afraid to Pitch

There's a narrative in PR that sensitive health topics — fertility, hormones, menopause, infant health — are just harder to pitch, full stop. Irina Karelina, founder of Fungi PR, has spent a decade proving that's not quite right. In this episode, Irina breaks down how her agency turned a hormone-literacy campaign for Mira into over a billion media impressions and six awards — without ever putting the product at the center of the pitch. We get into why journalists ignore evergreen problems, the counterintuitive data insight that outperformed the obvious one, and how she navigates the privacy line when pitching real user stories on deeply personal topics.If you work in digital PR, link building, or content marketing and you've ever struggled to make a "boring" or sensitive topic newsworthy, this one's for you. ⏰ Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 04:48 - What actually makes these topics hard to pitch 08:37 - Case study: Carrot Fertility & Evvy's "Equal Research Day" 13:19 - Tactical breakdown: awareness weeks, the hormone tester stunt 14:42 - Quick-turn campaigns: COVID vaccine and GLP-1 drugs 16:53 - Finding trends through social listening 18:48 - The biggest mindset shift 21:14 - Common mistakes PRs make with data pitches 24:19 - Handling sensitive topics without exploiting sources 28:47 - Bridging the gap between PR and marketing teams 30:41 - Building trust with client teams as a freelancer 😀 Connect with Irina Karelina: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karelina/?locale=en-US Fungi PR: https://fungipr.com/ 🐝 Try ListIQ (AI-powered media list building): https://www.buzzstream.com/listiq/ — get free credits when you sign up 🔗 See the full episode: https://www.buzzstream.com/blog/sensitive-pr-podcast/ 🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with digital PR and link building practitioners.

July 1, 2026Episode 4736 min

AI Citation Ranking Factors with Cyrus Shepard

Cyrus Shepard is back on the BuzzStream Podcast to break down his AI Citation Ranking Factors study, a deep dive into dozens of research papers on what actually gets a brand cited by AI. We talk through why URL accessibility still trips people up, why domain authority barely correlates with AI citations, why llms.txt has zero evidence behind it (yet), and why your "About Us" page might be more important than ever. ⏰ TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 – Intro 2:06 – Citations vs. mentions: which one actually matters? 7:03 – Ranking factor #1: URL accessibility 9:00 – Search rank and "fan-out" rank explained 11:15 – Query answer match and intent format match 13:00 – The truth about llms.txt 16:29 – Writing for AI vs. writing for people 19:46 – The "skyscraper" reversal and Gemini's citation budget 22:07 – Why your About Us page matters more than ever 25:16 – Domain authority barely correlates with AI citations 27:41 – Will Google crack down on mention spam? 29:30 – Trust as the new SEO currency 32:42 – Cyrus's elevator pitch for showing up in AI 🔗 LINKS: Read Cyrus's full study on Zyppy Signal: https://signal.zyppy.com/p/ai-citation-ranking-factors Check out ListIQ, BuzzStream's media list building tool: https://www.buzzstream.com/listiq Connect with Cyrus on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cyrusshepard/ See the full post: https://www.buzzstream.com/blog/ai-citation-ranking-factors-podcast/ If you found this useful, subscribe for more conversations on SEO, digital PR, and AI search — and drop any questions for Cyrus in the comments; we'll get them answered.

June 17, 2026Episode 4637 min

Lily Ray on the AI Search Tactics That Will Bite You Later

There's a lot of noise right now about how to show up in AI search. Listicles, prompt injection widgets, fake expert commentary — a lot of it is working. For now. Lily Ray (VP of SEO Strategy at Amsiv, named #1 most influential SEO expert by USA Today) has spent years doing recovery work for sites burned by past algorithm updates. That gives her a very different take than most. In this episode: 00:00 – Intro 02:24 – How Lily thinks about Google announcements and GEO advice 06:30 – Does LLMs.txt actually matter? 09:47 – What E-E-A-T really is (and isn't) 12:34 – How closely to follow the Search Quality Rater Guidelines 15:14 – The riskiest tactics people are doing right now 18:57 – Fake experts, fake personas, and the listicle problem 22:00 – Is there a silver bullet for AI search visibility? 25:21 – Is digital PR heading for a Penguin-style crackdown? 28:39 – How to build lasting AI visibility the right way Find Lily: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-ray-44755615/ Substack: https://lilyraynyc.substack.com/ Links mentioned: Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines: https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/hsw-sqrg.pdf ListIQ: www.buzzstream.com/listiq/

June 11, 2026Episode 4545 min

How SEO and Digital PR Work Together | Kevin Gibbons & Darren Kingman

In this episode, SEO veteran Kevin Gibbons (founder of Resignal) and digital PR expert Darren Kingman (founder of Root Digital) share why they joined forces and how SEO and digital PR work better together. Discover practical insights on tying campaigns to products, proving ROI through revenue, building link reputation, and avoiding vanity metrics in the modern search landscape. ⏰ Chapters [00:00] Introduction [01:24] Why Resignal Expanded Into Digital PR [05:46] Why Root Digital Joined Forces [06:45] The Synergy Between SEO and Digital PR [09:17] Surveying Clients: Why Digital PR Was the Fit [11:17] Links for Links' Sake vs. Brand-Led PR [14:54] Should Campaigns Be Tied to Specific Products? [17:28] Commercial Angle, PR Hook & SEO Value [18:43] Vanity Metrics and Client Pushback [20:57] The Paris Syndrome Campaign: A Case Study [23:07] Drawing the Through-Line From PR to Rankings [27:36] Why Revenue Is the KPI [32:02] The "1,000 Links a Month" Problem [34:11] When a Brand Doesn't Need Links [38:50] Merging Two Agencies: Navigating Differences [44:47] Where to Find Kevin & Darren 🔗 Links Resignal - https://resignal.com Root Digital - https://rootdigital.co.uk ListIQ Media List Builder - https://buzzstream.com/listiq