Host: Sean Barber — https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanrbarber/ (He/Him)

In this Search With Sean panel episode, I’m joined by Chloe Meadows, James Brockbank, Amanda Walls, Vince Nero and Natalie Trice to discuss the changing role of digital PR and how it fits into the future of SEO, AI search and brand building.

We explore how digital PR has evolved beyond simply earning links, why brand mentions and authority are becoming increasingly important in an AI-driven search landscape, and what separates campaigns that create real business impact from those that simply generate coverage.

The panel also discusses campaign relevance, journalist relationships, measuring PR success, avoiding vanity metrics, and why digital PR needs to work alongside SEO, content and wider marketing teams.

My Guests:

Chloe Meadows — https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloemeadowspr/

James Brockbank — https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-brockbank/

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

Vince Nero — https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinnero/

Natalie Trice — https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-trice/

Topics Covered:

- What Digital PR Means In 2026: How the discipline has evolved from link building into a broader brand authority and trust-building strategy

- Digital PR vs Link Building: Why digital PR should not simply be viewed as a way to earn links and why context, relevance and reputation matter more

- AI Search & Brand Authority: How digital PR can help search engines and AI models understand who brands are and what they are trusted for

- Building Entities & Trust Signals: Why mentions, expertise and third-party validation are becoming increasingly important

- The Relationship Between SEO & Digital PR: Why PR cannot operate in isolation and needs to align with SEO, content, product and wider marketing goals

- Why Relevance Matters More Than Ever: Moving away from generic campaigns and focusing on topics that genuinely connect with audiences and brands

- Creating Digital PR Campaigns That Stand Out: Why creativity, emotion, uniqueness and understanding your audience are critical to breaking through journalist inboxes

- The Changing Role Of Journalists: How media challenges, crowded inboxes and changing publishing models are impacting PR professionals

- Brand Building vs Vanity Metrics: Why coverage numbers, link counts and estimated reach are not enough without understanding the real impact

- Measuring Digital PR Success: Moving beyond awareness metrics and focusing on business outcomes, conversions and meaningful influence

- Can Digital PR Fix A Broken Brand?: Why PR cannot replace strong products, technical SEO, good content or customer experiences

- The Future Of Digital PR: How AI, search changes and evolving consumer behaviour will continue shaping the industry

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