Our Key Takeaways from SearchNorwichXL 2026

Arnout Hellemans - The SERPs hold more insights than you think

Arnout Hellemans delivered an engaging presentation titled “The SERPs hold more insights than you think”, sharing his extensive research into Google’s People Also Ask (PAA) questions across 340 question trees, seven languages, and multiple global locations using AlsoAsked. Arnout demonstrated how localised Search Engine Results Page (SERP) data reveals deep cultural sentiment and brand perception shifts, such as geographic variations in consumer queries about major brands like Heineken. He issued a warning on data reliability because Google frequently dynamically generates or caches PAA questions. A single SERP snapshot can be interpreted as an observation rather than absolute truth. He advised attendees to set freshness parameters, verify language settings, and cross-validate locations before building costly marketing strategies on unverified SERP data.

Bengü Sarıca Dinçer - Multi-platform search ecosystem: When “everywhere” still isn’t enough

Bengü delivered an insightful Sims-themed presentation on navigating the shift from traditional, linear search models to a fragmented, multi-platform discovery ecosystem. She explained that user search behaviour is no longer confined to Google. Consumers search across platforms like ChatGPT, TikTok, Reddit, and Large Language Models (LLMs) for a single need before using Google or going directly to a site to confirm their choice. Dinçer warned against common industry traps like equating top rankings with discoverability, relying on content volume over clarity, or trusting single-touch attribution metrics in Google Analytics 4. Emphasising that "visibility does not equal memorability", she introduced a strategic framework focused on machine interpretability, brand depth, cross-platform consistency, and tracking recognition and outcome signals to drive long-term business success.

Dixon Jones - What AI knows about you (and how to fix it)

Dixon Jones delivered a practical talk outlining a step-by-step methodology for AI Search Engine Optimisation. Highlighting that "entities speak louder than words", Dixon argued that SEOs shouldn't start by chasing generic prompt rankings or Share of Voice (SoV) metrics. Instead, brands must first perform an entity gap analysis to see how LLMs conceptually understand their narrative compared to what exists on their website. He encouraged marketers to disable live search lookups when auditing LLMs to uncover underlying machine-learning gaps, systematically hunt down and fix hallucinations (often caused by outdated or third-party links), monitor third-party citations and stand-out listicles, and evaluate Share of Voice by measuring true topical presence relative to all mentioned competitors.

Estela Franco - Catching Technical SEO regressions and rendering disasters in CI for Shopify Stores

Estela Franco delivered an actionable presentation on preventing technical SEO regressions by moving from reactive testing in production to automated testing in CI/CD pipelines. Drawing on a 15-year background in technical SEO and web development, Estela shared examples of how minor code deployments regularly break canonicals, meta tags, and indexing rules due to disconnected workflows between developers and SEO teams. She introduced "SEO as Code", a framework using machine-readable JSON "SEO contracts" generated via tools like Screaming Frog and validated through Playwright browser automation in GitHub Actions, to catch rendering issues and critical bugs before pull requests are merged, ensuring seamless risk mitigation and faster deployment velocity.

Giulia Panozzo - Beyond the query: how emotional brand signals influence clicks and conversions

Giulia Panozzo presented "Beyond the query: how emotional brand signals influence clicks and conversions", using insights from consumer neuroscience and skin conductance (electrodermal activity) research. She demonstrated how implicit emotional states, brand associations, and subjective experiences drive consumer choice far more than simple static content or AI-generated volume. Giulia warned against relying solely on AI tools that flatten brand experiences and trigger consumer fatigue or the "uncanny valley", emphasising that modern audiences, particularly Gen Z, crave authenticity, aligned values, and genuine connection. She inspired attendees to prioritise long-term memorability over short-term efficiency, concluding that "attention is no longer the scarcest commodity in marketing…connection and memorability are."

Adam Gent - How Google manages its index

Adam Gent delivered a fast-paced and data-driven presentation exploring "How Google manages its index." Drawing on insights from the Google antitrust trial, official Google patents, and analysis of millions of URLs via the URL Inspection API, Adam explained that indexation isn't just about technical crawling, but active quality management. He demonstrated how Google constantly de-indexes pages using dynamic quality thresholds, soft limits, and historical engagement data, highlighting that a lack of user interaction is often the main reason pages drop out of the index. Gent introduced his findings on the 130-day and 190-day rules, revealing how Google systematically reduces crawl priority before purging unvisited, low-signal URLs from its memory entirely. All of Adam’s findings and conclusions were backed up by quotes and data, making for a very compelling, data-backed constructive presentation.

Panel: The future of search and SEO - Brendan Bennett, Iva Jovanovic, Charlie Marchant, & Emma-Jane Stogdon

The panelists at SearchNorwichXL explored how artificial intelligence is reshaping the search landscape, addressing whether conversational "AI mode" will replace traditional SERPs and how marketers should adapt to an agentic web. The panelists were Brendan Bennett, Iva Jovanovic, Charlie Marchant, and Emma-Jane Stogdon. Their discussion emphasised that while search engines continue pushing toward automated discovery, core SEO fundamentals remain essential. Rather than churning out high volumes of commodity AI content, brands must focus on technical accessibility, schema clarity, cross-platform brand consistency, and securing AI citations across third-party sources. As the panelists noted, future-proofing search requires shifting focus from producing mass content to investing in airtight messaging, site accessibility, and authentic brand citations.

Myriam Jessier - Don't forget to optimise so they subscribe

Myriam Jessier delivered a lively and insightful presentation on optimising multimodal content, including video, image, and audio, to make brand assets machine-readable and semantically rich for search engines and LLMs. Moving beyond traditional text-only SEO, Myriam highlighted how consumers and AI systems process spatial queries and visual contexts, using practical examples like product sizing, packaging recognition, and usability demonstrations. Jessier stressed the importance of building "brand depth" across visual layers, structured audio pacing, and technical metrics such as object detection and context alignment, reminding marketers that “branding is getting technical”.

Martin Splitt - In search for a better web

Martin Splitt delivered a candid, funny, and deeply reflective talk titled “In search for a better web”, speaking not as a Googler, but as a long-time user advocating for a return to a more authentic internet. He explored how modern digital experiences have deteriorated due to aggressive monetisation, cookie banners, intrusive sign-ups, and scaled, low-value content. Splitt cautioned against treating generative AI as a quick fix for broken user journeys, highlighting its non-deterministic nature, operational costs, and lack of accountability, and urged creators to own their platforms rather than depending entirely on social algorithms. As he concluded, “Because if we want a better web, we have to make it.”

Conclusion

I’d like to express my gratitude to Mark Williams-Cook for the invitation to join the conference. I took away a lot of best practices that will support our clients’ strategy and growth. 

The Candour team truly exceeded my expectations in terms of venue, curation, punctuality, and sustainability. Everything ran like clockwork, and everyone left more inspired and enriched than before.

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Speak to our team today to discover how we can elevate your search strategy, or explore our SearchPulse report for the latest search behaviour insights.