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Episode Synopsis
Welcome to Market Movers: Building Brands & Links with Linkifi!
Your go-to podcast for transforming your business into an unforgettable brand where branding meets SEO and link-building. I’m Chris Panteli, Co-Founder and CEO of Linkifi, and I’m joined by my co-host and Co-Founder, Nick Biggs.
In this episode we welcome Mark Williams-Cook. Director at Candour. Founder of AlsoAsked. Veteran SEO of 20 years who ships products, runs e-commerce brands, and speaks plainly about where search is actually heading.
Key Talking Points
✅ SEO is not dead. AI search often equals “three web searches in a trench coat.” Retrieval still relies on real indexes, ranking, and links
✅ Why the browser wins. Agentic tasks need a real browser that executes JS, passes “are you human” checks, and respects privacy. Expect lightweight on-device models
✅ Google’s advantage. Massive index, cash flow, control of distribution. Others burn cash while renting Google or Chromium, which tilts the field
✅ Freshness bias and listicles. LLM surfaces are easy to game with recency and “best X” lists. Short-term only. It will not last
✅ Brand as the durable signal. Your brand footprint inside models and across trusted sources will outlive tactic chasing
✅ Digital PR for AI era. Mentions on authoritative sites shape both link graphs and in-model weightings
✅ LLM-aware research. Generate persona prompts to reveal the web searches LLMs trigger. Then build pages that answer intent clearly
✅ Measure what matters. Prompt tracking dashboards are a comfort blanket. Focus on in-model understanding and real outcomes
✅ Community as a moat. Smaller brands should seed real communities where customers advocate on platforms like Reddit
Quotes from Mark Williams-Cook
📢 “AI search is still built on information retrieval. It is not magic. It needs an index.”
📢 “The browser will be the agent. That is where execution, privacy, and verification actually work.”
📢 “Short-term tricks like fresh listicles will get patched. Invest in signals that survive updates.”
📢 “Ask a model to act like your persona, then watch which web searches it fires. That is your content map.”
📢 “If your marketing activity has no value without search, it probably has no long-term value.”
Actionable Insights
🧭 Design for Agentic Workflows
Make key flows executable in a real browser. Clean HTML. predictable selectors. minimal anti-bot friction on basic info pages
Publish concise “do this task” guides that an agent can summarize and follow
🔎 LLM-Ready Content Research
Use personas to generate conversational prompts, then inspect which queries LLMs trigger
Prioritize pages that map to those triggered queries. Structure with clear headings, FAQs, and explicit constraints
📰 Digital PR That Moves Models
Target high-trust publications and expert communities. Mentions plus links shape both rankings and in-model priors
Ship evidence assets. data cuts, original research, tool outputs. that media can cite
🧠 In-Model Understanding
Audit “what AI knows about you” style outputs to see how models describe your brand
Reinforce missing truths across your site, docs, bios, schema, and PR
📏 Rethink Measurement
Treat prompt tracking as directional at best. Anchor your plan to leads, assisted revenue, branded search lift, and referral quality
Report share of voice only with clear caveats. focus updates on shipped assets and earned authority
👥 Build Community First
Invest where your buyers gather. Run useful AMAs, teardown threads, and office hours
Let real customers seed Reddit and forums. authenticity scales better than aged accounts
About Mark Williams-Cook
Mark Williams-Cook is Digital Marketing Director at Candour, founder of AlsoAsked, and host of Search with Candour. He blends technical rigor with brand-first strategy. He speaks frequently on the future of search, agentic browsing, and why digital PR matters more in an LLM world.
📬 Connect: LinkedIn: Mark Williams-Cook · CoreUpdates.com newsletter
🚀 Build Your Brand with Real Links
At Linkifi, we help ambitious brands scale organic visibility through digital PR, brand storytelling, and SEO strategy. Book your FREE strategy session today:
🔗 https://calendly.com/linkifi/pr
👋 Connect with your hosts:
👉 Chris Panteli on LinkedIn
👉 Nick Biggs on LinkedIn
🎧 Listen to more Market Movers episodes:
🌍 https://marketmoverspod.com
Your go-to podcast for transforming your business into an unforgettable brand where branding meets SEO and link-building. I’m Chris Panteli, Co-Founder and CEO of Linkifi, and I’m joined by my co-host and Co-Founder, Nick Biggs.
In this episode we welcome Mark Williams-Cook. Director at Candour. Founder of AlsoAsked. Veteran SEO of 20 years who ships products, runs e-commerce brands, and speaks plainly about where search is actually heading.
Key Talking Points
✅ SEO is not dead. AI search often equals “three web searches in a trench coat.” Retrieval still relies on real indexes, ranking, and links
✅ Why the browser wins. Agentic tasks need a real browser that executes JS, passes “are you human” checks, and respects privacy. Expect lightweight on-device models
✅ Google’s advantage. Massive index, cash flow, control of distribution. Others burn cash while renting Google or Chromium, which tilts the field
✅ Freshness bias and listicles. LLM surfaces are easy to game with recency and “best X” lists. Short-term only. It will not last
✅ Brand as the durable signal. Your brand footprint inside models and across trusted sources will outlive tactic chasing
✅ Digital PR for AI era. Mentions on authoritative sites shape both link graphs and in-model weightings
✅ LLM-aware research. Generate persona prompts to reveal the web searches LLMs trigger. Then build pages that answer intent clearly
✅ Measure what matters. Prompt tracking dashboards are a comfort blanket. Focus on in-model understanding and real outcomes
✅ Community as a moat. Smaller brands should seed real communities where customers advocate on platforms like Reddit
Quotes from Mark Williams-Cook
📢 “AI search is still built on information retrieval. It is not magic. It needs an index.”
📢 “The browser will be the agent. That is where execution, privacy, and verification actually work.”
📢 “Short-term tricks like fresh listicles will get patched. Invest in signals that survive updates.”
📢 “Ask a model to act like your persona, then watch which web searches it fires. That is your content map.”
📢 “If your marketing activity has no value without search, it probably has no long-term value.”
Actionable Insights
🧭 Design for Agentic Workflows
Make key flows executable in a real browser. Clean HTML. predictable selectors. minimal anti-bot friction on basic info pages
Publish concise “do this task” guides that an agent can summarize and follow
🔎 LLM-Ready Content Research
Use personas to generate conversational prompts, then inspect which queries LLMs trigger
Prioritize pages that map to those triggered queries. Structure with clear headings, FAQs, and explicit constraints
📰 Digital PR That Moves Models
Target high-trust publications and expert communities. Mentions plus links shape both rankings and in-model priors
Ship evidence assets. data cuts, original research, tool outputs. that media can cite
🧠 In-Model Understanding
Audit “what AI knows about you” style outputs to see how models describe your brand
Reinforce missing truths across your site, docs, bios, schema, and PR
📏 Rethink Measurement
Treat prompt tracking as directional at best. Anchor your plan to leads, assisted revenue, branded search lift, and referral quality
Report share of voice only with clear caveats. focus updates on shipped assets and earned authority
👥 Build Community First
Invest where your buyers gather. Run useful AMAs, teardown threads, and office hours
Let real customers seed Reddit and forums. authenticity scales better than aged accounts
About Mark Williams-Cook
Mark Williams-Cook is Digital Marketing Director at Candour, founder of AlsoAsked, and host of Search with Candour. He blends technical rigor with brand-first strategy. He speaks frequently on the future of search, agentic browsing, and why digital PR matters more in an LLM world.
📬 Connect: LinkedIn: Mark Williams-Cook · CoreUpdates.com newsletter
🚀 Build Your Brand with Real Links
At Linkifi, we help ambitious brands scale organic visibility through digital PR, brand storytelling, and SEO strategy. Book your FREE strategy session today:
🔗 https://calendly.com/linkifi/pr
👋 Connect with your hosts:
👉 Chris Panteli on LinkedIn
👉 Nick Biggs on LinkedIn
🎧 Listen to more Market Movers episodes:
🌍 https://marketmoverspod.com
In God we trust