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BrightonSEO: What we learnt, loved and lunched on
28/05/26
A few weeks back, our Digital Marketing Manager, Georgie, and PPC Specialist, Ross, headed down to the coast for BrightonSEO. Their mission? Soak up some fantastic industry talks, network with industry leaders, scope out shiny new tools for the agency, and, of course, track down the best Mexican food Brighton has to offer (more on that later). It was an incredibly worthwhile trip, so here is a look at what we really got out of it…
Let’s start with the main topic of conversation… SEO!
As you’d expect, most people were there to chat SEO, and over the course of day, talks were back-to-back hourly, with 3 speakers per hour. It was fast-moving, innovative and (most of the time) interesting!
AI took the conference by storm…
It came as absolutely no surprise that AI was the common thread running through almost every single presentation. Rather than viewing AI as a threat, the overriding message was about adaptation.
The way people use the internet is fundamentally changing. We are moving away from traditional, single-keyword searches (like “best marketing agency”) and shifting toward complex, conversational, long-tail queries. Because people are interacting with search engines more like they would a human assistant, our content strategies have to evolve to meet these more nuanced, intent-driven phrases.
Trust was a huge talking point
With AI making it easier than ever for anyone to generate mass content at the click of a button, the internet is facing an information overload. Because of this, search engines are raising the bar on content quality, making E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) the ultimate benchmark for success.
The general consensus across the talks was clear: to rank well, brands must prove they have real human experience and genuine expertise behind their words. Rehashed AI content won’t cut it anymore; Google wants to reward original research, unique insights, and voices that users can genuinely trust.
Ranking #1 isn’t the only goal anymore
For years, the holy grail of SEO was securing that coveted number-one spot on Google’s organic results. Today, the landscape looks completely different. With the rise of AI-powered search features, visibility is no longer just about standard links.
We are moving into the era of GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation). The speakers highlighted a massive shift in how we measure success:
- Traditional SEO focuses on earning clicks to your website.
- GEO focuses on earning mentions and citations inside Large Language Models (LLMs).
Securing the top spot on a search page is still vital, but ensuring your brand is the one being cited, recommended, and sourced by AI search engines is the new frontier of digital marketing.
A few stats that blew my mind were…
To put the scale of this digital shift into perspective, here are a few standout statistics shared by the speakers that really made us sit up and take note:
- £1.78 billion in UK retail spend has already been directly influenced by or placed through AI platforms.
- 1 in 4 people are now using ChatGPT on a regular basis for day-to-day queries.
- Google Search volume dropped by 9% Year-on-Year, a direct result of users shifting their search habits toward AI alternatives.
Now, moving onto PPC…
What a lot of people may not know is that BrightonSEO also has a huge focus on PPC, with a whole plethora of talks on both days of the conference for the paid media geeks amongst us, which we proudly sit within! So here’s what Ross came away with…
BrightonSEO once again delivered a packed day of practical insights and industry reassurance that strong marketing fundamentals still matter – even with AI rapidly changing the landscape.
A morning focused on strategy, channels and creative
The morning sessions focused heavily on strategy and platform evolution. Kat Sale opened with a brilliant talk on smarter media planning, reinforcing the importance of understanding the client and selecting the right paid channels rather than recommending every platform.
Jake Agus followed with a great reminder that Microsoft Ads still plays an important role and shouldn’t be treated as a “set and forget” copy of Google Ads.
Aggie Meroni and Emily Nesbit then delivered excellent sessions on Meta Ads, creative testing and funnel strategy – much of which strongly aligned with our own lead generation approach.
From ROAS to POAS… and what this means for you!
After lunch, the focus shifted towards measurement, optimisation and performance. Lars Maat highlighted the growing importance of POAS over ROAS in Google Ads measurement, while Heather Robinson showed how smaller budgets can still achieve excellent results with the right strategic setup. Dr Samuel Cooper’s talk on attribution and incrementality reinforced the importance of accurate conversion tracking, before Jon Quinton wrapped things up with a selection of genuinely useful marketing tools and workflows.
Time for a quick Q&A with our resident performance team
Georgie, who was your favourite speaker?
About halfway through, I had the pleasure of hearing Ashley Liddell’s talk, the Co-Founder of Deviation. His talk was all about discoverability and recognition, and really cut out a lot of the ‘fluff’ – he was straight to the point, engaging and made me grab my pen and paper (yes I am old school!) more than once.
Ross, over to you, who was your standout speaker?
For me, it was Aggie Meroni. Her talk on Meta’s “insatiable creative appetite” really reinforced how important creative testing and asset variation have become within Meta campaigns – especially with updates like Andromeda changing how ads are delivered and optimised. It was a great reminder that strong creative strategy is now just as important as audience targeting and campaign setup.
We have to ask, what’s this about Mexican food?
As massive foodies, we couldn’t go to Brighton for the day without booking ourselves into one of the local independent restaurants. We opted for one just a few minutes away from the conference centre called Halisco. A cute, authentic Mexican tapas spot with a menu of absolute delights. We shared a heap load of Tacos, brisket Quesadillas, spicy potatoes and corn ribs – safe to say it filled us up for the afternoon of talks. (We stayed away from the Margaritas for the sake of our 2-hour journey home!)
Would you attend BrightonSEO again?
Georgie – Yes! It was really great to come away with the knowledge that everything we are doing for our clients is exactly where we should be. Whilst also reminding me of some of the golden nuggets of information that had maybe slipped to the back of my mind. Plus, chatting to businesses within the conference arena gave me some inspiration to try some new platforms and ways of working. As my job and SEO are ever evolving, getting out of the office and taking a step back from the day-to-day was super useful.
Ross – Definitely. It’s one of those events where you always come away with something valuable – whether that’s a new strategy, a fresh perspective on existing campaigns, or simply reassurance that the challenges you’re facing are shared across the industry! It’s also a great opportunity to connect with other marketers and hear real-world insights from people navigating the same platforms and issues you are every day.
Let’s talk merch. What did you come away with?
I nearly left with a free MacBook – that would have been a real win, but I was pipped to the post on that one. The swag game was strong though, I am now adorning an ‘AI specialist’ cap, some fresh tote bags and the obligatory pens and notepads. I must say the free popcorn was a real hit!
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