Ahrefs Evolve 2025 Speaker By Speaker Breakdown
As a digital marketing agency based in Melbourne, Australia, truly upper echelon SEO events can unfortunately be few and far between.
Not to say that there aren’t several great SEO focused conferences in Australia, but there is a notable gap in speaker experience, and occasionally, content relevance.
That said, when we saw the exemplary list of topics being discussed at Ahrefs Evolve 2025, and the caliber of those presenting them, it quickly became apparent that it was worth a trip across the pacific.
Pre-Conference Networking Event
First things first once arriving in sunny San Diego, a kick-off event on a spacious yacht.
Accessible by those with all access pass tickets, this trip around the San Diego shores was the perfect way to kick off two intensive days of SEO discussion.
With all speakers in attendance, this gave us great access to discuss top-of-mind SEO matters with some of the most authoritative voices in the industry.
If you had a conversation with anyone for more than three minutes, the commonality amongst all attendees became crystal clear: how do we shape our SEO efforts in this AI era?
A question that would be discussed in depth over the coming days.
Ahrefs Evolve 2025 Day 1 - A Speaker by Speaker Breakdown:
As team nimbl, and many others, filtered their way into the Intercontinental, we were quick to discover that the entire second floor had been converted into Ahrefs hub.
From sponsor booths to snack stations, all roads lead to the conference hall, where hundred of marketers gathered to learn what we can be doing to position our clients correctly in LLMs.
After an initial conference kick off from Emcee, Rob Delory, and a welcome from Ahrefs CMO, Tim Soulo, our first speaker stepped to the stage.
Cyrus Shepard: What Google Doesn't Tell You Aboue E-E-A-T
The first official talk of the day was by Cyrus Shepard, owner of Zyppy SEO, and former Google Quality rater.
Key Takeaways:
E-E-A-T isn’t a direct ranking signal, but Google uses it more than they admit through algorithms, tuning, and machine learning training data. It influences Quality Scores and site trust signals indirectly.
Effort and authority matter. Quality raters assess how much effort appears to have gone into the content, how trustworthy the site feels, and whether it focuses on a clear, singular topic with visible authorship and multiple contact points.
External validation outweighs self-promotion. What others say about your brand (reviews, citations, branded anchor links, and directories) carries more weight than what you claim yourself.
Rater insights: They review only mobile versions, look for clear About pages, easy navigation, and prominent reviews. Using first-person pronouns correlates with higher rankings, and branded anchor links strongly boost authority.
Patrick Stocks: GEO? AEO? What's With All This AI SEO Stuff?
Next onto the stage was Patrick Stocks, Product Advisor, Technical SEO & Brand Ambassador for Ahrefs.
AI Mode will become the default [search vehicle] within a year or two.
Key Takeaways:
AI-first search is arriving fast. Patrick is of the opinion that AI mode will likely be default within one to two years and AIOs already show for about one in five queries, so plan for AI-led discovery while remembering it is still search.
Brand signals win. Optimise how the internet talks about you: drive brand web mentions, reviews, community activity and YouTube presence; diversify traffic beyond the site.
Content principles. Favour simple, snippet-style answers, content chunking, repurposing and original stats; avoid FAQ-only formats; schema and llms.txt are low impact for training.
Workflow shift. Use AI across the content process. Human plus AI produces better work faster; focus on outcomes over vanity metrics and keep testing where AI improves performance.
Eric Siu: The New SEO Playbook: Agentic AI, Omnichannel, and Real Revenue
Before we broke for a quick intermission, Eric Siu, the founder of Single Grain, commenced in a chat focused on the new SEO playbook, as he sees it.
Key Takeaways:
Search is now everywhere, not just Google. Think Search Everywhere Optimisation: multi-instance journeys, YouTube as a priority, programmatic SEO still works, more touches needed (closer to 14–20), and LLMs are reading brand sentiment.
Use AI to scale the work you hate. With the cost of intelligence falling, lean on AI/MCPs to automate and accelerate production while keeping tactics white hat.
Peep Laja: B2B Brands Don't Have A Pipeline Problem, They Have A Recall Problem
After a brief 30 minute break, Peep Laja, CEO of Wynter, was the first presentation back, which had a very interesting B2B focus.
Key Takeaways:
Win before they are in market by building memory. As you can see from Peep’s poignant slide, 92% of B2B buyers purchase from vendors already on their day one shortlist, so you need to build brand awareness before they are in market to purchase. Keep brand visible, use logos on every asset, and create content that addresses very specific problems so you are the name they recall.
Make the website win the shortlist. Lead with clear onlyness and differentiation from category leaders, show exactly how you solve the buyer’s specific need, and ensure outreach mirrors that message.
Panel Discussion: Beyond Rankings - Building Visibility In The Age of AI
Before the main break on day 1, we were treated with a panel discussion featuring:
- Steven Weingarth (Global Director of Growth Marketing at Motorola Solutions)
- Brandon Hendricks (Formerly, Global Lead of Total Search, SolarWinds)
- Travis Tallent (Managing Director, SEO & CRO, Brainlabs)
- Darwood Bukhari (CEO, Digital Web Solutions)
- Moderated by Krista Seiden (Principal Product Evangelist, Amplitude)
Key Takeaways (Per Discussion Topic):
Everyone’s talking about AI changing search. What does that actually mean for you and what is one change you’ve made to adapt?
Shift from site-only SEO to discovery across platforms. Slice content for multiple channels and measure beyond sessions.
Reporting has evolved. Impressions and brand visibility are back in focus for C-suite clarity.
Strategy beyond the website
Build brand presence where audiences already research. Prioritise YouTube, Reddit and digital PR.
Repurpose pillar content into snackable formats for multiple surfaces.
How has reporting shifted for clients and the C-suite?
Add visibility metrics like impressions and branded search to the core set.
Tell a cross channel story that shows discovery impact, not just on site conversions.
Rethinking content strategy
Double down on formats still driving traffic and broaden distribution off site.
Use content chunking and listicles where they help scannability and reuse.
Focus on brand needs to increase
Invest in brand mentions and third party references that LLMs and users trust.
Aim to own a clear problem space with repeatable messages.
Team structure for discovery, not just SEO
Transition from an SEO team to a content and distribution team serving multiple channels.
Add digital PR and community roles to win off site authority.
Skills or capabilities now required
Fluency with AI tools embedded in daily workflows.
Test and learn mentality with comfort in data and experimentation. Follow practitioners who share tactics, eg Brittany Muller.
What stories or outreach get picked up by LLMs?
Data backed stories and original statistics.
Listicles and even no follow links can help discovery signals.
Do big brands have an advantage or can small brands break through?
Small brands can move faster and win in niche communities with targeted brand mentions.
User generated and peer generated content levels the field when executed consistently.
Where is AI getting its data and how can businesses show up there?
Prioritise off site PR, thought leadership and credible third parties.
YouTube is a major source. Build a real YouTube strategy.
New KPIs
Keep traditional KPIs but elevate branded search volume, cross platform visibility and category conversation share.
Run routine checks on branded monthly search volume and presence on Amazon, YouTube and Reddit.
Lightning round: tools to report LLM visibility
Mix in house trackers with platforms like SEO Clarity, Ahrefs, Brand Radar, Visto, GA4, GSC, HubSpot and Amplitude.
Lightning round: start doing and stop doing in an AI world
Do: YouTube, analyse search query reports, prioritise brand mentions and controllables, use AI to speed reporting.
Don’t: Over invest in keywords and rankings alone or heavy JavaScript that hinders crawlability.
Lightning round: what changed in the last 12 months
LLMs are less smart than assumed and can be influenced.
AI is not replacing humans in strategy and creation as much as expected, and social is not yet a dominant AI input.
Tim Soulo: Where Marketing's Headed - And How Ahrefs Is Building For Discoverability
After an hour of refueling, paired with some networking, the conference was ready to begin again. The first speaker up was Tim Soulo, CMO of Ahrefs.
Key Takeaways:
Discoverability will hinge on citations and off site visibility. Prioritise earning accurate, up to date citations on credible sites, and monitor brand mentions across the web with 360 views as YouTube and Reddit roll into Brand Radar.
AI elevates content, Ahrefs is shipping the stack. Use AI to refine teaching led, data backed, newsworthy content, while new Ahrefs tools like the AI Content Helper Brand Kit, an MCP server, Labs, free web analytics and a social media manager support the day to day.
Kevin Indig: What Content Works Well in LLMs
What would an SEO conference be without some content talk? To do that, Kevin Indig, owner of the Growth Memo substack.
Key Takeaways:
Polymorphic content wins. In 2025 (and beyond), content needs to rank organically, be cited by other sites and LLMs, and still convert. The best content serves multiple purposes across formats and channels.
Quality and trust signals matter. Fresh (<3 months) content with clear structure, dense facts, and credible citations performs best. LLMs prefer brands they can trust, with both follow and no-follow links carrying weight.
Shift from reading to doing. Create additive, actionable content that encourages user participation and solves real problems – these can be mined from places like Reddit where audiences express pain points.
James Norquay: Beyond Google: Unlocking Organic Growth Across Alternative Channels
Next up, fellow Aussie and founder of Sydney SEO Conference, James Norquay.
Key Takeaways:
Creative acquisition and content ideas. Use internal search data and competitor affiliate analysis to uncover traffic opportunities. Identify low-authority sites in competitive niches and reverse engineer their affiliate content to inspire new pages and outrank them.
Ecommerce optimisation beyond Google. Audit and manage product assets, imagery, videos and SKU data across shopping sites, and create supporting content resources to lift visibility and conversion.
Driving LLM traffic. Invest in digital PR and quotable resources – awards pages, social sharing features, and structured brand profiles (e.g. Foursquare submissions). Use tools like Ahrefs Brand Radar and prompt tracking platforms (e.g. Hall, Matahan.ai) to measure presence.
Video and linkable content strategies. Refresh pages monthly with new YouTube videos, leverage influencer content, and build linkable assets through creative campaigns – emotional storytelling, niche event tie-ins, or interactive tools like accessibility checkers.
Carrie Rose: Why You Should Go All In On Offsite Brand And Category Signals For The Future of SEO and AI Search
Following James was Carrie Rose, Founder & CEO of Rise At Seven. She led a fascinating conversation on the need to invest in offsite brand and category singals, using real case studies from one of her UK clients, Red Bull.
Key Takeaways:
Category signals now outweigh pure brand strength. LLMs lean more on brand trust than Google, but Google rewards brands demonstrating authority within clear categories – through contextual links, keyword mentions, and off site signals tied to those categories.
Diversify link destinations and build discovery content. Most backlinks point to homepages, but growth lies in spreading authority to top revenue categories via PR, press coverage and search first content that teaches both Google and users what you’re known for.
Sam Oh: How I'd Fix (And Grow) Your YouTube Channel
Next up was Sam Oh, Vice President of Marketing at Ahrefs.
This was an interesting run through where Sam Oh did a live audit of two separate business YouTube accounts, and provided actionable recommendations for both on areas to improve.
Key Takeaways:
YouTube remains core to discovery. It’s the fourth most mentioned site in AI Overviews, with two key content types: SEO content (for consistent, search based traffic) and interest targeted content (for storytelling and scale).
Clarity and focus win. Start with search focused videos that clearly answer intent driven queries, keep titles under 60 characters, and design simple, high contrast thumbnails where the intro quickly confirms the topic intent of the click.
Treat your channel like a show, not a dump. Build a consistent theme, tighten topics, and focus on transformation, contradiction or possession of knowledge to hold attention and grow audience retention.
And with that day 1 of Ahrefs Evolve came to a close. Eight solid hours of AI led SEO discussions – after a couple of happy hour networking drinks, team nimbl retired, ready to get ahead for a great day 2.
Ahrefs Evolve 2025 Day 2 - A Speaker by Speaker Breakdown:
Maybe slightly less fresh, but no less enthusiastic, hundreds of marketers returned to the San Diego Intercontinental with laptops on full charge, coffee cups filled to the brim and ready to take in the esteemed speakers on Day 2 of Ahrefs Evolve.
Mark Schaefer: How Humans Win In An AI Marketing World
Beginning day 2, was Mark Schaefer, Executive Director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, presenting on what Humans need to do to win in an increasingly AI focused marketing landscape.
Key Takeaways:
YouTube remains core to discovery. It’s the fourth most mentioned site in AI Overviews, with two key content types: SEO content (for consistent, search based traffic) and interest targeted content (for storytelling and scale).
Clarity and focus win. Start with search focused videos that clearly answer intent driven queries, keep titles under 60 characters, and design simple, high contrast thumbnails where the intro quickly confirms the topic intent of the click.
Treat your channel like a show, not a dump. Build a consistent theme, tighten topics, and focus on transformation, contradiction or possession of knowledge to hold attention and grow audience retention.
Ryan Law: How To Defend Your Marketing Career In The Era Of AI
Following Mark was Ryan Law, Director of Content Marketing at Ahrefs.
Spoiler alert: AI is not your enemy!
Key Takeaways:
Embrace and adapt to AI, don’t resist it. Automate repetitive checklist work and focus on building taste, deep expertise and personal identity – the things AI can’t replicate.
Taste is the new differentiator. Marketers are now judged on the quality of their judgement, not just their output; refine it by consuming and critiquing diverse content across media and asking what works and why.
Human uniqueness is the advantage. As AI broadens access to basic skills, success comes from combining wide knowledge with deep expertise – becoming T shaped and playing like a “rockstar” in your niche.
Sophie Brannon: Beyond The Hype of AI: Real Workflows & Real Results
Before the first coffe break, it was time to hear from Sophie Brannon, who led the start up of a US branch of a digital marketing agency in Atlanta, Georgia.
Key Takeaways:
Level up prompt and strategy inputs. Give full audience context, tone and style, pain points and competitor examples; use page comparisons, then refine. Consider a custom GPT tailored to your brand and tasks.
Systemise with AI tools and workflows. Use ChatGPT for helpfulness and SEO analysis, product copy, on page audits and recommendations; run deep audience research; audit internal links via CSV; build simple browser extensions; automate briefs with n8n; and try Claude subagents for CRO, while watching for repetition.
Bryan Casey: Second Changes: What We Can Learn From The Golden Age Of Search That Never Was
After a brief intermission, presentations recommenced with Bryan Casey, the Vice President of Digital at IBM, discussing what we need to keep in mind as we wnter a new age of search.
Key Takeaways:
Reframing SEO’s role in the new era of search. IBM’s success cutting 80% of its web footprint showed that less can be more – improving UX, site structure and cohesion across global branches drove higher traffic and conversions.
Think beyond traditional SEO. Move from SEO to inbound and ultimately GEO, where organic search funds broader marketing efforts. Treat Google as a partner in discovery and build programs that reinvest search value into long term brand and product growth.
Efficiency and alignment win. Eliminate bloat, focus on profitable organic visibility, and use search as Google does – a scalable, efficient engine to support wider business objectives.
Panel Discussion: Getting Buy-In: Making SEO Make Sense To The C-Suite
Before we broke for lunch, it was a time for a panel discussion that looked directly on how to quantify SEO results for the C-Suite:
- Jean-Guy Leconte (SEO Director, AT&T)
- Ryan Ricketts (Director of Global SEO, Microsoft)
- Rory Hope (Head of En Growth, Hubspot)
- Chris Schweppe (Group Director, WPP Media)
- Moderated by Devin Bramhall (Former CEO, Animalz, Growth Advisor, Author)
Key Takeaways:
What specific challenges are you getting for C-suite buy-in?
Messaging is harder to frame, but AI has opened doors – executives care about risk, time and revenue, and AI directly addresses these concerns, leading to more inclusion in higher-level discussions.
Some organisations, now recognise SEO’s broader business value and ensure it’s properly funded.
What are CEOs coming to you with?
Questions about the relevance of SEO now that AEO and GEO exist, and whether current tactics will hold future value.
Increased scrutiny on user behaviour and how evolving discovery patterns are reflected in new work.
Outside of CEOs, are there other stakeholders showing up?
Yes – previously less engaged stakeholders are re-entering the conversation due to AI’s visibility and impact, shifting the tone of internal discussions.
What have you been doing internally to get C-suite buy-in?
More frequent and transparent communication, focused on internal education and demonstrating innovation to stay ahead of the curve.
How can I convince the C-suite to invest in dev?
Build business cases using competitor context and channel data. Emphasise the cost of inaction with a “double negative” approach – foundational SEO prevents future revenue loss.
Share knowledge internally and externally to reinforce authority and create confidence in ongoing investment.
Heather Physioc: The Modern Search Journey: A Creative New Approach To Cross-Platform Discoverability
After the last lunch break of the conference, Heather Physioc, Chief Discoverability Officer at VML presented on how SEO’s should approach the modern search journey – looking keenly at cross-platform channels.
Key Takeaways:
Search is no longer platform-specific. Users move fluidly between Google, social and AI-driven environments – the focus should be on understanding user intent, not optimising for a single channel.
AI is reshaping discovery. Integrated, conversational results are shortening the path from information to action, turning search into a continuous user journey rather than a single event.
Think beyond Google. Modern discoverability means meeting consumers across every platform and touchpoint where they seek answers or make decisions.
Madhav Bhandari: How We 7 x'd Brand Awareness In 6 Quarters Using "Pattern Interrupt Marketing"
Now looking at more disruptive ways to drive brand growth, Madhav Bhandari, CMO of Storylane was here to guide us.
Key Takeaways:
Disrupt sameness with intention. The PIPE framework focuses on Pattern Identification and thoughtful Interrupts – spotting where competitors follow the same playbook, then breaking it within guardrails that still educate, align with brand, target buyer stages and drive pipeline.
Design a balanced creative system. Mix width (variety) and depth (consistency) based on audience, objectives and category position. Build repeatable processes through monthly pattern reviews, quarterly creative workshops and a culture that rewards bold experimentation.
Pull over push. Storylane’s growth came from shifting to differentiated, pull based tactics that capture attention by standing apart, not shouting louder.
Emily Kramer: Lessons For Small Content Teams: How I Manage My Content Strategy As A Two-Person Team And A Newsletter With 70k+ Subscribers
A huge name in the content space, Emily Kramer, Founder of MKT1, entered the Ahrefs Evolve limelight to discuss how she overcomes managing content strategy with a (in relative terms) tiny team.
Key Takeaways:
Move from random acts of marketing (RAM) to impact-focused strategy. Treat content like a product – solve real audience problems, plan intentionally with a roadmap, and experiment with new tools, formats and AI to scale what works.
Prioritise quality, relevance and differentiation. Add value with every piece by contributing new ideas or synthesis, play to your unique strengths, and maintain bold points of view rather than creating filler.
Stay audience-led and adaptable. Stay close to your community through direct feedback, test consistently, and apply a portfolio mindset – not every piece will land, but iteration builds stronger engines.
Balance fuel and engines. Align creative fuel (content, copy, design, positioning) with the engines that distribute, automate and segment to ensure consistent momentum and measurable impact.
JH Scherck: Adopting AI: Everything We've learned Become an AI-First Agency
JH Schereck, founder and CEO of Growth Plays, walks us through his teams journey from originally resisting AI, to transitioning to having AI at the forefront of everything they do.
Key Takeaways:
Building an AI-first agency means going deep on customisation and quality. Focus on developing custom GPTs to identify qualitative content issues at scale and continuously refine voice and standards across outputs.
Next phase: automation and multimodal workflows. Automate parts of content quality assurance and expand into multimodal creation, blending text, visuals and other formats for richer AI-driven storytelling.
Chris Cunningham: The SaaS Social Playbook: Turning Organic Content Into A Growth Channel
At the end of any conference, you really need someone of the Chris Cunningham archetype. Seemingly shot out of a cannon, Chris burst onto the stage to feed the tired and weary many tangible insights on what we can all be doing to improve our organic content.
Key Takeaways:
Know your audience and create with intent. Talk directly to customers, be ruthless about understanding pain points. Every post must add value, teach something, or make people laugh – otherwise, don’t post.
Build creator-led, platform-specific content. Move away from product talk; make brand pages feel creator-first. Use the A–D content formula: Adapt proven winners, Innovate existing ideas, Capitalise on trends, and Dare to experiment with unconventional concepts.
And with that, two intense but exceptionally educational days of AI focused SEO discussion comes to an end.
We hope you find this post as insightful as we did!
Keen to get your brand AI-ready for the new frontier of search?
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