BuzzStream Digital PR and Link Building Podcast

There's a narrative in PR that sensitive health topics — fertility, hormones, menopause, infant health — are just harder to pitch, full stop. Irina Karelina, founder of Fungi PR, has spent a decade proving that's not quite right. In this episode, Irina breaks down how her agency turned a hormone-literacy campaign for Mira into over a billion media impressions and six awards — without ever putting...

Cyrus Shepard is back on the BuzzStream Podcast to break down his AI Citation Ranking Factors study, a deep dive into dozens of research papers on what actually gets a brand cited by AI. We talk through why URL accessibility still trips people up, why domain authority barely correlates with AI citations, why llms.txt has zero evidence behind it (yet), and why your "About Us" page might b...

There's a lot of noise right now about how to show up in AI search. Listicles, prompt injection widgets, fake expert commentary — a lot of it is working. For now. Lily Ray (VP of SEO Strategy at Amsiv, named #1 most influential SEO expert by USA Today) has spent years doing recovery work for sites burned by past algorithm updates. That gives her a very different take than most. In this episode...

In this episode, SEO veteran Kevin Gibbons (founder of Resignal) and digital PR expert Darren Kingman (founder of Root Digital) share why they joined forces and how SEO and digital PR work better together. Discover practical insights on tying campaigns to products, proving ROI through revenue, building link reputation, and avoiding vanity metrics in the modern search landscape. ⏰ Chapters [00:00]...

International digital PR is something I don't have much experience with, so this was a fun one to record. I sat down with Libby Windle and Eirini Theodoridou of Connective3 to dig into what it actually takes to run digital PR across borders. We talk building a team, ideating for different markets, and pitching to journalists who all work differently depending on where they are. We also get int...

Most digital PR professionals have never sat inside a newsroom. That gap in understanding is where many great campaigns quietly die. In this episode, Vince sits down with Jade Denby (Head of Digital PR, Marketing Signals) and Sam Forrester (former news editor at Reach PLC, now acting Head of Content at Marketing Signals) for one of the most honest conversations we've had about the journalist-P...

If you're in the beauty industry and want to get coverage, listen up! In this episode, Claire Coleman, a seasoned freelance editor and journalist in the beauty industry, shares insights on PR strategies, relationship building, pitching techniques, and the evolving media landscape. Discover how to craft compelling stories, understand media rhythms, and leverage relationships for successful medi...

Lars Lofgren joins the BuzzStream podcast to pull back the curtain on some of the shadiest corners of the modern web — from e-commerce scams to Reddit reputation attacks to the link building tactics making a comeback. ⏰ Timestamps 00:05 – Intro 02:02 – The Highland cow scam 09:08 – Why marketers should study the dark side of the internet 14:25 – The Codesmith case 30:38 – The Forbes Advisor 35:36...

Veteran journalist and freelancer Rob Waugh joins Vince Nero to pull back the curtain on what's really happening in media and digital PR right now. With nearly 30 years in the industry — from the Daily Mail to The Telegraph to Yahoo News — Rob has a uniquely sharp perspective on the fake expert epidemic, AI-generated pitches, and what it actually takes to get coverage in 2026. If you're in...

Traditional PR pro Carly Martinetti (co-founder of Notably) joins Vince to break down what good PR actually looks like — and what digital PR practitioners can learn from it. They get into the real differences between traditional and digital PR, why spray-and-pray pitching is killing your reputation, and how to find the "Goldilocks zone" journalist that makes every pitch count. ⏰ Chapter...

Is Google killing the news industry — or are publishers doing it to themselves? SEO veteran Barry Adams (Polemic Digital, FT Strategies) joins Vince Nero to challenge the "Google Zero" narrative: the growing belief among publishers that Google traffic is heading to zero. Barry argues the real story is more complicated — and more actionable — than the panic suggests. We get into why some...

Garrett French has been in the SEO game for 25+ years and is the founder of Citation Labs, Zip Sprout, and Xofu. In this episode, Garrett breaks down why chasing links and vanity metrics is a losing game — and what to do instead. We dig into citable elements on product pages, link impact reporting , and how AI is changing the way we think about content and citations. If you're an SEO, link bui...

LLM source data is shifting fast — and if you've been watching the studies, you might be wondering if your entire digital PR strategy needs a rethink. Spoiler: it doesn't. In this episode, Vince sits down with content and growth manager with Semrush, Amanda Milligan, (founder of Brand Authority Club, formerly of Fractl, Stacker, and iPull Rank) to break down what's actually happening w...

This panel discussion explores the impact of AI on digital PR, citations, and brand visibility. Agency experts Beth Nunnington, Will Hobson, and Kelsey Libert share insights on how AI influences media coverage, their citation strategies, and the future of brand authority across platforms. ⏰ Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:10 The Rise of AI in Digital PR 09:58 Industry Insights: The Impact of Content Fres...

In this insightful interview, journalist and PR expert Joni Sweet shares her unique perspective on pitching stories, building relationships with journalists, and navigating the modern media landscape. Discover practical tips for crafting compelling pitches, understanding editorial calendars, and leveraging data to increase media coverage. ⏰ Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:42 A Day in the Life of a...

What do you do when you have a brand new app and nothing "newsworthy" to pitch? You build the story yourself. In this episode, Vince sits down with Tori Khutorna, PR Manager at Hily. Tori breaks down how she thinks about creating stories from scratch, finding the emotional hook, nailing the timing, and getting coverage even when your product isn't making headlines on its own. If you&...

What separates a forgettable digital PR campaign from one that actually gets coverage, links, and results? In this episode, Vince sits down with Katy Powell — PR director and co-founder of Bottled Imagination — to talk about what it really takes to build creative campaigns that stand out. They get into everything: how to stress-test ideas before you pitch them, why you should be thinking more like...

Getting your brand mentioned in AI answers isn't luck — it's a strategy. In this episode, Vince sits down with Bernard Huang, founder of ClearScope, to break down exactly how AI models like ChatGPT and Gemini decide what brands to recommend, and what you can do about it. They cover the three layers of how AI generates a response, why links are becoming less important than co-mentions, how...

Reddit has quietly become one of the most powerful platforms for brand visibility — and most marketers are doing it wrong. In this episode, Ross Simmonds (founder of Foundation Marketing and author of Create Once, Distribute Forever) breaks down exactly how brands should be showing up on Reddit in 2026 — from reputation management to influencing AI-generated search results. We cover: ✅ Why Reddit...

Is your PR strategy still living in 2015? In this episode, Mady Lanni (PR & Communications Manager at Manychat) breaks down why social media needs to be at the center of your digital PR strategy—not just an afterthought. Mady shares how she's building Manychat's PR function from the ground up with a social-first mindset, why the creator economy is poised to reach $200 billion by 2030,...

In this episode of the BuzzStream podcast, host Vince Nero interviews Metehan Yesilyurt, Chief Growth Officer at AEO Vision, about the significance of AI training data, particularly Common Crawl. They explore how AI models use this data, the importance of metrics such as page rank and harmonic centrality, and the challenges posed by data accessibility. The conversation emphasizes the need for rele...

What makes a great marketing idea… actually great? In this episode of the BuzzStream Podcast, host Vince Nero sits down with Paxton Gray, CEO of 97th Floor, to break down one of the most talked-about creative B2B campaigns ever: The Rage Cage. Paxton not only gives us the story behind the Rage Cage campaign (yes, accountants smashing printers), but we also go deep into how audience research (real...

Data has a reputation for being boring, but it can do wonders for your marketing. This podcast is all about getting your heads out of the spreadsheets. In this episode, host Vince Nero sits down with Thierry Ngutegure and George Sinnott, co-founders of Six Chillies — a UK-based, data-centric agency on a mission to make data-led content feel human* creative, and actually useful. If you’re in digita...

Even perfect pitches get buried when journalists receive 1,000+ emails per day. Here's what's replacing the traditional PR playbook. In this episode, I sit down with Charlie Russell, CEO and Founder of Synapse, a stories marketplace that's rethinking how PR professionals connect with journalists. Charlie brings a unique perspective from his years working at Dow Jones and Gorkana (a lea...

In this episode of the BuzzStream Podcast, host Vince Nero speaks with Ellie Hearn, a digital PR strategist at Re:signal, on how to start a successful digital PR service. Ellie Hearn has been in the digital PR world for years, working with some of the UK’s top agencies, including Digitaloft, iProspect, Aira, and Journey Further. We covered everything you need to know to get started: services to of...