Why search insights belong in the boardroom and how to get them there - Brighton SEO October 2026

Joseph Bauermeister, Senior SEO Consultant at Brave Bison, makes the case for why search insights deserve a place in the boardroom and how best to get them there.

Brighton SEO October 2026 - Syndicate 1&2

Transcript

1. Why search insights belong in the boardroom and how to get them there Joseph Bauermeister Brave Bison /in/joseph-bauermeister/
2. Senior SEO Consultant at Translation > Teaching > NHS > In-House SEO > Agency Home: Brighton © 2026 BraveBison 2
3. Digital Media Network Generating our own advertising revenue with trending content on the world’s leading social platforms. Fan Engagement Fueling fandoms through digital content Social and Influencer marketing Connecting brands to culture, creators and online conversation to build loyalty and fame. Paid Performance Building brands and driving online transactions through digital media. Organic Performance Optimising search across all platforms to ensure brands are found first Technology & Experience Building ecommerce websites, digital experiences and products that convert © 2025 BraveBison
4. © 2026 BraveBison “If you don’t care about where – it doesn’t matter which way you go.” 4
5. In this talk • Search and the board • When it all goes wrong • Why the board needs us • 3 steps to board level insights • The way forward © 2026 BraveBison 5
6. Your daily • consumption Our appetite for information is being constantly tested • 100,000 words • 34GB of data • 174 newspapers © 2026 BraveBison Source: UC San Diego Experts Calculate How Much Information Americans Consume, UC San Diego, 2009 6
7. The Board Strategy © 2026 BraveBison Decisions Perspective Governance 7
8. The Board Decisions Strategy Perspective Governance 4/5 Directors “Insights lack strategic focus” © 2026 BraveBison Sources: The State Of Board Effectiveness 2025, Board Intelligence, 2025; Toward a value -creating board, McKinsey, 2026 8
9. The Board Strategy Decisions 4/5 Directors 52% “Insights lack strategic focus” “Not enough time available for long term decision making” © 2026 BraveBison Perspective Governance Sources: The State Of Board Effectiveness 2025, Board Intelligence, 2025; Toward a value creating board, McKinsey, 2026 - 9
10. The Board Strategy Decisions Perspective 4/5 Directors 52% 294 Pages “Insights lack strategic focus” “Not enough time available for long term decision making” Avg. Board Meeting Pack © 2026 BraveBison Sources: The State Of Board Effectiveness 2025, Board Intelligence, 2025; Toward a value -creating board, McKinsey, Governance 2026 10
11. The Board Strategy Decisions Perspective Governance 4/5 Directors 52% 294 Pages 66% “Insights lack strategic focus” “Not enough time available for long term decision making” Avg. Board Meeting Pack of Board Members believe they aren’t equipped to push back © 2026 BraveBison Sources: The State Of Board Effectiveness 2025, Board Intelligence, 2025; Toward a value -creating board, McKinsey, 2026 11
12. The Board Strategy Decisions Perspective Governance 4/5 Directors 52% 294 Pages 66% “Insights lack strategic focus” “Not enough time available for long term decision making” Avg. Board Meeting Pack of Board Members believe they aren’t equipped to push back Source: The State Of Board Effectiveness 2025, Board Intelligence, 2025 © 2026 BraveBison Sources: The State Of Board Effectiveness 2025, Board Intelligence, 2025; Toward a value -creating board, McKinsey, 2026 12
13. The board deals in trajectories, not coordinates © 2026 BraveBison 13
14. Insight is search’s biggest strength but data can be its biggest weakness “In time you will know the tragic extent of my failings” © 2026 BraveBison 14
15. Problem Alignment Project: Drain The Swamp 1 region 17 markets Solution Standardisation What did I do? Report © 2026 BraveBison 15
16. Problem “Lack of alignment across the region is making governance, reporting and evaluation challenging” Project: Drain The Swamp 1 region 17 markets Solution Standardisation What did I do? Report © 2026 BraveBison 16
17. Problem “Lack of alignment across the region is making governance, reporting and evaluation challenging” Project: Drain The Swamp 1 region 17 markets Solution “Removal of poorly maintained local pages in favour of standard, optimised service and product pages” What did I do? Report © 2026 BraveBison 17
18. Problem “Lack of alignment across the region is making governance, reporting and evaluation challenging” Project: Drain The Swamp 1 region 17 markets Solution “Removal of poorly maintained local pages in favour of standard, optimised service and product pages” What did I do? Produced a report and dashboard showing impact of target pages on keywords, organic traffic, engagement and leads © 2026 BraveBison 18
19. Problem “Lack of alignment across the region is making governance, reporting and evaluation challenging” Project: Drain The Swamp 1 region 17 markets Solution “Removal of poorly maintained local pages in favour of standard, optimised service and product pages” What did I do? Produced a report and dashboard showing impact of target pages on keywords, organic traffic, engagement and leads © 2026 BraveBison 19
20. © 2026 BraveBison 20
21. Being out of synch with your board’s strategic priorities has consequences © 2026 BraveBison • Reactive relationship • Tactical bleed • You weren’t consulted • Responsibility instead of ownership 21
22. Strategic objective Search Insights deliver tactical reality to strategic priority © 2026 BraveBison 22
23. Strategic objective Option 1 Reactivity leads to tactical bleed © 2026 BraveBison “What are we doing about this?” 23
24. Strategic objective Option 1 Not addressing strategic needs © 2026 BraveBison “Here’s why option 1 is a bad idea” 24
25. Strategic objective Option 1 Try to be impartial and you lose direction © 2026 BraveBison Option 2 Option 3 Option 4 “It depends” 25
26. Strategic objective Brand goals The board needs insights with direction and perspective © 2026 BraveBison Audience “This is what it means to deliver global excellence” 26
27. Strategic objective You Brand goals The board deals in trajectories, not coordinates Audience The board © 2026 BraveBison 27
28. We have a responsibility to our board, our audience, our clients and ourselves © 2026 BraveBison 28
29. Drink me Crush the competition Decades of positioning has made this harder… Progress Emotional Weight Drink me Drink me Magic solutions Dominate the SERPS Drink me LLMs.txt © 2026 BraveBison Reacting to change 29
30. Complicated… The real strength of Search is in relationship building © 2026 BraveBison Building a favourable relationship between your brand and your audience through digital experiences and information 30
31. Three steps to board-level insights © 2026 BraveBison 31
32. Getting search insights into the boardroom Symptoms Reactive relationship, board giving you tactics, no involvement Responsive relationship, lack of direct touchpoints, board comes to you Stagnant relationship, limited touchpoints, distance from audience © 2026 BraveBison Solutions 1. Strategic alignment, tactical ownership 2. Increase calendar share, deal in trajectories, emotional storytelling 3. Brand goals x Audience insights 32
33. Combining brand goals with audience insights Branded SOV Brand + search term / generic search term x 100 JB Swamp Conservation – 10 AMSV / Swamp Conservation 5% Branded SOV – 200 AMSV Named Project Workflows Brand goal + strategic need + storytelling + audience insights Glocalisation , Governance, Local teams, Market norms Project: Conversion Ecosystem Strategic Categorisation Brand goals + strategic needs + KPIs + audience insights Categorise keywords, prompts, pages, content, metrics and work © 2026 BraveBison 33
34. “Best pub in Brighton for after BSEO?” “Anywhere is good.” © 2026 BraveBison “My local take? The Walrus – Tempest if you want something closer.” 34
35. Chat to our team today! © 2026 BraveBison Ask me questions anonymously! 35
36. Thank you!