Azeem Digital Asks - The All-Round Digital Marketing Podcast

Katy Powell, one third of the leadership team at Bottled Imagination shares her story on what it's like to be a female business founder in the marketing industry, as well as the challenges she has faced.

Described as "an expert in all things PR, thinking up ideas that take over the internet and putting brands front and centre in trending conversations. Nothing distracts her when she’s in the PR zone - apart from a Britney Spears megamix" - you'll easily be able to see (and hear!) why this is one episode that's not to be missed.

In the episode, we discuss:

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful links:

In this crossover episode between this and the Strategy Sessions podcast, myself and Andi Jarvis have a discussion around explaining where equality should fit in your marketing strategy along with a few tips of how everyone can make a difference, even if you don’t get involved in strategy. We also discuss where businesses have got it wrong, how to get it right - amongst many other things. Whether or not you attended our Equality session at BrightonSEO this summer - there is something in this episode for everyone.

(Announcing the release of a podcast episode WHILST giving a conference talk on stage? Yes, I did.)

In this episode, we also discuss:

For those of you who don't yet know about Andi - he runs Eximo Marketing, a marketing strategy consultancy with locations in Belfast and Liverpool, as its Founder and Strategy Director. The consultancy's focus is primarily on aiding established manufacturers in expanding their businesses via direct-to-consumer channels.

After a short break, I am back with Season 5 of the Azeem Digital Asks Podcast! In this episode, Jo Walters shares strategies for small organisations to compete with larger ones, highlighting the importance of identifying and leveraging unique strengths, amongst other pearls of wisdom.

Jo is officially a freelance communications specialist at 25 Dots - unofficially you may know her as the wizard behind many of your favourite events social media posts, generating buzz and engagement online for large events in the industry.

In this episode, we discuss all of the different ways smaller and scrappy organisations can compete with larger ones, as well as Jo's own advice drawing on her own experience - this is one episode not to be missed!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful links:

A very quick episode to say thank you for watching, listening, subscribing, and supporting the podcast in 2022. Your support has helped ensure this stays amongst the top 10 digital marketing podcasts in the UK, and top 20 overall.

Back in 2023 with more content, and more things I'm keeping under wraps for now.

Have a great holiday period with your loved ones. See you in '23!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful links:

Imagine if you were able to learn more about Digital PR pitching from someone who has had experience in both PR, and journalism? Imagine no more - Surena Chande is here to teach you things that will help you get your pitches to land and to be more successful.

The final (video) episode of 2022 is here, and Surena Chande - freelance journalist and copywriter for global brands, as well as being the SEO editor for a few big publications such as the Daily Mirror - joins me to share her tips to make you better at pitching.

In this episode, we discuss:

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful links:

Want to get a headstart on Instagram marketing in 2023? This episode is packed full of useful tips and insights for you to become better at advertising on the platform next year.  

Corrie Jones joins me on this episode. She's the founder of Untapped Digital, the 'award winning social media agency for ambitious brands'. She definitely knows Instagram well, having thousands of followers herself on the platform.  

In this episode, we discuss:  

- What she has seen on Instagram in 2022. 

- For those who are new to Instagram and want to get started, where she recommends to begin. 

- The biggest mistake she sees people making on Instagram. 

- Her thoughts on whether brands should be on EVERY social media network or not. 

- How Instagram marketing differs to other networks e.g TikTok. 

- Her top tips to get Instagram right in 2023. 

- If she could add a feature to make marketers lives better for IG, what it would be. 

- If she could steal a feature from another platform for IG, what it would be.  

...& much more!  

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!  

Useful links:  

Marketers talk about strategy, tactics, engagement, execution - but where does culture fit into all of this? Gemma Houghton joins me on the show to discuss the importance of culture in marketing.

Gemma is the director of marketing at Webcertain, and has multiple years of experience in the industry  - so there's nobody better placed to discuss this important topic.

In this episode, we discuss:

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful links:

Wouldn't it be great if there was a resource somewhere that helped you to fully understand TikTok, as well as its ranking factors to help you become more successful on the platform? Look no further - THIS episode has you covered.  

Lidia Infante joins me on the show to discuss the above, and much more. She's studied TikTok in depth, published numerous articles, and even read the documentation about the ranking factors of the platform. She is the Senior SEO Manager and sanity.io, and has been seen at multiple marketing conferences sharing her knowledge.  

In this episode, we discuss:  

- How she finds search behaviour differs from TikTok and Google. 

- Why she thinks TikTok is taking market share from Google. 

- What types of behaviours has she seen users display on TikTok. 

- How does TikTok impact SEO. 

- What inspired her to release her study on the TikTok algorithm. 

- What she learned about the algorithm. 

- What the main ranking factors on TikTok are. 

- The next steps she advises listeners or viewers to take after this episode.  

...and much more!  

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!    

Useful links:    

The podcast is BACK! In this episode, aptly timed during Black History Month in the UK - the fantastic Fabio Embalo, CEO of Viaduct Generation joins me to discuss the lack of Black owned businesses in Google (and other search engine) results.  

(As a reminder, you can also WATCH the podcast on YouTube, or on Spotify Video too)

We discuss:  

- How he discovered there was a lack of Black owned businesses in the SERPs? 

- Why he thinks the number is so low? 

- What the biggest barriers are for Black owned businesses to hit the search engine result pages? 

- How can people/allies support the growth of this? 

- Where can Black owned businesses start with their SEO journey?  

...and much more!  

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!  

Useful links:  

Marketing doesn't communicate well with sales. Sales doesn't communicate well with Marketing. A common problem. Hear from industry thought leader Troy Sandidge on what both sides can do to become more aligned.

Troy is known as the 'Strategy Hacker'. He works as a growth strategist & demand generation for startups, SaaS, & B2B, as well as speaking at lots of conferences, and runs his own podcast too!

In this episode, we discuss:

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful links:

How can you find, and more importantly - keep hold of job satisfaction in the marketing industry? Jess Peace joins me on this episode to share really useful tips and advice on how to do just that, for people of all skill levels and experience.

Jess is a copywriter and editor, and a content team lead at NeoMam. She's also a podcaster herself, which means this is one discussion you really don't want to miss.

In this episode, we discuss:

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful links:

Content doesn't just mean pushing out SEO blogs. It can be things like YouTube videos, podcasts, whitepapers, and so much more. Hear from Ashwin Balakrishnan on the power of content in all formats.

Ashwin is a writer, marketer, and a strategist. He is currently the head of marketing at Optmyzr. 

(As a reminder, you can now WATCH the podcast on YouTube, or on Spotify Video too)

In this episode, we discuss:

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful links:

Claire Carlile joins me on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast to discuss how you can find, and carve out your niche in the marketing industry.  

Claire Carlile is a Local Search Expert at BrightLocal and Head of Pencils at Claire Carlile Marketing, and is someone who is incredibly well respected in the industry. It was a pleasure to interview her. 

In this episode, we discuss:  

...and much more!  

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!  

Useful links:  

Head of SEO communications at Wix, Crystal Carter joins me on the show to share her reasons on why SEO should be seen as a team sport, and not something that should be looked at in isolation. 

*As a reminder, you can now get this podcast in video form too, on either Spotify, or YouTube. Use the anchor.fm link below to choose your preferred platform.*

In this episode, we discuss:

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Hello new subscribers and hello 2022...the Azeem Digital Asks podcast is BACK with a bang! If you listen on Spotify, you can now get a video version of this podcast. I'll also upload it to YouTube.

Joining me on the first episode of season 3 is the awesome Jasmine Granton, Digital PR Team Lead at Evolved, conference speaker, and co-founder of Chalkboard Creative.

In this episode, we discuss:

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Hello!

A very short thank you message to everyone that has appeared as a guest, shared the episodes, and generally supported this podcast in 2021.

I'm now taking a short (well-earned!) break - and will be back in 2022.

In the meantime, I'd love it if you subscribed, and left a rating and/or a review on your preferred listening platform, some of which include:

For the season 2 finale of the Azeem Digital Asks podcast, the incredible Ross Simmonds joins me on the show to discuss getting content distribution right.

If you don't know or follow Ross, you absolutely should. He regularly shares content on multiple platforms that make you think differently about how you are conducting your marketing endeavours. He is the founder of Foundation Marketing, a content marketing agency that combines data and creativity to develop & serve ambitious brands. Foundation Marketing provides content marketing services to organisations all over the world ranging from some of the fastest-growing startups & consumer products to global Fortune 500 brands. Ross and the team at Foundation have launched marketing initiatives that reach millions of people on channels like Instagram, Slideshare Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and more.

In this episode, we discuss:

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

The brilliant Vikki Ross joins me on the show to discuss why tone of voice is important in your messaging. I really enjoyed this one and learned a LOT.

Vikki has been writing copy for major global brands for 24 years. She specialises in branding and tone of voice and travels the world telling businesses how to talk. They ask her to - she doesn't just turn up and shout through their window.

She mentors at the most-awarded ad school, School of Communication Arts 2.0. She judges at international industry award competitions. She runs copy masterclasses for D&AD and speaks at global events. On Twitter, she created #copywritersunite - a hashtag to support and celebrate copywriters.

Creative Equals named her one of the industry's Top 30 Female Creative Leaders, The Dots named her one of the Top 100 Trailblazers redefining the creative industry and Women in Marketing gave her a Special Award for Outstanding Contribution to Marketing.

In this episode, we discuss:

...and more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

The zestful Andrew Cock-Starkey (Optimisey) joins me on the podcast to discuss how to conduct organic competitor research.

Andrew runs an SEO consultancy in Cambridge, and also runs a series of events for learning, networking and sharing about SEO too, as well as being hands down, one of the nicest people in this industry, who I just had to get onto the podcast to share his knowledge.

In this episode, we discuss:

...and much more!

The awesome Amanda Milligan joins me on the show to discuss how to build authority in digital marketing.

Amanda Milligan is the Head of Marketing at Stacker, a data journalism platform and newswire that also partners with brands to create and distribute content to build brand awareness and links. With a degree in journalism and a decade in content marketing, she’s spent her career helping brands harness the intersection of content and SEO. Her expertise has been published in Entrepreneur, Forbes, TechCrunch, Search Engine Land, Moz, The Next Web, and more, and she’s spoken at industry-leading events, including SMX, MozCon, BrightonSEO, and Pubcon.

In this episode, we discuss:

...and much more!

The wonderful Andy Thornton joins me on the show to discuss the important topic of LGBTQ+ inclusion in the marketing sector.

Andy Thornton is a Digital Marketing Executive for Noisy Little Monkey and a Stonewall LGBTQ+ Person of Faith Rolemodel. They trained with the School of Sexuality Education and have delivered workshops on LGBTQ+ identity and inclusion to schools, universities and even festival-goers! 

Andy has a sociology background and won the Peter Cressey Award at the University of Bath in 2020. He's done research into Queer and religious exclusion and have written, illustrated, and published a children's book called Rebekah's Secret Grandpa. Their current obsessions are TikTok marketing, Trans rights and tea.

In this episode, we discuss:

...and much more!

The brilliant Jessica Pardoe joins me on the show to discuss how best newcomers can start their marketing career, and how to avoid burnout too - as well as a few more tips thrown in!

Jessica is a PR Account Manager at Source PR in Cheshire, and you'll regularly find her on social media sharing her knowledge, and helping others.

In this episode, we discuss:

...and much more!

** FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT AVAILABLE AT https://www.iamazeemdigital.com/blog/jessica-pardoe-podcast-interview**

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

How can small, and medium sized businesses start to recover from the effects of COVID? That's exactly what my brilliant guest this week - Riley Hope - will share the answers to. 

Riley Hope is an organic digital marketer with over five years of experience, with a majority of experience specialising in SEO for small-medium enterprises. She also has an academic background and has written multiple papers on SEO and the SME sector. This background is translated into her approach to SEO; especially in regards to anthropology and sociology. 

She is also wrapping up her MSc in Social Enterprise at the moment and her dissertation regarding how to revitalise the SME sector as we recover from COVID-19 while maintaining the tremendous growth in the third sector utilising SEO and organic digital strategy. 

In this episode, we discuss: 

...and much more! 

To mark hitting Episode 50 of the podcast (still can't believe it!) myself and Itamar hopped onto a recording, with just a topic - Sustainable SEO - and no agenda. In this episode, you'll learn lots of things - but mostly, why you should be considering SEO as a long term strategy.

Itamar describes himself as an SEO Consultant, Trainer & Manager, author, and a YouTuber since 2008.

In this episode, we discuss:

...and so much more!

The amazing Shomi Williams, a psychological therapist, joins me on the show this week, discussing the important topic of mental health and seeking therapy in marketing. You really do not want to miss this incredibly powerful episode.

Shomi runs a platform online called Lafiya Health that focuses on delivering mental and physical health education and services in a culturally competent and accessible way. She also works with people on a 1:1 level to support them with their emotional well-being needs.

In this episode, we discuss

...and much more!

Joining me on this episode of the podcast is the fantastic Sean Page, discussing how marketing companies can improve their recruitment processes.

Sean is a non-traditional Recruiter who works in the tech space. He was born and raised in Washington, DC in the United States. His passion is all things recruiting, people ops, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) - which we touch upon in the episode in relation to recruitment.

In the episode we discuss:

...and so much more!

Joining me on this episode of the podcast is the brilliant Janet Machuka, discussing everything you need to create a great social media strategy.

Janet is a social media marketing strategist, trainer, and founder of Africa Tweet Chat. She boasts over 100k followers on her social media with high levels of engagement on her posts, and was also recently listed amongst the top 200 of the most influent African women on Twitter. When it comes to social media, she really knows her stuff. It was only right for me to pick her brains and learn from her about how she does it.

In the episode we discuss:

...and so much more!

This has to be one of the most thought provoking and powerful episodes I've recorded to date. What a way to start Season 2 of the Azeem Digital Asks podcast. Joining me is the incredible Derek Walker, someone that I have looked up to for a long time. 

Derek describes himself as the chief instigator, janitor, secretary and mailroom person for Brown and Browner advertising, and has over 30(!) years experience in the industry as a Black agency founder - as well as being passionate about Diversity and Inclusion.

In this episode, we discuss: 

...and so much more!

It's the Season 1 FINALE! What better guest to join me than a podcasting pro - Christine "Shep" Zirnheld, one of the hosts of the awesome Marketing O Clock podcast. We discuss all things podcasting, and the benefits of the medium.

For those who don't know who this awesome human being is, she describes herself as the "Real Housewife of Digital Marketing", she's a 2020 PPC Hero "Rising Star" in PPC, contributes to Search Engine Journal, she's got a book, and works for Cypress North.

In the episode, we discuss:

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

Joining me on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast this week is the ace Tim Jensen, and we discuss all around why PPC practitioners should learn more about Google Tag Manager.

For those who don't know who Tim is - with close to a decade of experience in the digital marketing industry, he's worked with SMB to enterprise level clients in a wide variety of industries. While comfortable managing ads across all major platforms, he's particularly intrigued with the crossover between analytics and PPC.

In this episode, we discuss:

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

My guest on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast this week is the awesome Kelvin Newman, and we'll be talking all about BrightonSEO, and the safe return of in person marketing conferences this year.

Kelvin is the Founder of Rough Agenda, a company that arranges specialist digital marketing events including BrightonSEO.

In 2014 Kelvin was voted by econsultancy as the most influential individual in digital and in 2013 won the Search Personality award at the UK Search Awards.

In this episode, we discuss:

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

My guest on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast this week is the fantastic Juliana Turnbull, and we'll be talking all about going freelance, as well as hosting and running conference events.

Better known as SEO Jo Blogs, she is a freelance marketing consultant, conference speaker, organiser of Search London, founder of Turn Digi, a finalist in the Global Freelancer 2020 awards, a Digital Women's Finalist - generally an all round incredibly awesome individual!

In this episode, we talk:

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

Joining me on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast this week is the absolutely brilliant Chima Mmeje, and we'll be talking all about the power, and benefits of great content.

If you don't know Chima - you're missing out. She's the brains behind Zenith Copy, and is an SEO content writer and strategist for SaaS & Tech, has been featured in places like : Hackernoon, Search Engine Watch, Search Engine Land, Moz, HubSpot and the Content Marketing Institute to name a few! 

In this episode, we discuss:

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

Joining me on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast this week is the awesome Dr Leigh George, and we'll be talking all about creating the perfect marketing strategy, as well as her PhD in Branding.

She describes herself as the founder of Freedom—a strategic branding and marketing un-agency, has a PhD in branding, is a speaker, a learning in public supporter, a mentor, and can be found in high heels and always on the hunt for emerging fashion designers.

In this episode, we discuss:

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

The incredibly talented Britney Muller joins me on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast this week, and I was lucky enough to get her thoughts on data science, machine learning and the future for these areas.

Britney is well known and well respected throughout the industry, and rightly so - she's a keynote speaker, previously was the senior SEO scientist at Moz, data science student, and giver of the best MozCon introductions for speakers I've ever seen! 

In this episode, we discuss:

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

Joining me on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast this week is the fantastic Billie Geena, and we'll be talking all about managing developer relationships, and communicating with developers.

Billie describes herself as a full time SEO Wizard, part time blogger, ambitious queen, and 'Young, Scrappy and Hungry'. 

In this episode, we discuss:

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

Joining me on the podcast this week is the brilliant Elizabeth Solaru, and we discuss all things luxury marketing, and how to attract rich clients.

Elizabeth is a luxury business mastery coach, and strategist. Prior to pursuing her passion as a cake maker in the luxury market, Elizabeth had two other successful careers which seemed diametrically opposed. She became a Scientist working for many years saving lives in the NHS. Then after doing an MBA, she went on to become a Headhunter recruiting CEOs, Chairpersons and board level executives in the private and public sectors.

We discuss:

...and much more!

I really enjoyed recording this episode as this is an area of marketing I've been keen to learn more about. Elizabeth did not disappoint with her tips and knowledge.

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

The brilliant Sophie Brannon joins me on the show this week to discuss everything related to SEO strategies, and we also cover the recent debates about remote vs office work.

Sophie is the Senior SEO Manager at Absolute Digital Media, recently spoke at BrightonSEO '21, and lives on coffee, red wine, and plants - interesting combination!

We discuss:

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

Work in digital marketing? Want to get paid more? Wish more companies and individuals were open about what they earned? Then you absolutely HAVE to listen to this episode. I am joined by two absolutely incredible and inspirational human beings - Rejoice Ojiaku and Wilhemina Gilbertson.

They are better known as Reji and Willz, and together, they are both the founders of B-DigitalUK, a digital marketing platform which showcases Black talent in the digital industry. 

We discuss:

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

This week on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast, we're talking about the potential of YouTube advertising, as well as the value of data visualisations with Power BI. My guest is the amazing Cory Henke, someone I consider to be a real thought leader in both of these spaces.

Cory is a Speaker, BI Consultant, and Agency Founder - and you'll often find him on Clubhouse sharing knowledge from his years of expertise. It was a no brainer for me to have him involved on the show, especially if you are one of the people who don't yet have access to Clubhouse - I've got you covered!

We discuss:

...and so much more!

This is definitely an episode not to be missed if you're interested in learning more about video advertising and data visualisation - from one of the pro's!

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, and like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

My guest this week is the fantastic Christine Gritmon. You've probably seen her all over social media with her awesome GIF reactions to messages. She describes herself as a GIF machine, microbusiness megafan, she's a personal branding coach, and a social media trainer, as well as hosting her own chats too!

In this episode, I get to pick her brains all about her expertise - personal branding. We discuss:

..and much more!

This isn't an episode to be missed if you want to know more about personal branding.

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, and like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

The lovely Sarah Scarfe is my guest on the podcast this week. She's completely obsessed with all things paid advertising and data related, with over 10 years in-house, agency and contracting experience. We have a great conversation about PPC and automation.

We discuss:

..and more!

This is an episode not to be missed if you want to know more about PPC, and automation.

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, and like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

Miracle Inameti-Archibong joins me on the show this week to discuss an important topic - the impact of parenthood on career progress, and just how progressive the digital marketing industry is. 

Miracle is the Head of SEO at Erudite, and is also a judge at the Drum Search Awards. You'll regularly see her sharing her knowledge either on Clubhouse, or Twitter - to name just two platforms.

We have a great, and important discussion on a key topic, based on a survey she ran. We discuss:

..and much more!

This is an important discussion that I really don't think anyone should miss. 

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, and like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

The fantastic Aleyda Solis joins me on the show this week. She's an International SEO Consultant, Speaker & Author, and the brains behind one of the best newsletters in the industry - SEOFOMO. She joins me to discuss remote working, and how she grew her email list. 

This episode was recorded shortly after the sad news that the industry had lost one of the most cared for, and helpful people there was - Hamlet Batista. Both myself and Aleyda spend some time discussing the impact that he had on us, and the industry - and discuss supporting his family via a GoFundMe donation page that you can find in the links below. Even if you can't donate, please share the link so that others may be able to.

In this episode, we discuss:

The pros and cons of remote working, and tips to help you work better remotely.

Where Aleyda got the idea from to start her newsletter.

The mistakes she's made along the way when growing her email subscriber list.

Advice for anyone considering starting, or wanting to grow their email subscriber list.

Where the idea for the referral competition came from.

Future plans for her email subscriber list growth.

...and so much more!

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, and like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

Wouldn't you love to know some really useful tips on how to pitch to a journalist, from someone who has not just student and local press experience, but nationals too? Look (and listen) no further. 

The wonderful Sian Elvin - award winning journalist and assistant news editor at Metro.co.uk - comes onto the show to discuss all things pitching, her inbox, and some of the mistakes she's seen people make when trying to pitch stories to her. If you missed her awesome talk at BrightonSEO last year, then you missed a great talk!

We cover:

and much more!

This really is not an episode you will want to miss. Whatever your level of experience with Digital PR, Sian shares some really useful insights across her years of experience that will really help listeners become better at their jobs.

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, and like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

What a way to start the next season/phase of episodes of the Azeem Digital Asks podcast. 

My guest is the SEO Twitter Flame, my good friend, Kristina Azarenko. She is a Toronto based SEO consultant, providing eCommerce SEO, Technical SEO, Website Migrations and Google Analytics consulting so that you can finally get what you’re looking for - via her company MarketingSyrup.

Kristina is someone I consider to be one of the foremost experts in the Ecommerce space, and also runs her own SEO course, as well as recently releasing a Chrome extension which has over 5,000(!) downloads!

We discuss:

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, and like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Useful Links:

Joining me on this episode is Barry Schwartz, CEO of RustyBrick. He's the founder of Search Engine Roundtable, and has covered search news for over 17 years (You may recognise him from his famous "not new" replies when people share updates on Twitter). As well as this he is a co-ordinator, speaker, and moderator at many search marketing conferences.

We have a great conversation about how he keeps up to date with everything going on in search, his origin story, some of the challenges he's faced, responding to negative comments he gets, and how he manages to get a lot of work done during the day.

As always, please like, rate, share, and subscribe - tell a friend to tell a friend! 

Useful links:

Happy new year! Welcome to 2021. Joining me on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast for the first episode of 2021 is Google's very own, John Mueller. John is always super helpful over on Twitter, taking time out to help people with their general SEO queries and giving pointers.

John was kind enough to take some time out of his schedule to talk about:

We then get onto answering some SEO specific questions sent in by the listeners, which include one from me about Apple potentially launching a search engine. John talks about:

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, please like, rate, subscribe, and share the podcast! 

For the final episode of 2020, I have an incredible guest - Izzi Smith -  a Munich-based SEO with a penchant for SERP optimization, Structured Data, UX, tech SEO, and making people smile with her cheesy jokes and SEO memes. She's also a regular on the conference speaking circuit, and shares LOTS of useful information. 

We talk about:

and so much more!

You'll really enjoy this episode, possibly more than we did making it. A lot of fun and laughter was had!

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, please like, rate, subscribe, and share the podcast! See you in 2021!

Joining me on the show this week is the awesome Rand Fishkin. He is the cofounder and CEO of SparkToro. He’s dedicated his professional life to helping people do better marketing through his blogging, videos, speaking, and his book, Lost and Founder. When Rand’s not working, he’s most likely to be in the company of his partner in marriage and (mostly petty) crime, author Geraldine DeRuiter. If you feed him great pasta or great whisky, he’ll give you the cheat code to rank #1 on Google.

In this episode, we get into:

..and so much more!

There's a lot of value to be had from this episode - you won't want to miss it!

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend - subscribe, rate, like, and share this - it all helps!

On this episode of the show, I'm joined by my good friend Kirk Williams, aka PPCKirk -  widely renowned PPC Expert, Conference Speaker, and more recently - book author! 

We talk all about his journey into the industry, successes and failures, useful marketing tips, and he gives us the lowdown on his recently published book: "Ponderings of a PPC Professional: A Collection of Philosophical, Yet Practical, Observations to Help You Win at Pay-Per-Click Marketing." 

Kirk also provides his thoughts on which area of Google Ads he would gladly give up, in order to get full search term visibility back - this is definitely an episode you do not want to miss!

Kirk is the owner of ZATO, his micro-agency focused solely on Paid Search Advertising, and has been working in Digital Marketing since 2009. He has been named one of the Top 25 Most Influential PPCers in the world by PPC Hero the past 5 years, and is known for his Ecommerce PPC articles across various industry publications. 

Pre-COVID, he was an international conference speaker presenting on all things Paid Search (especially Shopping Ads) around the world but now sticks to podcasts and online conferences to share his latest tips on Google Shopping Ads.  

Kirk currently resides in Billings, MT with his wife, 5 children (+1 on the way), Trek bikes, Taylor guitar, books, and little sleep. 

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, like, rate, and subscribe to the podcast!

My guest on the show this week is the brilliant Mike Blumenthal. He has an extensive background in the industry and is widely recognised as a Local SEO expert. Many current SEO's have cited Mike as their inspiration and it's really not hard to see why after talking to him.

Mike has spent a large part of his career analysing everything there is in terms of local SEO and widely shares this information in blog posts, and conference talks, to name a few. It was a real pleasure to get the opportunity to learn more about, and from him.

We have a brilliant conversation around:

and so much more!

There's a lot of value to be had from listening to this episode, whether you are in local SEO or not. Someone with Mike's experience in the industry is definitely worth listening to and he is incredibly open and honest about his own journey through the industry too. 

As always, please like, rate, share and subscribe - please tell a friend to tell a friend about the podcast!

Episode 20! It was only right after the brilliant Garrett Sussman had me on his show that I returned the favour and found out what makes him tick. 

Garrett is the Head of Content at Traject, has his own podcast where he picks the brains and shares useful tips from some brilliant people in the industry, and is genuinely one of the nicest guys you could meet.

We talk about failed migrations, where he draws his inspiration from, we dive deeper into his podcast - how it came about, why you should listen to it, "the new normal", which areas of marketing he would love to learn more about, and so much more!

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, like, rate, share and subscribe to the podcast!

What a guest we have on the show this week. Joining me is the awesome Diana Richardson who is the social media, and community manager at SEMrush. 

She loves wine, she’s a public speaker, she’s a thyroid cancer survivor, and she is into SEO, SEM, digital marketing, and you'll more often than not find her being super helpful and helping curate the great #SEMRushChat over on Twitter.

We have a brilliant conversation about her extensive experience in the industry, the hundreds of people she named as inspirations to her, what her role involves now with SEMrush, what it's like managing such a large community during a pandemic - and to top it all off - she takes over the show and basically interviews herself too!

A really enjoyable episode to record, as usual, please listen, like, rate, share and subscribe - and tell a friend to tell a friend about the show!

My guest on the show this week is the awesome Owain Lloyd-Williams. He is an SEO consultant with a decade's experience in the digital marketing industry. 

He initially cut his SEO teeth during a long stint working in China in a previous life. During his time in the industry, he has consulted for a large palette of brands in a variety of industries in both agency and in-house settings and has a particular focus in ecommerce SEO. 

Outside of SEO he is a dab hand at guitar and Mandarin Chinese and still dreams of being Prime Minister when he grows up.

We have a great conversation about eCommerce SEO, international SEO, the challenges of working with different search engines, and so much more. 

Check the episode out now, and as always, tell a friend to tell a friend, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast!

My guest on the show this week is the incredible Melanie Deziel. She is a keynote speaker, award-winning branded content creator, and lifelong storyteller, on a mission to share the power of compelling and credible content with others. 

Melanie is the founder and Chief Content Officer of StoryFuel, which teaches marketers, creators and organizations how to tell better brand stories, and the author of bestselling Marketing and Business Communications book “The Content Fuel Framework: How to Generate Unlimited Story Ideas”.

She has an incredible background, that covers various aspects of media and marketing, and we talk about:

and so much more!!!

Her book maintains a 5-star rating, and has topped Amazon charts:

#1 Bestseller in Marketing

#1 Bestseller in Business Communications

#1 New Release in Creativity

#1 New Release in Communication Skills

#2 New Release in Web Marketing

#3 New Release in Marketing

#4 New Release in Marketing & Sales

#7 New Release in E-Commerce

This really is one episode you'll come back to over and over again - you won't want to miss this.

Useful links:

My guest on the show this week is the fantastic Joyann Boyce. She is the founder of The Social Detail, co-founder of the BME Collective, and a Data Fellow with the South West Creative Technology Network. She's also someone I have had the pleasure of sharing a webinar presentation with recently, and definitely worth following on social media as the content she shares really makes you think critically about inclusive marketing.

The absolutely awesome Christina Brodzky, founder of MediaSesh, joins me on the show this week. She has been in the industry for over 11 years, and has experience in working in corporate for a decade, supporting well-known personalities and Fortune 500 companies, before growing her own SEO consulting firm.

Joining me this week on the show is the fantastic Rikki Lear, Director of Digital 22, a specialist HubSpot agency, based in the UK. 

To put it quite simply, you should ABSOLUTELY listen to this episode - Rikki is incredibly open, and honest - and shares all of the highs, and some of the lows that he's experienced throughout his career. He talks about the difficulties of looking after an agency during COVID, and shares some incredibly useful advice that pretty much everyone in the industry I think would benefit from.

My guest this week is the incredible Andrea Cruz. She's the Digital Marketing Manager at KoMarketing, a conference speaker, corgi mom, and most importantly - listed TWICE as one of the top 50 most influential PPC experts to follow by PPC Hero. 

In this episode, we discuss which of her previous and current colleagues are a big source of inspiration for her, what she really values and enjoys about the digital marketing industry, which publications and podcasts she uses to stay on top of the industry daily, and much, much more. It's a real pleasure for me to have someone I look up to in the PPC industry join me on the show.

As always, please like, rate, share and subscribe - tell a friend to tell a friend about the podcast!

Following on from the first part of the Rise at Seven special this week, my guest on this episode is the awesome Sophie Gibson. 

Sophie is an SEO Strategist at Rise at Seven, and also is the queen of penguin gifts - which she shares more about in the episode.

Hear from Sophie about gaining confidence, who is an inspiration for her in the industry, and also to get a nice preview of her upcoming BrightonSEO talk. 

As always, please like, rate, share and subscribe - tell a friend to tell a friend about the podcast!

To mark hitting episode 10, I'm doing a double release this week, and it's a Rise at Seven special! First up, my guest is the absolutely brilliant Luke Cope. Luke is a the Head of Digital Strategy at Rise at Seven (having just been promoted yesterday - CONGRATULATIONS LUKE!), and he shares a lot of knowledge from his years in the industry.

You won't want to miss this episode, because he shares about how he met Carrie and Stephen from Rise, and quit his job as Head of Digital at another agency THE NEXT DAY, to (in his own words) "guilt trip" them into hiring him.

Luke is very open and honest in this episode, and shares some of his successes, and failures, and talks quite candidly about impostor syndrome too. 

As always, please like, rate, share and subscribe - tell a friend to tell a friend about the podcast!

When podcasts collide! In an absolute first for the podcast, I'm joined by TWO guests, the incredible Sarah and Hannah, co-hosts of the wonderful SEO SAS Podcast.

We have a great conversation about how they began their podcast, how they feel about becoming co-workers, and they also share some really useful tips that can help you become better marketers. We also get to the bottom of why one of them had their eyebrows done - for a podcast - you read that right.

It was an absolute pleasure to record this with two brilliant people who have a lot to share about their past experiences and how it helped them to become who they are today, this episode (I think!) is guaranteed to brighten up your day. 

As always, if you enjoyed this, and other episodes - please like, share, rate and subscribe - it really helps!

This week, I'm joined by the fantastic Phil Drinkwater. Phil has over 20 years in the industry and brings a unique approach to SEO, which he shares more about during this episode. There's also some fantastic advice for those who are looking to start a business too. This is a very insightful episode where Phil really shares everything he's picked up over the years that he has been in the industry.

As always, please like, rate, share and subscribe - tell a friend to tell a friend about the podcast!

In this episode, I'm joined by the brilliant Phil Gregory. Phil describes himself as "a mixed race SEO business owner, in the all white peak district..labelled a failure most of my life, i'm a militant and a fighter, passionate about improving the web."

He's been in the industry for many years and has seen a lot of change. Hear how he approaches SEO, who he draws inspiration from in the industry, and what his thoughts are on diversity in the industry too - a great episode.

Another episode, another great guest. In this episode, I'm joined by the incredible Areej AbuAli - founder of Women in Tech SEO, conference speaker, and Tech SEO wizard. Genuinely one of the nicest people in this industry who I'm proud to be able to call a friend. Learn about her background, what led her to start Women in Tech SEO, how COVID has affected her professionally, and her future plans for world domination.

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Azeem Digital Asks podcast.

In this episode, I’m joined by the founder of Thread and Fable, the brilliant Rebecca Roberts.

She’s a chartered marketer with over 16 years of experience in the industry, with a great background in high performance sport as well as the higher education sector. She’s really passionate about youth marketing, and she regularly talks at events, delivers workshops, as well as sharing great content about youth marketing which is really insightful - if you don't follow her on social media, you really should.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy learning about Rebecca’s journey and tips to succeed.

In this episode, I got to pick the brains of the brilliant Anu Adegbola. She's got over 10 years experience in the industry, is a conference speaker, she's founded her own company, and she's also kind enough to do a podcast roundup of the weekly #ppcchat on Twitter - a busy woman!

She also has a big announcement to confirm on the podcast which you may have missed if you didn't catch the press release recently - tune in to find out what it is!

I know I say this with every guest but I do really enjoy recording these episodes and learning about some of the top names in the industry.

In this episode, I'm joined by the brilliant Hannah Butcher. She is an agency owner, and a mentor. We have a great conversation around her journey into the industry, how COVID-19 affected her professionally, what led her to start her own business, and most importantly - how she got into mentoring and what the benefits are.

Really interesting conversation, and enjoyed recording this one. I hope you enjoy it too. As always, if you enjoyed this episode, please like/share/leave a rating.