Sean Barber
SEO Manager | 15+ Years
About
Who is Sean Barber?
- SEO Manager at Macmillan Cancer Support.
- Sean runs Search With Sean, a digital marketing channel focused primarily on SEO and AI.
- I’m fascinated by UFOs, aliens and unexplained phenomena, and I’ll soon be launching a new podcast exploring these topics alongside Search With Sean.
Sean Barber is an SEO Manager at Macmillan Cancer Support with over 16 years of experience across digital marketing, SEO and search strategy. His main area of expertise is SEO, with a strong focus on data-led decision making, AI Search, technical SEO, content strategy and understanding how people find and interact with information online.
At Macmillan, Sean leads the SEO function and manages a team, developing short and long-term search strategies and working across Technology, Digital Experience, Content, PR and wider teams. More recently, his role has increasingly focused on AI, including AI Search strategy, governance, misinformation, emerging search behaviour and finding practical ways AI can improve team workflows.
Before joining Macmillan, Sean was SEO Manager at Vitabiotics, where he led organic search and digital PR strategy. Prior to this he worked agency-side as a Senior SEO Account Manager at Climb Online, managing search strategies across multiple clients and sectors, and previously spent over four years as Marketing Manager at Quick Mobile Fix, working across SEO, paid media, partnerships, e-commerce and wider digital marketing.
Alongside his main role, Sean runs Search With Sean, a digital marketing channel focused primarily on SEO and AI. Through the channel he regularly speaks with leading practitioners and experts from across the industry, helping him continually learn, challenge his own thinking and stay close to how search and AI are evolving.
Sean is a CIM member and has continued to develop his knowledge through professional training, including an Artificial Intelligence Certification from BrainStation. His recent work has also included speaking at BrightonSEO about fighting misinformation in YMYL, working with the Patient Information Forum around trusted health information, and exploring how organisations can adapt responsibly as AI changes the way people search for and consume information.
Advice For Anyone Joining The Industry
- Stay curious and open-minded. Digital changes quickly, so don’t assume the way something works today will be the way it works in five years, or even next year. Listen to people with different opinions, test things yourself and don’t be afraid to challenge the accepted way of doing something.
- Some of the biggest opportunities in my career have come from being willing to experiment with new technology early and learn as I go. I’d also say build relationships and keep learning from other people – nobody knows everything!
Areas Of Interest
- SEO strategy, AI Search and emerging technologies, technical SEO, data and analytics, content strategy, digital PR, information quality and misinformation, user behaviour, and understanding how search engines and AI models interpret and surface information.
- I’m particularly interested in where traditional SEO meets AI, and how search behaviour will continue to evolve.
Affiliations & Past Work
- Fancy being a guest on Search With Sean, get in touch.
Published Work & Inclusions
Any Results/Highlights From Your Work You Want To Promote? Any Impact You’re Proud Of?
- There are a few things I’m particularly proud of, including helping shape Macmillan’s work around AI Search and cancer misinformation.
- Speaking on the main stage at BrightonSEO about fighting misinformation in YMYL was a real highlight.
- Outside of my main role, growing Search With Sean to over 50,000 subscribers has also been a huge achievement, allowing me to regularly speak with and learn from leading people across SEO, digital marketing and AI.
Favorite Articles/Publications You Share/Follow
- 404 Media
- Search Engine Land | SEO, PPC & AI Search News for Marketers
- SEOFOMO – The Weekly SEO & AI Search News & Updates Newsletter
Are you interested in speaking? At conferences, podcasts, webinars, college course, etc.
- Yes open to all speaking events and do not charge anything
First Job
- First real job was working at Faces Nightclub in Essex, I was also refereeing football – my first marketing job was working at ice hockey club Manchester Phoenix
Cool Fact
- A little outside of the digital marketing world, I’m fascinated by UFOs, aliens and unexplained phenomena, and I’ll soon be launching a new podcast exploring these topics alongside Search With Sean.
Favorite Food And/Or Restaurant
- I’m a big fan of food, especially sushi and green Thai curries. I’ve also got a bit of a sweet tooth, so I’m always up for a good dessert – especially tiramisu!
Birthday
- 5th May
Other Greats!
Articles
How to Properly Hire a Digital Marketing Consultant or Agency
How to Hire a Digital Marketing Consultant or Agency (Without Wasting Money). A No-Fluff Guide for Business Owners Who Are Done Getting Burned.
Getting the Perfect 100 on PageSpeed Insights
Core Web Vitals are far from overrated. They are actually underrated and relatively simple to optimize, especially if you carefully choose your tech stack.
Get More Google Reviews For Your Local Business – Free Templates
Get More Google Reviews For Your Local Business – Free Templates. Quick and easy way to get more reviews for your business.
How to Receive, Interpret, Implement, and Reject Feedback
Learn why we resist feedback—and how to turn even harsh criticism into real growth. Discover practical strategies to manage triggers, ask better questions, and build action plans that help you improve personally and professionally.
How to Build Resilience as a Digital Marketer
We’re gonna talk about how to build that resilience as a digital marketer. Check it out now!
A Realistic List of Some of The Best Technical SEOs
LLMs are impressive, no doubt about it, but they are not always the most accurate. Let’s debunk some of their claims about the best SEO’s in the game.