XEO and The Future of Search (Free Expert Marketing Training)

Free Online Event |
January 30, 2026 | 11:30am–4:00pm ET

Search engines are no longer the only play in the search game. AI chatbots have changed how people find information and what brands they trust. Join us for a lineup of expert-led sessions on XEO—the intersection of SEO and AI optimization—at this free event about the future of search. Brought to you by MarketingProfs and Search Engine Journal.

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You're in! Search will never be the same, but with XEO and the Future of Search, your customers will find you. Make sure to block off time to catch this event live on January 30. And if you know anyone else who can't afford to fall behind, rescue them with an invite to join us for free.

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The New World of Search

AI-powered search is here—and only getting bigger.

And while they both build trust and authority, the rules of traditional SEO and the new AI-powered search game aren't the same.

If your brand relies on organic search to get found or get sales, you can't afford to fall behind. You need to switch up your game plan.

Welcome to XEO: Cross Engine Optimization, the intersection of SEO, GEO, and all things AI search.

Join MarketingProfs and Search Engine Journal for this free online event on January 30, featuring leading experts covering what's changed and what to do now to get found, wherever your target audience searches. With two tracks featuring sessions focused on what works today to boost your presence in both search engines and AI chatbot responses, you'll learn how to optimize your brand and your content to get discovered everywhere.

AI is changing the way customers find solutions. Make sure they find you.

Sessions cover...

How AI broke a fundamental layer of the web in 2025—and how you can fix it for your brand in 2026
What CMOs need to know about GEO
How to use E.E.A.T. to increase brand trust with search engines and end users
Why zero-click is only getting more important—and how to use it to your advantage
How to attribute the results of your search marketing spend the right way and make the case for a larger XEO budget

Agenda

11:30am–12:15pm ET

Opening Keynote

SEO Reality Check: What Broke in 2025 and How to Fix It in 2026

Speakers: Andy Crestodina

Search is disrupted. Organic traffic is down, and anxiety is up. How can a marketing team adapt?

Let's reassess the impact that AI's had on SEO and organic traffic in this opening keynote from Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media. We'll ask the tough questions and find ways to adapt our marketing for the new landscape of search.

In this session, you'll...

Discover which types of keywords and content are the most impacted
Uncover how to measure the traffic you are getting from AI so you can replicate those wins
Learn how AI is searching on behalf of your target audience
Find ways to make AI more likely to recommend your brand when your future prospect starts the research process

It's a new era for discovery. The demand for what you do hasn't changed, but how people research options is dramatically different. Position yourself to win by understanding the changes in both user behavior and the technology shaping search today.

Andy Crestodina

Co-Founder & CMO | Orbit Media

Andy is the cofounder and chief marketing officer of Orbit Media, an award-winning, 50-person digital agency in Chicago. Over the past 20 years, Andy has provided digital marketing advice to over 1,000 businesses. He's also the author of Content Chemistry: The Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing.

12:20pm–1:00pm ET

Authority as Strategy: Why Your Brand Story Matters More Than Ever

Speaker: Tamara Scott

While marketing and search tech moves quickly, one truth remains: your brand is how your customers recognize you in the wild. Consistent branding requires authority, and authority comes from knowing your story. Your brand's story sets you apart from your competitors and drives the types of content that will attract, engage, and convert the types of customers you're really looking for.

In this session with digital content expert Tamara Scott, you'll learn...

How to find your real brand story among the corporate noise
How to use your brand story to build authority
How to measure your brand story in today's complicated channel ecosystem

Tamara Scott

Co-founder & Chief Content Officer | overQualified

Tamara is co-founder and Chief Content Officer of overQualified, a full-service digital agency. With over a decade in marketing in both B2B and B2C spaces, she is a writer, editor, and content strategist whose work is defined by curiosity.

12:20pm–1:00pm ET

Beyond SEO: An Introduction to Creating Content for Artificial Intelligence Optimization (AIO)

Speaker: Janet Miller

As the digital landscape evolves from "searching" to "prompting," traditional SEO is rapidly giving way to Artificial Intelligence Optimization (AIO). Let's explore how to inform AI models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude to recognize, trust, and recommend your brand, and how to craft content that AI tools embrace.

In this session with Janet Driscoll Miller, we'll move beyond optimizing for clicks and discuss how to optimize for comprehension—ensuring your content is structured in the specific natural language formats that Large Language Models (LLMs) prioritize when synthesizing answers for users.

You'll learn...

SEO vs. AIO: Understanding the critical differences between optimizing for a search engine spider (keywords and links) versus optimizing for a Large Language Model (entities, context, and semantic relationships)
Conversational Formatting: How to restructure your content using the "Q&A" and "Problem-Solution" frameworks that align with Natural Language Processing (NLP), making it easier for AI to ingest and cite your answers
Building Brand Entities: Strategies to establish your brand as a recognized "Entity" within the AI's knowledge graph, ensuring it associates your company with specific products, services, and positive sentiment

Janet Miller

President & CEO | Marketing Mojo

Janet is the president and CEO of digital marketing consultancy Marketing Mojo, and a leading expert in her field. She co-authored the book Data First Marketing: How Marketers Must Compete to Win in the Age of Analytics, and is a frequent guest lecturer at the University of Virginia and James Madison University.

1:05pm–1:45pm ET

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness - the Universal 3-tier Strategy to E-E-A-T in the AI Era

Speaker: Jason Barnard

For Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity and all the other AI Assistive Engines, E-E-A-T is the credibility key that wins the game.

The best part? 95% of the time, you don't need to struggle to "create" authority from thin air; you simply need to leverage what you already have.

In this session, Jason Barnard explains how to leverage Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness to dominate in Search and AI.

He reveals the bonus layers of Notability and Transparency that Google "forgot" to tell you about.

And Jason shares the Kalicube Process, a way to get search engines to confidently recommend your brand to your ideal audience.

You will leave knowing how to:

Leverage Existing Equity: Identify credibility signals you already possess to bypass the "authority-building" grind
Take Control of the Narrative: Turn your website into the definitive source of truth for all AI engines and "Claim, Frame, Prove" your way to N-E-E-A-T-T dominance
Build Algorithmic Advocacy that Drives Revenue: Educate AI engines to explicitly recommend for your brand as best in market and close the sale for you ahead of your competitors

Jason Barnard

CEO | Kalicube

Jason Barnard (The Brand SERP Guy) is the CEO of Kalicube. An author and recognized expert in optimizing Brand for AI Assistive Engines, he helps companies educate Google and AI to control their digital narrative, turning AI engines into their most effective advocates.

1:05pm–1:45pm ET

The CMO's Guide to GEO

Speaker: Tom Shapiro

Search is changing at breakneck speeds, with static search results giving way to AI-generated answers, dynamic conversations, and new discovery paths.

And to get in front of customers, your content must be part of these AI-powered results.

This webinar cuts through the AI search noise and shows CMOs and marketing leaders how to invest in Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), how to prioritize marketing resources effectively, and ways to ensure a strong ROI in search.

Join Stratabeat's Tim Shapiro as he breaks down the growth opportunities and key GEO decisions that will improve your pipeline results in the coming year. You'll learn...

Strategic Clarity: See where GEO fits effectively into your demand and growth strategies, and where it doesn't
Investment Guidance: Uncover the digital signals and content strategies that move the needle inside generative engines, backed by analyses of thousands of data points
Operational Advantage: Discover how to build GEO and SEO programs that reinforce each other for measurable marketing ROI

Tom Shapiro

Founder & CEO | Stratabeat

Tom is CEO of Stratabeat, a B2B marketing agency specializing in SEO, GEO, content strategy and development, and conversion optimization. Tom's clients have included Intel, GE, AT&T, Freshworks, UnitedHealthcare, and P&G. He's the author of the books Rethink Lead Generation and Rethink Your Marketing.

1:50pm–2:30pm ET

Top UX Fixes That Boost SEO & Search Visibility

Speaker: Jennifer McDonald

Keywords? Check.

Search volume? Check.

A perfect ratio of keywords to content? Check!

And yet, you're still not seeing more traffic from Google.

In 2026, search visibility won't improve simply by adding keywords to your website. Now, ranking on search engines and gaining visibility in AI Search is also about how…

Easy your website is to use
Clearly your content answers customer questions
Successful your site is at converting users

Plus, Google must also be able to see these things happening regularly on your site.

In this session, you'll learn the high-impact UX improvements that support modern SEO, and how to implement them for future SERP visibility. You'll learn how to help search engines understand your site and help visitors take action. You'll leave with practical, SEO-friendly improvements you can apply right away to support visibility and growth.

And remember, what Google can't see can hurt you.

Jennifer McDonald

Senior Marketing Manager | Search Engine Journal

Jennifer is a senior marketing strategist with 15+ years of experience in SEO, lifecycle marketing, and content strategy, known for a human-first approach to growth. She helps brands turn real audience insight into measurable impact, across SERPs, inboxes, and AI-powered search.

1:50pm–2:30pm ET

Measuring the Balance Between Earned, Owned and Paid and Dominate AI Growth

Speaker: Nadya Khoja

When ChatGPT, Tiktok, and other new channels have a rapid impact on how we consume media, it can be overwhelming for marketers to keep up to date.

The simplicity of improving rankings and traffic are long gone. Today, search and SEO operate as a function in a much larger ecosystem of lead gen, beyond Google and Bing.

In this talk, Nadya will share new insights and strategies from her experiences building organic growth strategies that function in tandem with paid marketing.

Join Nadya to learn how to:

Track owned, earned, and paid media to increase new market and category creation and ownership
Improve marketing efficiency by aligning channels to maximize category growth and top of funnel acquisition while building trust with your audience
"Hijack" trends to drive rapid brand awareness and increase search volume in Google and LLMs using platforms like Facebook and TikTok

Nadya Khoja

Content and Growth Leader

Nadya Khoja is a Content and Growth leader with a focus on driving organic revenue strategies. She has been featured on Forbes, CBC, Wall Street Journal, and many other notable publications. She has spoken around the world, educating various business leaders about building and executing scalable marketing strategies in the health tech and SAAS space.

2:35pm–3:15pm ET

Attribution and Proving ROI to Get More Search Marketing Budget

Speaker: Katie Robbert

Your marketing budget is on the line—especially when it comes to search activities. Stop relying on outdated, single-touch attribution models and confusing reports that don't pass the "so what?" test.

Join Katie Robbert, CEO of Trust Insights, as she unveils the practical frameworks and tools you need to build a defensible, data-backed ROI case for investing across XEO, quantify your budget ask, and confidently prove marketing's impact directly to the CFO. You'll learn how to...

Map Value to the Customer Journey (KPI Mapping)—Move beyond isolating single clicks with clear, business-aligned KPIs to ensure every metric demonstrates value. This is how you build a complete, accurate attribution story that wins you budget.
Win the Data Foundation with Great Analytics Tracking Governance—You don't need a full-blown data audit. You need to standardize your link tracking across every MarTech system so you can tell the true story of XEO performance.
Convert KPIs into Financial ROI—Stop talking about impressions and clicks. We all know that search is more than that. Link your KPIs directly to your budget and show that search marketing is a proven, measurable investment that guarantees a return—using the language your CFO speaks.

Katie Robbert

CEO | Trust Insights

Katie, CEO of Trust Insights, is an expert in compliance, governance, agile methods, and high-stakes data. She has built multi-million dollar business lines, led teams creating pharmaceutical research software, and holds multiple Google certifications. Katie was recognized as a Women in AI finalist and advocates for women in analytics.

2:35pm–3:15pm ET

Zero-Click Conversion Strategies: AI & Google Search

Speaker: Dale Bertrand

Organic traffic is disappearing, but that doesn't mean revenue has to follow.

It's time to shift your content performance measurement from traffic-based metrics to AI visibility and downstream customer acquisition.

This session with AI and SEO expert Dale Bertrand covers converting zero-click prospects, mid-funnel content strategies that capture purchase-intent visitors, and attribution methods that prove ROI when clicks are no longer the goal. You'll learn how to...

Position your brand to earn citations in AI-generated answers from ChatGPT, AI Overviews, and Google's AI Mode
Create mid-funnel content that captures qualified prospects instead of information seekers
Measure success with attribution strategies built for zero-click search behavior
Test drive content before publishing with AI-driven research

We'll draw on real case studies from an agency that rebuilt its organic conversion strategy around zero-click behavior.

You'll leave with a playbook for capturing organic demand in a world where ChatGPT, AI Overviews, and Google's AI Mode answer questions before people ever reach your website.

Dale Bertrand

President | Fire&Spark

Dale has been an SEO specialist and AI consultant to Fortune 500 companies and venture-backed startups around the world for two decades. His clients include global brands such as Citizen Watch, Nestle, Raymond Weil, Exxon Mobil, and Bulova. He applies his graduate school work in artificial intelligence to search engine marketing and speaks at marketing industry conferences.

3:20pm–4:00pm ET

Ask an Expert with Wil Reynolds & Andy Crestodina: XEO in 2026

Speaker: Wil Reynolds & Andy Crestodina

Search is changing faster than ever, and Wil Reynolds and Andy Crestodina will take your questions live on what's actually changed, what AI and your customers reward, and how brands can rebuild visibility in 2026.

Come with your toughest questions about integrating these changes into your Content Marketing workflows. You'll get practical tactics and strategic advice from experts who are experimenting with and learning the evolving best practices of XEO—the intersection of SEO and AI-powered search.

Come ready to ask your questions about...

Practical changes you can make for 2026
How to strengthen brand authority and voice so AI (and your customers!) recognize, trust, and recommend your products and services
When and how to apply GEO/AEO, E.E.A.T., and more to your content to get it to appear in search results, AI Overviews, and LLM chatbot responses

If you're looking for practical, actionable advice to end your day, this Ask an Expert ask-me-anything-style Q&A session is for you!

Wil Reynolds

Founder & CEO | Seer Interactive

Wil is the founder and CEO of Seer Interactive, one of the most highly regarded digital marketing agencies in the United States. A former teacher with a knack for advising, Wil is passionate about helping people and businesses grow. He's been helping Fortune 500 companies develop SEO and digital marketing strategies since 1999.