Freelance Digital Marketing Consultant
Paul Mackenzie Ross 
Google has noted that FAQ Schema is no longer appearing in search results. I just investigated this after reading a post by SEO Lily Ray over on LinkedIn. What is SchemaMarkup? Schema markup is machine-readable code that we place in web pages to help inform the search engines of the meaning of that page. Historically, … Read more
It’s a wrap. I don’t know how many times I’ve attended BrightonSEO now but I can count them on one hand I think. Wait, I logged all my visits in SwarmApp (Formerly Foursquare before the app split); Spring 2018, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2021, and Autumn 2022. This is my fifth visit! However, this one was … Read more
When ChatGPT first appeared at the end of 2022, my immediate thought was for the copywriting craft I’d spent over two decades perfecting. The zeitgeist after November 2022 was that anyone could “write their own copy” now, no professional needed.. Then, about eighteen months later, Google started tightening up. Its “helpful content updates” and a … Read more
For anyone that knows me, I used to do a lot of mountain biking back in the day. I’d cycle locally at least one night a week with “the lads”, drive out to routes near Sheffield, the Brecon Beacons, and South Downs, and even stay away once a year at a far-flung mountain bike trail … Read more
I used to write a year-in-review piece for the digital marketing agency I worked at for nearly eight years until January 2025, as their only multi-disciplined digital marketer and writer. This year I’m doing it for myself. 2025 was the year that AI-powered search became even more mainstream, the year Google delivered on its promise … Read more
Damn it. I read just 12 books this year. Last year it was 13. I was hoping to beat last year’s figure, especially when I’ve had one year where I indulged in over 20 books in one calendar year in 2023! However, it’s been a year of change, and recovering from surgery in December 2024 … Read more
As we reach the final days of 2025, Google delivered one more significant update to keep us on our toes. The December 2025 core update, the third of the year, is currently rolling out as I write this on 29th December, and it’s already causing substantial ranking shifts across numerous industries. Let’s look back at … Read more
Now that we’re just into December, it’s an appropriate moment to reflect on what’s been an extraordinary year in search. November itself brought some interesting developments, but more importantly, it continued to shed perspective on how dramatically the search landscape has shifted in the year so far… Let me walk you through what happened in … Read more
Yesterday morning, whilst doing some SEO work, I realised I didn’t have any milk for a cup of tea, so I nipped down to one of my neighbourhood’s many local shops to replenish. On the drive there and back some language on BBC Radio 4 caught my attention, and within a minute or so, I … Read more
Well I didn’t see that coming! On 19th November 2025, Adobe announced they’re acquiring SEMrush in a $1.9 billion all-cash deal. Now that’s the sort of news that makes you sit up and pay attention – one of the world’s biggest creative software companies buying one of the most widely-used SEO platforms. But what does … Read more