The ROAST team recently attended BrightonSEO, the world’s largest search marketing conference and have summed up their thoughts, their highlights, and key takeaways below. Check out what the team have to say.
Sam Huxter – Paid Media Manager
“Every time I head down to BrightonSEO, I come away with a refreshed perspective. It’s always an eye-opening experience, especially when it pulls me out of my usual paid media tunnel vision and into areas I haven’t explored – or maybe just haven’t looked at closely enough.
This year, one standout moment came from Rob Warner’s (Lemonads) session on the use of AI in managing negative keywords. His talk was a sharp reminder of just how much wasted ad spend is hiding in plain sight, especially when it comes to keyword match types. The data he shared was pretty striking: in a campaign run on the keyword “orthodontist,” 60% of exact match terms didn’t lead to conversions. That number jumped to 85% for phrase match and 89% for broad match. It was a blunt but necessary reality check on how ineffective broad match targeting can be for conversion-focused campaigns.
What made Warner’s talk really stand out, though, was his solution. Rather than just flagging the problem, he showed how AI tools can be leveraged to proactively generate negative keywords—saving budget and improving campaign precision. Using tools like Apify to scrape competitor terms and pairing that data with a trained LLM to structure keyword lists was particularly interesting. He emphasised the importance of layering in human oversight, too. AI can surface the insights, but we still need expert eyes to validate and implement the right calls.
All in all, it was a great reminder of how fast the landscape is evolving and how important it is to keep challenging your own approaches—even (or especially) the ones that feel like second nature.”
Kate Sweet – Senior Marketing Executive
“At BrightonSEO, I attended a fascinating masterclass on the Fundamentals of Neuromarketing for Brands, led by Giulia Panozzo from Neuroscientive. I was drawn to the talk having initially met Giulia last year when ROAST co-hosted an event all about Neuroscience and its connection to marketing. Giulia’s own passion for her discipline captivated the room, and I now find myself inspired to learn more. The session explored how neuroscience principles can help brands to better understand consumer behaviour and improve acquisition and retention strategies.
Giulia began by clarifying what neuromarketing is and isn’t.
‘Brain hacking’, or manipulation, is a term often thrown around concerning neuromarketing, but this term is best avoided. Neuromarketing is a science-backed approach to aligning brand communication with how people naturally perceive and decide. Central to this are attention and emotional connection. We learned how our brains filter endless stimuli using both internal motivation (endogenous) and external triggers (exogenous), and how marketers can use techniques like surprise, faces, sound, and pattern deviation to stand out in a noisy world.
I found the discussion on decision-making particularly compelling – how biases like anchoring and the compromise effect influence choices, and how small tweaks in presentation can nudge users in meaningful ways. One live demo even showed how eye-tracking and neural responses reveal hidden user behaviours.
Ethical concerns were addressed too – neuromarketing isn’t regulated, but it should be practiced with integrity, avoiding dark patterns. Overall, the session was a brilliant blend of science and strategy.”
Millie Collins – PPC Executive
“This was my first time attending Brighton SEO, and as someone relatively new to the industry, it was such a valuable experience to step outside of day-to-day campaign work and hear fresh perspectives from experts in their field.
A real highlight for me was Sarah Clark’s talk on ‘Data Isolation vs Integration: The Future of Effective Media Planning’. Her session struck a chord, particularly in how she outlined the growing trend toward automated, uniform marketing strategies – often at the cost of brand distinctiveness. She explained how this shift is making ROAS more a reflection of market demand than of genuine brand strength or strategic planning.
What stood out was her call to rebalance that approach: placing greater emphasis on integrated insights, long-term KPIs, and the power of brand-led strategies. It reframed how I think about campaign planning and the risks of relying too heavily on short-term optimisation at the expense of bigger-picture goals.”
Mikki Cohn – Junior PPC Account Executive
“BrightonSEO was a first for me, and a really worthwhile one. Being relatively new to the industry, it was incredibly valuable to take a step back from the day-to-day and soak up so many expert perspectives. The energy throughout the day was inspiring, and it really opened my eyes to areas of marketing that I haven’t been exposed to so far. One talk that stood out to me in particular was ‘Building High Quality Lead Gen Using LinkedIn Ads’. My background has mainly focused on Google Ads, so hearing in-depth strategies around LinkedIn was an insightful experience.
It was particularly valuable to learn about the importance of ‘always on’ campaigns; how they give audiences the flexibility to convert on their own terms, and how this then fits into a broader funnel strategy: from building awareness to encouraging action. I found the emphasis on using Document Ads paired with lead gen forms especially interesting. Following this, it’s definitely something I’ll be looking to incorporate in future campaigns. From rethinking job seniority to implementing 1:1 targeting aligned with visuals and funnelling, the session really highlighted how, when done right, powerful LinkedIn Ads can be. Overall, a great day full of learning, and I’m excited to apply some of these insights moving forward.”
As ever, BrightonSEO was an insightful and thought-provoking day out – we look forward to next year! To get in touch please contact us here or stay up to date with all things ROAST by subscribing to our newsletter.
Harvey Johnson – PPC Account Executive
“This was my first time at BrightonSEO, and it was a great opportunity to step back from the day-to-day to hear fresh perspectives from across the paid media world. One talk that really resonated was from Sophie Logan, who broke down what makes a strong paid search specialist. Her advice to treat client budgets like your own and to question Google’s recommendations was a valuable reminder that good PPC is about thoughtful, strategic decision-making—not just trusting the defaults.
I also found the session on paid social for ecommerce clients particularly eye-opening. While I don’t work in ecommerce, the five-step funnel framework (from cold to hot audiences) and tactics like using XML feeds to filter out-of-stock products or running giveaways at the top of the funnel offered some transferable lessons about structure, intent, and creative strategy.
The most unexpected highlight was from the “PPC Doctor,” a former heart surgeon turned agency owner, who advocated for Microsoft Ads. His points around lower CPCs, less competition, and platform diversification definitely gave me something to think about.
Overall, I came away from the day with a broader understanding of paid media and a few new strategies I’m looking forward to testing. It was a great introduction to BrightonSEO and the wider PPC community.”
