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About Steven Wilson-Beales

Steven Wilson-Beales is a UK-based SEO, AI visibility and content strategy consultant for publishers, with 20 years in editorial, SEO and product at Global, Microsoft and Ministry of Sound.

A family trip to Sri Lanka.
A family trip to Sri Lanka.

I’m a UK-based SEO, AI visibility and content strategy consultant for publishers, newsrooms and digital media brands.

I’ve spent more than 20 years working across Editorial, SEO and Product, managing content teams at organisations including Microsoft, Global and Ministry of Sound, as well as advising publishers on everything from technical SEO and audience growth to content strategy and the rapidly changing world of AI search.

A lot has changed during that time.

I started my career worrying about getting people to click on stories. Today, publishers have to think not only about traditional search, but Google Discover, YouTube, newsletters, social platforms, AI assistants and an increasingly zero-click internet.

Much of my work now is about helping publishers make sense of that mess: understanding where the opportunities are, deciding what is actually worth doing and turning that into something editorial, product and technical teams can realistically deliver.

I’m particularly interested in the intersection between SEO, AI visibility, audience growth and editorial strategy, and how publishers can remain discoverable while also building stronger direct relationships with their audiences.

I am also a former Co-Chair of the AOP Journalism Advisory Board.

A little bit of history

I started my career as a music journalist, working for a national student website before landing a sweet gig at Universal Music reviewing chart releases and interviewing bands.

I then moved into the Further Education sector, where I started my own website consultancy business working with the Association of Colleges.

Then it was back into music again with Ministry of Sound, where I eventually managed the digital department as Head of Internet.

Fast forward a few years and I was leading the Entertainment desk for MSN UK before joining Global in 2014, where I spent almost 12 years across editorial, audience growth, SEO and digital strategy. I started as Head of Editorial, became Head of Editorial & SEO in 2020, and was Head of SEO & Editorial Product from 2021 until I left in October 2025.

Since leaving Global, I’ve worked with publishers and digital businesses including LADbible Group and Flashes & Flames, helping teams solve audience, search and content problems.

What I actually do

Over the years my areas of responsibility have included:

The common thread through most of this is pretty simple: helping publishers understand what audiences want, making their journalism easier to discover and creating strategies and systems that allow editorial teams to do their best work.

Speaking, judging and industry work

I’m a keen speaker at industry events and love to host the odd panel or two.

In 2025, I spoke at the News & Editorial SEO Summit (NESS), presenting a session on YouTube optimisation called From Views to Victory: Cracking the YouTube Algorithm.

In 2026, I have also been invited to judge three publishing and media industry awards:

I’ve also contributed to industry publications including Journalism.co.uk and Press Gazette, talking about SEO, audience growth, AI search, Google Discover, YouTube and the challenges facing publishers in a zero-click world.

I also co-host Beers & SEO with Barry and Steve, where Barry Adams and I talk about SEO, publishing and whatever else happens to come up over a beer.

For longer thoughts about publishing, audience growth, AI and content strategy, I write Publishing Strategies, my newsletter for people working in and around digital publishing.

And, because it can’t all be SEO, I also write and produce electronic music under the alias Zylinderkopf.