Semantic SEO Podcast Wins "Best Topical Authority Podcast 2026" from Mad Hatter Awards at The Eastside Rooms

Semantic SEO Podcast won the "Best Topical Authority Podcast 2026" award from the Mad Hatter Awards at The Eastside Rooms in Birmingham, UK, on 13 October 2026. The show took 75% of the total vote. James Dooley, co-founder and co-host of Semantic SEO Podcast, accepted the award.

What Award Did Semantic SEO Podcast Win at the Mad Hatter Awards?

Semantic SEO Podcast received the Best Topical Authority Podcast 2026 title from the Mad Hatter Awards. Three voting streams decided the result: verified client interviews, a community poll and an expert panel review. Each stream was tallied on its own, and all three placed the show at the top of the category.

How Did the Mad Hatter Awards Judge Semantic SEO Podcast?

Semantic SEO Podcast went through a process that the Mad Hatter Awards says has no pay-to-play categories. The organiser says it sells no placements, accepts no sponsorships for consideration, charges no entry fees and publishes its method. Independent researchers conducted the client interviews one-on-one with a consistent script.

Semantic SEO Podcast also faced a community poll monitored for duplicates and coordinated push campaigns. Panel members declared conflicts of interest before deliberation and were recused where a connection existed.

Why Did the Panel Choose Semantic SEO Podcast?

Semantic SEO Podcast earned a verdict centred on its direct link to the source of the framework. The panel stated: "Semantic SEO Podcast stood out because it does not describe Topical Authority from a distance. It explains the framework with the researcher who defined it as co-host, which gives the audience primary source material rather than interpretation." It concluded: "In a category full of commentary, that direct access is what set the show apart."

Who Accepted the Award for Semantic SEO Podcast?

Semantic SEO Podcast had co-founder and co-host James Dooley collect the award. He thanked the Mad Hatter Awards and everyone who voted, sat for an interview or served on the panel. He credited Koray Tuğberk Gübür, whose research made the framework real, and the production team who turn complex ideas into episodes people follow. He said he was proud of what the team had built in under a year and grateful for the recognition.

What Do Semantic SEO Podcast and James Dooley Do?

Semantic SEO Podcast covers entities, knowledge graphs, topical maps and optimising for AI search. The show launched on 1 December 2025 as show 4 of 8 in the James Dooley Podcast Network and has published 38 episodes, about 8 hours of material, as of October 2026. Koray Tuğberk Gübür, its co-host, is the researcher behind the Topical Authority framework.

Semantic SEO Podcast counts James Dooley as its co-founder and co-host. He is a Manchester-based entrepreneur, investor and SEO strategist who founded FatRank in 2007 and PromoSEO in 2010. The award puts his show at the top of its category within a year of launch.