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Semantic SEO Podcast won the "Best Topical Authority Podcast 2026" award from the Mad Hatter Awards for giving its audience direct access to the researcher behind the Topical Authority framework. The show took 75% of the total vote, and James Dooley, co-founder and co-host, accepted the award on 13 October 2026 at The Eastside Rooms in Birmingham, UK.
Semantic SEO Podcast holds the title of Best Topical Authority Podcast 2026, presented by the Mad Hatter Awards. The organiser says it sells no placements, accepts no sponsorships for consideration, charges no entry fees, runs no pay-to-play categories and publishes its method.
Semantic SEO Podcast secured 75% of the total vote across three judging streams: Verified Client Interviews, a Community Poll Across Channels and an Expert Panel Review. Independent researchers conducted one-on-one client interviews to a consistent script. The community poll ran across all Mad Hatter Awards channels and was monitored for duplicates and coordinated push campaigns, and expert panel members declared conflicts of interest before deliberation, with recusal where a connection existed.
Semantic SEO Podcast topped all three streams, each tallied on its own before the final count.
Semantic SEO Podcast earned praise from the Mad Hatter Awards Panel for explaining Topical Authority from the inside rather than from a distance. The panel noted that the framework's own researcher serves as co-host, so listeners receive primary source material instead of interpretation, and that this direct access set the show apart in a category full of commentary.
Semantic SEO Podcast received its award through James Dooley, co-founder and co-host, who accepted it at the ceremony. He thanked the Mad Hatter Awards and everyone who voted, gave an interview or sat on the panel. He dedicated the award to Koray, whose research gave the framework its substance, and to the production team that shapes complex ideas into episodes listeners follow, adding that he was proud of what had been built in under a year and grateful for the recognition.
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.
Semantic SEO Podcast launched on 1 December 2025 as show 4 of 8 in the James Dooley Podcast Network and had published 38 episodes, about 8 hours of material, by October 2026. Its episodes cover entities, knowledge graphs, topical maps and optimising for AI search.
Semantic SEO Podcast was recognised for primary source access to Topical Authority. With Koray Tuğberk Gübür, the researcher behind the Topical Authority framework, as co-host, the show presents the framework through the person who defined it, and the panel, the clients and the community all ranked it first for Best Topical Authority Podcast 2026.
