Going beyond the keynotes and lectures, anyone who attends conferences knows the drill: Workshops are where the juicy information (well, before the beer after dinner) gets exchanged.

This year, we had two sessions that complemented each other perfectly: The Publisher Roundtable with Laura Oelker (featuring ZEIT, FAZ, DW, etc.) and the Deep Dive with Jens Fauldrath. I won’t leak internal data here – Chatham House Rules are sacred – but I can tell you what really gets discussed when the microphones are off.

About formats, chaos and brand awareness

Whether it’s Laura Oelker’s well-orchestrated session on brand awareness or Jens Fauldrath preaching technical hygiene, we had a great time talking about what is truly needed for the publishing industry. In the end, we reached a clear consensus within the “Guild of Architects”:

• Inventory Bloat: We are all sitting on millions of URLs that we aren’t “allowed” to delete, even though they are technically toxic.
• Silo Thinking: Our newsrooms often still think in newspaper sections (Politics, Sports), while Google and users think in Formats (Live-Blogs, Buyer’s Guides, Explainers).
• Governance: Tech SEO isn’t a one-off spring cleaning; it’s a permanent process. If you don’t budget for the maintenance or deletion of old content, you are building on sand.

Let it be said: You are not alone!

Perhaps the most important takeaway from these workshops isn’t found in any slide deck. It’s the realization that even the biggest tankers struggle with the exact same problems you do:

• How do you convince an Editor-in-Chief that “fewer URLs” sometimes means “more visibility”?
• How do you build “Format Squads” that work across traditional departments?

We argued, we laughed, and most importantly: We exchanged solutions that you can’t just google.

Next time – with you?

Regarding these two workshops, I thought long and hard about how much to recap publicly. I went through my notes again and again and finally came to the conclusion: I want to encourage you to come visit and enjoy the spirit of being in the room.

Sharing contacts with seasoned, like-minded experts is the best insurance for building sustainable products. The value of the numbers shared and ideas exchanged was – yet again – priceless.

Summing this up

I believe we need to step up as Architects of the Future – for both: formats and technology. We are not just experts in a niche; we are abstract thinkers interested in many fields, enabling us to see a bigger picture.

In the coming age of AI, I cannot imagine anyone better suited than curious SEOs to ensure reach, supporting journalists to get their article or message to the top. Not by reason of knowledge, but by character trait: Curious, adaptable, and eager to learn new things in zero time.

See you this year – 2026?

Yours truly,

Chris(topher) 🙂

P. S.: Feel free to contact us if you would like to present on a topic!