The Lion Zeal Show: Recent Episodes
Daryl Rosser
Learn how to scale your SEO business, or turn your search engine optimization skills into a highly profitable business - directly from other SEO's.
From internet famous bloggers, to underground hustlers that stay behind the scenes, you'll get to hear from real people running successful SEO businesses.
Whether you're a local agency owner, affiliate, pay per lead specialist, or even using SEO to scale your online ecommerce store - you'll get actionable advice from people that have done the same.
In this episode, I've bought back my friend Armando Saenz for a third interview to discuss the changes to SEO, digital marketing, and his business itself over the past few years.
It's a fun look back for any long-term fans of the show - as Armando was the very first guest.
And it's an insightful episode from two digital marketers with 10+ years in the space.
Steve Brown was previously featured in episode 52 of the show, where we discussed building his dental SEO agency to 40+ clients.
Today, Steve still operates that agency but pivoted his focus to affiliate SEO - where he's also gone on to build multiple 6-figure sites.
In this episode, we discuss how he's done that, why the change, and some good ol' nerdy SEO discussions.
Want to launch your own service business or agency?
Mahmoud Fathy is the founder of ContentWish, an SEO content agency, that grew from 0 to $10,000 without even a website.
This is an inspiring episode for anyone looking to build a productised service, hire a team, and hustle to 6-figures. Never mind his 6-figure affiliate portfolio.
Outreach link building is booming, but short of paying for guest posts, how do you land high quality links?
My guest today, Amit Raj, runs a link building agency where he does manual outreach-based link acquisition for clients ranging from local companies to eCommerce, SaaS, and everything else.
In this episode we breakdown his outreach process from research to acquisition, including what it actually means to build relationships.
Kraig Bond is an SEO agency owner making multiple 6-figures a year working with various types of small businesses.
So I brought him on the show to figure out how he broke through the struggle and went from unable to sell to closing 5-figure deals off a simple phone call.
Here's how Kraig did it, how he landed his clients, his sales strategy, and recommendations for someone trying to do the same.
Ulhas went from making $250/month in his job to landing $8,000+/month worth of clients and building a niche site to over $20,000/month without any link building.
In this episode, we breakdown how he did it from start to finish, and what strategies he uses to bring in a lot of traffic without links.
In this episode, I'm joined by Ryan Stewart for our second episode together, to discuss how to build a scalable SEO agency.
Ryan knows a thing or two about that, since our first interview, he sold his agency Webris. Only to later rebuild it again.
But beyond that, he's helped over a thousand agencies streamline their SEO fulfilment so they can better manage, communicate, and deliver to clients.
Show notes here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/ryan-stewart-2021/
In this episode, I'm joined by my friend Jarod Spiewak to catch up on his journey since our last interview where he built a $20k/month UpWork SEO business.
We discuss why he fired half his clients, his shift from consultant to agency, and why he now focuses in PPC - including how he does it.
It's a fun, informative episode and a must watch for local SEOs or anyone looking
Episode mentions here:
https://lionzeal.com/blog/jarod-spiewak-2020/
In this episode, I'm joined by Michał Suski from Surfer to discuss OnPage SEO, content optimisation, and how Surfer helps with this.
There's also a sneak peek of a brand new feature Surfer are working on to instantly map out an entire content plan based on a single keyword.
Enter a keyword like "best mattress reviews" and you'll instantly get 500+ content suggestions, with keywords for each. This has never been shown publicly before.
That's alongside some great onpage advice, tips for using the tool, and other nuggets you won't want to miss.
Show mentions here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/michal-suski/
In this episode, I’m joined by Kyle Roof to discuss what’s changed with onpage SEO over the past few years.
I last had Kyle on the show around 2 years ago (episode 55), where we discussed his SEO testing approach.
Today, we expand further on that, and learn a little more about Kyle’s approach to onpage SEO, his agency, and what’s changed in the past 2 years.
Video and show notes here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/kyle-roof-2020/
In this episode, I'm joined by Holly Starks for a long overdue catch up interview.
If you don't know Holly, she's probably what you'd call a blackhat SEO. She used to have over 3,000,000 YouTube videos which brought in 6-figures a month.
Today, she has 700 phones which she uses to push podcasts into "New & Noteworthy", among other things.
Show Resources here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/holly-starks-2020/
If you're making a few thousand dollars a month from SEO, what are the strategies you need to use to scale this fast?
My guest today, Tom De Spiegelaere, runs a small portfolio of affiliate sites. One of which, he publicly writes about and is making over $60,000/month.
In this episode, we breakdown some of the more advanced strategies for increasing traffic, flipping sites, and growing your affiliate business.
Show notes and mentions here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/tom-spicky/
Learn how Julie Adams built an affiliate portfolio to quit her agency job and become a full time affiliate SEO.
Show notes and resources here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/julie-adams/
While the title of this episode sounds awesome, it doesn't really do justice to the conversation here.
In this episode, I'm joined by Viola Eva, where we discuss all things SEO, content optimisation, client work, and even public speaking.
It's a really fun value-packed interview, well worth listening to.
Show notes and resources here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/viola-eva/
Can you rank a website in a language you can't read or write?
Will Tribe has been doing SEO since 2013, starting with local lead generation sites, before shifting into affiliate review sites.
In this episode, we discuss how he scaled that further by duplicating what's working in English speaking markets, into other languages.
All without being able to say more than "Hello" in the language.
Show notes and mentions here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/will-tribe/
Gary Wilson runs the popular link building service, GetMeLinks, which he purchased and rebranded from "DFY Links" last year.
In this episode, we discuss the systems and processes Gary has in place to handle all this link building in-house.
And how you guys can do the same.
Including some interesting discussions on Gary’s backstory, mindset, and learning.
Show notes and resources:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/gary-wilson/
Digital real estate is a huge business, and like regular real estate, there's several approaches. You can be a property developer, long-term investor (buy/rent), or a flipper.
My guest today is Craig Campbell, a popular black hat SEO, discussing how he makes money buying and flipping niche affiliate sites.
You'll hear about his purchase requirements, average purchase price, where to find deals, and steps to increase revenue fast.
Show notes and resources here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/craig-campbell/
Are you brand new to SEO or trying to make a business out of it?
Jenny Abouobaia was a dancer, choreographer, and personal trainer before finding a way into SEO and building a 40+ person content marketing agency in Egypt.
Here's how she did it and some lessons learned along the way.
Show notes and mentions here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/jenny-clever/
In this episode, we bring back Jonathan Kiekbusch from SEOButler to discuss the massive changes to his business and the world of SEO over the past 4 years.
Show notes here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/jonathan-kiekbusch/
In this episode, I'm joined by Greg Elfrink from EmpireFlippers, where we have a nerdy conversion on all things marketing.
Specifically, how agency owners and affiliates can better market their websites and services.
You'll learn what Greg calls the transition from "affiliate site" to "media company", and how doing this can easily build a brand worth upwards of 7-figures.
Show mentions here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/greg-elfrink/
How can you assemble a team and build outreach links at scale?
Bibi "The Link Builder" Raven is doing exactly this with a team of 8, focused primarily on acquiring free links for her clients via email and social media outreach.
In this episode, we discuss link building, managing a links team, and some valuable tips on working with clients.
Resources here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/bibi-raven/
In this episode, I’m joined by Bobby Pham to discuss how he’s built up a six-figure SEO consulting business in the past year using UpWork.
I believe UpWork is one of the fastest ways of getting to six-figures today, so today you’ll learn how exactly to do it. From profile optimisation and client acquisition, all the way to delivering your services.
Show notes and resources:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/bobby-pham/
Frank Heim is an interesting guy. He’s a self-proclaimed “loner”, bass player for a German medieval metal band (Saltatio Mortis), and co-founder of an 8 person marketing agency.
He built his agency from scratch, while balancing being in a top of the charts band and all that comes with that, likes tours and recording albums.
In this episode, we discuss how he’s built up his agency, his motivations, and how he balances all the work.
Show notes and details here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/frank-heim/
Chris Romero is determined to help small local businesses grow with digital marketing, but wanted a way of providing that service at scale, so it's easier and more affordable.
He achieved that by automating 90% of the work. Here's how he did it.
Show notes here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/chris-romero/
In this episode, John Logar shares his thoughts on surviving and thriving during the crazy COVID-19 times.
John coaches various agencies and consultants around the world, so has some incredible insights into the impact and ideal response during this.
Show mentions:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/john-logar-2020/
In this episode, we see how Cole built his agency from scratch to 6-figures within 6 months, and more importantly, how he's systemised every part of his business so he doesn't do the work nor communicate with clients.
Topics Covered:
- How Cole got his first apprenticeship in online marketing (5:30)
- Behind the scenes of operating a Facebook Ads agency (13:38)
- Finding and setting up deals for his agency (18:42)
- From running FB Ads to E-commerce with starting price from $3000 (32:10)
- Advice for landing clients on UpWork (1:06:05)
- How he tripled his income with UpWork (1:10:00)
Questions? Leave them here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/cole-lajeunesse/
In this episode, Karl Kangur talks about starting his journey when he was only 12 to running a successful content marketing agency with three offices today.
Watch the interview & get the show notes here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/karl-kangur/
In this episode, Chris LaMorte talks about going from working as a web developer with zero sales experience to running his own SEO agency. You'll also learn how he overcame getting stuck working in his business.
Watch the interview & get the show notes here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/chris-lamorte/
In this episode, Tim Soulo digs deep into everything Ahrefs, including how Ahrefs began, how they estimate traffic, measure keyword difficulty, hidden features & much more.
Watch the interview & get the show notes here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/tim-soulo/
Are you struggling to build a passive income with your SEO business?
In this episode, James Ruhle talks about going from hustling on $200/m SEO clients to traveling the world investing in start-ups.
Watch the video interview & get the show notes here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/james-ruhle/
Struggling to see the potential for your agency to scale beyond 6-7 figures?
In this episode, Guy Sheetrit talks about the actions, mindset & partnerships that helped him go from freelancing on Fiverr just 4 years ago to now running an $89M global agency that employs over 100 people.
Watch the video interview and get the show notes here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/guy-sheetrit/
Are you wanting to offer more services than just SEO within your Marketing Agency?
In this episode, Ben Maden talks about the sales and management systems he has in place that helped him scale a full-package marketing agency to 11 people.
If you're wanting to expand beyond specialisation and offer more services, this is a must-watch.
Watch the video interview and get the show notes here: http://lionzeal.com/podcast/ben-maden/
Are you looking to manage and scale a successful e-commerce business?
In this episode, you will learn exactly how to start and build up an e-commerce store, how to build up a team to help run the store and how to scale your e-commerce stores to the point where they provide you with financial freedom.
Ronnie Teja is breaking down exactly how he achieved all this over the past five years, and the steps you need to take to ensure you succeed.
Watch the video interview and get the show notes here:
http://lionzeal.com/podcast/ronnie-teja/
Do you know how to deliver SEO results yet you still struggle to sell your SEO services?
In this episode, Wilson Viera breaks down the best sales tactics to land those tricky sales, how to perfect your sales techniques, how to handle potential customer objections and everything in between.
After watching this interview, you will learn how to build up trust and credibility with new customers, and how to deal with tough customer objections to ensure you are able to close the sale every time.
Watch the video interview and get the show notes here:
http://lionzeal.com/podcast/wilson-viera/
In this episode, Mads Singers breaks down exactly how to scale an SEO team to grow your business. You will learn how to build up a successful team, how to manage that team, and how to ensure that the team operates efficiently to focus on the important tasks that need to be done to scale any SEO business.
Watch the video interview and get the show notes here:
http://lionzeal.com/podcast/mads-singers/
Are you currently getting traffic to your website? If so, why not learn to make more money out of what you already have.
In this episode, you will learn advanced tips to optimize your sites and increase your conversion rates. You can do this for affiliate sites, or even local sites as Kurt teaches you how to get up to 100% increase in your conversion rates.
Kurt also discusses building a team, systemizing things and scaling your business up to the next level.
Watch the video interview and get the show notes here: http://lionzeal.com/podcast/kurt-philip/
Do you incorporate Youtube as part of your SEO strategy or use it as an additional source of revenue?
In this interview, Daryl sits down with the successful Youtuber – Johnnycrazy, who has built up his channel with over 250,000 subscribers.
You will learn everything from how to start and grow a YouTube channel, how to rank your existing videos, how to get more views and subscribers, and most importantly, how to monetise it all.
YouTube is the second biggest search engine in the world. It is vital that you start incorporating it into your SEO strategies to take advantage of it as an additional source of traffic and revenue.
Watch the video interview and get the show notes here: http://lionzeal.com/podcast/johnnycrazy/
Ever wanted to get a behind the scenes look at a successful 7-figure SEO business? In this episode, Matt Diggity shares everything from his SEO processes, his team building processes, how he lives the life of a digital nomad, and everything else Diggity related - including some special news.
Watch the video interview and get the show notes here:
http://lionzeal.com/podcast/mattdiggity/
Do you want to become an outreach specialist?
In this interview, you will learn step-by-step how to build outreach links for your clients, how to create linkable assets, and the automation tools needed to simplify this process at scale.
You can use the exact same processes that Gareth breaks down in this interview, to start your own successful, white hat agency.
Watch the video interview and get the show notes here:http://lionzeal.com/podcast/gareth-simpson/
Are you looking to grow and then flip a 6-figure affiliate site?
In this episode, you will learn exactly how Kevin built up, and then flipped 3 6-figure affiliate sites.
Kevin breaks down everything from how to build up the site, to exactly how to handle the complicated sale process, and everything in-between.
Watch the video and get the show notes here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/kevingraham/
Thought this would be fun…
Just put together a top 10 list of the most popular episodes of the Lion Zeal Show in 2017.
Check it out here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/2017-recap/
Do you find it hard to stay motivated long enough to grow a successful business?
In this episode, Daryl sits down with Diggy to discuss how to get started, building up your business, and mindset traits that you need to run a successful business and then scale it.
With the wrong mindset, your business will fail. Learn what Diggy does to avoid these failures.
Watch the video interview and get the show notes here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/diggy-dirk/
Are you struggling to land high paying SEO clients?
In this episode, Jarod Spiewak explains how, at twenty years old, he makes $20k per month from clients he landed on Upwork.
Even better, he explains how this client acquisition process is almost completely automated.
You will learn step-by-step how to do this to land clients paying $3,000 per month.
Watch the video and get the show notes here: http://lionzeal.com/podcast/jarod-spiewak/
Ed Stapleton is the co-owner of Clicksgeek.com – A white label pay-per-click agency, specialising in Adwords and lead generation campaigns.
Ed originally started doing SEO before crossing over into paid traffic and specialising in pay-per-clicks, and in this episode we will discuss how to start upselling AdWords to your SEO clients.
When Ed first started out with SEO, he joined different SEO groups and purchased a few courses which helped him learn the industry. During his journey, he discovered the power and scalability of pay-per-click ads, and the power of Google Adwords when done correctly.
In this interview we’re breaking down how he’s done it all, including going from zero to having over 60 partners.
Watch the full interview and get the show notes here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/ed-stapleton/
Gregory Ortiz is a fairly well known guy in our side of the SEO industry.
He owns the #1 ranking agency for "New York SEO", has coached thousands of people through Source-Wave and Source University, and also built a highly profitable affiliate business.
In this interview we're breaking down how he's done it all, including going from zero to 100k per month.
Watch it here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/gregory-ortiz/
If you're going to spend hours creating a proposal, why not get paid for it?
That's what Kris Reid does.
Before he'll even offer you his services, you've got to pay for a custom marketing plan aka proposal.
Not only does this instantly eliminate "freebie seekers", it massively increases his conversion rate from proposal to monthly paying client.
And it's extremely easy to do if you know how to ask the right questions.
In this interview Kris walks you step-by-step through his sales process, including giving you the actual questions to asks.
Show notes and video here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/kris-reid/
Most people have a tough time starting their SEO business from zero.
Building up sites, setting up a PBN... these things aren't cheap when you're starting out.
So seeing someone start their business with -100,000 is fascinating.
And that's exactly what Derek did.
After losing all his money in real estate, leaving him with $100,000 of credit card debt, Derek entered the world of "launch jacking".
See how it went here...
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/derek-pierce/
There's this belief that you can either run your own websites, or you can be a slave to clients and never feel true freedom.
I disagree. As does Armando.
Armando was the first ever guest on the Lion Zeal Show, where he showed how he was making over $35,000 per month from client SEO.
Since then he's not only scaled that further, he's drastically cut down his hours.
These days it's a lifestyle business. He spends time with his kids and family, then he works when he chooses.
You'll see how in this weeks episode, and what big mistakes prevented him from doing this sooner.
Watch the video interview and get the show notes here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/armando-saenz/
The best SEOs in the world use testing to stay ahead.
That's a statement I'm willing to stand behind. If you don't test things, you're relying on other peoples knowledge for how to rank.
When you test however, you know exactly what works because you've tested it.
Kyle Roof is someone that believes in exactly that too. So much so that he's been running SEO tests for years now.
In this interview we're breaking down some of his test results, how he runs tests, and the benefits it's provided for him and his agency.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/kyle-roof/
Love or hate clients, it's a great way of building up cashflow to fund scaling, or just living a great lifestyle.
And that's exactly what it did for Brian Hong.
He's one of the few people I know that shifted from affiliate SEO, to running an agency.
That agency is now running smoothly with a team of 14 people all working remotely.
So we sat down to discuss building and managing a remote team, client acquisition, getting started... and of course, why you would start dealing with clients rather than running your own websites.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/brian-hong/
It seems trendy to talk about making money from Amazon, but while most people are talking, some people like Doug are making money from it.
Doug Cunnington is an affiliate guy, who partnered up with my friend Rob Atkinson to help sell one of his successful affiliate sites. They went through a process of "switching" from PBN links to white hat links, to increase the site value.
And $235,000 later... it worked. We'll be revealing how he did in this interview.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/doug-cunnington/
One question I get a lot is whether someone should start a "niche specific" agency or just a general one.
I always recommend niche specific.
In this episode, you'll see why. I'm interviewing my friend Steve Brown who runs a dental SEO agency with over 40 clients.
He'll be sharing why he targets only dentists, why that works for him, and why you should do the same. And of course how he built his agency.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/steve-brown/
The Lion Zeal Show is finally back.
This time I’ve brought Dino Gomez back on to discuss why ALL SEO’s in his opinion, should be using Facebook Ads.
And rather than just tell you, Dino will also be walking through how to use them, including examples from his clients.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/dino-facebook-ads/
For episode 50 of the show, I’ve got a very special episode with a special guest, who unfortunately didn’t want to be named.
Name aside though, nothing else is held back in this interview.
You’ll see exactly how their business runs today, what Mr X is working on, and of course… how he made $22,000 in a day when he was only 17 years old.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/mr-x/
For the 49th episode of the Lion Zeal Show, I’m chatting with Joe Sinkwitz (Cygnus) about the history of spam, and how SEO has evolved over the past 20 years.
Joe is one of the most experienced guys in our industry. He was doing SEO back in the Altavista days, when spamming Meta Tags was a solid strategy. He was ranking #1 for payday loans for a brief time, bringing in over $50,000 per day for his business.
At one point he had 50 employees running his business, until Penguin destroyed their business overnight. Overall, it’s a fascinating episode from a great SEO with a lot of stories to share.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/joe-sinkwitz/
In this weeks episode, I'm discussing the semantic web with Bradley Benner from Semantic Mastery.
Bradley is a fairly well known SEO in our community, mostly known for his emphasis on building engagement instead of links.
So rather than mass-sending PBN links, you create different "entities" for your brand to establish it as a real authority site.
He believes this is becoming increasingly important for the algorithm, and will be the future of SEO.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/bradley-benner/
For episode 47 of the Lion Zeal Show, I've put together another special episode.
Instead of interviewing one successful SEO, I'm sitting down with 5 different affiliates and asking them how they hit their first consistent $1,000 month.
For anyone planning on scaling affiliate SEO as a business, I highly recommend watching this.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/bradley-benner/
For episode 46, I'm chatting with Jeff Lenney about affiliate SEO and launch jacking.
Jeff has a background in the internet marketing "guru world" and used that knowledge to get into launch jacking.
It's an interesting model that I've seen several people have $5,000+ days with.
We get into what launch jacking is and how to get started with it in this episode, among other affiliate SEO topics.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/jeff-lenney/
For this weeks episode of the Lion Zeal Show, I’ve brought Brendan Tully on for the second time to share how he’s built his search marketing agency to over 200 clients today.
It’s another episode full of nuggets and “low hanging fruit” opportunities to get quick results with local SEO, so I highly recommend giving it a listen if you’re an agency owner.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/tully-local-seo/
While a lot of people are going the route of outsourcing and virtual teams, Gareth went in the complete opposite direction.
In the last 4 years he's build up an 11 person team, all working from their office in the UK.
That provided him with a great source of cashflow, from all their clients, and a great source of talent to work on larger scale projects.
In this interview we'll be breaking down how you can build a team, and why you should consider building it in-house.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/gareth-bull/
With all the backlink and competitor analysis tools freely available today, it's insanely easy to get access to incredible amounts of data to help you with ranking.
But is this even useful? Why?
Jason Duke is the owner of a tool like this, and a self proclaimed data nerd that says it's all about the data.
In this interview we'll be breaking down why this matters, and how to leverage it for helping you rank.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/jason-duke/
For episode 42, I sat down with Holly Starks to talk about how to make money as an SEO spammer.
Specifically, how to use automation and low quality links to rank endless amounts of YouTube videos - fast.
A normal affiliate site will take you 6-12 months to rank. One of these YouTube videos? 5-30 days.
Holly's going to breakdown how you can do the same.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/holly-starks/
In this episode I sit down with Travis Causey and breakdown how he got his first 30 SEO clients.
Travis comes from a small town of only 35,000 people (according to the statistics).
And to top that off, almost all of his client come from his local area. That's how he and his business partner built it.
So if you think your local area is too small, or you come from the wrong place... this is going to show you that you may be under-estimating it.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/travis-causey/
If you’re running a consulting business, you need to know who John Logar is.
John helps consultants in several industries (inc. SEO) to grow their businesses and attract higher paying clients.
In this episode we’re discussing how SEOs can grow their agencies to 7 figures a year. Breaking down the “barriers” and changes you’ll have to go through to scale past each of the important stages of growth.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/john-logar/
In this special episode of the Lion Zeal Show, I'm sitting down with 6 SEOs to ask how they got their first clients.
Each interview is around 6-9 minutes long, and will be breaking down different strategies and approaches for getting $1,000+ per month SEO clients. Some ranging all the way up to 20k per month.
If you have no clients yet, or are struggling with consistently attracting them, this will help.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/first-client-stories/
If you've Google'd almost any SEO keyword ever, you've probably seen Nathan's website. It's a very popular SEO blog, with his top post containing over 1,000 blog comments.
But before that, Nathan was just another guy hustling to get clients paying him money.
In this episode we'll be breaking down how Nathan built his agency, created his now-famous blog, and some strategies he's using to grow his business today.
Including his thoughts on PBNs (hint: he's not a fan anymore).
Topics Covered: * Nathan's thoughts on PBNs and why he shifted away from them * How to create long form content for local businesses, that attracts easy links * The simplest way of getting clients as an SEO agency * The 3 biggest mistakes Nathan made while growing his agency * How to use content to build an audience and position yourself as an expert * Advice on diversifying your business so you're not relying on a single income source
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/nathan-gotch/
The one proven way I've found to consistently attract clients is to position yourself as an expert. When you're an expert, clients want to work with you, you're not begging and pleading with them to give you a chance.
That's what Gabriel has done, and will be sharing how in this episode.
Gabriel went from going broke with his first SEO agency, to becoming an internationally recognised expert in ASO (app store optimisation), to now crushing it again with SEO clients.
Here's how he did it.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/gabriel-machuret/
In this weeks episode, I sat down with Quinton Hamp to breakdown how he built his Amazon affiliate business up to 5 figures per month.
Quinton started this journey back in 2013, where after a lot of reading, he decided to fully commit. He quit his job and went all in with affiliate marketing. As a result, he's consistently earning 5 figures per month now from only 3 websites.
In this episode, we cover: * How to decide which products to promote * Sneaky keyword research strategies most people don't know about * How to build out Amazon affiliate sites * Where the heck do you get all that content from?
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/quinton-hamp/
For anyone that's used cold calling to generate or attempt to generate clients, you'll know how time consuming it is. And that, despite how successful you become with it, you're limited by the hours you have in the day.
The only way to scale it past that is by hiring people.
That's what Adam Colbert has done. Only quitting his corporate job 2 months ago, over the last year Adam went from struggling to kickstart his SEO agency, to hiring 4 commission-only sales people that hit the phones all day bringing in and closing leads.
In this episode, we cover: * How to hire rockstar sales people * How much to pay your sales team * Adam's biggest mistakes when first hiring for a sales position * How Adam generated 6 leads on the day of our interview, from cold email
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/adam-colbert/
For anyone still struggling with PBN sites getting de-indexed, or worried about the sustainability of their network, you need to take some advice from Nemanja.
Nemanja is the owner of PBNFox, who offer done-for-you private blog network setup services. And is one of the more careful people I know with how much attention they put into creating quality PBN sites.
In this episode, we cover: * The #1 reason PBN sites get de-indexed * Why your PBN needs a “reason” and how to create one * How to setup PBNs that fly under the radar of algorithms or competitors * How to create systems to simplify your work
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/nemanja-mirkovic/
This is an interesting episode for anyone struggling with credibility when selling SEO services. For example, if your prospect asks for a testimonial from a past client.
In this episode, I'm sitting down with Andrew Ludlam to hear how he wrote a top 15 best-selling book on Amazon - for his category, and then got it featured on numerous trusted, industry relevant websites to position himself as an expert.
Andrew started working on this after reading this idea from the Lion Zeal Mastermind, and used it to reach top 15 in his category, and get featured by multiple highly reputable sources.
In this episode, we cover: * How to write a Kindle book in less than a month * How to get magazines and associations to feature your book * How to get associations to promote you to their email list - for free * A step-by-step walkthrough of how to publish your own book
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/andrew-ludlam/
In this episode, I'm sitting down with Joe Troyer from DigitalTriggers, to talk about local PPL for SEOs.
Joe runs a local lead generation agency, where they build up local sites then sell the calls and enquiries on to local businesses.
In this episode, we cover: * How to price your leads * How to close PPL deals without even owning a website * The best type of industries to work in for SEO PPL * The 3 biggest mistakes most people make when doing PPL
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/joe-troyer/
In this episode, I'm talking with Jason Swenk about building and scaling a successful agency. Specifically, the 8 systems every agency needs to succeed.
Jason was an agency owner himself, building an 8 figure agency with a team of around 100 people, that worked with clients like AT&T, Coca Cola, and LegalZoom, before selling the agency for a profit. Today he advises marketing agencies around the world on how to fix their systems to scale their business successfully.
In this episode, we cover: * The 8 systems every agency needs to thrive * The 3 biggest mistakes most agencies make * How to get your agency ready to be acquired * How to 3-4x your earnings per client
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/jason-swenk/
For this weeks episode, I've brought on Brendan Tully to talk ecommerce SEO.
Brendan runs TheSearchEngineShop, a 5 person SEO agency in Australia, working with local and ecommerce clients. He's also built his own store in the past up to multiple 7 figures per year revenue.
In this episode, we cover: * The upsides and downsides of selling ecommerce SEO * How Brendan basically got "paid" to advertise himself * How to nail keyword selection without blindly guessing or waiting months to validate it * 9 Simple E-Commerce SEO Strategies For Ranking in 2016
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/brendan-tully/
For this weeks episode, I've brought on Matt Diggity to talk SEO and scaling.
Matt runs a popular SEO blog where he teaches a very systematic approach for ranking with PBNs, he owns the highest rated PBN link building service in the marketplace, and hosted the recent SEO Mastermind in Chiang Mai.
In this episode, we cover: * If Matt had to start over with just $1,000 - what would he do? * How to scale from $5,000 to 5 figures * How to build a team to scale your SEO business * How Matt ranks sites today
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/matt-diggity/
In this episode, I’ve brought on Rachel Mazza, an SEO and copywriter running a client consulting business.
What’s interesting about Rachel’s business, is that she’s focusing entirely on partnering with web design and graphic design agencies to send her clients. On top of that, she’s also running the business remotely while travelling the world full time.
In this episode, we cover: * How Rachel got her very first web design client (inc. the exact email) * How to setup a deal and price your services when dealing with agencies * How to hire great writers for your affiliate sites * How to get your very first client even if you have no experience or confidence
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/rachel-mazza/
In this episode of the Lion Zeal Show, I literally sat down with my good friend Diggy from MarketingInc, to chat about client SEO and building a marketing agency.
Diggy was my first coach when I got into SEO a few years ago, introducing me to the concept of PBNs through his first course. Today, he co-owns MarketingInc, with his business partner Glen (Viperchill), which has taught over 1200 people how they can build their own marketing agency.
He’s also sold his own agency for a decent (undisclosed) sum before, does a small amount of client consulting today, and has a number of online businesses today.
In this episode, we cover: * How Diggy went from working in a supermarket to building a successful business and amazing lifestyle he has today * How to get paying clients from cold emailing using a simple 5 minute video * The easiest way to get your first ever paying client * The biggest mistake Diggy has made and what he would do instead
And a whole lot more from questions we answered from live attendees.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/diggy/
In this episode of the Lion Zeal Show, I'm joined by Venchito Tampon, a 23 year old SEO agency owner from the Philippines.
Venchito is a SEO that's been featured on SearchEngineLand, Ahrefs blog, SearchEngineJournal, and a number of other blogs. He currently runs an agency in the Philippines dealing with clients all over the world, providing white hat link building.
In this episode, we cover: * How to get your first client from just 10-15 minutes per day of work * Advice for hiring Filipino virtual assistants (and treating them well) * How to get clients coming to you so you can demand higher fees * How to overcome the "obstacle" of being from a country like the Philippines when selling to western companies
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/venchito-tampon/
This episode features Gary Morris, a long term listener to the show and member of the community. Gary runs an SEO agency, sells software solutions, and has found success in leveraging his relationships for creating 6-7 figure deals for his clients.
In this episode, we cover: * How to build highly lucrative relationships * A simple deal you can put together for some clients, to potentially add an extra 6-7 figures per year in sales * 3 examples of deals Gary has put together * How to find great guest posting opportunities (and how this is connected to these deals)
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/gary-morris/
In this episode, I sit down with Jonathan Kiekbusch from PBNButler to talk SEO services, agency building, and creating a sustainable SEO business.
In this episode, we cover: * How to make your clients never want to leave * How to get your first client within the next 2 weeks * How to put together a team and hire for technical roles like developers * How Jonathan started his SEO business with zero background or experience with it
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/jonathan-pbnbutler/
In this weeks episode, we're sitting down with Andrew Raso, a 27 year old SEO from Sydney. Over the last 4 years, Andrew and his business partner Mez, have built up an 80 person search marketing agency, running out of offices in Sydney, Melbourne, San Diego, and Belgrade.
In this episode, we cover: * The best thing you can do if you're just starting out on your own * How to hire rockstar sales people for your agency * The biggest mistake Andrew has made while scaling his agency * How to know when it's the right time
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/andrew-raso/
For episode 22, I've brought on Michael Milas to chat PBNs, clients, and lead generation. Mike is a lead gen SEO, with some interesting thoughts and strategies for building high quality private blog networks.
In this episode, we cover: * Where to buy high quality domains for your PBN, what to look for, and how much to pay * A content and onpage SEO trick to increase the effectiveness of your PBN links * How Mike chooses niches to enter for lead gen * How to create systems for easily managing your PBN and SEO
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/michael-milas/
For episode 21, I've brought on Matt Stack and Mark Luckenbaugh from LocalClientTakeover, to have a chat about SEO and agency building.
LocalClientTakeover is a Facebook group with over 8,000 members, helping each other build and scale local marketing agencies. They've also got some awesome training, and offer full white label services through their Web20Ranker brand.
In this episode, we cover: * Platonic bathing, Matt's original AOL screen name, and other random side topics inc. Mark's mom walking into his office mid-interview * How to make your clients love you and massively increase your retention rate * The story of how LCT started, how Matt and Mark became partners, and how Web20Ranker came to be * The differences between an in person team and hiring virtual assistants * What Mark and Matt would do today if they had to start over * The latest Google update and Mark's thoughts and data on it
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/localclienttakeover/
In this weeks episode, I've brought on Edwin Twigt to talk about building a foreign SEO agency.
I recently met Edwin for the first time, while he was visiting Saigon. He ended up sharing some interest things he's working on with client SEO in the Netherlands, so I thought it would be fun to bring him on the show.
In this episode, we cover: * How does SEO differ in the Netherlands to other countries * How to build a foreign PBN * The most lucrative and valuable clients to target for faster growth * Using list building and email marketing to get SEO clients
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/edwin-twigt/
For episode 19 of the Lion Zeal Show, I've brought on David Longacre. So David isn't a "guru", he's just another SEO that's putting in the hours and trying to grow his business.
In this episode, we get into some of his recent successes, specifically, how he's added 4 new clients of $1,000+ per month, within the last 2 weeks only.
You'll learn:
- A simple step by step process for acquiring clients
- The cold email template David uses to get a 7-10% response rate
- How to find businesses that are highly likely to pay multiple 4 figures per month
- The reason David is now managing to find clients easily, compared to before
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/david-longacre/
For episode 18, I sat down with Patrick Babakhanian from SERPchampion, to have a good all round discussion on PBNs and ranking in 2016.
Patrick has been in this industry for years, was one of the first members to join the Lion Zeal Mastermind, and has a very popular SEO service business selling PBN domains, hosting, content writing, Web 2.0s, and more.
Some of the topics we get into include:
- How to setup PBN sites so they pass manual reviews
- The story behind SERPchampion, and how Patrick built it up
- How Patrick ranks sites today
- How to check the quality of a domain in 5 minutes or less
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/patrick-serpchampion/
For episode 17, I've brought on a longtime member of the community, Matt Van Dyck. Matt's been building sites for fun since he was 15, and went from freelancing on Fiverr, to closing $1,000+ per month clients on SEO services.
In this episode we cover:
- The big shift Matt had to take him from 4-5k/m and working 8-12 hours per day, to 17k/m and having more free time than ever
- The 2 biggest mistakes Matt has made with his agency
- A step by step walkthrough of lumpy mail client acquisition
- The only thing you should focus on if you want to scale your agency
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/matt-van-dyck/
I can't think of anyone more qualified to talk about selling websites than Justin. Justin is a co-founder and owner of EmpireFlippers, an Inc. 5000 company that helps connect buyers and sellers of website together. Whether that's $10,000 deals or $1,000,000.
For this episode, I asked Justin for his advice on selling affiliate sites. He's already helped sell numerous affiliate sites for 5 - 6 (7?) figure sums, so it was a great discussion.
You'll learn: * Can you sell your sites ranked with PBNs? And how it works * How to build your SEO agency in the most "sellable" way * How to sell your site and what you need to think about * How to buy sites to invest your excess cashflow
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/justin-cooke/
For episode 15 of the Lion Zeal Show, I've brought on my friend Jesse Hanley to talk about the unorthodox approach he's taken to building his SEO agency.
Rather than using outreach methods such as cold emailing or direct mail, he's relied on one simple but under-utilised strategy to generate all his leads for free.
In this episode you'll learn: * How Jesse got his first ever SEO client for $5,000/month * How to manage your agency while travelling full time * How to get clients without outreach, paid traffic, or being an "internet guru" * 2 simple steps to getting your first client
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/jesse-hanley/
It's that time of the week again. For this episode, #14, I've brought on Kyle Campbell to talk about how he's generated over $1,000,000 from foreign affiliate SEO.
Kyle gained a lot of publicity in our community around a year ago, under the pen name "Dan Anderson". Back then he was showing off strategies to the Source-Wave community, of how he was pulling in around $100,000 per month.
In this interview, you'll learn:
- How Kyle shifted from earning $3,000 per month to $30,000 per month
- How to choose offers and niches to enter
- The only countries worth entering as an affiliate SEO
- How to get dirt cheap PBN content for foreign markets
- And more....
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/kyle-campbell/
In this weeks episode, I've brought on Cary Blackburn to talk about how he's built up his SEO agency to around $40,000 per month. What's also interesting is that Cary isn't just running this from his basement, he has a real office with employees that handle the operations.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/cary-blackburn/
For week 12's episode, I've brought on my good friend Kurt Phillip to discuss his SEO business today. Kurt wrote a post for Lion Zeal around a year ago, showing how he added an extra $10,000/month to his SEO agency. Since then he's quit the client game and partnered with Matt Diggity to build an affiliate SEO company.
In this episode you'll learn: * The first thing Kurt does to increase the earnings of an affiliate site by 50-100% * A guaranteed approach to increase the revenue of your affiliate sites (often by 2-3 or more) * Why Kurt quit client SEO to become an affiliate * How Kurt became business partners with Matt Diggity (and how you can too)
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/kurt-phillip/
In this weeks episode, you're going to learn how Yashar Ghaffarloo is making money from SEO. Specifically:
- The sneaky strategies he's using to acquire links from mutli-national corporations
- How he got started in SEO
- How he built and manages a 10,000 site PBN
- How to build large scale authority sites
And a whole lot more, this interview is action packed full of value.
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/yashar/
For episode 10, I’ve brought on Kevin Graham to talk about PBN hosting and Amazon affiliate SEO.
You’ll learn:
- How to build out Amazon affiliate sites
- How to make $2,000+/m from a single Amazon affiliate site
- Where to host your PBN
- How to rank affiliate sites
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/kevin-graham/
For episode 9 of the Lion Zeal Show, I’ve brought on Ryan Stewart as the guest to answer the question everyones been asking…
“How is this guy being featured everywhere?”
If you don’t know who Ryan is, he’s a client SEO guy living out in Miami, who’s doing fascinating things with building his personal brand and using inbound marketing to build huge demand for his services.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- What is the difference between $500-$1,000/m clients and $5,000-$10,000/m clients?
- The different team members required to run an agency like Ryan’s
- How to build a personal brand to attract clients to you
- How to churn great content out for yourself or your clients
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/ryan-stewart/
For episode 8 of the Lion Zeal Show, I’ve brought on Rob Atkinson to discuss what he’s doing with Amazon affiliate SEO. He’s currently bringing in over $15,000 per month profit from his affiliate business, and running this from his laptop in Chiang Mai.
Here’s what you’re going to learn in this episode:
- The simplest and most reliable tool for keyword research
- The highest converting page element for driving Amazon clicks
- The “fake authority” site structure Rob uses to consistently rank
- Why you should be in Chiang Mai if you’re an SEO
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/rob-atkinson/
This week I’ve brought on Dino Gomez who is crushing it with his 6 year old SEO agency.
We’re talking client SEO, and get into some interesting discussions about corporate clients.
Here’s a few things you’ll learn from this episode:
- Dino’s 2 favourite strategies for getting your first client
- How to avoid having your clients steal away all your time
- How to use PBNs for corporate clients (Yes, you can use them still)
- The most effective strategies Dino uses to get most of his clients
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/dino-gomez/
In episode 6 of the Lion Zeal Show, I’ve brought on Charles Floate as a guest to talk blackhat SEO and affiliate marketing.
Then he dropped the bomb that he actually uses white hat SEO for most of his sites (teaser).
In this episode you’ll learn:
- Why Charles uses white hat link building despite owning a PBN
- How to get started with affiliate SEO
- How to get up to 50% commissions on physical products as an affiliate
- How to rank without all the BS
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/charles-floate/
This episode, I’ve brought on my good friend Stinus to talk about what he’s doing with affiliate SEO. Unlike the last guests, Stinus didn’t enjoy client SEO, so he quit and focused entirely on affiliate marketing – and it paid off.
In this weeks episode, you’ll learn:
- The biggest risk Stinus took, and how it directly influenced his success today
- Is ranking in different countries different to the US/UK?
- How to find affiliate offers to promote on your website
- What types of keywords you should target
- How to build a real business that uses SEO as simply a traffic source
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/stinus/
In episode 4 of the Lion Zeal Show, I’ve interviewed Lior Ohayon on how he’s simplifying outreach with his new software, and how he closes clients from UpWork for upwards of $1,500/m.
You’re going to see…
- How to reframe your services on freelancing sites to avoid using $20 tripwires, and go straight for $1,500+/m deals
- A new tool to automate your follow up and speed up your prospecting and outreach
- What to put in your outreach messages when trying to sell SEO services
- How to run your business smoothly while you travel
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/lior-ohayon/
In episode 3 of the Lion Zeal Show, I’ve interviewed my good friend Daniel on how he went from struggling to sell SEO services, to having a waiting list of clients willing to pay him over $100,000.
You’re going to see…
- Why Daniel quit selling SEO and focused on just "one thing"
- How to do retargeting to drive sales, not just get brand attention
- How much work it takes (you may not be expecting this answer)
- How Daniel increased his minimum fee to $10,000 and has a waiting list of 10+ clients happy to pay it
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/daniel-retargeting/
In episode 2 of the Lion Zeal Show, I’ve interviewed Dan on how he’s making over £50,000/m (GBP) from selling whitehat SEO services to businesses in his local area.
You’re going to see…
- How to deliver white hat SEO to your clients
- What Dan’s only service is and how that took him from 10k/m to 50k/m
- Why you may want to consider white hat SEO if you want bigger clients
- How to manage an agency of this size
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/white-hat-dan/
In the first episode of the Lion Zeal Show, I’ve interviewed my friend Armando on how he makes over $35,000 per month from SEO clients.
He even does this without taking on recurring clients anymore.
You’re going to see…
- The work life and team behind running a client business pulling these numbers
- The difference between earning 10k/m and 30k/m
- How to make money without taking on recurring clients
- And basically a behind the scenes look at someone running a successful SEO agency
Watch the video interview and get the transcription here:
https://lionzeal.com/podcast/armando-client-seo/