Marketing Speak

Growth hacking, it's one of those buzzwords that you love to hate. Essentially, I think of it as marketing but with no budget. Maybe I'm going to get corrected for my misconceptions, but maybe not. We'll see. Our guest is infamous growth hacker, Vin Clancy. He went from being on welfare in the UK to launching two online magazines that got over twenty million-page views in their first two years with zero ad spend. He has since then won Best Speaker at South by Southwest V2V for his growth hacking talk. Finished a 100-day world tour, made six figures on his debut, Growth Hacking book, created one of the biggest marketing communities on Facebook and moved to LA where he teaches companies how to rapidly grow audiences and businesses.

There are millions of consultants, coaches and professional service owners who love their work and yet they struggle. All they want is a consistent flow of great clients and yet that alludes them. There is a solution. It’s a simple, repeatable client-getting system that best fits you and your strengths. Our guest who will teach this to you is Dov Gordon. Dov is the Founder of The Alchemist Entrepreneur. He’s an expert at helping companies attain a consistent flow of their ideal clients. 

Sometimes it's complex to fix something once you took one step into the wrong direction. With technical SEO, one wrong move could cost a lot and get a lot of your work down the drain. SEO expert Bartosz Góralewicz has been helping clients avoid that mistake since 2011 when he founded Elephate with his friend, Wojciech Mazur. Together, they’ve been assisting clients with SEO and content marketing services by helping them understand their market and competitors, making the best data-driven decision, and providing a better value for users and search engines. Bartosz specifically tackled the key problem of JavaScript SEO or JavaScript in general and some potential issues when you start using JavaScript. He also touches on biohacking, mobile-first indexing, pre-rendering, Chrome 59 which is the first headless Chrome, and many other stuff you should check into if you want to get ahead in the SEO game.

Here to explore the fascinating complexity of SEO with me is John Doherty, the founder of Credo, which makes it easy to find a great SEO or marketer. John has helped over 1500 business find a quality digital marketing provider, and has also personally consulted on SEO with some of the largest websites online, including Zillow. While we usually deal with smaller websites, this episode will dive deep into technical SEO for large websites of a million pages or more.

The rate of available technology gets faster and faster as time goes on. In fact, in as little as 30 years, we may reach the point of singularity, when computers and technology are so much smarter than us that all of the known laws of evolution break down. Whether you find this fascinating or frightening, you’ll love this conversation with Eric Enge. While we’ll dig into the possibilities for the future, we’ll also explore what these mean for us today, and how we can stay on top of SEO and organic Google rankings. Find Out More About Eric Here: Eric Enge at Stone Temple@stonetemple on TwitterEric Enge on LinkedInEric Enge on YouTubeStone Temple Consultingeenge@stonetemple.com In This Episode: [01:04] - Stephan and Eric talk about how long they’ve known each other, and how they first met. [03:26] - What comes to Rand’s mind as something that isn’t common knowledge, or about which there’s a lot of misinformation? [07:54] - Stephan and Eric take a moment to differentiate machine learning versus AI for listeners who may not be familiar with the terms. [11:27] - AI doesn’t necessarily mean “artificial intelligence,” Stephan explains. [14:16] - The rate of adoption is increasing in the same way as the rate of the available technology, we learn. [16:04] - Does Eric think that SEO will be a very different ballgame in five years? [18:51] - Eric explains that Hummingbird was Google’s first foray into understanding natural language, and explains RankBrain and what it does. [25:35] - We hear about Eric’s studies to analyze the before-and-after results of RankBrain. [29:49] - Stephan and Eric talk about why it’s difficult for Google to deal with queries that it’s never seen before. [31:06] - Eric talks about some other studies he’s done analyzing various aspects of Google. [35:21] - How does this study differ from other studies on the same subject of featured snippets? [40:15] - We hear about why Google invests so much energy into featured snippets. [42:36] - Eric discusses his in-depth Digital Personal Assistant study and reveals that Google was the smartest. [46:27] - Voice search is part of voice, Eric explains, but there are also voice commands that aren’t searches. [50:30] - Eric talks about a set of steps that you can go through to get featured snippets. [52:29] - We switch topics completely, with Eric explaining how he went from multiple lead-gen businesses to running an agency. [55:16] - Is Eric able to work on the sites he’s been talking about, or is he too busy speaking at conferences and writing? [57:57] - Eric talks about how he balances his time at work, and how his management team functions in that process. [59:56] - Does Eric have any assessments that he uses when he’s onboarding or considering people? [65:50] - Eric lists the ways that listeners can learn more or get in touch with him. Links and Resources: Eric Enge at Stone Temple @stonetemple on Twitter Eric Enge on LinkedIn Eric Enge on YouTube Stone Temple Consulting eenge@stonetemple.com The Art of SEO by Eric Enge, Stephan Spencer, et al. Rand Fishkin Jessie Stricchiola The Law of Accelerated Returns Hummingbird RankBrain How to Earn Google Featured Snippets for Mobile: Large-scale Study from SEMrush STAT Search Analytics Whitepaper: How to Get More Featured Snippets Digital Personal Assistant study from Stone Temple Your Personal AI by John Smart StrengthsFinder 7Geese DISC Profile Values Determination Fascinate Test Kolbe Index

Given my client list, I operate strictly in the realm of white hat SEO. And it works incredibly well, with fantastic ROI. That said, black hat and grey hat SEOs have incredibly interesting and often valuable insights to share. Matt Diggity points out that whether you’re white hat, grey hat, or black hat is all in the eye of the beholder. Today, Matt and Stephan share their thoughts on the debate between white hats and black hats in the SEO industry. Find Out More About Matt Here: Diggity Marketing@mattdiggityseo on TwitterMatt Diggity on YouTubeMatt Diggity on LinkedIn In This Episode: [01:01] - The conversation starts off in an unusual way: with a discussion of Matt’s last name. “Diggity” is a pen name, he explains, and talks about where he came up with it. [02:45] - Matt talks about how he got to know Alex Becker. [04:05] - We learn that Matt considers white hat, black hat, and grey hat to be all in the eye of the beholder. He also describes his history in black hat, grey hat, and white hat SEO. [07:41] - Is Matt considered a super-affiliate? [11:21] - Matt talks about whether he still does spun content. He then walks listeners through what spun content is and how it works. [13:31] - We learn about what works (and doesn’t work) with PBNs, as well as what PBNs are. [18:38] - Matt explains what dropcatch is. [21:41] - We hear Matt’s thoughts on not changing all the Whois information at once. [23:31] - How big of a team does Matt have on the grey hat side? [24:58] - Matt talks about what he does if a network or important site gets taken down, and explores the disavow process. [29:58] - We hear more about Matt’s use of Pitchbox. [33:48] - Matt has only had one manual action in his life, but tells the story of someone else who has always been able to recover from manual penalties. [35:25] - What does Matt do when he’s trying to get a high-trust link? [39:59] - Matt and Stephan share their thoughts on the debate between white hats and black hats in the SEO industry. [43:04] - Matt defines negative SEO and talks about how it functions. [47:54] - There’s a lot of bad stuff that goes on, Matt points out, and is hesitant to go into details in case some unscrupulous listeners might get bad ideas. [49:03] - What are the techniques Matt uses for obscuring his footprint to Google? [52:14] - Matt asserts that PBNs make a lot of sense in the beginning of a website. [53:57] - Where can people learn more about Matt, or learn from him? Links and Resources: Diggity Marketing @mattdiggityseo on Twitter Matt Diggity on YouTube Matt Diggity on LinkedIn Affiliate Lab LeadSpring Authority Builders Co. Chiang Mai SEO Conference The Lab The Search Initiative Alex Becker Ed Dale Zac Johnson on Marketing Speak John Chow on Marketing Speak Affiliate World Asia Greg Davis on Marketing Speak PBNs Drop catching SnapNames DomainTools Pitchbox GMass Link Research Tools

Today’s guest is Mikael Yang, the cofounder and CEO of ManyChat. This is the leading Messenger marketing platform, with over 250,000 businesses in over 200 countries using its services. (I’m proud to add that I’m one of its happy users, as well.) Mikael will take a deep dive into marketing through Facebook Messenger. He’ll explain why it’s such a valuable marketing avenue and how best to take advantage of this opportunity to streamline communication with customers. Find Out More About Mikael Here: Mikael Yang on LinkedIn Mikael Yang on Facebook @mikedyang on Twitter ManyChat In This Episode: [01:25] - What is it about the Messenger platform that makes it so ideal for marketing? [06:52] - Email as an industry is still growing despite all the negative decisions on how the system would work, Mikael points out. [07:31] - Mikael talks about why we aren’t seeing the same sort of marketing on WhatsApp as on Messenger. [09:39] - We learn about why Messenger is a better marketing platform than SMS or texting. [12:22] - What are some best practices, and some mistakes to avoid, if you want to scale and automate Messenger marketing? [14:38] - Mikael talks about what he would say to naysayers who would say that Messenger will close down in a matter of time. [16:55] - We hear about why SnapChat is struggling when Messenger isn’t having any of those sorts of problems. [19:29] - Mikael circles back to talking about Messenger marketing best practices. [21:21] - What are some of the big mistakes that Mikael sees with people who are using ManyChat? [26:21] - Stephan remembers hearing from DigitalMarketer in 2016 about their uses of ManyChat. [28:22] - How did Mikael end up creating ManyChat? [31:33] - Mikael talks about what, exactly, a “bot” is in terms of his industry (as opposed to SEO, for example). [33:18] - We hear about why someone might want to create a bot for their Facebook page rather than having a team of people manning it 24/7. [36:54] - Mikael talks more about referral programs. [39:47] - We learn more about how Mikael is integrating AI, or artificial intelligence, into the ManyChat platform. [42:42] - Are there any cool AI things coming up on Mikael’s roadmap? [46:41] - Mikael talks about what the differentiator is that would push a marketer to explore using Facebook Messenger with ManyChat. [48:57] - Where can people go to try out ManyChat? Links and Resources: Mikael Yang on LinkedIn Mikael Yang on Facebook @mikedyang on Twitter ManyChat Facebook Messenger WhatsApp SnapChat DigitalMarketer Frank Kern Roland Frasier on Marketing Speak Molly Pittman on Marketing Speak Telegram Xiaoice

Whether you have a website or landing page or are about to build one, now is the best time to start optimizing for conversions. Data scientist and conversion rate expert Brian Massey is here to talk about the latest tools and methods to turn your landing page into a money making machine. Thanks to new tools, apps, and computing power, there is no excuse not to optimize your website. These tools can help you truly understand the user experience and how to get the outcomes that you desire. We talk about new tools, smart tactics, and how data driven design is the future of digital marketing. Find Out More About Brian Here: Conversion SciencesBrian Massey on LinkedIn@bmassey on TwitterBrian Massey on FacebookYour Customer Creation Equation In This Episode: [01:29] How Brian began in the conversion world. He is a computer programmer by training, but he was drawn to sales. [02:06] He got involved with semiconductor sales after college. He then moved to coding and started his own business in the 90s. [02:33] This was a time when he worked with Internet graphics with a dial-up connection. [02:47] He then started using his own analytics package to help companies build out their lead generation platforms. [03:06] In 2006, Brian saw the Wizard Academy presentation. For him, this put language to conversion optimization. [03:45] With Brian's varied background as a computer programmer, corporate salesperson, corporate marketer, and entrepreneur, he knew being a conversion scientist was right for him. [04:07] Why Brian wears the lab coat? He has always been a science geek and loved Bill Nye the Science Guy. [04:40] He wanted to introduce some kitsch and some camp. Introducing science into his work added fun.   [05:27] How we need to stand out and be remarkable in the real world and the online world.work makes it fun. [05:54] The worst mistake happening these days with conversion optimization. Moore's law of doubling transistors every year. We have amazing tools from the cloud to mobile. It's easier now than ever to test. [07:50] When data was hard to collect in was expensive. Then assumptions had to be made. [08:20] Now data can be discovered for A/B testing to usability. [08:48] People who are still using the old “Mad Men” design process are in trouble. [09:35] How agencies have the option of creating data based designs based on real user based data and tool sets. [10:11] A well executed strategy for using your data. [10:35] A Landing page example. The page needs to keep the promise that was made and get the visitor to do something. [11:24] At the beginning, we might take a guess. Then we can look at popular email subject lines, PPC ads, and data that has been converting. [12:39] Also check out mobile visitors click to call. [12:50] The copywriter needs to understand the visitors and build the personas and get the message right. [13:08] Run your images and headlines through something like Usabilityhub. [14:23] Use eye tracking studies like Sticky.ai to make sure that your users are actually looking at what you want them to look at. [15:06] You can also use heat map reports and watch session recordings. Also run analytics and implement A/B traffic testing. [16:01] Brian uses these interim tools because they have six months to deliver. They do free unlimited user testing. [16:51] At first, look at other sources of data that aren't part of the landing page. Then move on to monitoring data on the landing page. [17:02] Usability tools like Helio are great for mockups. [17:14] You can do a five-minute test, a quick test, or a question test. These services provide the panels. It's not as good as A/B testing, but it will provide data. [18:42] UserTesting.com is also an amazing tool. [19:20] Once you have your first idea then you can turn to Crazy Egg for heat map reports or inspectlet for session recordings or even Hotjar. [19:55] Run Adobe Analytics or Google Analytics underneath the site. [19:58] Then you can pick up Visual Website Optimizer or Optimizely or Omniconvert or convert.com or Google Optimize. [20:31] Sticky.ai uses the camera to see how people are interacting with your web pages. [22:29] With modern tools you can see what information spikes when people are watching your video. This gives you cues as to whether you should place the information on the top or not. [23:22] Facebook can also bring people to ads that are very much like your prospects and customers. You can also see which images and words get clicked through the most. [24:08] This data can eliminate poor options. [26:03] Optimizing a website and mobile versus desktop. Get data from a landing page, and if it's not performing well, check to see if people can see the call to action. You can use something like Hotjar to find out when people are scrolling off of the page. [27:23] You can check the pricing page with a heat map from Crazy Ggg.This tells you where people click and where their mouse is moved. This will show you what features they are interested in and where you should put them on the page. [28:25] Narrowing it down to the ideas that are most likely to move the needle. Real traffic A/B testing is best for this. [28:53] Now put the test on Usabilityhub. [29:30] Once you have an idea of the data then you can have the designer create a page. Once again, it's time for further testing. [30:01] It's an iterative process that expands the testing and development cycle. [30:31] Being underwater is the part of the page that is actually not being seen. [32:53] Visual Website Optimizer and Optimizely we are the most common tools that Brian uses. He also uses Sentient for AI. [35:44] Creating an A/B test for a submit button on a lead generation page. Testing images, headlines, and buttons. Address the different kinds of visitors that will visit the page. Action oriented or methodical. [37:51] Are any of these words being tested in ads? Narrow it down to four different words. Then open a tool like Visual Optimizer. [38:56] The test needs to run to statistical significance. Turn off loser tests. [40:02] Testing to statistical significance. Configure the tool correctly using a statistical significance calculator. The transactions determine significance. [42:28] Surprising tests that Brian has discovered. Carousels work against conversions. They tested a client requested carousel and it had over a 30% lift. [43:53] Beautiful pages don't always win against ugly. [44:48] Digital marketers need to use these tools. You can't guess your way to user data anymore. [47:55] Best takeaways from the course. Setting up the digital lab. Choosing tools and free plugins. How the design process has changed and understanding analytics. User testing. Landing page best practices. Choosing copy ,headlines, and images through to A/B testing. [49:34] You can be a scientist and earn your lab coat. It will fundamentally change your success as a digital marketer. Links and Resources: Conversion Sciences Brian Massey on LinkedIn @bmassey on Twitter Brian Massey on Facebook Your Customer Creation Equation The Wizard Academy Gordon Moore - Moore's Law Usabilityhub Bill Nye Clickable Numbers Sticky.ai Helio UserTesting.com Crazy Egg Inspectlet Hotjar Adobe Analytics Google Analytics Visual Website Optimizer Optimizely Omniconvert Convert.com Google Optimize Conversion Science Graphic Sentient Visual Website Optimizer Traffic Estimator ABTestGuide.com Udemy Landing Page Experiment Conversion Optimization Course (FREE CRO Training) Link to the Paid Course (Special Code: Marketing Speak) Ghostery

If you’re ready to scale your e-commerce business all the way up to eight figures, this conversation with Gary Nealon is perfect for you! Gary is a serial entrepreneur who founded two multi-million dollar businesses, one of which landed on the Inc. 5000 list five years in a row. Seeing inefficiencies in other companies convinced him that he could do it himself, so he liquidated everything he had and bought a business in the dollar store niche. In our conversation, you’ll learn about his journey from bankruptcy all the way to $40 million in revenue. Find Out More About Gary Here: Gary NealonGary Nealon on LinkedInGary Nealon on TwitterGary Nealon on Facebook In This Episode: [01:13] - Gary starts off the conversation by talking about how he got to where he is now, and how he ended up in a cabinet business. [03:41] - Is Gary still involved with the cabinet business? [04:18] - We hear about Gary’s experience with being on the Inc. 5000 list, what the list has brought him, and what inspired him to apply. [06:25] - Why did Gary use Craigslist as a primary marketing vehicle in the early days of his business? [08:02] - Gary talks about what inspired him to teach and coach others instead of just starting another business of his own. [10:49] - We hear Gary’s thoughts on content, and a way to get additional eyeballs on your content that you usually wouldn’t get. [14:22] - Gary discusses how he gets people who are going to offer lots of link equity to notice the content pieces he’s been talking about. [17:02] - How does Gary plan out content for the future? [18:09] - Gary talks about his VA team, how he built it up, how he trains his VAs, and more. [22:20] - Stephan talks about the 3 Lists to Freedom that Chris Ducker came up with. [25:30] - We hear about Gary’s Amazon presence, and how he feels about the site. [29:19] - Is Gary’s traffic from Facebook all from paid ads, or is some of it organic? [32:06] - Gary digs deeper into the Facebook communities he has been talking about. [34:33] - Stephan brings up the topic of chatbots, and Gary shares his experience with them. [37:09] - Gary doesn’t use 30-day challenges, but he does use contests successfully, he explains. [39:49] - Has Gary used a particular technology platform for doing contests, or is he creating them internally? [42:06] - We hear about what inspired Gary to write his book, Notes to a Young Entrepreneur. [45:12] - Gary speaks at both schools and conferences to get the message out. [47:21] - Does Gary have one last nugget of wisdom to share with listeners that they can implement right away? [49:09] - Gary talks about where listeners can find him to work with him or learn more about what he does. Links and Resources: Gary Nealon Gary Nealon on LinkedIn Gary Nealon on Twitter Gary Nealon on Facebook Notes to a Young Entrepreneur by Gary Nealon Inc. 5000 Craigslist Todd Herman 90 Day Year Marcus Sheridan on Marketing Speak They Ask You Answer by Marcus Sheridan OnlineJobs.ph 3 Lists to Freedom Chris Ducker Sidekicks Priority VA Trivinia Barber on the Optimized Geek Amazon Rafflecopter Streamline CRM Infusionsoft B1G1

John Jantsch is a marketing consultant, speaker, and author of many fantastic books including Duct Tape Marketing, Duct Tape Selling, The Commitment Engine, and The Referral Engine. He’s also the founder of the Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network. John is here today to talk about his marketing system, his best strategies, and how to apply them in your own businesses. Chances are you’ll expand your creativity and find ideas that will make you stand out from the crowd. Find Out More About John Here: John JantschDuct Tape MarketingJohn Jantsch on TwitterJohn Jantsch on LinkedInJohn Jantsch on FacebookDuct Tape Marketing on FacebookDuct Tape Marketing Consultant Network In This Episode: [01:07] - John talks about the origin story of Duct Tape Marketing. [03:20] - Stephan shares a story about an expression he learned in New Zealand, which relates to the idea of duct tape. [04:19] - What is the Duct Tape Marketing System? [07:17] - A good strategy is just as much about what not to do as about what to do, John points out. [09:33] - David talks about how long he has been blogging, and how many blog posts he has written. [12:51] - We hear some of David’s thoughts on content forms other than writing, such as video. He also mentions his Ultimate Guide to Local Marketing. [15:03] - David links what he has been saying into the retention phase of the customer journey. [17:28] - Does David find that when he has a big download like a long ebook, do people consume them typically? [20:28] - A thank-you page is a great place to show your branding and differentiation, David points out. [22:39] - After strategy and content, what’s next in the process? [25:26] - David talks about an example of creating content for a stage that content isn’t usually created for. [28:31] - For years, David read books on architecture, math, and other subjects seemingly unrelated to his field. He explains why. [30:28] - What does a referral program look like, and how could listeners apply this in their own business? [33:31] - David offers an example of what he has been talking about, and what the result was. [35:03] - Does David have a referral program within his own business? [36:38] - We hear about David’s process for link building. [39:13] - Stephan responds to what David has been saying, and recommends a previous episode with Greg Gifford for listeners interested in learning more about link building. [39:34] - Stephan and David talk about guest-post pitches. [43:49] - How can someone learn more about David or work with him or his organization? Links and Resources: John Jantsch Duct Tape Marketing John Jantsch on Twitter John Jantsch on LinkedIn John Jantsch on Facebook Duct Tape Marketing on Facebook Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch Duct Tape Selling by John Jantsch The Commitment Engine by John Jantsch The Referral Engine by John Jantsch The Ultimate Guide to Local Marketing A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander Greg Gifford on Marketing Speak