Clint has been an SEO expert since 2009 and is the owner of Digitaleer, RankGear, and a partner in the SIA.
He educates his audience on current SEO news, strategies, and topics through his podcast, SEO This Week, and co-hosts SEO Fight Club. His agency has been retained by numerous clients, including
Over The Top SEO, Cannon Companies, WhiteSands Treatment Centers, YellowPages.com, and others.
Clint is often quoted as an expert in major SEO industry publications and digital marketing websites.
Knowledge Bombs
19:06 How to get No. 1 Ranking on Google
Clint suggests doing the least amount of work for maximum benefit by testing individual parts of a plan to see which ones actually push the needle.
According to him, testing is the key to figuring out which parts of a plan actually push the needle. He calls this approach “common sense” and notes that it has also been coined “minimum viable SEO” by others.
22:31 How did Clint start on SEO
Clint shares his journey and insights on how to build a successful SEO agency. He learned SEO from online communities and forums like Black Hat and Blue Hat SEO. Clint advises that testing is key and warns against blindly following the industry “Talking Heads.” He also recommends establishing relationships with experts like Jerry West for specific areas of SEO, such as PBNs.
Clint started Digital Air as his retirement plan, originally as Olympia SEO, and built it up to a successful agency by specializing in niche industries and providing results-driven solutions.
30:40 Clint’s SEO specialization
Clint is a seasoned SEO strategist who specializes in local businesses. He currently works as the director of SEO strategy for Franchise Rocket, where they deal exclusively with franchises.
Clint advises that niching down allows for a better understanding of the nuances in different niches and keywords. By applying the same strategy across various niches, he can learn more about SEO and what drives search engines. He emphasizes that every niche and keyword has different rules, and by applying the hardest niches to the easier ones, he can do less work while achieving better results.
32:02 What does Clint think of the new Sprint model SEO
Clint deals with franchises, focusing on local SEO. According to him, the advantage of not niching down is that it allows you to apply the hardest niches to the easy ones, making it easier to find out what moves a needle in search engines. However, he warns that if you don’t have a consistent client plan, your business model will not work.
33:02 How to target potential clients
Clint suggests that referrals, podcasts, and video shows are great methods for generating clients. He shares his experience with ranking at the top across 1500 cities for City SEO, but the leads he received were poor.
Instead, he advises putting oneself out there, like doing interviews, to attract potential clients. He also recommends pivoting away from SEO-specific tactics and trying something new, citing Terry Samuels as an example who successfully turned web design clients into SEO clients.
34:36 On-page optimization
Clint suggests pivoting from relying solely on SEO for client generation and instead putting oneself out there through interviews, podcasts, and video shows. By doing so, Clint believes that good leads will come in through referrals and networking, making it easier to establish trust with potential clients. This approach is more effective than relying on ranking for specific SEO keywords.
35:15 Does Clint have a team?
Clint oversees Franchise Rocket’s biggest team as Director of Operations for SEO. He emphasizes the importance of a good project manager and specialists for each task to make scaling easier. On-page SEO specialists are the hardest hires, and training is necessary for them to do the job right.
37:31 How far apart should the client be
As an SEO expert, Clint believes in maintaining a certain distance between clients to avoid unfair competition. He explains that in franchises, the competition is further narrowed down to zip codes. He ensures that he targets different parts of a market when he has multiple franchisees in one area. Clit is also mindful of taking only one client per niche in a particular city to avoid overlapping.
38:48 What tools should agencies invest in?
Clint suggests some tools that could help in scaling up a business. He recommends using SEMrush and Sitebulb for their built-in audit tools and premium features at affordable prices. He also suggests getting Quora and Page Optimizer Pro for new employees. He believes that SEMrush is currently the leading tool for scaling up a business.
29:51 Clint’s approach to pricing and building
Clint learned early on that charging less than $750 for SEO work wouldn’t be profitable. This was before backlinks became more expensive, with the average price now around $200 for an Outreach link. He also notes that websites are becoming more aware of the value of backlinks and are asking for more money.
Clint’s minimum charge for SEO work is now $1500, which is based on the client’s location and the level of competition for their target keywords. This pricing ensures profitability for Clint and allows him to provide quality SEO services to his clients.
41:20 Scale of pricing level
Clint shares his approach to pricing SEO services in a conversation. He mentions that he charges a minimum of $1,500 and prices go up depending on the market and competition.
For instance, he charges $2,000 to $5,000 for personal injury attorney keywords, which take up to a year to rank.
Clint also advises against using a pricing table on a website, as it can filter out prospects who are actually willing to listen to and understand the value of his services during a call.
43:16 Clint’s tips for SEO professionals who starting out
Clint shares two important pieces of advice he wishes he had followed from the beginning of his business.
Firstly, he emphasizes the importance of writing out Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for each task. This not only makes it easier to delegate tasks to others but also ensures consistency and accuracy in the work done.
Secondly, Clint advises to hire staff as soon as possible, even if it’s just one person to take one task off your plate. Clint hires staff in Mexico and the Philippines, and while there are cultural differences to navigate, he has found both groups to be capable and hardworking.
He notes that the cost of living in the Philippines is less, so by paying them well, you can make them comfortable and happy, resulting in excellent work.
46:02 Where can you find employees
Clint shares his experience with hiring virtual assistants through his connections in the industry. He mentions his longest serving VA, who produced training videos for one of his projects.
Instead of doing the work himself, he prefers to reach out to his contacts, such as Jess and Ken Barber, who have their own offices in the Philippines and employ people. He appreciates their pre-interview process and personal touch in taking care of the workers’ needs. This allows him to focus on the work while knowing that the personal side of things is taken care of
47:24 Best tip for an introvert agency owner who can’t afford an extrovert employee
If you can’t afford to hire a sales guy outright, Clint suggests finding one who’s used to working on commission. This way, you can pay them a percentage of the recurring revenue from the clients they bring in.
It worked well for him in the past and he knows others who have found success with this model. It’s a great option for those who can’t sell and manage clients at the same time.
49:18 How to establish strong online presence
Clint has a tip for readers on how to build their reputation on social media. He suggests calling out misinformation and not being afraid to speak up. He also advises creating content on various platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok, and recommends controlling exposure by leaving groups when it becomes overwhelming. By following these tips, readers can build their brand and reputation on social media.
51:53 How to set yourself apart from other agencies
Clint advises that having a unique personality is key to standing out in SEO. While the technical aspects of SEO are important, your personality and how people perceive you will determine if they want to work with you. Clients want to feel heard and valued, so SEOs should focus on actively listening and engaging with their clients.
54:56 Does Clint partner with other companies?
Clint warns readers against partnering with web designers or developers who sell websites and expect to offer SEO services as well. He explains that they often underestimate the complexity of SEO and believe that following a simple checklist is all that’s required.
Clint advises against white labeling SEO services because many SEOs are cheap and unappreciative, and he refuses to tolerate clients who engage in the same behavior that they complain about.
57:11 How to find clients at public events
Clint advises readers to take advantage of speaking engagements and webinars as they are great for branding. He shares that while not all conferences may result in sales, they provide a valuable opportunity to build one’s brand and improve their presentation skills.
58:42 National or Local SEO?
Clint advises that if one wants to challenge themselves, they should aim for National SEO, but if they want to make themselves look good and have an easier time, they should focus on local SEO since many searches are now local-based.
59:20 How did Clint study Advance Schema?
Clint shares his insights on advanced schema and SEO plugins. He advises to use schema.org, download their templates, and learn the different entities and properties. He tested various plugins and found that only QA and FAQ schema will give a ranking boost. Clint also recommends using content editor tools like Surfer, Phrase, ClearScope, and End Links to complement advanced schema for better results.
1:00:49 Rank Gear
Clint shared that he has a decent client base but hasn’t promoted it as much as he would like. He created Rank Gear as a repository for schema templates, making it easier for users to create and customize their own templates.
Rank Gear fills a gap between basic and advanced schema, allowing users to get their templates 75% ready before handing them off to advanced developers to finish up. This makes it easy for virtual assistants to use and helps users save time and effort in creating schema templates.
1:02:04 Clint’s advice to aspiring SEO publishers
Clint has some valuable tips for those looking to improve their SEO game. According to him, “learn the basics of on-page optimization as it’s going to be 75% of the lifting for you.” He suggests using tools like Cora to analyze reports and learn the rest of what you need to know. “If you can go into one of those reports, pull out the stuff that matters, and implement it, that’ll make you one of the top one percent of SEOs.”
So, start with the basics and analyze your reports to make a big impact on your SEO.
Google News
Last week Google released the February 2023 product reviews update.
The product reviews system ensures that people see product reviews that share in-depth research rather than thin content that summarizes many products.
Is Internal Linking Getting More Important for SEO?
This week’s link-building video is by Matt Digity.
Let’s check out how he finds link prospects and does blog outreach.
I haven’t done much link building working in B2b enterprise.
But since I started my consulting agency, I found press releases give me enough link juice to jump-start my rankings.
Ryan Stewart posted an SEO Sales Hack this past week on his channel; let’s check it out.
We’ll be talking a lot more about starting your agency with our guest later today.
Andrew Shotland says if you skip this one step in a discovery meeting, even the best clients and SEO agencies can find themselves in this sticky situation.
