Mark Preston is a veteran SEO consultant and advisor with over 20 years of experience.
Mark founded successful lead generation businesses and a 50+ franchise digital marketing agency.
As a best-selling author and speaker, Mark shared his logical business development SEO mindset with global audiences at top marketing events.
Mark’s unique perspective on SEO and business development has helped countless businesses achieve their goals and thrive in today’s digital landscape.
Knowledge Bombs
18:12 How to get No. 1 Ranking on Google
Mark shares his number 1 tip for getting the no.1 ranking on Google. The trick is building a brand people want to do business with. Do that, and Google will love you forever, Mark says.
20:44 How did Mark learn SEO
Mark developed his SEO strategy through testing and differentiation. Without a mentor, he learned by experimenting with his websites. He developed a unique approach that set him apart by trying new approaches and studying his competitors. This method eventually led to his success as a respected author and speaker in the industry.
22:04 What is an SEO Mindset?
Mark emphasizes the importance of having an SEO mindset. This involves asking specific questions to get into the right mindset for success. By focusing on mindset first, he believes that SEOs can achieve better client results rather than just relying on data and reporting.
22:56 Mark’s tips to get into the SEO Mindset
Mark customizes his training approach to suit each individual’s specific goals and objectives. His questioning technique revolves around justification, where he prompts individuals to explain their reasoning.
Mark identifies and corrects mistakes made by SEO professionals who cannot justify their actions.
For instance, Mark once worked with an SEO who had been targeting the wrong audience for a brand for a year. This highlights the significance of critical thinking and justification in SEO.
24:16 How do you know you’re talking to the wrong audience?
Mark stresses the importance of understanding the target audience in SEO. He advises the use of tools like Google Trends and Spark Toro to gain a better understanding of the audience. By knowing the true audience, people can tailor their SEO strategy and excel in the industry.
26:36 How to generate leads for LinkedIn
Mark knows that once you understand your target audience, it’s essential to connect with them in a meaningful way. He suggests using LinkedIn’s powerful search function to find potential connections, as there are no gatekeepers to get in the way.
Mark’s approach to connecting on LinkedIn is refreshingly simple: he reaches out to people and says, “Hey, I just want you to know I exist.” His goal is not to sell anything but to start a conversation and see if there’s a mutual benefit to connecting.
If you’ve built your LinkedIn profile correctly, highlighting who you are, who you work with, and the benefits of working with you, the conversation will naturally flow from there. It’s all about building relationships and making genuine connections, and it has proven to be highly effective in SEO.
27:50 LinkedIn Profile
Mark advises against using LinkedIn as a platform to sell yourself. Instead, he recommends focusing on building connections by sharing your profile and stating the benefits of working with you.
When creating your profile, focus on explaining who you are, what you do, who you work with, and why someone should trust you. Remember, LinkedIn is a powerful tool for lead generation, so make sure your profile tells a compelling story.
30:01 How to know if the client is the right fit
Mark has a different approach to understanding his client’s goals in SEO. Rather than just asking about their generic goals, he dives deeper and asks questions like “What are the plans for your business?” and “What does the future look like for your business if everything goes to plan?”
This way, Mark better understands what’s important to his clients and how he can help them achieve their desired outcomes. He emphasizes the importance of analyzing websites and making changes, and understanding his client’s capacity to handle the generated results.
33:31 Strategies to sell SEO services
Mark suggests understanding the impact and importance to the customer in sales. He asks about the average customer worth, profit margin, and lead conversion rate to determine if they are a good fit.
He can easily determine the ROI and justify his fees by understanding the profit margin and conversion rates. Mark stresses the importance of understanding the client’s capacity and being able to perform simple math to create a successful plan of action.
35:57 How to steal the deal
Mark advises keeping presentations short and sweet, with no more than five slides. He learned that extensive proposals are often ignored in favor of the back page, which includes the cost, deliverables, and timeline. The goal is to make the client unable to say no.
39:00 Mark’s revenue model
Mark always gets the budget upfront before working on a project. This is because price becomes less of an issue when there’s already a set budget.
Previously, he would create proposals without knowing the budget, and clients would turn down the offer without stating the reason. He can tailor his proposal to fit the client’s needs and budget by getting the budget up front.
40:57 When can we start seeing results, like ROI?
Mark has a secret technique that he uses to make sure his clients fully trust and understand him. He gets them to justify every question they ask him. This helps him provide accurate answers and builds trust and a deeper understanding between him and his clients. It’s a win-win situation!
42:27 Mark’s advice on SEO building
The importance of building a strong brand on LinkedIn by identifying one’s niche within the industry. Mark suggests finding your individual worth and what you want to be known for. His niche is SEO mindset, and he differentiates himself from other SEOs by being an SEO problem solver who saves businesses from negativity.
By identifying your unique selling point, you can build a brand that stands out in a crowded industry.
44:21 Exercises to get into the SEO mindset
Mark shares his tips on how to hone in on your SEO skills. The first step is to make a list of every SEO task you are capable of doing, from the basics to more advanced tasks. Then, determine what problems you can solve with your list of skills.
Mark suggests categorizing the problems into stages, such as e-commerce migrations for large brands or local SEO for small businesses. By the end, you’ll be able to identify your specialty and become a specialist in your field.
47:42 LinkedIn automation tools
Mark warns against using LinkedIn automation tools as they are against the platform’s policies. Instead, he suggests starting a conversation with 10 people and quickly assessing if you can help them.
Don’t push your services if they’re happy with their current provider. Keep the conversation going and follow up after a few months. It’s all about having conversations with the right people.
49:39 Mark’s greatest focus from an SEO specialist’s POV
When dealing with large websites generating millions of visitors, it’s essential to focus on small tweaks. The objective is to speed up the website and generate what the business needs.
Mark emphasizes the need for a crawlable website and asks why drive more people to a website that’s not converting.
Instead, focus on making what’s already working better for the business. Mark suggests identifying and fixing issues such as broken links that hinder the website from reaching its full potential.
51:48 Contract Details
Mark suggests talking to potential clients about long-term goals and setting realistic expectations for achieving them. Instead of locking clients into contracts, he focuses on monthly goals and emphasizes the value of a long-term partnership. By doing so, clients are more likely to sign a 12-month contract without feeling pressured.
53:33 Contents to promote on LinkedIn
Mark believes that content format doesn’t matter as long as it shows value. He suggests that a PDF document with a few images in a carousel format, no more than 5-8 pages, is an effective way to present content on LinkedIn. However, he emphasizes that regardless of the format, the most important thing is the message that the content conveys.
54: 42 Topics to write on LinkedIn
Mark says that real testimonials are the most engaging type of content. Screenshots of analytics may be meaningless, but testimonials showing actual results from tests can help potential clients see what a marketer is capable of.
He recommends basing content on scenarios that relate to the service provided, such as challenges faced by clients and how they were overcome through conversations and problem-solving
56:15 Mark’s advice to aspiring SEO professionals
Mark advises newcomers to the industry not to be afraid of exploring different areas such as on-page, technical, outreach, and digital PR. He emphasizes that trying new things is crucial to understanding what one wants to focus on. “Don’t be afraid of trying different things,” Mark says.
Google News
First, with a couple of Google updates
Google Released the March 2023 core update.
The rollout may take up to 2 weeks to complete.
So be prepared for ranking fluctuations and not to panic and change things on your site.
