Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips

In Episode #373, Eric and Neil discuss how many links you really need to rank well. Tune in as Eric and Neil remind us of the TWO most important factors for SEO. They’ll also explain why The Penny Hoarder gets more traffic than Neil does and why Eric builds links for a post that is already driving traffic. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: How Many Links Do You Really Need to Rank Well? 00:39 – Two main factors in SEO are content and links 00:57 – Eric and Neil uses Ahrefs 01:01 – Ahrefs has a keyword explorer tool that will show you the difficulty and guidelines for using a certain keyword 01:23 – The Penny Hoarder is a popular blog which was in Inc 500 list 01:32 – They make 8-figures/year in revenue 01:35 – The blog has more traffic than Neil’s blog 01:40 – They get more traffic because of their content 01:43 – Neil has more backlinks and domain authority than TPH 01:52 – “It just comes down to content” 01:58 – You don’t need too many backlinks 02:02 – You need MORE content 02:06 – If you want to build up your links, use infographics or Brian Dean’s Skyscraper Technique 02:25 – Eric didn’t build links for the top 5 keywords for which they’re ranking 02:46 – Focus on the domain authority 03:03 – Eric has one post that ranks for the most marketing keywords 03:16 – Eric has built links for that post to boost it 03:41 – Check Eric Enge's: Do Links Still Matter 04:05 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Crazy Egg which is a heat mapping tool that helps you increase your conversion rate 04:52 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway for multiple entries 04:58 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: Content and links are the main factors for SEO—keep track of them. Having too many backlinks may not always boost your post; rather, focus on creating GREAT content. Check the posts whose keywords are ranking well and build links to boost that post. Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode #372, Eric and Neil discuss whether social sharing buttons still work. Tune-in to learn whether social sharing buttons are effective in driving traffic to your site, how to use them properly if you still wish to use them, and an alternative to the buttons that is proven to work. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: Do Social Sharing Buttons Still Work? 00:39 – Sumo is a plugin for social share buttons 00:47 – Eric personally uses Buffer to share 00:58 – Neil tracked the social share button clicks 01:03 – It drives traffic once in awhile 01:22 – The only way to get traffic from social share buttons are to integrate them within the post 01:30 – Click to tweet 01:34 – Having quotes or snippets within your blog post that is easy to share drives more traffic 01:45 – Integrating the buttons within the blog post is more effective than scrolling social buttons within the blog 02:05 – The percentage of clicks is NOT high 02:25 – For Eric, social sharing buttons don’t work 02:33 – If you still put them in, just choose the major social media sites 02:50 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Crazy Egg which is a visual analytics tool that helps you increase your conversion rate 03:41 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway for multiple entries 03:46 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: Social sharing buttons does work, but it needs to be integrated into the post. An alternative to social sharing buttons is adding a click to tweet somewhere in your post. If you still want social sharing buttons, just pick the major social media sites. Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode #371, Eric and Neil discuss how to get started with podcast advertising. Podcast advertising is becoming more and more lucrative—especially for leading podcasters such as John Lee Dumas and Tim Ferriss. Tune in to learn how much you can earn in podcast advertising and how the process works. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: How to Get Started With Podcast Advertising 00:36 – Podcast advertising can be lucrative 01:04 – You’re looking at cost per thousand impressions for what you can make in podcast advertising 01:14 – Range is anywhere from $15 to $40 01:34 – For more hands-off solutions, you can use Midroll’s service 02:25 – The earnings are per ad placement 02:36 – John Lee Dumas does a pre-roll then a post-roll 02:42 – Pre-roll is before the podcast starts and post-roll is after the podcast 02:49 – Tim Ferriss has 2 pre-roll ads and 2 post-roll ads 02:53 – John Lee Dumas has 2-3 ads per episode 03:09 – For a thousand listeners, you can get around $50 to $100 depending on the number of ads that you have 03:32 – Podcast advertising is also a branding play 03:50 – If you’re just about to start with podcast advertising, you can do it directly or opt for Midroll’s service 03:56 – if you’re a podcaster, people will start to reach out to you 03:59 – Freshbooks and Hostgator have approached Eric before 04:15 – Marketing School is more focused on growing the podcast rather than having ads 04:24 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Crazy Egg which is a visual analytics tool that will help you increase your conversion rate 05:17 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway for multiple entries 05:21 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: Podcast advertising can be pretty lucrative if you have a large following. As you become a more established podcaster, business will reach out to you for ad placements. Podcast advertising can be a branding play as well. Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode #370, Eric and Neil discuss how to determine your one key metric. When you establish a set goal or priority, then all your tasks will follow suit to achieve that goal. But what IS that one measure that you look to as a company? Tune in to know what your one key metric is and why knowing what you’re after will set you up for success. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: How to Determine Your One Key Metric 00:36 – Josh Elman coined the term "one key metric" 00:40 – When starting a business and using Twitter, your one key metric will be the number of tweets you want to hit 01:09 – First, determine how people are using your product—the core functionality of your product 01:20 – Then figure out if that one key metric is the one to go after, then work from there 01:35 – “Figure out what you’re really after and what’s going to impact that” 01:40 – If you want to increase your revenue, figure out the different sources of revenue 02:09 – Then you can have control and manage that one key metric 02:21 – The purpose of Airbnb is to book a place to stay 02:26 – The core action is searching and booking your accommodations 02:36 – Another example is Yelp where you find different local businesses and review them 03:18 – Neil’s one key metric for Crazy Egg is the number of tests done a day 03:43 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Crazy Egg which is a heat mapping tool that helps you increase your conversion rate 04:28 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway for multiple entries 04:33 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: Knowing your one key metric helps you focus your tasks accordingly. Establish what you’re really after and what’s going to influence that. If you want to increase your revenue, then think solely on your sources of revenue. Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode #369, Eric and Neil discuss what drives more traffic, quality content or quantity content. This is an age-old debate and the answer depends on pretty obvious factors such as the size of your team and budget. Tune in to hear the route Eric and Neil chose, why they chose it, and how YOU should make the decision between quality and quantity.  Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: What Drives More Traffic: Quality Content VS Quantity 00:39 – Neil took the quality route 00:43 – Neil only publishes high quality content, but he doesn’t have a lot of it 00:59 – HubSpot’s is quite popular because they produce a LOT of content 01:28 – Eric talked to the managing editor of a website that gets 8M visits a month 01:35 – They hire bigger teams to produce larger quantities of content 01:41 – They often open on guest posts too 02:06 – From Eric’s data, it’s “more publishing, more quantity” 02:10 – Creating content around the news works very well 02:30 – Neil recommends starting out with quality content 02:46 – In 24 hours, TechCrunch can create around 29 posts, but not all are quality posts 03:05 – Go to Ahrefs and SEMrush to see what’s driving your competitors’ traffic 03:14 – Then make better versions of their blog posts 03:20 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Crazy Egg which helps you increase your conversion rate 03:58 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway for multiple entries 04:04 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: People can receive more value from high quality content. If you have the budget to create a large quantities of content; then this will be a great option for you. If you’re just starting out, focus on quality over quantity. Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode #368, Eric and Neil discuss why you should pay attention to Facebook groups. Tune in to learn the pros of joining Facebook groups, starting your own for your company, and how to extract and give value to these online communities. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: Why You Should Pay Attention To Facebook Groups 00:39 – Eric gets a lot of value from Facebook groups 00:43 – Eric follows Badass Marketers and Founders Facebook group run by Josh Fechter 00:50 – There’s a ton of marketing information he gains from the group 00:56 – Another group to follow: Young Entrepreneurs Council 01:00 – There’s a high level of engagement in these groups and people share them with others 01:18 – Facebook just launched a summit for Facebook groups 01:54 – You can search for terms in groups that are related to your niche 02:08 – Answer questions in groups—this will lead people to your website and build traffic 02:15 – When you build our own Facebook group, it builds a community with that will strongly support your brand 02:22 – Neil has a private Facebook group and most of its members help promote one another 02:56 – Find the group that has more signal than noise 03:11 – Eric highly recommends Badass Marketers and Founders 03:30 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Crazy Egg which helps you increase your conversion rate 04:00 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway for multiple entries 04:10 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: There’s a lot of VALUE to be had in Facebook groups—build your network and your following to increase your support. Join groups that are relevant to your niche. Be helpful with those in your Facebook groups—answer their questions and promote one another depending on the type of group that it is. Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode #367, Eric and Neil discuss whether blog commenting is dead. Tune in to learn why blog commenting is NOT dead in Eric and Neil’s opinion. They’ll list the reasons why they still do it and explain the benefits you can gain from interacting with your audience. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: Is Blog Commenting Dead? 01:05 – Nowadays, blog commenting still drives traffic, but not as much as it did before 01:13 – For niche blogs, blog commenting will still work 01:17 – What works is that people come to your blog and you build a rapport with them—because of this relationship, they are more likely to convert 01:45 – Some big publications have shut off their blog comments 02:00 – For Neil’s blog, which has educational value, people leave productive comments and build a relationship with him 02:15 – Neil has dedicated time to respond to the comments 02:42 – Even if there’s only one person who leaves a comment, you still have to respond 03:00 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Crazy Egg which is a visual analytics tool 03:45 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway for multiple entries 03:54 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: Blog commenting STILL works when it comes to driving traffic to your site. Build a rapport and relationship with your blog followers by responding to their comments. Blog commenting is NOT dead; in fact, it’s a tool that will help you increase your conversion rates. Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode #366, Eric and Neil discuss how growth is getting harder and what you can do about it. In terms of marketing, it seems that everything repeats itself. Now, more than ever, is the time to get CREATIVE in order to stand out. Tune in to learn how you can deal with the fast-paced, competitive market out there and the importance of keeping it fresh and original.  Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: Growth Is Getting Harder (And What You Can Do About It) 00:36 – Today’s episode is inspired by Uber’s Andrew Chen who is well known in the growth network 00:55 – CPCs and the rise of ad blockers are getting higher 01:18 – “As growth gets harder, you have no choice but to get more creative” 01:24 – The main way to grow is to think outside the box and go after different channels 01:43 – Facebook has a saturation point and the ad prices are higher 01:57 – Aside from the sending people to landing pages from your Facebook ads, take your people to educational/press type articles 02:15 – It will all come down to CREATIVITY 02:38 – Everyone is getting smarter in regards to growth 02:50 – The competition is tougher 03:09 – Facebook and Google are still on the top list of apps 03:19 – Develop your own brand to stand out 03:37 – Building your brand with corporate personnel 03:50 – Amazon’s customers are loyal therefore, they will always have high conversion rates 04:08 – Beats by Dre entered a saturated market, but still manages to make sales 04:21 – Beats by Dre has a great design that becomes part of one’s lifestyle 04:30 – They pay celebrities to use Beats by Dre 04:40 – Alternatively, you can give out equity in exchange for promotion 04:45 – Vitamin Water gave out equity to promote their product 05:05 – Social media channels are copying each other 05:24 – You have to figure out a way to differentiate yourself from the competitors 06:00 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Crazy Egg which helps you increase your conversion rate 06:33 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway for multiple entries 06:45 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: Leverage all channels that are available to grow your brand. The more creative you are, the more you will be able to adapt to the market and compete. Giving out equity is another way you can promote your brand. Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode #365, Eric and Neil discuss 3 creative ways to mine for leads. Sifting through your inbox for relevant leads is a real time-killer. Eric can get anywhere from 2K to 25K emails a month for his agency and, therefore, knows why it’s important to have a system in place to find those relevant leads. Tune-in to hear how Eric and Neil cut through the thousands of emails to find those key potential emails. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: 3 Creative Ways to Mine For Leads 00:37 – Eric gets 2K to 25K emails a month for the agency 00:54 – Eric used to use Drip to get through their emails 01:04 – Now they use Clearbit Enrichment API and have plugged it into Slack 01:10 – When a big company comes in, the data will automatically be pushed into Slack, then to Salesforce, so people can jump on it and reach out 01:36 – Neil goes to their email list to check who’s there 01:45 – They’ll check the emails against their LinkedIn to see which connections are ones relevant 01:55 – They then send an email with a small introduction to those relevant leads 02:18 – When you get an introduction from another organization,you will more likely close a sale 02:31 – You can do targeted ads on LinkedIn, find people within an organization and send out a blast making sure they’re opening up their email 02:48 – Use Dux-Soup combined with LinkedIn Recruiter or Sales Navigator 03:13 – It will allow you to scroll around different profiles 03:44 – Datanyze can scrape the web and search for companies within a certain category 04:03 – It’s the enterprise version of Built With 04:27 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Crazy Egg which helps you increase your conversion rate 05:25 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway for multiple entries 03:50 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: Leverage the tools that will help you find the relevant leads from your emails. LinkedIn is an excellent platform to employ targeted ads and find those relevant leads. Try to get referrals from organizations you already know; it’s almost a guaranteed sale. Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode #364, Eric and Neil discuss 7 apps that marketers should install on their phone. The ideas don’t stop flowing even though you’re on the move, so that’s why it’s good to have the right apps on mobile so you don’t miss a beat. Tune-in to know why these 7 apps are MUST-HAVES and how they can make your life as a marketer more convenient. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:27 – Today’s topic: 7 Apps That Marketers Should Install On Their Phone 00:35 – Hype Type app allows you to enhance your Instagram story 00:49 – It will make it look more engaging and professional 01:06 – Google Analytics app lets you see your website performance 01:23 – Facebook ads and AdWords apps let you manage your ads through your phone 01:41 – Adhawk helps you manage your AdWords and it has a better interface than Google AdWords 02:09 – The better interface makes it easier to use on mobile 02:14 – Fifth app is Buffer 02:22 – If you’re reading an article on mobile, there’s a Buffer button that allows you to share the article automatically 02:32 – You can also share saved articles in Pocket through Buffer 02:53 – Sixth app is Evernote 02:58 – You can put anything on Evernote 03:35 – It can be a notebook for your ideas 03:51 – Make sure to still be organized with your ideas when you write your notes 04:30 – Nuzzle surfaces the people you’re been following and identifies the signal from the noise 05:05 – Marketing School is giving away a free 1 year subscription to Crazy Egg which helps you increase your conversion rate 05:52 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway for multiple entries 06:00 – That’s it for today’s episode! 3 Key Points: Track your performance even while on mobile incase you need to act on a problem ASAP. Don’t let those ideas slip by, write them down on your trusted note-taking app. Leverage your mobile phone with the right apps to help ease your workflows. Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.