Ahrefs Podcast

By Ahrefs PodcastBusiness Marketing

Ahrefs Podcast episodes

August 13, 2024Meet the mastermind behind Paddle's $75M ARR success | Andrew Davies (Paddle)
What is it like to have the freedom to create marketing campaigns that are so crazy, they're LITERALLY out of this world? Let's find out!

Andrew Davies, CMO of SaaS payment infrastructure provider Paddle, joins Ahrefs Podcast to discuss everything from their high production value video campaigns to the crossover between customer engagement and marketing to why you're probably using your blog section wrong.

If you're ready for a more advanced masterclass in marketing, you won't want to miss this discussion!
In this episode, we cover:
Creating compelling brand stories

Educating customers on your product offering

Bringing customers into your marketing

How you should be using your blog

SEO vs paid media

Creating out of this world creatives

Content distribution game changers

Upping your video production game

Leveraging events for community buildingEmpowering teams to go on camera

What is Account Based Marketing (ABM)

Community empowerment as a marketing tool

Inspirational marketers
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If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe!
Where to find Andrew:
X: https://x.com/andjdavies
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andjdavies/
Website: https://www.paddle.com/

Where to find Tim:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/
X: @timsoulo
Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/
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Referenced in the episode:
Space campaign: https://space.paddle.com/
1 hr 43 min
August 06, 2024 Product marketing to $15M ARR | Tomasz Niezgoda (Surfer)
What happens when an SEO tool can't compete in SEO?
That's what happened in the early days of Surfer, an AI-powered content marketing platform. Surfer's Head of Marketing, Tomasz Niezgoda, joins the Ahrefs Podcast to explain exactly which strategies helped the company catapult to the 24th fastest-growing company in Europe and the #1 fastest-growing company in Poland.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- How to excel at product marketing
- Why Surfer does 1:1 onboarding calls (with EVERY client)
- Tracking customer responses to onboarding
- The benefit of educational videos
- Where you should be distributing your webinars
- What the brand got out of redisigning their homepage
- Should you create a brand bible?
- Why SaaS certifications are valuable to clients and companies
- The secret to making your AI content actually good
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If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe!Where to find Tomasz:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niezgoda-tomasz/
Website: https://surferseo.com/

Where to find Tim:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/
X: @timsoulo
Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/
1 hr 39 min
July 25, 2024 Meet the guy behind Detailed.com's viral research articles | Glen Allsopp (Detailed)
Ready for a Masterclass in SEO and content creation? Today's guest is Glen Allsopp, founder of Detailed.com, the SEO Blueprint course, and gaps.com.
Glen is an absolute beast when it comes to his content output, and his thorough data studies are shared widely in and out of the SEO world when he publishes them. He also does $40 website audits that sell out immediately when they're open to the public.
Glen, who is notoriously private, doesn't normally do podcasts and he never speaks at conferences. That's why this episode of Ahrefs Podcast is audio only.
But one thing Glen isn't shy about is sharing his vast SEO and business wisdom with the world. In this episode, you'll learn:
(0:00) Intro
(01:45) Maintaining Privacy
(8:49) How does Glen make money
(10:41) What he focuses on
(17:03) What his team looks like
(23:47) Not scaling his agency
(28:01) What he gets out of his $40 audits
(34:29) Creating the Detailed SEO extension
(39:47) What to pay workers
(42:10) The evolution of Detailed
(47:12) Detailed research
(54:12) Promoting Detailed content
(1:00:10) How Glen approaches ideas
(1:06:07) iPhone link building
(1:10:17) Building relationships
(1:15:00) Super pixels
(1:26:10) How Glen stays organized
(1:31:25) The current state of SEO
(1:42:56) Gaps
(1:50:30) Who Glen looks up to
(1:52:56) Media companies

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If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe!

Where to find Glen:
X: https://x.com/ViperChill
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glen-allsopp-63084025/
Website: https://detailed.com/
SEO Blueprint: https://seoblueprint.com/
Gaps: https://gaps.com/
Where to find Tim:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/
X: @timsoulo
Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/
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Referenced in the episode:
$40 website audits: https://detailed.com/audit/
Blog Tyrant: https://www.blogtyrant.com/SEO META in 1 Click: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/seo-meta-in-1-click/bjogjfinolnhfhkbipphpdlldadpnmhcBloggerJet: https://bloggerjet.com/Copyblogger: https://copyblogger.com/ProBlogger: https://problogger.com/Darren Rowse: https://darrenrowse.com/How 16 Companies are Dominating the World’s Google Search Results (2024 Edition): https://detailed.com/google-control/
TechRadar: https://www.techradar.com/pro/could-google-be-using-reddit-to-revive-an-ancient-failed-project-60000-redditors-may-well-be-mturking-for-google-answers-20TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/05/amazons-new-rufus-chatbot-isnt-bad-but-it-isnt-great-either/Mark Rofe (@iamrofe): https://x.com/iamrofeSiege Media: https://www.siegemedia.com/ Ross Hudgens: https://x.com/RossHudgensPomodoro technique: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_TechniqueSeeking Alpha: https://seekingalpha.com/Retro Dodo: https://retrododo.com/Brian Morrissey: https://x.com/bmorrisseyThe Rebooting: https://www.therebooting.com/Neil Vogel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilvogel/Joshua Hardwick: https://x.com/joshuachardwick
1 hr 58 min
July 17, 2024 Strategies for acquiring tens of thousands of customers | Andrus Purde (Outfunnel)
How do you take a company from pre-launch to millions in ARR through marketing? Andus Purde, founder of Outfunnel, a sales and marketing workflow platform, has done it twice.
Andrus shares his insights on how he took sales CRM and pipeline management software Pipedrive from 0 to 70K paying customers in just a few years and what he did to repeat his success with his new venture.
As well spilling which specific tactics worked for him, he also shares whether he thinks they would still work in 2024 and where he thinks the future of marketing is heading.
In this episode, you'll learn:
(O:00) Intro
(06:03) Joining Pipedrive
(11:20) Launching on AppSumo as a marketing tactic
(17:03) Early marketing strategies at Pipedrive
(24:00) When should companies start investing in SEO?
(27:55) Experience vs confidence
(29:57) Are marketing titles important?
(36:56) Growth strategies as Pipedrive expanded
(39:28) Emerging platforms for marketers and developers
(43:59) Software review platforms as a marketing strategy
(49:03) Creative marketing and taking risks
(54:11) Marketing analytics and attribution
(1:02:09) Does creativity in marketing decrease with scale?
(1:07:14) What does Outfunnel do?
(1:21:25) Ideas are worthless. It's the team that matters.
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If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe!
Where to find Andrus:
X: https://x.com/andruspurde
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andruspurde/
Website: https://purde.net/
Where to find Tim:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/
X: @timsoulo
Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/
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Referenced in the episode:
Outfunnel: https://outfunnel.com/
Purde.net
Kair Käsper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kair/
Klaus: https://www.klausapp.com/
Zendesk: https://www.zendesk.com
Klaus acquisition: https://www.klausapp.com/blog/a-message-from-the-founders/
Pipedrive: https://www.pipedrive.com/
Skype: https://www.skype.com/
Google Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/
Capterra: https://www.capterra.com/
TrustRadius: https://www.trustradius.com/
G2: https://www.g2.com/
Appsumo: https://appsumo.com/
Product Hunt: https://www.producthunt.com/
HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com/
Convertkit: https://convertkit.com/
Mailchimp: https://mailchimp.com/
Little Red Book of Gambling Wisdom: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Gambling-Wisdom-Books/dp/1616083921
1 hr 27 min
July 12, 2024 Shifting the digital PR paradigm | Alex Nigmatulin (PRNEWS.io)
If you're trying to grow your brand, you might be majorly missing out if you haven't looked into digital PR.

In this episode, Alex Nigmatulin, co-founder of PRNEWS.io shares what people get wrong with digital PR and how you can use it to your advantage.

Rather than bringing up vague concepts, Alex drills in on specific examples of how his clients have managed to drum up significant interest (including TV coverage!) through simple, effective strategies.

You'll learn:
(0:00) Intro
(1:46) Sponsored content vs buying links
(4:39) The cost of sponsored placements
(6:33) Avoiding Google penalties
(9:53) How AI has affected digital PR
(12:32) Creating newsworthy stories
(16:49) Finding websites for sponsored placements
(21:03) How PRNEWS.io stays fresh
(26:01) How links work with sponsored placements
(30:03) Do sponsored links move the needle
(34:16) Tracking sponsored content results
(38:00) The REAL purpose of press releases
(47:11) Additional PRNEWS.io services
(50:00) Creating your own news
(53:14) How Ahrefs could use PRNEWS.io
(1:03:03) Where PRNEWS.io is heading
(1:09:32) How does PRNEWS.io market itself
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If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe!
Where to find Alex Nigmatulin:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigmatulin/
Website: https://www.aleydasolis.com/en
Where to find Tim:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/
X: @timsoulo
Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/
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Referenced in the episode:
B2Blogger : https://b2blogger.com/
Ann Smarty: https://www.seosmarty.com/
iForum (Ukrainian conference): https://2023.iforum.ua/en/
Ryan Holiday: https://ryanholiday.net
Trust Me, I'm Lying: https://ryanholiday.net/trust-me-im-lying-confessions-of-a-media-manipulator/
Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com
Roxhill Media: https://roxhillmedia.com/
Ahrefs Evolve: https://ahrefs.com/events/evolve2024-singapore
1 hr 17 min
July 09, 2024 What IS and ISN'T working in SEO in 2024 | Aleyda Solis (Orainti)
What are the SEO experts focusing on right now?
@CrawlingMondaysbyAleyda is one of the most analytical, intuitive SEO specialists out there today. She’s the founder of Orainti, a world-leading boutique SEO consultancy, and has one of the biggest audiences in this space. If you want to know what SEO tactics are actually worth your time, Aleyda is the person to ask.
We talked about what SEO tests she’s been running with her clients, what people get wrong about backlinking, how to harness AI effectively, and so much more. There is something for everyone in this conversation!
(0:00) Intro
(1:26) How Aleyda runs her SEO consultancy
(7:07) How Aleyda manages her SEO clients
(10:15) What does Aleyda test with her clients?
(13:48) What tools can you use for SEO testing?
(18:24) What SEO tests should well established companies be doing?
(21:53) SEO strategies for startups
(25:50) How to execute SEO without damaging other areas of the company
(28:41) How to use backlinking effectively
(36:18) How to actually use AI to your advantage
(44:16) How to improve the FAQs on your website using AI
(49:20) How to use AI without Google flagging you
(52:30) How Google indexes content
(54:45) What is an optmised page?
(57:45) The need to be different (don't be lazy!)
(1:03:49) Sites Aleyda recommends
(1:06:37) Personal branding and community building
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe!
Where to find Aleyda Solis:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleyda
X: @aleyda
Website: https://www.aleydasolis.com/en
Where to find Tim:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/
X: @timsoulo
Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/
1 hr 14 min
June 25, 2024 Are niche affiliate sites dead? | Gael Breton (Authority Hacker)
So you want to build a community around your business. What’s the secret to doing this effectively in 2024?
Whether you're using social media, email marketing, SEO, or online spaces, there is an art to nurturing a self-sustaining community. And if you crack the code, this is a great opportunity to add more profit to your business.
Today we’re breaking down exactly how to do this with help from SEO and community building expert Gael Breton.
Co-Founder of Authority Hacker, Gael has worked for the likes of Macy's, Expedia and 99 Designs helping them to make their websites more profitable. He brings plenty of actionable knowledge to the table in today’s masterclass.
0:00 – Intro
1:27 – The state of the SEO community
5:17 – Community as a product vs community as an add on
7:00 – Passive vs active content consumption
7:38 – Community recommendations for SEO and marketing
8:33 – How search intent is changing on Google
10:30 – Effective methods for charging for courses
16:19 – Using affiliates to promote your services
16:45 – The changing landscape of content
23:22 – How to engage with your community
24:54 – Giving credit to your community
26:37 – The importance of using your own product
29:11 – The Google updates you need to know
31:51 – Google is rewarding forums
32:23 – Who is beating current Google trends?
34:02 – Spam problems on Google
35:56 – What websites are suffering?
38:15 – Get background info for your website
38:48 – Does Google punish those who don’t deserve it?
41:52 – How to understand topical authority
46:27 – Quick tricks to improve your SEO ranking
52:38 – Prioritise your website’s mobile version
54:41 – What tools help with SEO?
57:01 – Don’t look for tricks, focus on your business model
Where to find Gael Breton:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gael-breton-78305118
X: @GaelBreton
Website: https://www.authorityhacker.com/
Where to find Tim:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/
X: @timsoulo
Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/
59 min
June 18, 2024 How to indie-hack to $600K ARR | Jon Yongfook Cockle (Bannerbear)
What does it take to build a successful company to $600K as an indie hacker? Jon Yongfook Cockle says successful founders need to have resiliance.
Jon Yongfook would know. In addition to attempting the well-known Indie Hackers challenge 12 Startups in 12 Months, he also went through 20-30 failed projects before striking the right product-market fit with Bannerbear, an image generation software.
In this episode of Ahrefs Podcast, Jon Yongfook lays out:
(0:00) Introduction
(01:33) The state of the Indie Hackers community
(03:19) Doing the 12 startups in 12 months challenge
(09:24) Coming up with the idea for Bannerbear
(14:06) Bannerbear design
(17:02) Marketing week/coding week
(19:44) Building in public
(30:48) The current Bannerbear marketing strategy
(34:18) Building free tools
(41:04) Creating vs and alternatives pages
(45:24) Modern growth hacking
(48:53) Building and using ChatGPT wrappers
(55:03) Using AI in marketing
(56:37) Posting spicy takes on Twitter
Where to find Jon Yongfook:
X: https://x.com/yongfook
Website: https://www.yongfook.com/
Where to find Tim:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/
X: https://x.com/timsoulo
Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/
Referenced:
Bannerbear: https://www.bannerbear.com/
Indie Hackers: https://www.indiehackers.com/
Pieter Levels: https://x.com/levelsio
Danny Postma: https://x.com/dannypostmaa
Ahrefs Backlink Checker: https://ahrefs.com/backlink-checker
1 hr
June 13, 2024 Meet the guy who says zero-volume keywords are a sham | JH Scherck (Growth Plays)
JH Scherck is a growth consultant known for his expertise in developing effective content strategies for SaaS companies.
He previously worked for companies like WP Engine and Docsend before striking out on his own with his SEO and content strategy agency, Growth Plays.
JH is a wealth of knowledge about B2B marketing strategies, audience development, and SEO. Check out the full podcast to learn more about:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:47) Early career mistakes
(11:34) Why targeting zero-volume keywords makes zero sense
(15:54) How to market a product with no search demand
(20:08) Owned vs earned media
(26:46) Brand vs personal brand for social media
(37:25) What is a community and how do you build one?
(42:58) Why should you attend industry events?
(51:07) Facilitating connections at events
(55:39) When is marketing attribution useful?
(01:11:31) Why AI will encourage uniqueness in marketing
Where to find JH:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jhtscherck/
X: https://x.com/JHTScherck
Website: https://growthplays.com/
Where to find Tim:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/
X: https://x.com/timsoulo
Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/
Referenced:
Docsend: https://www.docsend.com/
WP Engine: https://wpengine.com/
Salesforce:
Marc Benioff: https://x.com/benioff
Drift: https://www.drift.com/
Dave Gerhardt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davegerhardt/
Alex Poulos: https://www.linkedin.com/in/poulos/
MozCon: https://moz.com/mozcon
Rand Fishkin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randfishkin/
Sparktoro article (Provable Marketing Attribution Is a Boondoggle): https://sparktoro.com/blog/provable-marketing-attribution-is-a-boondoggle-trust-your-gut-instead/
Orbit: https://orbit.love/
Orbit model of community: https://orbit.love/model
Olivier Pomel (CEO of DataDog): https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivierpomel/
Mattermark: https://mattermark.com/
Danielle Morill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellemorrill/
Patrick Stox: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickstox/
https://x.com/patrickstox
Joshua Hardwick: https://x.com/JoshuaCHardwick
Ryan Law: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thinkingslow/
https://x.com/thinking_slow
Jason Cohen (WP Engine): https://x.com/asmartbear
Ross Hudgens: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosshudgens/
Wil Reynolds: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wilreynolds/
Hubspot: https://www.hubspot.com/
PubCon: https://www.pubcon.com/
Dmitry Gerasymenko: https://x.com/botsbreeder
1 hr 24 min
June 04, 2024 The secrets to scaling to $150M with limited resources | Guillaume Moubeche (Lempire)
Guillaume Moubeche is the dynamic and energetic co-founder and CEO of Lempire, a suite of SaaS tools for marketers, developers, sales teams, and designers.
Guillaume launched his company in 2018 and just 3.5 years later, it was already valued at $150M. In this episode, we dig into the tactics he used to catapult his company into $20M ARR in such a short time.
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Introduction
(04:13) The Myth of Product-Led Growth
(10:08) Customer Acquisition and Inbound vs Outbound
(20:06) How Trust Fuels Growth
(23:50) Challenges to Community Building
(30:32) Writing the $150M Secret
(35:51) Turning down venture capitalist money for publicity
(43:41) Current Lemlist Marketing Tactics
(45:59) Getting Banned from LinkedIn
(49:55) Why Marketing Attribution and Branded Traffic Are BS
(1:01:00) The Secret to Making Great Hires
(1:07:29) Mentorship and Networking
Where to find Guillaume:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/profit-led-growth/
Website: https://www.lempire.com/
Where to find Tim:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/
X: https://x.com/timsoulo
Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/
1 hr 10 min

About Ahrefs Podcast

From the publisher's feed

This isn’t your typical marketing fluff. It’s real, unscripted conversations with sharp founders, CMOs, and operators who’ve actually built something. Hosted by Ahrefs’ CMO Tim Soulo, who’s not afraid to challenge guests or call BS, you’ll get deep dives into the stuff that actually moves the needle: positioning, growth, hiring, branding, mistakes, wins, and what it really takes to grow a business.