Beyond SEO®

Final Episode of Season 1

👉 Read our thoughts here: https://growthack.io/beyond-seo

In Episode 14 of Beyond SEO®, Kevin Kapezi and the Growthack team sit down with Edd Wilson, who leads Organic Growth at Frontify, to break down what actually drives growth in modern B2B SaaS.

This isn’t a conversation about rankings or traffic.

It’s about how SEO has evolved into a cross-functional growth system that connects product, brand, content, and commercial performance in the AI era.

From working across product marketing and CRO to aligning with sales and revenue teams, Edd shares how Frontify approaches organic growth as an orchestration problem rather than a channel.

What You’ll Learn

– Why SEO as a silo is fundamentally broken in SaaS

– How Frontify connects SEO with product marketing and brand

– The shift from traffic metrics to revenue and opportunity value

– How AI search is changing discovery, positioning, and visibility

– Why most SaaS content strategies fail to drive real business impact

– How to use sales calls, CRM data, and customer insights to shape strategy

– What “organic growth” actually means in a modern B2B organisation

🧠 Key Insight

Organic growth today is not about ranking pages.

It’s about orchestrating visibility across channels, aligning messaging across teams, and translating that into commercial outcomes.

As Edd puts it, the real shift is moving from SEO as execution to SEO as orchestration across the entire business.

🎯 Who This Is For

– B2B SaaS founders and marketing leaders

– In-house SEOs and growth teams

– Agencies working with SaaS or enterprise clients

– Anyone navigating AI search, LLMs, and modern discovery

About Beyond SEO®

Beyond SEO® explores what actually drives growth in modern search.

From SEO and content to product, data, and commercial strategy, each episode breaks down how leading brands are building visibility, trust, and revenue in a changing search landscape.

Connect with Edd: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddwilson/

Frontify: https://www.frontify.com/

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Beyond SEO & Edd Wilson

01:00 From SEO to Organic Growth Thinking

02:00 Why SEO Should Not Be Siloed

04:00 AI Search & The Shift in Discovery

06:00 Agency vs In-House: The Commercial Gap

09:00 Why Traffic Is the Wrong Metric

12:00 Reporting on Revenue, Not Clicks

14:00 Getting Access to CRM & Sales Data

17:00 Using Customer Conversations for Strategy

19:00 Brand Is No Longer Separate from SEO

21:00 Working Across Product, Brand & Growth

23:00 What Makes Great Modern SEOs

26:00 CRO, Website Strategy & “SEO as Systems”

29:00 Quick Wins: Using PPC Data for SEO

32:00 Building an Organic Growth Function

35:00 Aligning with Product Teams

37:00 SaaS Content Strategy That Actually Converts

41:00 Orchestrating Content Across Channels

45:00 Why SEO Budgets Lag Behind Paid

47:00 AI Search, LLMs & The Future of SEO

51:00 90-Day Growth Plan for SaaS

54:00 Final Thoughts & Closing

#B2BSaaS

#SEO

#AISearch

#DigitalMarketing

#ContentStrategy

#GrowthMarketing

#SaaSMarketing

#BeyondSEO

#OrganicGrowth

#MarketingStrategy

Growthack.io helps brands go Beyond SEO, specialising in building SEO systems that drive revenue: combining technical, content, data-driven insights and AI-ready strategies to help businesses scale smarter. Practical, award-winning SEO that helps your brand stay discoverable, trusted, and ready for what’s next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why do so many digital ad campaigns fail?

👉 Read our Insights here: https://growthack.io/beyond-seo/

In this episode of Beyond SEO, Kevin Kapezi and the Growthack team sit down with Matt Daley, founder of RUNWAY FIVE, to explore the realities of growing, exiting, and rebuilding in digital marketing.

Episode Topics

• Building and exiting a digital agency

• The identity shift after leaving a business

• Moving to Spain and designing a better lifestyle

• Why many digital ad campaigns fail

• Aligning paid media, SEO, and growth strategy

• The rise of the Fractional CMO model

• Building RUNWAY FIVE

Matt shares his journey from building a digital agency over more than a decade, navigating a management buyout, and eventually stepping away to rethink his next chapter. The conversation dives into the strategic and emotional realities of leaving a business that defined your identity for years.

We also explore the bigger picture behind performance marketing today. Matt breaks down the fundamentals of profitable digital advertising, why many brands believe their ads “don’t work,” and what marketers should check before changing budgets or creative.

Finally, we discuss Matt’s new venture RUNWAY FIVE, his shift toward consultancy and strategic advisory, and how the Fractional CMO model is helping brands connect paid media, SEO, and broader growth strategy.

This episode is a must-watch for founders, marketing leaders, and agency owners thinking about the future of performance marketing.

00:00 Introduction to Beyond SEO

01:10 Matt Daley’s background in digital marketing

03:45 Building a digital agency and early lessons

08:30 The inflexion points that drove agency growth

14:10 The reality of exiting an agency

18:45 Detaching identity from the business

23:30 Moving to Spain and designing a new lifestyle

27:40 When brands say “ads don’t work”

31:10 How paid media and SEO should work together

36:00 The shift to consultancy and Fractional CMO

41:00 Building RUNWAY FIVE

46:00 Advice for founders and marketing leaders

Guest Links

Connect with Matt Daley:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewdaley/

RUNWAY FIVE

https://runwayfive.com/

About Beyond SEO

Beyond SEO is a podcast by Growthack exploring what truly drives modern marketing growth across search, content, data, and strategy.

Hosted by Kevin Kapezi and the Growthack team.

#PaidMedia

#PPC

#AgencyLife

#BeyondSEO

#DigitalMarketing

#MarketingStrategy

#FractionalCMO

#DigitalAdvertising

#GrowthStrategy

Growthack.io helps brands go Beyond SEO, specialising in building SEO systems that drive revenue: combining technical, content, data-driven insights and AI-ready strategies to help businesses scale smarter. Practical, award-winning SEO that helps your brand stay discoverable, trusted, and ready for what’s next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Data isn’t the problem. The way marketing teams use it is.

👉 Read our Insights here: https://growthack.io/beyond-seo/

In EP12 of Beyond SEO, the Growthack team sits down with Thierry Ngutegure, Head of Data Storytelling at Six Chillies, to unpack why marketing data often fails to drive decisions — and how to fix it.

From a broken reporting culture to fragmented dashboards and stakeholder misalignment, this episode explores why more data rarely leads to more clarity.

Thierry shares how he went from biological sciences to digital PR to leading insight teams, and why he calls himself a “data translator” — sitting between technical analysts and decision-makers to turn overwhelming data into clear stories that drive action.

This episode covers:

• Why most marketing reporting fails stakeholders

• The “Why → How → What” framework for data storytelling

• How large brands misuse data through fragmentation

• The confidence gap stopping teams from challenging insights

• What AI gets wrong about data (trust and taste)

• Why taste will matter more than ever in an AI-driven world

• The mindset shift required to move from implementer to strategic leader

Thierry also shares why he did stand-up comedy to overcome public speaking fear, how to build a cross-department data culture, and why “imposter syndrome” is something you should actively pursue.

If you work in SEO, paid media, analytics, insights, or marketing leadership and want your data to influence decisions, not just sit in reports — this episode is essential.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:10 Thierry’s unconventional path into data

03:48 Becoming a “data translator”

06:54 Why → How → What storytelling framework

11:03 Stop stereotyping stakeholders

18:14 Why Thierry did stand-up comedy

24:04 “Pursuit of imposter syndrome” mindset

25:24 How big brands misuse data

30:30 Removing bias from data

34:56 Fixing broken reporting in agencies

43:02 Moving from Specialist to Marketing Leader

47:00 Stakeholder storytelling and unlocking budget

51:40 Using trend data to shape product strategy

55:55 Why Six Chillies was founded

01:00:00 Buying a car entirely through ChatGPT

01:04:10 AI, trust, and the collapse of certainty

01:06:30 Why taste will outlast automation

Follow Thierry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thierryngutegure/

Six Chillies: https://www.sixchillies.com/

#DataStorytelling

#MarketingData

#DigitalMarketing

#BeyondSEO

Growthack.io helps brands go Beyond SEO, specialising in building SEO systems that drive revenue: combining technical, content, data-driven insights and AI-ready strategies to help businesses scale smarter. Practical, award-winning SEO that helps your brand stay discoverable, trusted, and ready for what’s next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Doughnotts started with £10 and a side hustle mindset. Now it is multiple retail stores, big expansion plans, and a franchise model built around customer service.

In EP11 of Beyond SEO, the Growthack team sit down with Wade Smith to unpack the real story behind building one of Nottingham’s most recognised doughnut brands.

This episode covers the unglamorous bits people skip: learning by doing, brand naming battles, domain drama, retail economics, why business rates crush stores, and why Wade believes customer service outweighs product.

Chapters

00:00 Intro and guest welcome

00:55 Who Wade is and what Doughnotts is

02:12 The real origin story. Man vs Food, broke beginnings, first sales

07:19 Early lessons. Persistence, learning by doing, staying honest

08:14 Ego check. The Ferrari story and “business money is not your money”

13:57 Naming, rebrands, cease and desist letters, domains, trademarks

16:26 Becoming the face of the brand and managing public identity

25:26 Scaling decisions. Physical stores, supermarkets, and why Co-op did not work

26:40 The kiosk-on-wheels model. No rates, lower risk, faster expansion

29:04 Why experience matters. Lighting, vibe, and what brands like 200 Degrees get right

34:51 Online sales as a data engine, not just revenue

38:06 COVID. The bakery gamble, survival mindset, and the cookie pivot

40:05 If Doughnotts disappeared tomorrow. What Wade would do differently

42:28 UK investment reality. Due diligence, negotiations, underpromise and overdeliver

43:29 Franchising model, economics, and “customer service franchise” thinking

55:17 Where to follow Wade and Doughnotts

55:48 Outro

Follow Wade: @wadey_doughnotts

Doughnotts: https://doughnottsofficial.com/

Instagram and TikTok: @doughnottsofficial

Growthack: https://growthack.io/

Beyond SEO playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmk-iXDeDmI&list=PLyRi3SnB4M7bqeTm2Ku_kNhypxZeuUiSW

#BeyondSEO #Doughnotts #WadeSmith #Nottingham #Entrepreneurship #Hospitality #Retail #Franchising #BrandBuilding #CustomerExperience

Growthack.io helps brands go Beyond SEO, specialising in building SEO systems that drive revenue: combining technical, content, data-driven insights and AI-ready strategies to help businesses scale smarter. Practical, award-winning SEO that helps your brand stay discoverable, trusted, and ready for what’s next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Beyond SEO, the Growthack team sit down with Luke Dalton — former Royal Marines Commando / UK Special Forces, now an SEO specialist and founder of Contact Coffee.

Luke breaks down what the military taught him about planning, resilience, and execution, and how those lessons translate into modern marketing — where the rules change fast, expectations are messy, and strategy only matters if you can actually implement it.

We also get into the real-world stuff most “marketing journeys” skip:

- The identity shift after leaving the forces

- Building a brand without a business plan (and why that sometimes works)

- Why social reach often doesn’t equal revenue

- Why email still outperforms most channels for intent + ROI

- Micro-influencers vs “big names” (and what actually worked for Contact Coffee)

- SEO expectations, agency checklists, and what business owners should focus on instead

- Luke’s side project that’s outranking major brands like Costa (with basic execution)

If you’re into marketing, entrepreneurship, e-commerce growth, or career transitions, this one’s for you.

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro: Beyond SEO + Luke joins (Royal Marines → SEO)

01:00 – Leaving the Marines: deployments, downtime, and the “entrepreneur spark”

02:10 – Starting Contact Coffee while still serving

03:10 – Military skills that translate to marketing: resilience + execution

05:40 – The identity shift after leaving the forces (the bit people don’t talk about)

08:05 – Military planning frameworks and why agencies often fail continuity

10:40 – Contact Coffee origin story: from Afghanistan to a UK gap in the market

13:20 – KPIs vs organic growth: expectation-setting when money’s involved

15:30 – Loving the grind: why founders need the ugly phase

17:20 – “Mission-led SEO”: why product + operations come before strategy

19:15 – Why coffee matters in the military (and “Give a Coffee” campaign)

24:00 – Social media reality: full-time job, lower posting, more ROI elsewhere

26:00 – Email vs social: why intent wins (and “viral” doesn’t always pay)

28:45 – Influencers: micro-influencers strategy that actually drove returns

31:00 – SEO expectations: why business owners get it wrong (and how to fix it)

36:15 – When SEO budget is misallocated (and why SEO should start at build stage)

39:00 – Integrity in agency work: telling clients the uncomfortable truth

42:00 – Advice to business owners: understanding SEO + outsourcing properly

45:00 – Consultant vs agency: why experience beats checklists

47:25 – 2026 e-commerce SEO: category/collection pages + schema basics

50:10 – Luke’s side project: outranking Costa with simple execution

52:15 – Why every SEO needs a side project to test and break things

53:50 – Where to find Luke + outro

Find Luke on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-dalton-ccco/

Contact Coffee: https://www.contactcoffee.com/

Luke’s project: workingfromcoffeeshops.co.uk

#BeyondSEO #MarketingPodcast #Entrepreneurship #SEO #Ecommerce #FounderJourney #military #VeteransInBusiness #BrandBuilding #EmailMarketing #DigitalMarketing #CareerTransition #royalmarines #royalmarinecommando #UKBusiness

Growthack.io helps brands go Beyond SEO, specialising in building SEO systems that drive revenue: combining technical, content, data-driven insights and AI-ready strategies to help businesses scale smarter. Practical, award-winning SEO that helps your brand stay discoverable, trusted, and ready for what’s next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Beyond SEO, we go deep on what technical SEO really looks like in 2026: not just audits and jargon, but execution + stakeholder communication + commercial impact.

The Growthack team shares how his computer science background shaped his approach, why many ecommerce brands (especially supplements, skincare and healthcare) build hidden technical debt as they scale, and why the SEOs who win next will be the ones who can “show their working” — like GCSE maths — and translate technical fixes into revenue outcomes.

What you’ll learn:

- Why technical SEO is getting its “moment” in the AI era

- How fast-growing brands outgrow crawlability, indexing and site architecture

- Why brand + paid can mask technical problems until it’s painful

- How compliance changes content velocity in supplements/health

- The skill gap for 2026: implementing + explaining (not just knowing)

- How to communicate SEO to COOs/finance-led stakeholders in ROI language

Chapters:

00:00 Intro + flipping the script

01:00 Why join Growthack? (personal goals + team direction)

03:15 How podcasting builds communication + hosting skills

06:00 Thinking “Beyond SEO”: how other disciplines improve SEO

10:05 Supplements/healthcare SEO: compliance vs speed (and why it matters)

11:45 E-commerce scaling issues: crawlability, indexing, variants, duplicates

13:10 Why brands ignore technical foundations (brand masks the problems)

16:05 2026 technical SEO: deep knowledge + implementation + transparency

19:15 The communication gap: how SEOs navigate finance/COO scrutiny

22:00 “Show your working”: translating fixes into revenue outcomes

24:00 Hobbies + how to connect (LinkedIn)

About Growthack

Growthack helps brands win organic growth through technical SEO, migrations, data integrity and AI-era visibility.

https://growthack.io/

Subscribe for weekly episodes on SEO, content, product data, analytics and growth strategy.

#TechnicalSEO #SEO #EcommerceSEO #AISEO #DigitalMarketing #SEOStrategy #WebsiteMigrations #DataIntegrity #CrawlBudget #GrowthMarketing #BeyondSEO #Growthack

Growthack.io helps brands go Beyond SEO, specialising in building SEO systems that drive revenue: combining technical, content, data-driven insights and AI-ready strategies to help businesses scale smarter. Practical, award-winning SEO that helps your brand stay discoverable, trusted, and ready for what’s next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI search has spawned a new wave of acronyms, e.g. GEO, AEO, LLMO, and it’s creating confusion for brands and SEOs alike.

In this internal roundtable at Growthack, we break down what these terms actually mean, where “GEO” came from, and what’s genuinely changing (and what isn’t) as AI Overviews and zero-click behaviour reshape search.

We also talk openly about the commercial reality: prospects are asking for “AI search specialists”, even when the winning play is still strong fundamentals.

In this episode, we cover:

- Why GEO exists (and why it’s dividing the SEO industry)

- What AI Overviews and zero-click really change for traffic and intent

- The ethical line: educating clients vs selling jargon retainer

- What’s changed vs what hasn’t (content, technical, links still matter)

- Why brand sentiment, community and “off-site signals” are getting louder

- The practical 2026 focus: foundations first, then smart distribution

Key takeaway: if you’re not performing in traditional search, “AI SEO” won’t save you. Fix the basics first, then earn visibility everywhere your customers are.

If you want to talk through your SEO foundations, content strategy, or how AI search impacts your category, reach out:

https://growthack.io/contact

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro: GEO, AEO, LLMO & AI Search (Too many acronyms)

00:48 – Why this episode: debunking myths + losing a deal over “AI specialist” optics

01:31 – Where “GEO” came from: LLM growth + research paper context

03:26 – The real reason acronyms keep spawning (shiny object syndrome)

05:32 – AI Overviews, zero-click, and the “nothing new” argument

07:18 – Why brands push GEO: exec-level buzzwords + SEO industry pressure

09:16 – The ethical line: education vs selling jargon retainers

11:31 – The bubble question: does AI hype actually make money?

12:34 – Fundamentals first: tech foundations before “advanced techniques”

14:50 – What’s actually changed: prioritising off-site signals and sentiment

17:39 – “Name 3 things”: GEO vs SEO challenge + PR/brand mentions aren’t new

19:07 – Practical focus for 2026: technical, content, links + clear messaging

24:16 – Entities + being where customers are (YouTube, Reddit, communities)

26:28 – Final takeaway: levels to this — basics before advanced plays

#SEO

#AISEO

#AISearch

#GEO

#AEO

#LLMO

#SearchMarketing

#GoogleAIOverviews

#ZeroClickSearch

#TechnicalSEO

#BrandMarketing

#GrowthMarketing

Growthack.io helps brands go Beyond SEO, specialising in building SEO systems that drive revenue: combining technical, content, data-driven insights and AI-ready strategies to help businesses scale smarter. Practical, award-winning SEO that helps your brand stay discoverable, trusted, and ready for what’s next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 7 of Beyond SEO, we’re joined by Jack Moore, founder of My Finance Function, to unpack what financial clarity really means for owner-led businesses heading into 2026.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

- Why cash flow matters more than profit for most businesses

- The biggest financial mistakes founders make when planning for growth

- When it makes sense to bootstrap vs raise investment

- How planned losses differ from uncontrolled burn

- The metrics business owners should actually be tracking

- Why marketing budgets are often cut first — and why that’s risky

- How AI and automation are changing finance (and where human judgment is still critical)

- What financial clarity should look like going into 2026

If you’re a founder, agency owner, SaaS operator, or running an owner-led business, this episode will help you think more clearly about money, growth, and decision-making in the year ahead.

00:00 – Welcome to Beyond SEO + introducing Jack Moore (My Finance Function)

00:52 – Jack’s background: from apprenticeship to audit → outsourced finance

02:08 – Why compliance isn’t enough: cash flow + forward planning matters

03:26 – The #1 mistake founders make: only looking backwards at the numbers

05:06 – What outsourced finance actually does (and why it saves founders time)

06:33 – 2026 planning + the UK budget: minimum wage impact and pricing decisions

08:45 – “Kaplan Hall of Fame” AI mistake + what it teaches about verification

12:26 – Bootstrap vs raise: when external investment actually makes sense

16:33 – The danger of funding: overspending, losing discipline, repeating cycles

22:15 – The core metrics to track: cash runway, debtor days, gross vs net margin

30:23 – When bookkeeping isn’t the issue: making strategic decisions (hiring, capex)

32:00 – Finance in 2026: automation, dashboards, AI—plus hallucination risk

37:32 – Jack’s key advice for 2026: financial clarity isn’t a luxury anymore

38:49 – Where to find Jack + what My Finance Function is building next

With rising costs, minimum wage increases, tighter margins, and more pressure on cash flow, many businesses are still making decisions based on historical numbers rather than forward-looking insights. This conversation cuts through compliance, myths about growth, and surface-level reporting to focus on what actually keeps businesses alive and scalable.

About the guest

Jack Moore is the founder of My Finance Function, delivering outsourced finance operations for owner-led and growing businesses. With a background in audit, compliance, and strategic finance, Jack helps businesses move beyond bookkeeping and into real financial decision-making.

Useful links

🔗 Connect with Jack on LinkedIn: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackmoore7/

🔗 Learn more about My Finance Function: 

https://www.myfinancefunction.com/

If you got value from this episode, like, subscribe, and follow Beyond SEO for more honest conversations on growth, strategy, data, and decision-making that go beyond traditional SEO.

#growthack  

#BeyondSEO  

#SEOpodcast  

#finance

#business

#startups

Growthack.io helps brands go Beyond SEO, specialising in building SEO systems that drive revenue: combining technical, content, data-driven insights and AI-ready strategies to help businesses scale smarter. Practical, award-winning SEO that helps your brand stay discoverable, trusted, and ready for what’s next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Episode 6 of Beyond SEO, the team explore the future of Growthack, from moving beyond a one-man consultancy to building a small, senior “special forces” SEO team.

Together they break down:

1. Why long-term 5-year plans don’t make sense in 2025.

2. The shift from consultant → leader.

3. How a lean expert team can outperform larger agencies.

4. The differences between B2B and eCommerce SEO.

5. What Growthack wants to achieve in the next five years.

6. Why specialist-led client relationships work better than account management layers.

If you’re a CMO, marketing leader or senior SEO looking to understand how small teams scale impact — this is the episode.

00:00 – Introduction

00:20 – Meet Kevin & Sarif

01:40 – Why 5-year plans don’t work anymore

02:20 – Growthack’s next 6–12 months

03:00 – From consultant to specialist team

04:30 – Technical, content and strategic roles

05:15 – Why specialists should stay client-facing

06:50 – What excites the team about the future

08:00 – “If you want to go far, go together”

09:00 – Kevin’s mindset shift from doing → leading

11:00 – Advice for SEOs wanting to hire their first team member

13:00 – Sarif: The impact of a proper team structure

14:30 – B2B vs eCommerce SEO

16:30 – Why B2B is more interesting than people think

18:00 – Patience + buying cycles in B2B

19:10 – Why Growthack can compete with bigger agencies

20:00 – Recent client wins & performance stories

21:00 – How Growthack builds trust with clients

22:00 – What Growthack wants to be saying in 5 years

24:00 – Final thoughts & how to get in touch

Work with Growthack

We help eCommerce and B2B brands improve technical SEO, fix data issues, navigate migrations and unlock sustainable growth.

We only take on clients who fit our specialist model.

Get in touch: https://www.growthack.io

#growthack

#BeyondSEO

#SEOpodcast

#SEOcareers

#technicalSEO

#contentstrategy

#SEOteam

#B2BSEO

#ecommerceSEO

#digitalmarketing

#agencylife

#SEOfuture

Growthack.io helps brands go Beyond SEO, specialising in building SEO systems that drive revenue: combining technical, content, data-driven insights and AI-ready strategies to help businesses scale smarter. Practical, award-winning SEO that helps your brand stay discoverable, trusted, and ready for what’s next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special 5-year anniversary episode of Beyond SEO, the team sits down with Kevin (Founder of Growthack) to look back at how Growthack went from a solo consultancy to a specialist SEO team working with leading B2B and eCommerce brands.

You’ll hear how Growthack started in 2020 while Kevin was still at Experian, why he chose to focus on smaller, high-impact clients, and how the Growthack brand, name and website were pulled together at the very beginning.

We also walk through Sarif’s full journey – from arriving in the UK, taking a chance on a marketing path, and joining Growthack as a content intern in early 2022… to becoming a full-time SEO Strategist owning content process, client communication, and commercial outcomes.

If you’re interested in SEO careers, building an agency, or how people actually grow inside a small specialist team, this episode is for you.

What you’ll learn in this episode

1. How Growthack started in 2020 during lockdown while Kevin was still at Experian

2. The story behind the Growthack name, branding, and first website

3. How Sarif joined as a 6-week intern and ended up creating his own role

4. Why real client work matters more than just “learning SEO” in theory

5. How content strategy at Growthack goes beyond “traffic” and into commercial value

6. Why SEO is 30–40% technical and 60–70% communication

7. How working across B2B, eCommerce and SaaS accelerates learning

8. Why Growthack is built as a platform for self-development, not just a job

00:00 – Intro: Welcome to Beyond SEO with Growthack

00:18 – Growthack’s 5th Year Anniversary & Team Reflections

01:02 – From Solo Consultant to Specialist SEO Team

02:06 – Sarif’s Journey: Joining Growthack in Early 2022

03:14 – How Growthack Started in 2020 (Experian, lockdown, side projects)

04:09 – Choosing the Name “Growthack” & DIY Branding

04:57 – Sarif’s Internship: Design, Content & Rebuilding the Website

06:00 – From Intern to Junior Exec: Doing “a bit of everything”

07:02 – Learning SEO via YouTube + Real Client Work

08:20 – Moving into a Strategic Role & Owning Content

09:45 – Content Beyond Traffic: Commercial Value & ROI

11:00 – Why Real Conversations with Clients Shape Strategy

12:15 – Working Across B2B, eCommerce & SaaS (and why it matters)

13:06 – “It Depends”: Industry, context & hard conversations in reporting

13:35 – You Can’t Learn SEO Without Doing It

14:35 – Why Kevin Hired Sarif: Initiative, Websites & Freelance Work

15:35 – Sarif’s Background: From Bangladesh to the UK & Choosing Marketing

17:05 – Discovering SEO as an Introvert-Friendly Path (then realising it’s not just “behind a laptop”)

18:02 – SEO as Football: Technical vs Positioning & Communication

18:13 – Kevin: Technical SEO is 30–40%, Communication is 60–70%

19:21 – Building SEOs Who Can Sit in the Room with CMOs & Brand Leads

20:05 – University vs Real-World Experience in Marketing

20:45 – The Self-Development Piece: Why Growthack Exists

22:00 – Growthack as a Platform to Create Your Role

23:41 – How the Business Has Changed: Kevin Doing Everything → Real Team

24:56 – Taking Ownership, Freeing Kevin to Work on the Business

25:32 – Sarif Now: Full Lifecycle Ownership of Client Content

27:00 – Taking Responsibility & Fixing Problems Before Clients See Them

28:09 – Closing Thoughts & 5-Year Reflection

28:25 – Follow the Podcast & Get in Touch

Growthack.io helps brands go Beyond SEO, specialising in building SEO systems that drive revenue: combining technical, content, data-driven insights and AI-ready strategies to help businesses scale smarter. Practical, award-winning SEO that helps your brand stay discoverable, trusted, and ready for what’s next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.