On this episode of Local Marketing Secrets, host Danny Leibrandt sits down with Chris Dreyer, founder and CEO of Rankings.io — one of the most dominant SEO agencies in the country, built exclusively to serve personal injury law firms. Chris shares his wild journey, from playing Magic: The Gathering competitively to building an affiliate empire, crushing online poker tournaments, and ultimately launching a powerhouse agency that’s made the Inc. 5000 list eight years in a row.

They dive deep into the importance of niching up, how focus compounds opportunity, and why most agencies still miss the mark on product-market fit. Chris opens up about how he structured his offers, his philosophy on performance-based equity deals, and the exact components that let his team win in one of the most competitive industries in digital marketing. You’ll also hear high-level local SEO insights on LLM rankings, the rising importance of Yelp and superlative directories, how to train clients to write reviews that rank, and what really moves the needle in an AI-first search world.

Whether you’re growing a local business, scaling an agency, or trying to stand out in a saturated niche — this conversation is packed with hard-won lessons and tactical wisdom you won’t find anywhere else.

Let me know if you'd like a condensed version for Spotify or a catchy YouTube thumbnail title to go with it.

Chris Dreyer, Founder of Rankings.io:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisdreyerco/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chrisdreyerco

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrisdreyerco/

Agency: https://rankings.io/

Danny Leibrandt, Founder of Pest Control SEO:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/DannyLeibrandt  

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dannyleibrandt/   

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DannyLeibrandt   

Website: https://dannyleibrandt.com 

Pest Control SEO: https://pestcontrolseo.com/ 

Local Marketing Secrets Platforms:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LocalMarketingSecrets 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1TCL0LhZbsJS6mzanqnnT1?si=224075c9fbda42f5  

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/local-marketing-secrets/id1741176782 

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0bb5254-5d6c-4940-8211-085157cc1239/local-marketing-secrets 

Podcast Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Chris Dreyer and His Journey

05:32 Lessons from Poker: Focus and Deep Work

08:30 The Concept of Niching Up in Business

15:54 The Art of Choosing a Niche

23:00 Current Trends in Local SEO

26:30 The Landscape of Legal Marketing

32:29 The Importance of Online Reviews

38:22 Leveraging Social Media and Forums

44:23 Branding and Long-Term Strategy

49:31 Final Thoughts and Recommendations

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