Another episode in our interview-style format!

This episode is somewhat bittersweet for Mike, because of its topic of SEO. Mike feels that a lot of small businesses get sold the dream about spending money with a marketing company and it will answer all their prayers and bring all these sales, etc. when they're just marketers being marketers. 

Mike has always gone the route of building relationships rather than investing in SEO and getting ranked higher on google. 

In this episode, guest Adam McChesney owner and CEO of Mizz Marketing discusses the things that do and don't work regarding SEO. 

Adam starts off by agreeing that there is a time and a place for when it's right to implement SEO, and the importance of building relationships to grow your business. 

There are several variables that go into ranking your business on google. For example: having a platform such as WordPress makes a difference in being able to be ranked. 

Adam goes over several misconceptions regarding SEO, and how there are multiple FREE things businesses can be doing to improve and build their business initially. 

Adam is producing some basic training videos in the near future, but for now, people can reach out to him directly for info. and guidance. 

As far as where to begin in SEO; Adam suggests starting with the google business listing because it's FREE. You can a lot of business from optimizing that even without a website. Start boosting that with reviews, pictures. And since google business has its own platform, you can post your photos and reviews there (just like social media). 

Mike brings up two things: Google Guaranteed (Google local service ads) and Backlinks. 

Adam elaborates on the above and explains it's comprised of background checks, licensing, and any insurances needed before the company can receive the google guaranteed "badge". He distinguishes between google guaranteed vs google ads. With google guaranteed, you're paying "per lead" not "per click" as google ads operate. He highly recommends companies get signed up. You have the opportunity to partner it with SEO. It will eventually replace the HomeAdvisor/Thumbtacks of the world. 

Adam defines Backlinks as "a vote of confidence from your website to another website on Google, that Google sees as relevant." Adam breaks it down that way to simplify it. You can put keywords around it, and link your website on blogs, etc. When you have the foundation set, and everything geared up via google. Backlinks are one of the things Adam does in his business by doing the research, and continuously managing them. 

The conversation pivots to more on Adam's background, and Mike asks how Adam got to where he is now. 

Adam went the entrepreneur route out of college and experienced a lot of failures. He then got into medical device sales and grew quickly in that field. He had a lot of success, and in November 2018, he had recently been promoted but had the desire to start his own business and do his own thing. He was targeted by an ad to learn digital marketing and started investing in courses to learn more about it.

In July 2020 he decided to leave medical sales behind to build out his digital marketing business. He grew quickly and built great relationships while becoming more knowledgeable in digital marketing. He realized that even though he was successful in the medical device field, he wasn't getting the fulfillment he desired. 

Reach out to Adam if you need guidance and assistance with SEO and building out your website. 

Follow Adam on social media: 

IG: @Adamlmcchesney