Game of SERPs podcast
By Puya
Specifically, I run the digital marketing agency (Drip Marketing) at SmartCast Group. I use our department to launch different businesses where we see an opportunity.
What you’ll get from me
I’ll cut the bullshit down and focus on what works with digital marketing. I’ve tested dozens of hypothesis and have spent more than a hundred thousand dollars trying to find out how I can outrank and outmanoeuvre my competitors. I won’t lie. I didn’t beat them in every case, but when I did beat them, I outgrew our revenue from $400K/year to $2,000,000/year.
I also run small personal projects to see how I can eventually use my ideas for our more substantial projects.
I’ll share my ideas, my success, my failures and current trends.
The difference between me and others
There are brilliant men and women in the digital marketing space. However, I feel like we’ve hit a wall. Most podcast and posts are generic without and a roadmap.
Don’t get me wrong. There are rockstars I can’t live without like:
Ryan Stewart
Glen Allsop
Charles Floate
Benji Hyam
Devesh Khanal
Not sure where I would be without these guys. Most of my success is because of these guys. I think it’s time I share what I’ve learned and how I did it.
What I have planned
Here’s where I think there is a big hole with digital marketing. No one dives deep into a topic. All I hear is:
Run video ads on Facebook
Run Deepcrawl on your website
Write relevant content
Optimize for SEO and here’s how
All this is great, but when you have five clinics to run, you’re not going to sit and watch or listen to 12 hours of content and delegate tasks to your three new digital marketing staff. You’ll most likely hire a digital marketing agency to do this for you.
With my posts and podcasts, you’ll find out if your marketing agency is not doing their job or if you’re going to hire an agency, you’ll have plenty of data to help guide them in the right direction.
I’ll pick an industry first and then a city. I will then dissect everything from the competition, content strategy, paid ads strategy, social strategy, email marketing, SEO and UI/UX.
If you’re lucky, I’ll pick your city, your niche and tell you exactly how you can beat everyone else.
Where we’ll end up
No one knows the answer to this. I do think we’ll change up how I present my content a few times before we hit the spot.
For example, I might start with hard niches like criminal lawyers in New York City. Or I might focus on a category and create clusters of content surounding that main category. We’ll see where this takes us.
Game of SERPs podcastJul 20, 2022
Updates to our global navigation
I am not lazy, and I promise you that. I promised myself I would gather my thoughts into a post once a month, but I’ve betrayed myself with that goal.
Although, I’ve been a little defeated with the one website we’ve invested everything into.
Nevertheless, life goes on, and we’ve got to continue improving.
I am stubborn, and if I have to punch myself to get on here to tell you what we’re working on, I will.
From now on, you’ll know what we worked on for the month. I’ll share traffic data, revenue data, what we’re working on, and what we’re planning.
In this post, I’ll talk about improvements to the global navigation of one of our projects. It won’t be long, but you’ll immediately notice user experience improvements.
Let’s get started!
Revamping My eCommerce Product Page Template – New and Improved Updates
It's been a while, hasn't it? Life sometimes tends to sweep us away, and I'm no exception. I've let this blog slip through the cracks like anyone else.
But boy, have we been busy since my last post on January 18th! We've forged partnerships with three multinational manufacturers who are genuinely impressed with the channels we can use to promote their products.
Our dedication to developing exceptional websites, engaging media channels, and hiring industry experts is starting to pay off, and we couldn't be more thrilled.
But enough about updates - let's dive into today's post.
In this post, I'll share the various elements we're testing as a team for our product template on an eCommerce website we’re investing a lot into.
We'll explore human and credibility factors, my internal linking strategy, content, meta tags, our current position, and provide a wireframe for you to examine.
Let's get started!
A new dragon head for our eCommerce website
Post: https://gameofserps.com/a-new-dragon-head-for-our-ecommerce-website/
I’ve always been a proponent of multiple web assets to take up precious real estate on Google.
I’ve explained the process on my Dragon with 7 heads post.
Once a website starts ranking and getting calls, leads, or revenue, we always start a new website that would work better based on our experience with the initial dragon head.
In this case, we’ve got a large eCommerce website that needs to be split into a new domain.
I tried to get fancy with our current eCommerce website when our competitors haven’t updated their websites in 10 years. Most are bare and very basic, and I feel I made too many changes too fast.
We’ll mimic our competitors with our new dragon head, launch a bare, minimalist website, and only focus on top products. Although, we’ll work hard doing a better job.
It will be a template with a specific plan to make it easy for users to find what they’re looking for within 2-3 clicks.
In this post, I’ll go over what we’re doing now and what I will do with our new website.
Listen to find out what we're going to do.
Links mentioned: Product page template
A digital marketing guide for the auto mechanic industry – A step-by-step guide
It has been a while since I’ve written an in-depth article on helping out a random business in a random city.
Anyone can rank a non-competitive niche. I tend to pick challenging industries, and for good reason. I’ll try to help with advanced strategies that will blow your mind.
In the past, I would split up my content into four or five articles. I won’t do that this time. You don’t have to finish it all in one sitting, but you’ll have one URL to go to when you want to continue with the article.
In this post, we’ll pick an auto mechanic from a large city. I’ve decided on Dallas, Texas. We’ll then help them figure it out.
We’ll review everything this business needs to know about improving its digital visibility.
Let’s get started.
Details of the May algorithm update on a pet project
In June, I spoke about the results of the May algorithm update and the lessons I’ve learned.
Well, I am still learning and making changes to improve the one website which had a 45% reduction in traffic.
The website I’ll discuss in this post is an affiliate website, so you’ll need to consider that when I compare the same website to our other web assets, which are real businesses.
What’s puzzling is that my traffic, clicks, and impressions are still sporadic. Up and down.
In this post for July, I will talk about what I am doing to improve my traffic numbers.
I am not going to make you guys wait. Let’s get right to it.
...
https://gameofserps.com/details-of-the-may-algorithm-update-on-a-pet-project/
My May 2022 Google algorithm results & lessons
I am going to do something different with this post.
It has always been about strategy and processes for the last two+ years.
Since the latest core update has been tremendous, I want to review how our projects, my website, and clients are doing.
We’ll review websites in different industries, including our businesses, affiliate websites, and client websites.
I will also tell you what I am planning for our future since I believe it’s time I leave the mickey mouse game to the juniors and step in the ring with the powerhouses of each industry.
Post can be read on https://gameofserps.com/my-may-2022-google-algorithm-results-lessons/
Ranking a new plumbing business in Dallas Texas
It has been a while since I picked a random business for an SEO case study. I think it’s time we get back to the game.
I am not going to get into UX or UI with this post. I’ve done this extensively on my orthodontist, dentist, hair transplant surgeons and plastic surgeon series.
We’ll strictly look at SEO and what can be done to improve the visibility of a plumbing business which can use some digital marketing help.
For this post, we’ll focus on a business in Dallas, Texas since that’s where we’ll be looking to expand in 2023.
For this article, I am going to help Cody & Sons Plumbing, Heating & Air.
Let’s dive in.
Using the layover strategy for bottom-funnel traffic
I am going to share a thought I’ve had for two months. I call it, the layover strategy.
You can use this strategy for your businesses or affiliate websites. I don’t think it matters.
Most of us are well aware of posting blog posts or case studies. Some of us link back to key money pages from these landing pages. The more advanced SEOs build links to these landing pages.
I’ve been thinking out loud on Twitter and met the team recently to talk about a new strategy. I would like to build a whole new area on our website showcasing real customers with video testimonials, including answers to pain points and our process.
On these layover pages:
- we’ll include a video testimonial
- a video of what was done
- what services/products were utilized
- why did we recommend what we did
- show before and after photos
Instead of a basic testimonial, we’ll turn these pages into interview-style content with rich media.
Link to post: https://gameofserps.com/using-the-layover-strategy-for-bottom-funnel-traffic/
Taking multiple spots on SERPs by investing in multiple web assets
I am going to talk about a tactic I’ve never spoken about. It’s called the Dragon with 7 heads strategy.
I am kind of happy that I am underground. Why? Because most of the guys/gals who are unknown have the best digital marketing strategies and they keep it to themselves.
Most of us don’t want to be “known”, are very private and have the same drive as some of the biggest names in the industry.
I am sharing my thoughts because I need to write every day and the odd individual who goes over my concept will win 100%. I have to give back somehow.
The thought process is publishing, hacking, advertising, and doing whatever it takes to show up on SERPs. Hence, why my blog is called Game of SERPs.
We take up 5 spots on Google SERPs for any given keyword in some cases.
We’re all competing against multi-national/billion-dollar conglomerates. Spare me the “it’s not fair” speech.
Now that I’ve told you about what the strategy is, let me share how we do it.
Dominating local search with dedicated location pages
In my latest post, I am going to explain how you can dominate local SEO with individual location pages (even if you have 1 location). Massive SEO win!
I also share a wireframe of how we do this in my latest post. Take a look. You won't be disappointed.
https://gameofserps.com/dominating-local-search-with-dedicated-location-pages/
A new approach on content strategy
When I started a digital marketing career and worked with different companies, we put up mediocre content and Google gave us some love.
We slowly streamlined our content process by learning from our mistakes and the best in the industry. Particularly, Grow & Convert really helped us gain a lot of success not just on our blog but also on landing pages.
For starters, we don’t survey our target market as much as we used to. Anyone can just make up a bunch of crap to earn a few dollars on surveys.
Next, finding someone who works in the industry was key. Anything else is regurgitated garbage from around the web.
Finally, having professional photos and videos really helped us dominate our industry. I now believe it’s the only way to really succeed in any market.
I’ll share our process (which has been refined) from start to finish.
Advanced SEO tactics: eCommerce canonical tag strategy
For this podcast, I want to talk about the ugly child of SEO, the dreaded canonical tag.
I’ve seen websites without canonical tags doing fine, and I’ve also seen large eCommerce websites completely botch their traffic by incorrectly tagging their category, filter and landing pages.
Most small businesses and random websites are okay if they don’t have canonical tags. How do I know? We still own a few websites doing very well without any canonical tags. It’s just not a priority to add these tags. Not yet, at least.
Find out what we do on our eCommerce projects.
Post link: https://gameofserps.com/advanced-seo-tactics-ecommerce-canonical-tag-strategy/
Does website speed affect rankings - A close look at 4 web assets & their results
For my next podcast/post, I am going to focus on how speed has affected the rankings and revenue growth of our top four web assets.
I’ve always studied our websites, what thought leaders are saying, what Google is recommending and what the general competition is doing in the different industries we target.
The more experience I gain over the years, the more I realize most digital marketers who rush business owners to speed up their websites are full of sh*t. You’ll hear crazy claims to speed up your website or you’ll lose visibility in search. This is simply not true. Not in our case at least.
I am not saying all the so-called experts are wrong. I am trying to get you to think independently of the hive.
My affiliate marketing process — How I’ve built dozens of small websites making a few hundred dollars per month
Original post on: https://gameofserps.com/my-affiliate-marketing-process/
It has been a while since I’ve posted an article. I’ve been in the middle of a move and frankly needed some time off. I am back though and will continue posting at least one article a month.
In this post, I am going to write about what works for me. Others have talked about this subject to death and I’ve ignored most advice on the web. Not because I don’t respect these individuals but because they miss so much of the process, it becomes a joke.
What I will share will have similarities to other successful affiliate marketers with a different touch.
One of the main differences is that I manage real web assets doing real business.
Another is that we generate millions of dollars with actual businesses. My affiliate projects are test subjects. If I validate an idea, I quickly move it on to what we do with our own businesses.
In this article, I’ll go over how my affiliate marketing process works, step by step, including:
- My research process for picking a business to work with.
- Keyword research.
- Outsourcing the work.
- Putting the sitemap together.
- Determining where to put my affiliate links.
- Using product pages.
- Wireframing my hypothesis.
How we apply pain-point SEO to convert traffic into leads
As SEOs, we’re used to spending countless hours digging around keyword tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush.
No more!
What do we do now? We focus on a strategy called pain point SEO.
Pain point SEO focuses on the pain points of a target audience and the keywords tied to those pains.
Now, usually, that means neglecting high volume keywords that everyone else in your industry uses.
It also means actually answering the questions your audience has instead of regurgitating garbage from around the web.
I get it. Everyone thinks the way to rank and get traffic to their site is to write on the same topics with the same keywords, but just do it better to get ahead.
That doesn’t work as much today.
Sure, ranking for keywords will always matter, but to actually get conversions from your content and excel to make 8+ figures, you have to start focusing on your customers’ point of pain.
Yes, I said it. Revenue generation and more than just a few million is the ultimate objective.
The moment you step away from just ranking a few keywords without ever talking to your target demographic will be when you finally start to see true success.
How VitaSave can increase traffic by 50%+ with category optimization – An eCommerce digital strategy
In this episode, I go over technical SEO to improve the protein powder category for VitaSave.
Highlights:
- Keyword research
- Wireframe of the protein powder category page
- Backlink gap analysis and strategy
Link to post: https://gameofserps.com/how-vitasave-can-increase-traffic-by-50-with-category-optimization-an-ecommerce-digital-strategy/
Optimizing your eCommerce search template for UX - An eCommerce digital strategy
Your search template is the forgotten child of smaller eCommerce websites.
Ever consider why we all heavily use the search option for larger websites? Why do we not take it seriously for our own projects?
It’s not hard. You just need a good developer and a good understanding of your visitors.
You don’t even need the search template from WooCommmerce or Shopify.
In this post, we’ll talk about improving search user experience for your eCommerce websites. I’ll also share the custom systems I’ve created for search criteria.
Our link building strategy- An eCommerce digital strategy
In this podcast, we're going to be talking about advanced vetting rules before acquiring a link, budget, strategy and how to come up with content that converts.
What I talk about in this episode has been tested on our own projects for more than a few years and still working very well.
My internal link building strategy – An eCommerce digital marketing experiment
Who can refuse free links? Especially when you can instantly boost the authority of your most important pages instantly.
I’ve seen firsthand when we’ve used internal link building and have seen great improvements in our rankings.
In this podcast, we're going to discuss strategies and no fluff.
Let's get you ranked!
Product page optimization – An eCommerce digital marketing experiment
In this episode, I go over:
- How we're optimizing our eCommerce product pages
- What's working right now
- What we're working on
I've also included a PDF version of the wireframe I am using right now on a large website.
Pot link: https://gameofserps.com/product-page-optimization-an-ecommerce-digital-marketing-experiment/
Category page optimization
Our most recent project is an internal campaign to test and disrupt the construction industry. Although being much bigger than an eCommerce website, my goal in this post is to show you how our team is using category pages to quickly increase our rankings.
An eCommerce digital marketing experiment from month 1-6
A winning product and category page wireframe
I’ve been focusing on different industries I’ve helped in my previous posts. I am going to shake it up a bit and break down a branch of my day.
I started learning and educating myself about wireframing in 2014. I never realized how important it is to plan out a page or a website through wireframes.
I am going to show everyone how I generate high converting wireframes for our companies.
How orthodontists can master digital marketing and increase patients
My final post for orthodontists is how they can use their CRM to automate their marketing campaigns.
We’ll also look at a quick paid ads strategy and how long it should take to increase the visibility of Clear Advantage Orthodontics. A paid marketing campaign must work in conjunction with a CRM strategy. Otherwise, we’ll just run pay per click campaigns.
Perfecting the in-house marketing process over a period of 7 years
I am going to do this a little differently compared to every other post Game of SERPs. I am going to show you all real-life examples of what has worked for our company and the many divisions I am a part of.
It's a 7-year chronicle of our success along with our mistakes.
How orthodontists can master digital marketing and increase patients
In the fourth part of my digital marketing post for orthodontists we’re going to focus on:
- Optimizing the GMB page for Clear Advantage Orthodontics
- Improving information architecture on the homepage
- Talk about design and how it improves credibility
How orthodontists can master digital marketing and increase patients
In this post, we’ll talk about a content strategy/calendar, go over examples of links we can acquire and wireframe our Invisalign service page.
How orthodontists can master digital marketing and increase patients
In part two, we’ll study our competitors. We’ll look at:
The backlink profile of our competitors
Quickly go over a backlink gap analysis
Predictive organic traffic analysis
Look at their copy
Credibility factors
Human factors
How orthodontists can master digital marketing and increase patients
Backlink gap analysis research with examples
With the right plan, you can be sure to leave your competitors in the dust. This podcast will explain how.
Advanced digital marketing process for hair transplant surgeons
I don't work with generic content. The topics we'll go over will pleasantly surprise you since it's all actionable work you or your marketing team can do to beat your own competitors.
Marketing your gold royalty and streaming company
Advanced dental marketing strategy – Part 4
Advanced dental marketing strategy - Part 3
I am not going to leave anything behind. This podcast and its corresponding post will have everything a dental clinic will need to increase digital visibility and credibility.
Advanced dental marketing strategy – Part 2
Optimizing the Google My Business page for O2 Dental
The website architecture and user interface design strategy
Finding out how long it would take to apply the SEO changes
Studying how many high authority links are required to achieve our goals (with examples)
Advanced dental marketing strategy - Part 1
This is a four-part series and for intermediate-advanced marketers.
Transitioning your business to eCommerce during and after Covid-19
Specifically, I go over ways to offer an online ordering system, delivering your products to your customers, your messaging and more.
How can plastic surgeons master digital marketing
Advanced law firm marketing strategies and guide
We'll go everything from keyword research to user behaviour research.
Marketing your gold royalty and streaming company
An in-depth marketing strategy for skincare clinics in Toronto
We'll go over SEO, user analysis and more.
Marketing and ranking for Botox in Toronto
An underrated strategy for your clinic using Google My Business
In this episode, I'll go over how you can optimize your Google My Business page, data on what works, Google's machine learning, managing your reviews and technical information about images uploaded.