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Sunday 28 June 2015

Interview with Matthew Anton, SEO Specialist

Matt Anton is has been involved with the SEO industry since 2006, with his latest projects can be found on mattanton.com


Matt Anton Co-founder of NJ Anton
You’re running an internet marketing & web development agency that’s generating some nice revenue. What has been the experience so far?

My experience has been that people either understand the importance of having a proper online presence or they don’t. While business relies heavily on communication and agreement, trying to convince someone their rankings or reputation matter online is an uphill battle; we choose to do business with those that understand this benefit versus educating them and selling them.

Why SEO – how did you personally get interested in SEO and what drove you the most to found an agency focused on SEO and Marketing?

I first became interested in online marketing in 2006 when my brother Dan Anton and I were attempting to create a social network for gamers. Hard to believe we’ve been around as long as Reddit. During that time my focus was marketing and promoting the website. After spending months and years researching and testing I started to realize SEO was the best source of traffic because it was consistent and provided a fantastic ROI.

Can you list a few of your agency’s best achievements for clients from a results perspective?

We don’t reveal a client’s rankings unless they allow us to share privately with other members. That said, you can look at testimonials from our products and services. You can see with over 1000 reviews and testimonials we have many more clients that simply don’t say anything but a smile and subscription (which we appreciate greatly)

What according to you is the path the SEO industry is taking while going forward?

SEO or any type of data optimization and organization is going to continue to be important. Data is only getting more complicated, and algorithms need to sort it. Whether it’s SEO or something similar in the future, user experience and popularity will continue to fuel it. That’s why Crowd Search Me has been so successful.

Do you think content marketing can be an effective replacement for SEO in future?

Content marketing has been a huge buzzword lately; it goes hand in hand with an SEO strategy but there is a law of diminishing returns. Sometimes content needs to be in the form of trust, with reviews, testimonials, interviews and not necessarily a how to article or video. Businesses need to focus on running their businesses, not turning into a magazine subscription.

From your experiences of running an agency handling Website Development – what is the impact of responsive sites and good site designs in general on user metrics and organic traffic?

Websites that don’t offer up a good experience are going to experience large bounce rates, and low average time spent on page, which Google hates to see. This will hurt your rankings, so a great user experience is always the first step.

In your opinion, what are some of the best ways to build/earn links in the present time without violating Google’s guidelines?

I don’t believe in the black/white/gray hat SEO debate because it’s just noise. There is only 1 algorithm, and it’s our job to feed it near and long term. Any link building or “acquiring” is manipulation, so the best approach is to be smart about it and spread out your efforts.

Where do you see your company and yourself in the next five years or so?

Sound like my mother in law on my first date with my now wife haha. I see myself constantly figuring out ways to help businesses gain an edge over their competition. Right now that vehicle is SEO. It’s a game that I love to play because the stakes are high and the rewards are lucrative and personally fulfilling to help someone else succeed online.

Want to contact Matt?
Email: matt@njanton.com
Phone:  609 372 4518

Wednesday 24 June 2015

Interview with InVert CEO and Best Selling Business Author Hawk Mikado

Hawk Mikado is the CEO of InVert and best selling author of the eBook 'The 3 Major Challenges That Can Kill Your Business''.

Hawk Mikado CEO of InVert Strategies
First off – can we have a little background information on you Hawk – Where do you live? 

I live in beautiful San Diego, when I’m not traveling to Las Vegas, Scottsdale, LA or Florida.

What motivates you?

Striving for excellence in everything I do.

What inspires you?

My Wife Caitlin, my passion for seeing businesses grow, and my love for my work.

By the time you were 18 you had built 6 companies, can you give some advice on choosing profitable niches?

Pick your target audience, and have a velvet rope of qualifications like annual revenue, salary, company size and title.

Pre-selling has been the number one way to grow my business. This is one of the strategies that we teach to our clients and in our programs. The principle is to sell your products or program to enough people that you get paid to develop a new product or program. I go more in depth with this in our Linked With Clients Online training, and in my other book The CMO Handbook. What I’ve found though, is most businesses need to address the first 3 challenges they face, before they can pre-sell.

You've faced many struggles on your road to business success. How has your experiences helped you to develop as a entrepreneur?

I overcame the challenges I faced by seeking out mentors who could help me through the pains and “demons” I had. I learned about psychology, Neurolinguistic Programing, Tactical Influence, Leadership, Accountability, and Mindset Shifting Techniques. Eventually I developed my own process that I call Neuro Communication Systems. I use the processes to remove immediate doubt, pain, fear, sadness, and more. Overall I’ve spent around $100k in my personal development, and I continue to invest in myself to continue to learn.

If you were new and starting today, what would you do differently?

I would make finding a team a priority. Once I brought a business partner on we started to grow much faster. When you start a business as a solopreneur there really aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. Even when there are two people it is still a challenge to get everything done. When you have a team supporting you they take care of the day to day task you aren’t good at so you can focus on what you are good at. 

All 3 of the killers are key to avoiding, though. Your team gives you the space to focus on what you’re good at. 

I wish that I knew these 3 keys to begin with and it would have taken me 15 years less to build a 6 figure business.

These are 3 Major challenges that every business will face at some point. The challenge becomes how to overcome them if you're in the middle of them AND how to avoid them if you haven't experienced them yet.

In our eBook The 3 Major Challenges That Can Kill Your Business... And How to Avoid Them we discuss the simple yet important keys to developing a business that will grow with you through the million and multi million dollar marks in your growth.

The best part about this is that these 3 “laws” of business are seen by businesses that are making multiple Billion’s to those just starting out.

The first challenge is all about your relationships. Building relationships with the leads you have, with new leads, and most importantly with your centers of influence who will bring you more leads.

You’re not going to get the QUALIFIED leads your business needs to grow if you can’t get leads to come to your door in the first place. In our ebook we share very cool techniques on how to develop these relationships.

The second challenge is related to making sales. This means you have to convert the leads you get into PAYING customers. Yet not just any type of paying customer, you’re going to need some BIG-TICKET products & services that you can offer and sell.

The amount of energy you spend to land a $500 client is about the same as a $5,000 or event $50,000 client. So why are you focusing on the $500’s when you have $1,000’s laying at your door! We share with you some strategies and tactics to make the transition in the book.

The last is around your team. Most companies hire fast and fire slow... we believe that you should be hiring fast and fire faster.... ONLY if they’re not a good fit. The right team can make all of the difference, and having the tools that get you the results you want to begin with is even better.

Another part of your team are your center’s of influence. They are the JV’s, Affiliates, & promotional partners that give you the ability to leverage everything you’re doing.

If you’re interested in learning all of these things you can download our book and watch the free training video inside as well.

Text InVert to 96000 or visit http://NVRT.ME/3Killers

In your book ''The 3 Major challenges that can kill your business'' You wrote about 3 'laws' that businesses should follow to grow successfully, How would you focus on the challenge of getting customers to keep coming back – other than good service?

Having great relationships with people is key, they like working with you and it’s fun and they see results. Usually once you solve a problem a new one is created so anticipating that can help with repeat business.

The other is to balance between developing new products, pre-selling, and fulfilling.

There are 3 pillars of a business structure. Marketing/Sales, R&D/Production, & Admin/Operations.

Most companies put 50%+ into Admin/Operations 30% into R&D/Production and only 20% into Marketing/Sales. This is a recipe for disaster. How can your business grow, let alone survive, if you only give it what it needs 20% of the time.

Put 67% into Marketing and Sales. This doesn’t mean that you have to spend $7 out of $10 on marketing & sales, it means that you are investing 70% of your resources overall to attracting the right qualified leads, and a lot of them. Developing relationships with those leads to close sales. And those relationships will lead to centers of influence. One key with this is when your team builds relationships first and sells second your sales will increase by 199%... 300%... or over 1500% in our case.

You put 23% into Admin and operations. This includes delivery of your services, products, programs, etc. YET Just because it's only 23% doesn’t mean that you’re going to want to slack on performance.

The last part is your R&D and Productions. This 10% is crucial to your growth, AND your best results will come when you do 2 things. First is only create something after you’ve sold it (pre-selling) and second is create something new at least every 6 months to keep your company relevant. Your customers/clients will also have something new to buy.

How do you keep your business focus – Do you have any suggestions for entrepreneurs who are experiencing challenging times?

A friend of mine (Jim, Chess Now) who teaches chess to executives, taught me something priceless. The difference between a strategy and a tactic, how to know the difference, and when to take advantage of each.

A strategy is a choice. A Tactic is an opportunity. And success comes from executing tactics as they present themselves, and leveraging strategies to keep you moving towards your goal.

If you want to be successful, you will want to understand that some of your choices will take you off track, others will present opportunities. Learn from the choices you make, and take action on opportunities that are presented.

Also realize that you can’t do it all yourself. If you’re having a challenge, hire someone to solve it... no matter the cost. It will give you a much greater return than it will ever cost you. And increase your marketing and sales departments. Hire, Hire, Hire!

Have you any plans (personal or business) that you can share with us about your future plans / goals / lifetime goals?
This July I will be marrying Caitlin, my goal is to build my company and hire a CEO to take over while I pursue my political career to become the President of the United States.

Want to contact Hawk?
Email: Concierge@InVertStrategies.com
Call: 855.350.4295
To download your copy of this free book Go to http://nvrt.me/3killers 
or Text InVert to 96-000.