Episode 085:
London-born, US-based online entrepreneur and digital marketing expert, Neil Patel is the co-founder of Hello Bar, Crazy Egg & KISSmetrics and helped Fortune 500 companies like HP, Amazon, Viacom, GM and NBC in their revenue growth and a New York Times Bestselling author. Neil had started gaining entrepreneurial skills from his home, being surrounded by professionals. His maternal uncles ran multiple businesses that rubbed off on his mom, persuading her to start her home daycare business. He started entrepeneurialship early with selling cable black boxes and auto parts in high school.
Neil Patel is the name behind the magical progress of how the traffic of TechCrunch increased by 30% within a period of just 2 months. Neil has gained an immense popularity with his entrepreneurial and digital marketing skills and The Wall Street Journal calls him a top influencer on the web.
Forbes says he is one of the top 10 marketers, and Entrepreneur Magazine says he created one of the 100 most brilliant companies. He was recognized as a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by President Obama and a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 35 by the United Nations.
Takeaways:
- Neil shares his story about how he started out as an entrepreneur. From being a 15 year old looking to make some money, though his path didn’t start out as a huge success, those steps led him to be the incredible entrepreneur he is today.
- Algorithms keeps changing. Therefore, Neil stresses that over time, you want to be using SEO correctly. He says that SEO is effective if you do it right, because you’re putting the user first. That’s the key – talk like you’re talking to a human.
- BE THOROUGH! Neil shares that it doesn’t matter if your landing page has 50 or 5,000 words. What really matters is that you are being thorough with your information. Make it so that whatever topic you’re covering is talked about so well, and so in depth, that the user won’t have to go anywhere else to get that information!
- You should be updating your old content! Neil stresses that in addition to creating brand new content, it’s also important to be updating old content. For example, an old blog post that isn’t getting a lot of traffic, Neil suggests going in and updating it to be more relevant! Maintain the old stuff!! He uses Google Search Console or Web Master Tools.
- Neil shares that his key to manage multiple businesses successfully is to hire great CEO’s for ALL OF THEM!
- “Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone”…So true. Neil talks about how in order to make it as an entrepreneur, you have to be willing to fail, and willing to keep learning from your mistakes. Get a mentor, learn from others, and get some ideas on what you can do to lead you down that path to success.
Highlights:
- (2:34) A little more about Neil.
- (2:58) How did Neil get his start as an entrepreneur?
- (3:52) SEO tips- why it’s a RACE!
- (5:43) What is a thorough landing page, and why will that make you rank higher in the long run?
- (6:10) An example of a thorough post! (Pizza example)
- (7:01) How often should we be creating content?
- (7:19) Neil’s tools to keep track of old content and when to update it!
- (7:42) When ranking for a keyword, how many monthly searches should you be going for?
- (8:19) Common SEO mistakes?
- (9:37) What new trends does Neil see coming up in 2019?
- (10:44) Chatbots- which one, and what does Neil use it for?
- (11:16) What does Neil recommend as a first hire to grow your agency?
- (11:46) Tricks for scaling a business! How to grow without being stuck in the business.
- (12:27) How does he manage multiple businesses?
- (12:45) After Neil lost a million dollars, how did he bounce back?
- (14:08) What advice would Neil give an entrepreneur who’s struggling?
- (15:51) What are some of the best books Neil has read?
- (16:12) What does it mean to Neil to make an impact?
- (16:32) What’s next for Neil Patel?
Quotes:
“SEO is not a sprint, it’s a race”
“In some industries one customer is worth a million bucks, and in some industries one customer is worth 5 bucks”
“Building a brand is the best way to get rankings”
“If you don’t have the sales coming in, the rest won’t matter”
“The key is to focus on what you’re good at, and just keep climbing”
“Brands are defensible”
“Learn from your mistakes, and avoid making the same ones over and over again”
Resources:
Neil Patel website: neilpatel.com
Neil’s Book Recommendations:
Principles: Life and Work (by Ray Dalio)
Watch Full Interview
