Dave Davies on SEO Evolution, Brand Building & Why Nobody Wants You to Fail [PODCAST]

He’s also a regular speaker for Pubcon, SMX, State of Search, and other leading industry conferences

In this episode, Dave shares his experiences on starting a white hat SEO company at a time when competitors were successful in using spammy tactics, the challenges he’s had to overcome as an agency owner, conquering public-speaking jitters, and more.

Show Notes

• Dave sums up what has changed today versus when he started Beanstalk Internet Marketing back in 2004. [03:04]
• Starting his own company was partly triggered by “cockiness.” [06:18]
• Dave and Mary, his wife and business partner, came up with the business name while they were “talking about the right thing at the right time and the right place.” [8:31]
• “I love what I do so much. The idea of not doing it is just sort of not an option.” [9:55]
• If he could go back in the early days of starting the company, Dave says he’d be a little more demanding and firm as a boss to his employees. [11:58]
• Discover what keeps Dave passionate about his business. [14:06]
• On the important habits to cultivate success and grow an SEO business. [17:38]
• Learn how Dave deals with clients and peers who are less than ethical and kind. [26:59]
• One of Dave’s fondest memories is working with a great client who had a wonderful approach to marketing – helping build the client’s company. [31:52]
• How Webcology started at Webmaster Radio. [37:50]
• On why the show’s format hasn’t changed, growing their listenership, and bringing in guests who know stuff that they don’t. [40:49]
• During conferences, Dave enjoys doing mini-interviews with speakers and vendors and then creating a Webcology episode out of it. [45:28]
• Some of Dave’s self-written articles that he looks back on most fondly. [50:13]
• Dave talks about his first-ever speaking gig on the main stage of Search Engine Strategies San Jose in 2006. He also shares some good tips for first-time conference speakers and dealing with public-speaking jitters. [58:12]
• How did Dave deal with and overcome career struggles? [1:07:45]
• If the search industry didn’t exist, Dave would probably be a political advisor. [1:15:48]
• The first piece of technology Dave was obsessed with? A VIC-20. [1:16:48]
• For business advice, Dave credits people like Wil Reynolds who helps ground you into understanding what the real world actually is like. [1:18:53]
• On “bad” SEO advice: “It doesn’t have to be an absolute every time. And I think that’s where we sort of can get misled where something seems like bad information, but it’s not bad information if you interpret it right.” [1:24:31]
• Things Dave is most excited about right now. [1:35:29]
• Dave shares his thoughts on AI and machine learning, their differences, and how they really impact search. [1:39:54]
• How many monitors is the right amount for SEO? [1:47:58]
• This is the SEO tool that Dave will build if he had unlimited resources. [1:51:22]
• What’s next for Dave Davies? [1:54:56]