This week on the Digitally Overwhelmed podcast I got to interview author and popular keynote speaker, Mike Michalowicz. I had so much fun interviewing Mike because he has so much wisdom to share about running your small business finance (among other things).

Sometimes when it comes to “serious” topics like doing the finances in our business, it can be hard to find resources and frameworks that are motivating to follow. And all of Mike’s books do exactly that: the inspire you to take action, but also give you some clear rules to follow.

In this conversation we talk about bringing comedy to the business world, depression in the entrepreneur community, and how he uses A/B testing in his business to make decisions.

Mike Michalowicz is a former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal; is the former MSNBC business make-over expert; is a popular keynote speaker on innovative entrepreneurial topics; and is the author of Profit First, Surge, The Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

Mike Website: http://www.mikemichalowicz.com/

Mike’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/mikemichalowicz/

Mike’s Books

Profit First: https://profitfirstbook.com/

Clockwork: http://clockworkbymikemichalowicz.com/

Surge: http://surgebymikemichalowicz.com/

The Pumpkin Plan: http://pumpkinplan.com/

Toilet Paper Entrepreneur: http://toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/

http://digimorphs.com

https://www.instagram.com/digimorphs/

Website Links:

Full episode show notes for this episode: https://digitalbloomiq.com/podcastepisodes/mikemichalowicz-interview?rq=mike%20

Get email updates on all podcast episodes (+ SEO tips, behind the scenes, and early bird offers) : here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/email

90 Day SEO Plan: Your Dream Clients Booking You Overnight! Free webinar training here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/90dayseoplan

More information about the podcast and Digital Bloom IQ:

https://digitalbloomiq.com/podcast

https://www.instagram.com/digitalbloomiq/

https://twitter.com/digitalbloomiq

https://facebook.com/digitalbloomiq

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthia-pacheco/

Voice Over, Mixing and Mastering Credits:

L. Connor Voice - LConnorvoice@gmail.com

Lconnorvoice.com

Music Credits:

Music: Kawaii! - Bad Snacks

Support by RFM - NCM: https://bit.ly/3f1GFyN

This is such a good question and one that I took for granted in many ways, since I’ve seen how all these skills and roles overlap and connect within many client projects. My first recommendation is that instead of thinking of them as people, think about them as unique skill sets. So you might have someone who is a Web Developer/Web Designer hybrid. Or a Web Developer who also has SEO skills.

There can definitely be cross over between each of these roles.

Also, you might have someone who is a super technical Web Developer, but they aren’t thinking about the overall strategy of how those changes on their website are going to help them reach their business goals. Whoever you hire, make sure you are clear on the role they play in terms of them understanding your business and how you make money.

If you have a specific technical job that you need, of course you can hire someone to just do that. Having a strategic mind on your team, can ensure you are focusing on the right things at the right time and in the right order.

Website Links:

Full episode shownotes for this episode: https://digitalbloomiq.com/seo/roles?rq=Web%20dev%20vs%20Web%20design

Get email updates on all podcast episodes (+ SEO tips, behind the scenes, and early bird offers) : here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/email

90 Day SEO Plan: Your Dream Clients Booking You Overnight! Free webinar training here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/90dayseoplan

More information about the podcast and Digital Bloom IQ:

https://digitalbloomiq.com/podcast

https://www.instagram.com/digitalbloomiq/

https://twitter.com/digitalbloomiq

https://facebook.com/digitalbloomiq

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthia-pacheco/

Voice Over, Mixing and Mastering Credits:

L. Connor Voice - LConnorvoice@gmail.com

Lconnorvoice.com

Music Credits:

Music: Kawaii! - Bad Snacks

Support by RFM - NCM: https://bit.ly/3f1GFyN

Last week I did a post on how to start doing SEO on a new site and this week I’m juxtaposing that blog post with this one: doing SEO on older sites (3+ years old).

Although all sites have a specific amount of time they’ve been online, when I mention age here, also take into account how intentional you’ve been with your blog writing and SEO.

Have you specifically picked and used new keywords? Have you looked at your Google Analytics data? Have you thought about the experience you want people to have when they first find your site?

You could have a site that is over 5 years old and barely attracting any traffic, vs. a 3 year old site that you’ve worked on very consciously, that is brining over 10K visits per month.

To quantify this blog post and podcast episode, I decided to give it a specific number of anything over 3 years but I’d say the 3 - 5 year range is good here. In the future, I might do another episode about even older sites and what it means to them to do SEO.

Website Links:

Full episode show notes for this episode: https://digitalbloomiq.com/seo/older-websites/

Get email updates on all podcast episodes (+ SEO tips, behind the scenes, and early bird offers) : here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/email

90 Day SEO Plan: Your Dream Clients Booking You Overnight! Free webinar training here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/90dayseoplan

More information about the podcast and Digital Bloom IQ:

https://digitalbloomiq.com/podcast

https://www.instagram.com/digitalbloomiq/

https://twitter.com/digitalbloomiq

https://facebook.com/digitalbloomiq

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthia-pacheco/

Voice Over, Mixing and Mastering Credits:

L. Connor Voice - LConnorvoice@gmail.com

Lconnorvoice.com

Music Credits:

Music: Kawaii! - Bad Snacks

Support by RFM - NCM: https://bit.ly/3f1GFyN

I’m writing this on a cool fall morning. I was reflecting how these transition months feel strange to me, like my body is out of place, trying to adjust to the shift of temperature. Getting out of bed feels different and overall it’s just a different reality.

Maybe that “awkward” feeling is something that also happens when you are first trying to work on your website traffic. Sometimes things can feel off at the beginning and you keep wondering what you are doing wrong.

You aren’t doing anything wrong my friends! This is all part of the process of doing SEO and there are some simple steps you can take now so that over time your traffic will grow and it will be easier.

I want to clarify that this article is for a website that is already live (I’m considering doing a whole other episode on what to do be before launching your site). And by “new”, I mean a site that is 1 - 3 years old.

Website Links:

Full episode shownotes for this episode: https://digitalbloomiq.com/seo/new-websites/

Get email updates on all podcast episodes (+ SEO tips, behind the scenes, and early bird offers) : here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/email

90 Day SEO Plan: Your Dream Clients Booking You Overnight! Free webinar training here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/90dayseoplan

More information about the podcast and Digital Bloom IQ:

https://digitalbloomiq.com/podcast

https://www.instagram.com/digitalbloomiq/

https://twitter.com/digitalbloomiq

https://facebook.com/digitalbloomiq

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthia-pacheco/

Voice Over, Mixing and Mastering Credits:

L. Connor Voice - LConnorvoice@gmail.com

Lconnorvoice.com

Music Credits:

Music: Kawaii! - Bad Snacks

Support by RFM - NCM: https://bit.ly/3f1GFyN

When I met Lauren several years ago, I was impressed by her approach to connecting with other businesses that could refer work. I was wanting to bring her on to the podcast for awhile to talk about her referral system.

During this interview we talk about:

• How she got started into referral marketing

• Results from her referral system

• Where to get referrals and starting to build that process

• Quality vs. quantity of contacts

Lauren’s Links:

https://www.bixamedia.com/

More about Lauren:

Lauren Pawell, MBA, helps entrepreneurs generate, qualify and nurture more leads online.
She works with business owners on high-impact marketing efforts, so they don’t waste any time or money on tactics that won’t drive real results. Case in point? That time she generated $262,822.58 in sales for a client using only 9 emails.
As an online marketing strategist, Lauren has been featured in Copyblogger, appeared as a guest expert for places like 90 Day Year Live, Freshbooks, and LeadPages, and has taught as guest faculty at the Laguna College of Art and Design.
An avid traveler and adventure seeker, Lauren loves to spend her time outside of Bixa hiking, camping and exploring new places around the globe with her husband and their two pups.

Website Links:

Full episode shownotes for this episode: https://digitalbloomiq.com/pod/how-to-build-a-referral-system

Get email updates on all podcast episodes (+ SEO tips, behind the scenes, and early bird offers) : here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/email

90 Day SEO Plan: Your Dream Clients Booking You Overnight! Free webinar training here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/90dayseoplan

More information about the podcast and Digital Bloom IQ:

https://digitalbloomiq.com/podcast

https://www.instagram.com/digitalbloomiq/

https://twitter.com/digitalbloomiq

https://facebook.com/digitalbloomiq

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthia-pacheco/

Voice Over, Mixing and Mastering Credits:

L. Connor Voice - LConnorvoice@gmail.com

Lconnorvoice.com

Music Credits:

Music: Kawaii! - Bad Snacks

Support by RFM - NCM: https://bit.ly/3f1GFyN

The SEO world is a fascinating mix of technical, marketing, and creativity. All these things need to come together to have an awesome SEO strategy. I almost feel like the words “SEO” can’t fully encompass everything it means to me and part of me wishes I could just invent new words for Search Marketing.

In my humble opinion, doing an audit or assessment is the first step of any successful SEO adventure because you can’t make any progress toward your goals if you don’t know where you currently stand.

Awareness is the first important step of making any sort of change (in business and life!) and the audit does exactly that!

So what does an SEO audit cover exactly?

Different experts cover different things, but at a high level, this is what is included in my own SEO audit process and I’ll be reviewing each one in detail below:

• Technical Errors

• Keyword + Content Review

• Outreach
  

Website Links:

Full episode show notes for this episode: https://digitalbloomiq.com/seo/seo-audit-process

Get email updates on all podcast episodes (+ SEO tips, behind the scenes, and early bird offers) : here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/email

90 Day SEO Plan: Your Dream Clients Booking You Overnight! Free webinar training here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/90dayseoplan

More information about the podcast and Digital Bloom IQ:

https://digitalbloomiq.com/podcast

https://www.instagram.com/digitalbloomiq/

https://twitter.com/digitalbloomiq

https://facebook.com/digitalbloomiq

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthia-pacheco/

Voice Over, Mixing and Mastering Credits:

L. Connor Voice - LConnorvoice@gmail.com

Lconnorvoice.com

Music Credits:

Music: Kawaii! - Bad Snacks

Support by RFM - NCM: https://bit.ly/3f1GFyN

It is immediately apparent when you talk to someone who is very passionate about what they do. Well, Kerri is one of those people.

I jived with Kerri from the start because she is so grounded on how to show up on LinkedIn in a way that doesn’t feel spammy or cookie cutter (which reminded me so much of my own style with SEO).

Books & Resources Mentioned in the Podcast:

• The Artist’s Way - Julia Cameron : https://juliacameronlive.com/the-artists-way/

• Sara Silecky

More about Kerri:

I help people use their stories to grow their careers, whether they aim for a “job-job” or running their own business. And, if you’re not sure what kind of work, I help with that too. Stories + Strategy.

Kerri’s Links:

https://www.career-stories.com/
https://www.instagram.com/careerstorieskerri/
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/kerritwigg

Website Links:

Full episode shownotes for this episode: https://digitalbloomiq.com/pod/kerri-twigg?rq=Kerri%20Twigg

Get email updates on all podcast episodes (+ SEO tips, behind the scenes, and early bird offers) : here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/email

90 Day SEO Plan: Your Dream Clients Booking You Overnight! Free webinar training here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/90dayseoplan

More information about the podcast and Digital Bloom IQ:

https://digitalbloomiq.com/podcast

https://www.instagram.com/digitalbloomiq/

https://twitter.com/digitalbloomiq

https://facebook.com/digitalbloomiq

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthia-pacheco/

Voice Over, Mixing and Mastering Credits:

L. Connor Voice - LConnorvoice@gmail.com

Lconnorvoice.com

Music Credits:

Music: Kawaii! - Bad Snacks

Support by RFM - NCM: https://bit.ly/3f1GFyN

In this conversation, Debbie Gonzales shares her expertise on using Pinterest as a powerful marketing tool for authors. She discusses how Pinterest functions as a visual search engine, the importance of pre-publication marketing, and the evergreen nature of content on the platform. Debbie emphasizes the need for authors to identify themes in their books to effectively market them on Pinterest, and she shares her personal journey into Pinterest marketing, highlighting the long-term benefits of consistent content creation.

Website Links:

Full episode shownotes for this episode: https://digitalbloomiq.com/pod/debbie-gonzalez

Get email updates on all podcast episodes (+ SEO tips, behind the scenes, and early bird offers) : here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/email

90 Day SEO Plan: Your Dream Clients Booking You Overnight! Free webinar training here: https://digitalbloomiq.com/90dayseoplan

More information about the podcast and Digital Bloom IQ:

https://digitalbloomiq.com/podcast

https://www.instagram.com/digitalbloomiq/

https://twitter.com/digitalbloomiq

https://facebook.com/digitalbloomiq

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cinthia-pacheco/

Voice Over, Mixing and Mastering Credits:

L. Connor Voice - LConnorvoice@gmail.com

Lconnorvoice.com

Music Credits:

Music: Kawaii! - Bad Snacks

Support by RFM - NCM: https://bit.ly/3f1GFyN