Fatrank Podcast

Vlad Badzhan: Welcome back to AIS Talks everyone. This is episode 61. Today I am joined by Neil Patel, Kasra Dash and James Dooley. Neil, this is your first time on the show. Please introduce yourself.

Neil Patel: I am the co-founder of NP Digital. We are a global ad agency in around 19 or 20 countries. We help companies get more traffic.

James Dooley: I am James Dooley. I work in lead generation and use digital marketing assets to grow businesses.

Kasra Dash: My name is Kasra Dash. I consult and invest in businesses. The aim is to grow traffic and then acquire equity.

Vlad Badzhan: Today we are talking about personalisation versus SEO. Not one versus the other but how to balance both. All three of you have strong personal brands. How do you balance personalised experiences with strong SEO performance.

James Dooley: Personal branding is more important with the rise of AI. People want to know who is behind websites. It helps with staffing, recruitment and even the multiplier when selling a business. Personal branding is huge and everyone should invest in it. Many hide behind websites but personal brand signals help trust and investment.

Kasra Dash: If you have a personal brand in SEO or PPC and you buy a SaaS tool you can email your whole audience and grow that MRR. There was an article saying personal brands will be 100x more valuable in the next five years.

Neil Patel: On personalised content we find that light personalisation helps. Too much personalisation does not increase conversions. On personal branding we see a different issue. Buyers get nervous when businesses rely too heavily on a single personal brand. They fear the business collapses when that person leaves. They discount valuations. A good example is Emma Chamberlain’s coffee company. Great revenue but buyers worry once she leaves the brand loses value.

James Dooley: I agree. If you want to sell a business you must remove yourself from the centre. Build a team so the company survives without you.

Vlad Badzhan: Can personalisation and SEO coexist without undermining each other.

Kasra Dash: Yes. Any business should use multiple marketing channels. PPC, retargeting, Facebook ads, YouTube, guides, TikTok. SEO is one piece of the puzzle.

Neil Patel: Many big creators get huge views but those views do not translate into qualified recurring revenue. Hyper targeted content gets fewer views but better buyers.

James Dooley: Some brands run broad umbrella content then use sub brands for specific verticals. It lets them be everywhere but still specialise when needed.

Vlad Badzhan: For corporate brands scaling is slower. Personal brands gain trust faster. How should companies handle this.

James Dooley: Off topic slightly. Neil, when you buy companies how do you decide where to put your name and where not to.

Neil Patel: We look for capability. If we already offer SEO in a region we will not buy another SEO company there. We look for growth, low churn and synergy. One plus one must equal three. If their customers buy our services and our customers buy theirs then it works. We only put our name on clean businesses. Some have good numbers but terrible reputations. We avoid those completely.

James Dooley: Same for us. We look at where we spend money. If we spend a lot on Facebook ads we prefer to acquire a Facebook ads agency. It cuts costs and improves quality control.

Kasra Dash: We also focus on stickiness. If clients buy links, content and software from you every month they stay longer. Ask existing clients about their pain points. If many struggle with keyword tracking then buy a rank tracker. Solve real issues.

James Dooley: Neil, how do you decide between building tools versus buying them.

Neil Patel: We buy. We are better at adding traffic than building software from scratch. Buying gets us traction faster. Building takes too long and ends up more expensive. Buying gives quicker returns.

Kasra Dash: Buying saves 12 months of development and 12 months of marketing. That time could be used scaling an existing tool.

Neil Patel: It takes us 6 months to acquire a company because of diligence and legal. Sometimes even longer if sellers want to delay due to economy issues.

James Dooley: When investing how do you pick founders.

Neil Patel: We look at numbers, culture and stickiness. But you never know for sure. Some people work well, some do not.

James Dooley: Same for us. Some founders are great and some are not. We hire fast and fire fast. Business partners must be honest, reliable and aligned.

Kasra Dash: Many brick and mortar businesses want growth but lack marketing skill. We help them clean up branding, testimonials, social proof, case studies and that boosts conversions overnight.

James Dooley: Most brick and mortar businesses are excellent at their service but terrible at marketing. They have 30 years of awards and achievements offline and none online. We elevate them by shouting their achievements from the rooftops.

Neil Patel: That increases trust and conversions instantly.

Vlad Badzhan: Final questions from the audience. Jack of all trades or master of one.

Kasra Dash: Hire for your weaknesses and stay in your lane.

James Dooley: Pick marketing as a whole. You do not need to specialise only in SEO. Surround yourself with experts in each area.

Audience Question: How much do you spend personally each month.

James Dooley: My kids spend everything. I live minimalistic. I like experiences not material things.

Kasra Dash: I travel so I spend maybe 7k when abroad. At home under 10k.

Neil Patel: My expenses are high because of family costs, property tax, staff and credit card bills. Around 200 to 300k a month including everything.

Vlad Badzhan: Thank you all for joining. We have a promo running with Conversion Collective. Check it out. Thank you Neil, Kasra and James.

Neil Patel: Thank you. Good meeting all of you. I am in Los Angeles now then Dubai then Hong Kong then Park City then Canada.

James Dooley: Commercial flights only.

Neil Patel: First class is paid for by the company I am visiting.

Vlad Badzhan: Thanks again. See you all next time.