Brian Dean on Selling to SEMrush, Evergreen SEO Strategies, Exploding Topics, and More #2065

Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips

Eric Siu and Neil Patel

Business, Marketing, Careers

4.6 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2022

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this special episode, we are joined by Brian Dean to share updates on Backlinko and Exploding Topics. As many of you know, Brian recently sold Backlinko to SEMrush, and in our discussion we hear about how he started the SEO blog, how he excelled in a red ocean with it, some of the most successful SEO strategies he came up with, why course creators are an attractive acquisition for software companies, and lessons he learned during the acquisition. Exploding Topics is Brian’s newer project, and we get to hear how it evolved from an early personal trend spotting project to an acquihire that he subsequently grew. Brain talks about the work he has put into Exploding Topics, shares some numbers around its current success, and also talks about how he approached acquiring the business from Josh Howarth who is now his CTO. In this conversation, we also talk to Brian about life in Lisbon, hear about all the grunt work he did to get ahead, and also get some behind-the-scenes insights into his longstanding relationship with Eric and Neil. Tune in today! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:25] Today’s topic: Brian Dean on Selling to SEMrush, Evergreen SEO Strategies, Exploding Topics, and More. [01:10] An introduction to Brian Dean and the story behind Backlinko and Exploding Topics. [01:58] Why Brian started Backlinko in 2013 at a time where SEO was already so competitive. [04:46] What the Skyscraper Technique is and how it became so famous. [06:18] Classic pieces from the Backlinko blog: the Skyscraper Technique and more. [07:10] How much traffic Brian was able to generate for Backlinko per month. [07:23] The method Brian used to make money from Backlinko through courses. [09:16] Being acquired by SEMrush and why course creators are an attractive acquisition for software companies. [11:40] Why Brian started Exploding Topics and the main mission of the business. [14:24] The story of Brian acquiring what became Exploding Topics and how he went about it. [16:16] Numbers around the business: ARR, blog traffic, email list, newsletter subscribers. [18:00] How Brian had to ‘eat poopoo’ initially to get ahead. [21:44] Brian’s thoughts on the crabs in a bucket mentality on SEO Twitter. [23:24] Brian’s experiences traveling and why he ended up in Lisbon. [24:50] What media Brian is consuming and why he is not focusing on self-improvement. [25:40] Lessons learned from the acquisition around due diligence and relationship with the buyer. [28:09] Brian’s favorite tool that isn’t exploding topics. [29:00] The best way to find Brian online. [29:10] That’s it for today! Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe! [29:10] Go to https://marketingschool.io/live to learn more! Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: Brian Dean on LinkedIn Brian Dean on Twitter Backlinko Exploding Topics Josh Howarth on LinkedIn SEMrush MicroAcquire Brain.fm Leave Some Feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with Us: Neilpatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Marketing School, the only podcast that provides daily top-level marketing tips
0:06.4	and strategies from entrepreneurs that practice what they preach and live what they teach.
0:11.4	Let's start leveling up your marketing knowledge with your instructors, Neil Patel, and Eric
0:16.8	Sue.
0:18.1	We got a special message from our sponsor.
0:22.8	If you want to rank higher on Google, you've got to look at your paid speed time.
0:27.3	The faster your website loads, the better off you are.
0:30.1	With Google's Corvital update, that makes it super, super important to optimize your
0:34.1	site for low time.
0:36.3	And one easy way to do it is use the host that Eric and I use, DreamHouse.
0:40.8	So just go to DreamHouse or Google it, find it, check it out, and it's a great way to
0:45.7	improve your low time.
0:47.7	I want to take a second to tell you about my podcast co-hosts agency, so NP Digital.
0:53.5	So Neil Patel Digital, what they do is they do a whole host of marketing services and
0:59.4	they are global.
1:00.4	They're worldwide.
1:01.4	They have SMB services as well.
1:03.2	They have mid-market to enterprise services as well.
1:06.4	They cover the entire gamut.
1:07.4	So you can just go to MPdigital.com to learn more about it and now back to the episode.
1:14.0	All right, guys, before we start, we got a special message from our sponsor.
1:19.8	If you want to rank higher on Google, you got to look at your paid speed time.
	...

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