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This Tiny Digital Marketing Agency Makes $58K/Mo With SEO & PPC

The Scott Max Newsletter

In Partnership with The Daily Upside

Hi 👋, this is the Scott Max newsletter. The soon-to-be-daily newsletter bringing you one step closer to your own thriving online business. 

We analyze a wonderful, small, online business each week with a full breakdown of how it makes money, why it makes money, and its opportunities to grow. Below that, we give you the action steps to build a business like this to create freedom for yourself.

This is the best way to learn the tactics, skillset, and nuance of making money online.

Let’s get to the good stuff you'll see in this email:

  • An amount of over $58,000 earned every month.
  • An underrated yet effective strategy to unlock client satisfaction
  • A Comprehensive Blueprint for Building a Similar Business

But first, let me introduce our partner for this email, The Daily Upside

Insightful business news that respects your time and intelligence.

The Daily Upside is a business newsletter that covers the most important stories in business in a style that's engaging, insightful, and fun. Started by a former investment banker, The Daily Upside delivers quality insights and surfaces unique stories you won't read elsewhere.

The What 🚀

A Digital Marketing agency that made over $700K in one single year!

This week's newsletter will feature a comprehensive analysis of a digital marketing agency that is well-known for its unique and effective approach to satisfying clients.

This agency has helped numerous clients achieve their business goals.

In this newsletter, we will take a closer look at how this agency has managed to stand out in a highly competitive industry and what sets them apart from their competitors.

We will explore their approach to client satisfaction and how they've leveraged their expertise to drive significant business growth for their clients.

The How 💻

This digital marketing agency has generated revenue by providing high-quality SEO (on-site optimization, content development, mobile optimization, link earning…) and PPC (Google ads, Bing ads, YouTube ads, Amazon ads…) services.

While the agency does use paid advertising and SEO to generate traffic as part of their overall digital marketing strategy, it is not a major focus for them.

Their preference is to focus on improving their services and generate more customers through the power of positive word-of-mouth recommendations.

This has enabled them to maintain a consistent flow of high-quality leads without relying heavily on paid advertising, SEO or other traffic sources.

Furthermore, they frequently upload content to their social media accounts, indicating that they are on the right track.

Additionally, this agency had their own niche websites that generated revenue.

This provided a steady stream of income that likely helped cover expenses and allowed them to invest more in their core services.

The Why 🔥

In the early stages, the agency concentrated on supplying SEO and PPC services solely to hotels, allowing them to gain a thorough comprehension of this sector's distinctive demands and hurdles.

This choice enabled them to offer exceptional service to industry operators, resulting in their becoming a favored selection for any hotel striving to enhance their rankings and traffic.

Thanks to their high-quality service, their success quickly spread through word of mouth, attracting more and more clients across a range of industries.

Their strong reputation has resulted in minimal online advertising efforts, as evidenced by SEMRUSH data, indicating low SEO and paid advertising traffic. However, when they do promote themselves, they focus on
informational and commercial search intent.

Because of their accomplishments in promoting hotels, they opted to explore other niche industries, aiming to deliver exceptional services to their clients.

They started building niche websites to test and refine their SEO and paid media strategies. As basic as it seems, this approach has allowed them to gain real-world experience and master the most effective techniques for driving traffic and generating leads.

Consequently, this agency has broadened their intended customer base and begun servicing a more extensive range of the market.

At this digital marketing agency, they recognize the importance of providing their clients with evidence of their success. That's why they offer case studies that showcase their previous work and the tangible results they've achieved.

By reviewing these case studies, clients can gain a better understanding of the agency's capabilities and the impact their services can have on their business. It's just one of the many ways the agency prioritizes transparency and client satisfaction.

In addition to their case studies, this digital marketing agency goes above and beyond to provide their clients with even more value. They provide a free growth plan by filling out and submitting a form accessible via a highly visible red CTA button prominently placed on their website.

By leveraging their expertise and reputation for quality, this agency has managed to achieve impressive growth and financial success, setting a high standard for others in the industry to follow.

Noteworthy points:

  • The agency started by exclusively providing digital marketing services to hotels, concluding that diving into an industry is necessary to understand its unique needs and challenges.
     
  • Their success quickly spread through word of mouth, attracting clients from other industries as well.
     
  • The agency's commitment to delivering high-quality digital marketing services and value has earned them a reputation as a trusted partner.
     
  • They build niche websites to refine and test their strategies. This approach allows them to gain real-world experience and master effective techniques for driving traffic and generating leads. in relevant keywords.
     
  • They diversify their income streams and explore new markets through their niche approach.
     

The Opportunities 🔥🔥🔥

Premature Business Expansion:

The company advanced too quickly. Focusing on the hotel industry until they had fully dominated that sector could have been a better strategy for the agency.

By doing so, they could have solidified their position as a leader in that market and not missed out on potential profits.

Once they had established a strong foundation and gained significant market share in the hotel industry, they could have then considered expanding into other niches.

This approach may have allowed the agency to maintain their reputation for delivering top-notch services, while also ensuring a more stable future for their company.

Let's consider the case of Scandiweb, a Latvian digital marketing agency that specializes in developing and implementing e-commerce strategies for businesses of all sizes.

Scandiweb has become THE specialist in this niche, particularly with regards to their expertise in Magento, and has successfully worked with over 500 companies and startups.

Their success in this field has resulted in a significant increase in SEO traffic, with a peak of 27k based on SEMRUSH, and has contributed to their overall profitability.

No Trace of Affiliate Marketing:

By incorporating affiliate marketing into their marketing strategy, this digital marketing agency can tap into a new revenue stream by promoting relevant products or services to their audience and earning a commission for each sale.

This approach not only helps the agency diversify their revenue streams, but it also presents an opportunity to build partnerships and establish collaborations with other businesses in their industry.

In fact, affiliate marketing spending is expected to skyrocket to $13 billion in the US by 2023. That's a whole lotta cash!

To demonstrate the potential for affiliate marketing in this industry, let's take a look at the top 10 search results for the query "Best keyword optimization tools":

Source: SE Ranking

Lack of Service Diversity:

This digital marketing agency can generate additional revenue while expanding their services by building partnerships with complementary businesses.

The agency can provide more comprehensive solutions to their clients by collaborating with other businesses that provide complementary services, such as web development firms or social media management agencies.

This will increase not only client satisfaction but also revenue opportunities for the agency. While this agency has established itself as an expert in SEO and PPC practices, their service offerings are still limited.

Working together with complementary companies can help them bridge that gap and become a more well-rounded digital marketing agency.

The agency can attract a broader range of clients by providing a full suite of services.

To demonstrate this point, consider email marketing, which has significant potential. According to Statistica, the estimated revenue produced by email marketing is:

Empowering Growth through Education:

As the digital marketing industry continues to expand, it is important for organizations to stay ahead of the curve and continuously enhance their skills.

This is where education and training come into play.

By offering training, workshops, and webinars, this digital marketing agency has the opportunity to not only position themselves as specialists in the field, but also to generate additional revenue by sharing their expertise with businesses.

Education and training can also play a crucial role in client retention.

Providing ongoing assistance and resources can help clients to improve their own digital marketing strategies, leading to greater success and satisfaction.

This can ultimately lead to more long-term partnerships and continued business.

Based on SEMRUSH data, the global search volume for the keyword "Digital Marketing training" is at least 8.5k, but it's essential to note that this is only one of several keywords that may have the same search intention.

The Big Reveal 👀

In this week's newsletter, we delved into the world of Nav43, a digital marketing agency that is making waves in the industry.

The agency is led by Ben Dankiw, a trained SEM expert with over 10 years of experience in managing hundreds of paid search and display media campaigns for clients including Canadian Tire, Porsche, Ceridian, and TouchBistro.

Dankiw's passion for in-depth data analysis brings immense value to the agency's search advertising strategies, and his business acumen allows him to execute these strategies flawlessly.

With Dankiw at the helm, Nav43 has established itself as a leading agency in the industry, attracting clients of all sizes and helping them to achieve their digital marketing goals.

The Takeaway, What We Learned 🎓

This analysis has yielded practical insights that can be put into action:

  • Riches are in the niches: focusing on a specific niche can often lead to greater financial success than trying to appeal to a broad audience. By specializing in a particular area, a business or individual can become known as an expert in their field, which can lead to increased trust and credibility with potential customers. Additionally, targeting a specific niche often means less competition, making it easier to stand out in the marketplace.
  • Finding the best path requires experimentation: means that trying out different approaches and strategies is essential to identifying the most effective one;
  • Enhance your reputation: It's crucial to provide a "high-quality service" that meets or exceeds your clients' expectations consistently. By focusing on "satisfying every client," you can build a strong reputation that attracts more business and repeat customers;
  • Look for opportunities to diversify your income: exploring additional revenue streams beyond your primary source of income. By doing so, you can create new income streams that can help you reach your financial goals while reducing the risks of relying solely on one source of income.

Action Steps, From Day 0 To ∞👩‍💻

So, you will have your own website, hosting account, and a good grasp of digital marketing fundamentals if you are a student/graduate of Max Business School.

If not, get started here, it’s totally free and will teach you all the skills you need to build yourself a business (and the freedom it provides you) similar to the one we’ve analyzed today.

Day 0

You’ve read this email and love this particular business model and/or niche.

If not, we'll be sending more ideas in our next email or check our archive here.

If yes;

Consider if this is a business you can happily commit to for 3-5 years?

If yes;

Is it a customer/topic/day-to-day activity you can't get passionate about?

If yes;

Would starting this business cause you to lose focus on the business that you are currently building?

If yes, don’t do it.

Focus on building what you have and take lessons from my analysis above to implement them into your current business.

But if not, then move to day 1.

Day 1

  • As a new business, it's advantageous to specialize in a particular service, such as social media marketing or SEO, for a particular industry that piques your interest. By focusing on one type of client, you can become an expert and differentiate yourself from competitors. This could help you avoid intense competition and stand out in your niche.
  • Conduct market research to understand your target audience and competitors' services, and to identify ways to differentiate your agency.
  • Creating a comprehensive business plan for your digital marketing agency is essential to ensure long-term success. This plan should include key components such as the purpose and vision of your agency, a clear definition of the services you will offer, the target audience you wish to reach, pricing strategies that are competitive and sustainable, and a marketing strategy that will effectively promote your services to your target audience.
  • Select a name for your agency and register a domain name for your website. We strongly recommend that you take advantage of our enticing DreamHost offer. Make sure the name of your company is unique, easy to remember, and relevant to the industry.
  • Set up your website using a CMS such as WordPress. Module 1 of our course can help with this procedure. Design, style, and branding of your website should be tailored to your niche and target audience
  • Utilize CRM and email marketing tools to handle customer interactions and campaigns. Additionally, make use of keyword research tools to optimize your content and evaluate profitable advertising campaigns.

Tools you may need on Day 1:

Zoho CRM

SendinBlue

Ahrefs

Day 2

  • Develop a deep understanding of your niche industry, including its unique characteristics, and challenges. This will help you create more targeted and effective marketing strategies that resonate with potential clients.
  • While taking into account the market research you've conducted, examine your offerings to ensure that they cater to the specific requirements of your targeted niche.
  • Network with other professionals and thought leaders in your niche industry. Attend industry events, participate in online forums and groups, and build relationships with influencers and experts. This can help you gain valuable insights, make important connections, and position yourself as a thought leader in your niche.
  • Create content that speaks directly to your target audience in your niche industry. This could include blog posts, white papers, case studies, or webinars that address their specific challenges, pain points, or interests.
  • Search for the social media platform where your target audience is active, and then utilize online marketing tools to connect with them through that platform.
  • Think of developing penetration marketing strategies to increase your online presence significantly. You may employ techniques such as guest blogging to achieve this.

Day 3 to ∞

  • Review and optimize your website and social media profiles to improve their effectiveness in attracting potential clients. Use analytics tools to track website traffic, engagement rates, and conversion rates and make adjustments as needed.
  • Develop a list of potential clients that fit your niche and target audience by using social media, online directories, and industry associations to identify businesses or individuals that may benefit from your service offerings.
  • Reach out to the clients in your list via email, LinkedIn, or other channels and introduce your agency and service offerings. Offer low-cost trial of your service to demonstrate the value you can provide. This can be a powerful way to build trust and credibility within your niche market.
  • Follow up constantly with clients who showed interest in your service. You may want to provide free consultations or audits to nurture your relationship with them.
  • Set goals for your agency's growth and track progress towards those goals regularly. Use data-driven insights to make informed decisions about where to focus your time and resources.
  • Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and techniques in your service area. Attend industry conferences, read relevant publications and blogs, and network with other professionals to stay informed and on top of new developments.

Before You Go 👋

Thank you for reading.

In my next email, I’ll have another business breakdown for you. 

Remember, if you know someone who might like this newsletter, sharing is caring.

If you are ready to get started with your own business, one of the first steps is always a website. Click here for our exclusive hosting deal and click here for an invite to our Max Business School community where you’ll hang out with thousands of fellow ambitious business builders.

Remember to check out the classroom tab (top left corner) for all of our free courses teaching you all you need to succeed online.

Bye for now,

Scott Max

14 Cool Stuff Road

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