Wise Marketing Secrets Interview Series #37: Adam Roseland

Adam Roseland is a blogger, podcaster and entrepreneur who also owns a web marketing firm called Roja Interactive.

Adam has been working in the advertising industry for the past 10+ years primarily in the digital space for advertising agencies, has built hundreds of niche sites (From About).

I encourage you to connect with Adam through LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus.

What is your main source of income? (ex: Client Servicing, Affiliate Marketing, Adsense)

My main source of income comes from client services… primarily providing SEO and PPC management for my clients.

How do you close a potential SEO client deal?

I think the best way to close an SEO client is to show them proof.  When you know what you are doing, you can show them how you have ranked others in their industry. 

It also helps to rank well for a keyword in their industry like “client industry SEO”.

What SEO Tools do you have experience with and which ones do you prefer and why?

I really prefer to stay away from tools as much as possible… because tools are typically just another part of an automation process. 

Every client is different, and thus has different SEO needs… so if you run the same tool for every client, you aren’t doing anything client specific. 

That said, there are certain sites/tools that help in the preparation of an SEO campaign, or to demonstrate the success of the campaign. 

I love Pro Rank Tracker to track keyword rankings, and always use the google adwords tool to start my keyword research.  I like SEMrush and open site explorer too.

Have you ever been in charge or part of a campaign that was successful? If so, what was the result in the SERPs and how long did it last for and what was the term?

Of course.  In an effort to keep privacy for my current clients, I will use an example of a former client in a company I co-founded (but left a few months ago). 

We had a local orthodontist that wanted to rank for the lucrative keyword “invisalign”.  We took that client from a 100+ranking for invisalign Philadelphia to #1. 

It took a few months to happen, and due to budget restrictions it was difficult to keep him there.  That said, they are still on page 1 for that term.

Have you ever been part of a campaign that ended badly, with the site being banned or losing its ranking, if so what happened?

Luckily, not with a client.  I have had some “niche sites” that lost rankings.. but I can honestly say that Google did the right thing for those. 

I was trying to game the system… quite obviously… and paid the price.

Have you ever done any blackhat SEO and if so were you penalized?

Yes, as mentioned above, I did some link buying/selling… and it was obvious.  The site was penalized and fell off the map. 

I wouldn’t ever do that stuff for a client though… as there are businesses behind those websites.  I did that stuff for a personal niche site, and it was part of an A/B test that didn’t work out well.

What is your best practices for on-site SEO?

Simple.  Make it user friendly with text… and sprinkle in some keywords. 

Critical items are to make sure your keyword is on the page, in the top of the page text, and that it has at least one image with the alt tag using the keyword. 

That said… I am a much bigger believer in off-site SEO than on-site.  Easy to clean your room… much harder to get people to it.

Below are two SEO scenarios, please explain in detail how you would go about both:

Scenario 1: A client has a new site that is not indexed and not ranking, he wants to rank quickly, his terms are mid-level about 25,000 searches a month, how would you go about this.

Backlinks!  Slow and steady…. But create backlinks by promoting the content the client already has.

Scenario 2: A client has an old authority site, with 1000s of backlinks all relevant but is not ranking and is not banned, what would you do to get this client ranking?

Dig deep.  If its got authority and links… but doesn’t rank, something is wrong.  Create some fresh new content, repurpose some old content… and promote the heck out of it!!

What niches you’d consider to be untouchable (hard to really rank on) and why?

None, as long as you are willing to work hard!  Many of my clients are in the automotive industry… an industry that isn’t afraid to spend mega-bucks!! 

As long as you are willing to invest the time and money… and provide valuable content (and promote the heck out of it), you can rank for anything. 

If you look at any niche… within the past 3-5 years there has been a newcomer that has come in and been able to rank. 

This is because they invest in it… and weren’t afraid.  Most people give up too easily.

If there’s one thing that you’d want me to buy from you using your website what is it and how would you go about it?

From my business website 814 Interactive, I want you to buy me!!  I would just want you to call, email or submit a form for a “free” chat. 

Get on the phone with me for 15 minutes so we can chat about your business and discuss what issues are holding you back. 

If you don’t see the value that I can offer by discussing your business in the first 15 minutes… then nothing I say or do in the future can help you. 

I’m a huge believer in being a resource to people, and showing value first.  Once I do that, I don’t have to ask anyone to buy anything… because if they like the value I provide, they ask for more on their own!