Author: Trevor Mauch

SEO Private Blog Networks (PBN’s): The Pros and Cons
Transcript

We’ve done a ton of content on SEO — on search engine optimization — over the years. That’s actually one of the things that we’re known for here at Carrot.

A lot of our clients own and control search engine rankings all across the country for all kinds of phrases, but one of the questions we get a lot that we’ve never answered before is, how do you choose between a couple different SEO providers, and specifically, what are they doing to build their backlinks? And what should you avoid?

This particular video is going to talk about something called a private blog network, or PBN for short. If you’re out there hiring an SEO firm, one thing you want to really look at is how are they building their backlinks because that’s one of the biggest, most important parts of what they’re doing and what it is you should look at.

If they’re going to be building backlinks, are they going out there and organically building them? Are they onesie, two-sie, hands-on building them, or are they using something called a private blog network? Is that a good thing or is that a bad thing?

I’m going to walk you through what it is really quick, and what to avoid, and what to look for, and why you could be taking a risk if you go with an SEO firm that uses SEO private blog networks.

What Are SEO Private Blog Networks?

What a private blog network essentially is, is some really, really smart people found out that you can go buy expiring domain names in the real estate market or wherever. You can buy expiring domain names for really, really cheap where people have built up the SEO juice on those domain names, a very fancy term there, SEO juice, on those domain names over the years and it might have a domain authority of three, or four, or five, or something like that. It comes with backlinks. It comes with juice, and they buy those up.

Then they buy up a series of them, and they put on very simple websites and put on content. Then they use those websites to then drive backlinks to your website, so backlinks are, of course, a really, really good thing when it comes to SEO.

It’s one of the most important things after you nail the on-page stuff.

In order to really get your website ranked higher, you need to have your on-page stuff nailed. So,
- Good content
- Well-optimized
The website needs to be structured in the correct way, but then you also need to build up these signals that Google’s going to be looking for.

Social Signals

Are you getting some people to take action on Facebook likes and things like that? Your citation profile, are you listed on Yelp, and Yellow Pages, and Manta, and local places that list your business? Is your phone number in all those the same? Do they match?

Then backlinks, if you’re in a competitive market, you’ve got to get backlinks to get higher. With a private blog network, it’s really attractive because when you go with an SEO firm that uses PBNs to build links, whether they tell you or not — many of them won’t tell you — oftentimes the price is going to be cheaper.

Why You Should Care About PBN’s

You can get an SEO service from someone who is using a PBN for probably half the cost of someone who’s doing it the correct way.

What happens is this. This is your website right here.

Each one of these black squares is a separate website and they’re all linking to your website, but they are purchased websites from expiring domains.

They put up some basic thin content on them, and then every now and then they link to your site. Every now and then they link to their other clients’ websites, too. You might be asking,

So is this a big deal? Why is that a bad thing? They’re linking to my website. It’s got content on it.

Well, the issue is eventually they all tie back to that SEO firm in some way, shape, or form. Now the smart ones have figured out ways to really obfuscate whether Google can find if they own them. They found ways to register the domain names under different names, have hosting, a different host, which is all really smart stuff.

A PBN may never ever get discovered by Google, and that’s sweet because that’s going to be great for you on the link building side.

What’s the Risk?

But… if a PBN gets discovered, all those backlinks that you just paid for, all that SEO that you just paid for, those links are likely now going to get negated.

What’s going to happen is if your SEO was built off of a PBN backlinking structure? That entire structure could topple and fall.

Now, is that going to happen? The likelihood is probably under 50% for sure. You may go years, and years, and years with an amazing ranking, close a bunch of deals, get a bunch of leads, because of the PBN links that you got from the SEO firm, amazing.

You have great ROI, but we never ever like to build anything off of a foundation that could crumble. Make sure when you’re building SEO when you’re hiring an SEO firm, that they’re going after it building backlinks the real way, the organic way, which is hard, which is expensive.

That’s why you see the firms that are really good at SEO that charge a lot of money.

If you’re going to hire an SEO firm that’s going to be $1,000 a month of under, the likelihood that they’re using private blog network links is probably pretty high.

I would ask them questions. Ask them,

Where are you guys building your backlinks?

Is it from a private blog network or are you guys going out there organically?

Many of them won’t tell you the truth, but you can reach out to us at Carrot all the time. We’ll dig into some of their clients’ websites and we can track it back.. many times, not every time, but many times to see if they’re using a PBN.

If it were me, I would definitely, if you had a choice it is, yes to use PBN for backlinks or no, I would always choose no. We’ve never used them ourselves. We suggest you don’t either.

Once again, can it work? 100% yes, but we also go with a long-term mindset and model.

The next time you’re going out there talking to an SEO firm, find out their methods. Find out how they’re doing it. Talk to other clients. See other rankings, but look behind the curtain a little bit.

Ask them those questions. How are you getting your backlinks? Are private blog networks related? Get them to say it in writing. They’ll oftentimes say,

Hey, it’s a good white hat thing.

It’s very gray hat, and it’s not something that we suggest. It could get discovered and could topple because anytime you’re trying to gain SEO, Google doesn’t like the practice of using such tactics or techniques.

What You Can Do

All right, so until next time, go out there, and do SEO the right way, and hire the right firms.

Don’t forget to check out our other Carrot whiteboard strategy sketches on our YouTube channel and our CarrotCast Podcast, which is our weekly podcast, as well.
June 8, 2017
EP 48: From Grinding To A Dream Business: How Jason Lucchesi Shifted His Real Estate Investing Business in a Massive Way w/ Market Changes and By Building Small Team

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I get more excited seeing somebody else that is $20,000 in debt and they’re just wanting to get out of the rat race and they do their first deal and you can see on their face that their shackles are coming off of their hands and ankles… They’re realizing that they can do and be so much more in the world.
Jason Lucchesi

Jason Lucchesi jumped into real estate investing right when the last downturn started and built up a solid real estate investing business, shifting and changing as the market changed. But then he realized he’d built a business that he was a slave to.

He was working long hours, making a great income but no time to enjoy it, and not enjoying the business he’d built. Then he decided to stop grinding and start building a business he loved.

Jason talks about his journey and how he’s adapted his strategy as the market has shifted and talks about how he created systems and brought on people who could help him grow a business that flips 6-7 deals a month with little of his involvement so he could focus on his passion for coaching and helping others do what he’s done.

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Dive in and listen to Jason’s journey…

5:50 – What Jason’s real estate investing business looks like… team, deals, and focus.
9:35 – Diving into what people never talk about… Why do investors choose to teach others what has made them successful?
13:15 – Why putting time into finding your unique abilities, “superpowers,” is so important?
16:35 – Jason’s team dynamics and how he has created the perfect flow for his business.
18:50 – What pulled Jason into starting his real estate investing business?
21:50 – Shifting business to adapt to the current real estate market. How things have changed over the last several years.
25:20 – Jason’s opinion on what an investor should do in certain phases for the market to protect themselves and capitalize.
28:35 – How might the real estate investing business model shift over the next 24 months.
31:45 – Writing and publishing a book – “Right Flipping Now” – is Jason’s way of carrying on his story.
37:30 – Processes to eliminate extra work. How to run a business without the business running you.
43:30 – What is the best advice for an investor who is currently grinding away trying to make it happen?
46:20 – How to track and ensure your business “machine” is properly working.
48:10 – What Jason is most excited about in his real estate investing business right now and where he plans to go in the near future.

You can find out more about Jason at jasonlucchesi.com

June 6, 2017
EP 49: Advanced Marketers Plan + Our Vision For Our Product w/ Trevor Mauch
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Add humanity back to business and help people regain more precious time for the things that matter in life.
Carrot Mission

What is our vision here at Carrot for the next 5 years? In this short CarrotCast our CEO Trevor talks about the history of Carrot, our product, where we’re going, and the Advanced Marketers Plan…

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In This CarrotCast Episode, We Cover…

1:15 – Brief Carrot history: The Carrot business model in 2013.
4:05 – Doubling down in 2014: Creating a platform for positive change and solving the lead generation problem. What has to happen to build websites that are based on performance?
9:40 – What Carrot has cooking in the kitchen now?
11:25 – Casting a vision for 2017. How to build more online credibility and bust through with SEO when markets are cluttered and inflated.
14:30 – [New Product Feature] – SEO Keyword Ranking Tracker. What it is and why we built it.

15:10 – Rolling out The Advanced Marketer Plan – Carrot’s first new plan in 3 years. As the market shifts, you need to be able to:
- Track your website and ROI
- Connect with other Carrot members
- Analyze your data
- Optimize your SEO
The Advanced Marketer Plan will help you with these tasks and much more!

17:00 – What Carrot is crazy excited about in the coming months and years.
17:45 – Adding to the Carrot Team.
18:25 – Rolling out AgentCarrot and the vision for our product for the rest of 2017.

Have questions? Reach out to us for more information about Carrot’s new products and plans at support.testcarrot.xyz.
May 23, 2017
EP 47: Flipping Vacant Land: How Gary Horton Pivoted His Wholesaling Business In A Tough Market To Be On Track To Flip 100 Pieces Of Bare Land

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When you’re confident with whatever it is, you expect the result. You’re not hoping for it – you expect it. So you can say “hey, here’s what we’re going to do and you can just lead.” I think when you’re starting out, your confidence is more like you’re not sure what to do, and I think that is picked up on.
Gary Horton

While most of the real estate market is flooding into flipping houses or wholesaling houses… savvy investors are looking at the gaps in the market where there is an outsized opportunity vs. competition level.

When Carrot client Gary Horton hit a wall wholesaling real estate in San Diego he tested out flipping vacant land… and hasn’t looked back since.

Now Gary buys and sells land all over the West Coast, from his house (or office), does 8-9 flips per month, and barely has any competition.

In this episode, Gary lays out his entire business model from start to finish. His marketing, how he targets sellers, how he sells his properties, his margins, how he does online marketing to drive consistent land deals… EVERYTHING.

Listen to our other episodes at www.CarrotCast.com.

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Dive in and listen to Gary’s story and get inspired to go down the path less traveled.

3:20 – Gary’s backstory — Who he is and working a career that he didn’t love.
6:00 – Building confidence and credibility to leave his job and close his first deal.
9:30 – Why he decided to pivot from the truly motivated house seller market to flipping vacant land.
12:45 – Knowing your strengths and weaknesses can save you a lot of pain and time. Walking through the Kolbe Index test.
15:50 – The nuts and bolts of land flipping.
20:30 – Cracking the land flipping code — making the move and dealing with the responsibility that came with it.
23:15 – Gary’s land-buying business model: Buying Baltic Avenue instead of Park Place.

27:55 – What types of situations are the sellers going through to sell their land so cheap? And the strategy behind his direct mail campaigns.
32:05 – The leads from his Carrot website have been very good. Find out how that has helped him open the door for more investment opportunities.
34:35 – How searchers are finding his website: SEO and AdWords on a $1 per day budget.
38:25 – Find out his online stats, such as how he’s been able to profit over $40,000 and only spend $322 on AdWords.

Gary’s Analytics

Launch A Land Buying Site With Carrot Today!

42:50 – Building up a seller financing land business that is consistent, predictable, and low-risk.
45:20 – His rule of thumb of pulling a list and what to look for when finding a sweet land buying niche.
48:50 – Diving in deeper into what one of those land buying niche opportunities looks like: From dream communities to land buyers paradise.
52:05 – Land SELLERS: How to market your land listings.
1:01:30 – What are some of Gary’s goals he’s pushing?
1:10:30 – Why he chose Carrot and what it meant to his business.

May 16, 2017
EP 46: Creating Remarkable Content: From Ideation to Publication w/ Mike Blankenship and Trevor Mauch

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I ask myself the question, ‘How can I be better?’ Because, if content is about cutting through the clutter and getting to the top of rankings, then I have to stand out when I write my content.”
Mike Blankenship

How do you put together remarkable pieces of content as a real estate investor or agent on the web that are useful and effective?

How do you get people to see it?

Creating content can seem like a daunting task.

On this episode of the CarrotCast, Carrot Content Strategist, Mike Blankenship, and Trevor Mauch discuss the practical things you can do to seamlessly produce any piece of content, from the birth of an idea to the publication of a post. And, give actionable tips to make your content better, build more credibility and help more people with great content.

Be sure to listen to our other episodes of the CarrotCast at www.carrotcast.com.

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In This CarrotCast On Creating Remarkable Content For Real Estate Investors And Agents, we discuss…

4:30 – People say “content marketing isn’t going to work for me” – how to make content marketing work for your business if you’re in a market that doesn’t have a lot of competition.
8:20 – How do you make your content marketing effective in a competitive market? Cutting through the market by solving a problem for your audience.
11:00 – The first step to creating content. The process for coming up with ideas and tools to find those ideas.
13:45 – Why every piece of content should be solving a problem for your audience.
14:55 – After finding an idea to write about and performing some keyword research, what is the next step to crafting useful content that is also great for SEO and social shares?
18:35 – Do this one thing after you’ve chosen a solid idea.
22:30 – Before you get started writing, find out how to outline an article and why it’s important to write about topics you truly enjoy. Take a look at one of Trevor’s favorite pieces that he’s published:

How A Pumpkin Farmer Changed My Perspective On Life And Business

27:30 – Mike walks through his process for writing long pieces of content.
30:15 – Don’t let your content creation drag you down. Why you should start short and explore different topics and processes.
34:20 – Don’t procrastinate and be afraid. Why it’s important to hit the publish button.
42:25 – How long should written content be and some shortcuts to speed up the content process.
46:25 – Thinking outside the box. Where to look for ideas to write about that are indirectly related your topic.

May 9, 2017
EP 45: Collective Genius: How Top Entrepreneurs Look at Masterminds, How Great Masterminds Are Structured, And Upleveling Your Game w/ CG Founder Jason Medley
Want To Apply To Collective Genius? Go Here

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The reality is, the guy flipping 250 homes, when you’re flipping 50, is that he might not be able to teach you a lot about real estate but he’s going to teach you a lot about running a business. His business and his problems are completely and vastly different than yours when you’re doing 50 deals.
Jason Medley

Many entrepreneurs try to go it alone for the first phase of their business career—the lone wolf. The “I’ll figure this thing out”—the rugged individualist.

But eventually, we discover that there are other people out there way smarter in many parts of business and life that we can learn from… and if we can get around a group of amazing people consistently, it can really uplevel our game.

I went through that conversation myself 7 years ago and joined my first Mastermind.

Don’t forget to check out our other episodes at CarrotCast.com.

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In this episode of the CarrotCast I talk about real estate investor mastermind groups with my guest, Jason Medley, the founder of the Collective Genius.

4:15 – How Trevor and Jason met and Jason’s path through real estate during the market crash years.
8:05 – Performing market research. How to pay attention to trends, market your business, and drive success.
10:20 – How the idea of real estate investor mastermind groups was born.
15:25 – The benefits of being part of a mastermind.
17:50 – What most wholesalers look at as a key metrics for tracking the market.
21:30 – Why it’s critical for someone who is up-leveling their business to take advantage of mastermind.
30:50 – How often you should focus on #1) ROI and #2) taking time off away from your business.
33:40 – What the structure of a mastermind group looks like.
37:45 – Measuring growth in small numbers, building relationships, and leading for the long-haul.
43:50 – Why you need to set and operate from a clearly defined set of core values.
45:30 – Tax saving tip: 90% of rehabbers don’t know about – The DPAD “Domestic Protection Activities Deduction”
48:00 – Two other tricks to keep money in your pocket:
1. Export 90-days worth of leads and use them with an automated voice mail campaign system such as Slybroadcast.
2. Create an automated follow-up sequence for 12 months.
53:25 – The benefits of retargeting with Facebook by using a custom audience and targeting emails.
57:10 – Why Carrot decided to make Collective Genius an official partner.

If you are a Carrot member and interested in joining the nation’s top real estate professionals, then check out The Collective Genius in our marketplace. Learn more about the requirements to join The CG.
May 2, 2017
EP 44: Need Inspiration? Jason Is Almost Single-Handedly Renovating His Small Ohio Town by Investing… One Building at a Time w/ Jason Duff

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If you really are looking for a way to brand yourself, to get started and test concepts, there’s not a better place than small town USA.
Jason Duff

Wholesaling and flipping are the gateway “drug” to long-term investing like my guest today focuses on.

Jason is one of my greatest entrepreneurial inspirations, a good friend of mine, and one of the most amazing real estate investors and community CHANGE AGENTS I’ve ever known.

In this episode Jason breaks down how he grew his outdoor advertising business to over 600 billboard faces in Ohio, how to strategically buy properties in the same area and bring businesses your community wants and gain equity in those businesses (in addition to the cash flow from your property), and why he’s almost single-handedly changing his small town community in Ohio.

If you’re not inspired by the end of this call, I don’t know what will get you going.

Listen to our other episodes at www.CarrotCast.com.

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In This CarrotCast Episode, We Cover…

2:50 – A little bit about Jason and his entrepreneurial/small business mindset.
7:30 – Why investing in a small town is so important to him.
9:40 – How Jason has built a very successful billboard advertising company with over 600 now in Ohio.
14:15 – His billboard business structure and what it costs to purchase and put up a billboard.
18:50 – How Trevor and Jason first met – Skydiving! And, how it turned into raising over $100,000 for microloans for women who have dealt with poverty. Also, check out opportunity.org.
25:00 – Bellefontaine Ohio – Jason’s business model for revitalizing Bellefontaine’s downtown scene.
29:00 – Pretty Awesome Lesson: How Jason scopes out major metropolitan and mid-level markets to generate ideas for small towns.
32:55 – How to build real estate synergy and the why going the extra mile really can make a huge difference.
37:05 – Why investing in self-storage turned into the ability to get financing for old, downtown buildings.
40:30 – How to benefit from tax credits and section 179 deductions.
42:20 – Passing along some important real estate lessons he wished he would have known before.
47:20 – What it means to him to save and promote a small town, creating a training for investors who would like to invest in small town USA, and what his vision is for the future. Get more inspiration by checking out and following Jason on Facebook.

April 25, 2017
EP 43: A Real Estate SEO Master Breaks Down How He Closes 2-3 Real Estate Deals a Month From SEO in a Competitive Market w/ Dave Brown
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I knew from my background that once I did the work, it would keep returning a benefit to me over and over again. Today, I’m reaping the rewards.
David Brown

“You can’t do any deals with SEO”.

We hear that quite often from people who don’t want to put in the work and focus.

But for those who use a solid proven system and implement a plan with consistency… they see results.

Dave Brown fuels almost his whole 30-40 deal per year business with his approach to Real Estate SEO and in this podcast, he breaks down exactly how he started, what he did on SEO in the first days, what he does today, some tips… and his story as a real estate investor.

If you’re curious about pulling in deals with search engine optimization listen to Dave Brown’s story and how he does it.

Listen to our other episodes at CarrotCast.com.

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In This CarrotCast Episode, We Cover…

2:20 – Find out what David has learned over his 2 decades in the real estate industry.
5:00 – How to build a business around your lifestyle and why David gave up his real estate agent license and never wants to get it back.
7:50 – Creating a business around leverage. The context of what David’s business structure and the organization looks like and why.
16:00 – David’s mindset around growth – doing more with less.
18:15 – What business systems he uses… CRM, Phone Tracking, Online Marketing.
20:05 – Unpacking his Real Estate SEO strategies — Why his website content has been so effective in cutting through the clutter. Keys:
1. Making basic customizations
2. Two months of creating location-specific page content
3. Building credibility
4. Link building
23:30 – David’s secret sauce he dashes on his location-specific pages — Taking it to another level!
28:10 – Why creating pages that target specific keywords have helped him command his market in search results rankings.
31:25 – How to increase your website traffic, in theory. We focus on some SEO math.
34:25 – SEO tactics you can employ to your website.
35:50 – David shares his off-page SEO strategy.

39:00 – Sharing heartwarming stories in a much needed time… Check out David’s other passion… americansnippets.com. A website and podcast about American stories that need to be shared.
41:10 – Top rules for your website… customized, clean, and credible.

Also… be sure to check out our Case Study with David… Getting More Motivated House Seller Leads Online – David Brown Case Study
April 18, 2017
EP 42: How Matt Aitchison Built An Integrated Suite Of Services To Boost His Real Estate Profits In A Cluttered Market

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My money story is that the more money I can create — the more I have left over beyond my 100% lifestyle — the more I can choose to allocate it toward causes, experiences, and individuals that I believe will have a ripple effect.
Matt Aitchison

What lessons can we learn from Apple when it comes to building a business?

Tons, but one lesson, in particular, is how important it is to build an “integrated product suite;” a set of products that work together to seamlessly guide clients from one purchase to the next.

How can real estate investors and agents create an “integrated product suite?”

Our guest, Matt Aitchison, has done just that and is here to show you how. Matt has been able to cut through the clutter by turning clients into multiple revenue streams and — one by one — creating partnerships that offer exactly what his clients need… when they need it.

After listening, you may never look at the “house flipping” or “wholesaling” business the same again.

Listen to our other episodes at www.CarrotCast.com

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In This CarrotCast Episode, We Cover…

1:05 – Quick “Who is Matt Aitchison?” synopsis.
6:50 – What does Matt’s real estate business currently look like and why?
10:20 – Mastering what you need to right now to achieve your goals.
11:50 – How big of a market does Matt target and why he sets such boundaries in a competitive market?
12:30 – How many deals Matt is currently closing per month and the path to his increase in real estate revenue.
13:10 – Matt has his hat in a variety of real estate industry ventures. Why is that and how he gains a passive income with such a business model?
17:30 – When the why is clear… Building financial freedom via passive income and creating a positive impact on the people around you.
24:10 – How to stay ahead of the curve in a competitive market in order to keep deal flow consistent.
26:50 – How to obtain a direct mail list and what type of marketing materials Matt uses.
29:35 – One of the largest failures investors have is their follow-up process. Learn some of the best follow-up techniques Matt uses to build his reputation and brand.
33:20 – Rising above the clutter: Why having processes for follow-up and intake are so important.
37:45 – Decluttering from your market via content marketing.
44:00 – Matt’s advantages of presenting many “cross-pollenation” options for sellers to work with him and his companies.
49:30 – The psychology behind a near perfect sales offer.
51:25 – Summing it up: What will make Matt’s year a success.

You can find out more about Matt at:
Website – http://mattaitchison.com

April 11, 2017