social media | Dennis Yu

How Andy Davis (Pilot Plumbing & Drain) Got Scammed by Digital Marketing Agencies

scams, Digital Marketing, social media / Dennis Yu

If you’re a plumber who has been wronged by their digital marketing agency, this blog post was written for you. I recently had an audit with Andy Davis, the CEO of Pilot Plumbing and Drain. Pilot Plumbing & Drain is a plumbing company that serves residents in Portland, Vancouver, and Longview. However, after taking a look into the work that was done, it was pretty easy to see that Andy was robbed of his money, and there wasn’t much to show in terms of results. This is a very common story in the world of digital marketing, and my goal is to help plumbing company owners like Andy realize what’s truly going on behind the scenes. The above screenshot was taken from an email thread where we were attempting to retrieve a YouTube account which had apparently been “lost”. As you can see, Alesha Paluso of Three Summers Creative wasn’t too happy with us attempting to get information that could possibly help us get Andy’s YouTube channel back. See the email thread below: Will: Hi Alesha, could we get an update here? Tim: Hi Will, As mentioned, Alesha has little to no involvement here. We still haven’t heard back from our requests to YouTube. I will let you know the moment that we do. Will: Perhaps you could fill her in on the issue, since we’ve had to resort to escalation to her to get some answers. Tim: Hi Will, She is aware of the issue. I’m curious as to what else you would like us to do at this point. Other than trying to uncover which account this channel is associated with via YouTube, is there another solution you’re looking for us to provide? Not at all. People typically get frustrated at lack of perceived care. Will: Since we’ve personally had to chase you to get simple updates on getting access to Andy’s asset, I’d hope you’d understand why we feel the need to ask your boss for help. Alesha: Will, Tim has been extremely thorough and responsive and this email thread is revealing a startling level of incompetence. >>> We. Do. Not. Have. Access. <<< Please do not reach out to me or my team again. So, how can a company like Pilot Plumbing & Drain, who has countless 5-Star reviews on Google, get destroyed like this? Let’s take a look at what happened to Andy: Exploring Efficient Ad Spending with Dennis Yu and Andy Davis Dennis Yu and Andy Davis shed light on the art of identifying high-performing ads. Dennis begins, “Let me show you how easy this is.” He points out that in most campaigns, a significant portion of results often stems from a single campaign. By sorting ad groups by metrics like clicks or spend, one can swiftly identify the heavy hitters. Dennis highlights, “These conversions, they’re all driven off of this one [campaign]. It’s all about ‘plumber’, ‘plumbers’, ‘plumber near me’.” This simplifies maintenance, as the focus narrows down to a few key areas. Discussing ad rotation and dynamic keyword insertion, they note how these tactics keep ads relevant and targeted. Andy then brings up the cost aspect, observing a rate of “20 bucks a click.” Dennis acknowledges this, attributing it to the rising costs in the industry, but implies that such spending can be justified given the efficiency of the targeted approach. Their conversation underscores the importance of drilling down into data to find where the bulk of conversions originate, ensuring maximum return on ad spend. Uncovering Local SEO Missteps with Dennis Yu and Andy Davis In a recent discussion, digital marketing experts Dennis Yu and Andy Davis delve into the effectiveness of local SEO strategies using the LocalFalcon tool. Dennis explains the results of a map grid analysis, highlighting a significant issue: “Your office ranks for ‘plumber’ and plumbing terms locally, but as soon as you go a couple of miles outside, you fall off the search results.” This drop-off, Dennis suggests, indicates inadequate SEO efforts. He elaborates that a quick examination reveals only basic directory submissions, likely automated through services like Yext, with no substantial SEO work evident. Dennis’s expertise in analytics, built from his experience developing analytics for a search engine over two decades ago, lends weight to his critique. He states, “There’s no evidence of SEO having been done on this site.” When Andy mentions the current SEO spending of “$5,690 a month,” Dennis’s response is unequivocal: “You’re flushing money down the toilet.” This conversation underlines the importance of not just investing in SEO but ensuring that the investment is strategically and effectively utilized. Dennis’s and Andy’s insights offer a stark reminder that not all SEO services provide equal value, especially in the realm of local SEO. Fake Directory Listings “SEO people, they’re not all liars, but it’s almost always a scam.” He explains that 80% of the power of SEO lies in obtaining relevant links that are geographically and topically pertinent. For instance, for a plumbing business, links should be related to plumbing and localized to areas like Vancouver or Portland. They discuss how some SEO efforts are limited to simple directory listings, such as yellow pages or local business directories. Dennis points out that anyone could accomplish this with minimal effort, suggesting, “You could just have a VA spend a couple weeks doing all of this.” However, the conversation takes a turn when they analyze specific backlinks. Dennis shows Andy a link from an article about plumbing linking back to their site, demonstrating some effort in obtaining relevant backlinks. But as they delve deeper, they uncover links from irrelevant blog posts on varied topics like marriage, wine in Italian dining, and cricket in the U.S., none of which relate to plumbing or the targeted geographic area. Dennis highlights the deceptive nature of these tactics by pointing out a blog supposedly written by a woman named Mila Light. Upon investigation, they discover that Mila Light appears to be a fabricated persona, with her image being used as

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Photos Will Help Your SEO Arguably More Than a Ton of Old 5-star Reviews

Engagement, Google My Business, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, social media / Dennis Yu

Simply having the latest iPhone will get more views on your pictures and videos. The top creators aren’t sure why this is true, but I have a guess. Facebook and Google prioritize content by engagement rate. So more vibrant imagery from the iPhone camera SYSTEM (that’s what Apple calls it now— since it’s more about the processing than the hardware itself) wins. I’ve gotten nearly a million views on my submissions to Google Maps in the last month. When I go to a new place, I spend 20 seconds in a machine gun snapping pictures like a crazy Chinese tourist. The more popular the place, the more views my photos get since they show us as the “latest” photos and because I’m a Level 8 reviewer out of 10 levels. I’m at 30,000 points and each photo is 5 points. So, I can earn 1,000 points by mass submitting every month, which takes about 5 minutes. Don’t even have to leave a review— just go down to the photos section of any location on Google Maps. This section lets you submit videos, too, which you can’t do in the review itself. If you’re a local business, encourage your customers to do what I’m doing since the photos help your SEO— arguably more than a ton of old 5-star reviews. If you’re a real G, you’ll repurpose the photos, videos, and reviews into collages to put on your socials, GMB, and blog. Agencies do this for your clients. People with the latest iPhone perhaps skew towards being “influencers”. Thus, they are more likely to post and care about getting engagements. Guilty as charged with this iPhone15 Pro Max, which is only barely better than the iPhone14. Do you think having the latest iPhone will help you get more engagement? Or is this just a vanity play— a waste of money?

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Excuses: I’ve Heard Them All

social media, Blog, Communicate Iterate Delegate, Communication, Digital Marketing, email, Failure / Dennis Yu

Where have you been? And hundreds more excuses than I am able to remember. I’ve heard them all. These are all important things you should take care of– for which you have a valid reason to miss work. But what is not okay is abandoning the team and the clients— only telling them AFTER the fact. Let team members know BEFORE you need to take a day or two off– so they can cover for your part. An unfortunate pattern we see with people new to digital marketing is using excuses to cover up reliability and performance issues. Digital marketing is hard– there is so much to learn and so much to do that it can be overwhelming. Too Much Freedom Plus, you have all this freedom, which is easy to abuse. Not that you are lazy or do not want to work– but because friends think you are “available” all the time, they invite you out to do things. So you want to be nice to friends and hang out, thinking you will get back to your projects later tonight or tomorrow. Except that never happens, and you fall further behind– since more distractions come up, all from well-meaning people who think you are not doing anything. A shift worker does not understand a digital marketer since their view of work is like a factory job when you show up at a certain time for your shift. If you are at home sitting on the couch, why not text all day, play with the dogs, and goof off? They do not realize you have project deadlines— team members counting on you and clients putting their business in your hands. Once Things Start Catching Up With You So when you realize you are behind, feeling “all by yourself” in your home, it is easy to go into excuse mode. “Let’s see… what is the best excuse I can come up with?” is what you are used to doing. We can usually think of something since if you look for something bad, you will find it. And that excuse might legitimately cover you for a day or two, but not for the months you have continued to struggle. So then you get caught in a loop of being so far behind, team members and courts chasing you down, and feeling unmotivated. I would rather watch Netflix and play video games to avoid the situation that is only getting worse. Allow this to continue and the clients will fire us. The team will believe you are not reliable and do not care. Communication and Discipline Instead of Excuses The root of this is you not having learned team communication skills and not having the discipline to work in an environment that does not have physical supervision. Sure, you would be more reliable if you had to drive to an office and be there by 8 am each morning and have a rigid schedule. There is much good about being a wage slave. But if you can learn the discipline to work in digital marketing, you can have amazing time freedom and be wherever you want. You have to decide if you are going to focus on excuses after the fact or whether you are accountable and proactive. Do you want to be the receptionist or factory-type worker that responds only when someone comes to the counter or calls? Or are you a leader who takes charge instead of moving only when someone tells you to? It’s Not Too Late for You If you are reading this, you have fallen into the most common trap of new digital marketers. The good news is that it is an easy trap to escape from, as thousands have learned on their path from beginner to pro. Resources Read “How I Manage 1,000 Emails a Day“ Read “What to do when you feel overwhelmed“ Read “The Importance of Lightweight Touches“ My friend, are you wondering why I asked you to visit this post? If you haven’t figured it out yet, it’s because we didn’t hear from you for a few days. We tried to reach out to you, but you failed to get back to us. And when you finally responded, you most likely attempted to justify your absence and lack of communication with a “valid” reason. That’s why you’re here. I created this post to show you where I’m coming from. I hope that by now, you understand why I am so critical about good communication. This blog post is my best attempt to explain this most painful problem. I hope that starting today, you will work on your weaknesses so that we can get back on track. Why Don’t You Start Now? Do those five things, and you will see your teammates start applauding you instead of chasing you. And you will be able to experience the awesome freedom of digital marketing instead of working in a dead-end job in some place you have to drive to each day and back, doing the same boring thing in an endless cycle. If you want to grow, you are in the right place. And you should expect that learning new skills is a challenge you should be up to. Now let us get going since the team and our clients are counting on you and rooting for you!

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A Simple Trick to Leverage Social Media for Marketing

Engagement, marketing, social media / Dennis Yu

You will be dead wrong if you think you need a zillion followers and a blue check mark to get crazy good results on social media. Twitter is the most powerful PR channel if you know how to use it. For example, this account had only 175 followers but over 7,000 profile visits last month, and that too without running ads. The trick? Create engagement by posting thoughtfully and commenting on posts from others in your industry. David Meerman Scott is the best-selling author of ‘The New Rules of Marketing and PR.’ A comment on his tweet got a reply from him, which builds Gavin Lira’s audience and exposure to David’s audience. Since Gavin runs a PR agency, engagement with a top PR expert helps build his brand. So stop mass-blasting on social and start thoughtfully engaging in two-way conversations. If you’re not getting exposure or people are not looking at your profile on Twitter, now you know what you’re doing wrong. I would love to know what your thoughts are about this idea. Let me know in the comments.

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Decouple Content Production from Content Distribution

Strategy, Dollar a Day, social media / Dennis Yu

Here is a dirty little secret. It takes ten times longer to upload, edit, coordinate, QA, post, and cross-post than to make the content itself. I recorded a 5-minute video yesterday on TikTok ads that will be turned into an article and a set of social media posts, editing and distributing them into many channels (blog, book, podcast, Facebook, LinkedIn, email, TikTok, etc.) But it will take over an hour, even with Descript, Jasper, and other AI tools, to get it processed. I did a killer 90-minute training with John Jonas on how he built a site with 2 million virtual assistants and how to hire your own VAs to do your marketing. But it will take 2-3 weeks to turn around this episode, maybe longer because of follow-ups and confusion from many cooks in the kitchen. Grant Cardone made a one-minute video for me on how to make a one-minute video. Ironic. But it will take days to run it through the Content Factory and turn it into social media posts that we boost for a Dollar a Day. The dread of how long it takes to go through this whole thing prevents you from making content, even if you use Fiverr or have an army of VAs. But what if you needed only 1/10th the time? Create Content Factory Would you be willing to make more content like a “walk and talk” in your morning exercise routine, a 15-second tip while you’re driving (hands-free and safely, of course), or a 5-minute “how to” after a frustrating client meeting? A galloping horde of robots is coming our way, eagerly peddling their automation and tools, proclaiming content nirvana. It’s all a lie. Because there is no one tool that “does it all,” even though these software companies put their logo in the center of a diagram with spokes outward to all the other tools they integrate with or replace. And the social media agencies incessantly bang on our doors, hoping we’ll buy their packages attractively dressed up like Girl Scout Cookies. But mindlessly posting content X times per week on Y social media channels is dumping more turds into the punchbowl. No amount of fake followers or bogus influencer campaigns will drive sales. And you know it. They’re robots, too, just more expensive. The solution, which is not available for $1,997 or a “secret” mastermind, is to build your Content Factory to process the content you and your customers create. Check out the Content Factory, a process more than a focus on any particular tool. It will change how you think about marketing. I think you’ll find that it’s more about the process to extract what’s in your head. We are decoupling content production from content distribution. Sshhh! The social media “experts” will get mad if you know this. What used to cost us $500 per episode to edit by humans using expensive software over a week now costs $1 and takes 3 minutes. Automatically trimming the “um’s” and “ah’s,” cleaning up the sound, transcribing, creating social snippets, etc. Are you excited to finally get your Content Factory going and have the wool lifted from your eyes?

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Partnering with Ultra-Successful People

Business, social media / Dennis Yu

Want to know what it’s like to hang around the most successful lawyers on the planet? Do you know the productivity tip for successful people? Remarkably similar to high-performance individuals in other walks of life, with principles and strategies. On the surface, these lawyers are expert litigators and have sophisticated techniques to win against the insurance companies, whether through settlement or a jury trial. But underneath, you see humans that have learned how to systematize their principles for businesses and build partnerships— to be CEOs that don’t file claims, talk to clients, write checks or go to court unless they have to. They are stewards of people– since, ultimately, it’s a people game. No matter what you do, you’re in the people business, so these principles apply. Mike Morse did $160 million this year in creating a “fireproof” law firm. And he has applied principles to give him time and freedom, so he never misses his kids’ games or things in life we want to savor. Jesse Itzler sold his private jet company for billions to Warren Buffett and is married to the billionaire founder of Spanx. And he plans his entire year out in advance, blocking time for adventure, new experiences, and date night. Put in the big rocks first; else, the pebbles and sand fill up your jar– leaving no room for the big stones later. I witnessed tender moments with Ali Awad, his wife, his brother, and his father– a close-knit family that spends time together. And I felt welcomed, like part of the family. It struck me more than the powerful opening keynote Ali gave about how he scaled his law firm to 8 figures via social media. I admire the CEO Lawyer more for how he treats people than for his ability to convince billionaires to speak on his stage. I’m also grateful for Mark Lack, who taught our private group while I was on stage, which happened to be during our weekly Office Hours call. Mark shared his techniques for partnering with ultra-successful people– and I noticed how Mark and Ali have a massive overlap in their circle of friends. And that’s not a coincidence, since many of the attendees I met, even though I’ve never met them before– feel like long-time friends because we have so many friends in common. I wasn’t expecting to do any deals– my focus was on teaching the dollar-a-day strategy. So even the not-so-young adults would be comfortable making one-minute selfie videos and boosting them on TikTok and Facebook. I gave away all our training for free, as this felt like the right place– so these CEO lawyers could build a Content Factory using our processes and hire VAs for $5 an hour to edit videos. And doing so yielded some new partnerships, where ads and analytics support from us (not as a traditional agency) will create massive growth for these firms while advancing our mission to create a million jobs to implement these techniques. There is always another level up that you haven’t seen if you are willing to humble yourself– and these folks have such an abundance mindset that they openly share and decisively take action. If you haven’t been to a high-end event like this, you don’t know what you’re missing.

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Use smart strategies with smart networks

LinkedIn, Networking, social media / Dennis Yu

How can we use smart strategies ? Unhappy that Facebook is getting rid of interest and targeting, and targeting going away on the various social networks? The reasons could be many – either more profit, less govt interference, or the unavoidable result of GDPR. However, know that LinkedIn is a platform where you can boost your posts at a price of $10 a day rather than one dollar a day. Smart networks The benefit you get there is that you can target people according to their skills, job titles, the place or company they work at, where they live, and so on. Once LinkedIn was 20 times more expensive than Facebook, but it has made it feasible by reducing the gap from 20 to just 3 times more. Smart Strategic Planning The smarter you are, the more you’ll benefit from this targeting methodology by picking an extremely relevant audience in lower numbers, thus lower costs but higher returns. I’m not AJ Wilcox, the master of LinkedIn ads, but my LinkedIn posts get a great response due to my content being compelling and targeted to a relevant audience.

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Dennis Yu

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