Achieving SEO Success with Nathan Gotch, Founder of Gotch SEO

Welcome to Marketer Interview, featuring the industry’s most successful and innovative marketers.

Today, we are privileged to interview Nathan Gotch, the founder of Gotch SEO.

Nathan is an accomplished SEO expert who has helped hundreds of individuals and businesses achieve top rankings on search engines.

He is also the lead SEO coach at Gotch SEO Academy, which provides valuable guidance and resources to aspiring SEO professionals.

Join us as we delve into Nathan’s journey into the world of SEO and learn from his vast experience and expertise.

Please tell us about your background and how you got into SEO.

I discovered SEO while struggling to grow my first blog as a senior in college (2012).

I spent months pumping out content, but my blog was a ghost town. That is until I discovered SEO.

I deployed everything I learned on this website, and it worked! So while I was ecstatic about my SEO results, I was even more excited about SEO as a skill.

What inspired you to start Gotch SEO?

I started Gotch SEO out of necessity. I was laid off from my security job in 2013 and had to choose: get another job I hated or pursue a career in SEO.

I picked up the latter, packed my stuff, and moved to St Louis. My first attempt was to apply for every SEO position in St Louis. I got one interview and didn’t get hired.

So I decided to get clients instead. Within six months, I was making $15,000/mo. Then in the first year of Gotch SEO, I profited over six figures.

The agency side of my business is unique because we only work with a small handful of clients. We only do SEO and will turn down business if they need more. The big differentiator is the SEO system I’ve built over ten years that produces predictable rankings.

How do you approach SEO for different industries, such as health, legal, SaaS, and B2B?

While the industry matters, what matters more is the client’s SEO situation relative to their competitors.

Every sector and campaign is different. But in general, you need to narrow two critical gaps:

1. The topical authority gap (create more content)
2. The backlink gap

Can you share with us a particularly challenging SEO project you worked on?

We took on a website with thousands of thin, duplicate, and low-quality pages. So we did something boldly and deleted over 90% of the content.

The logic is simple: we needed to remove the trash and start fresh. So that’s what we did. As a result, the client’s organic search traffic is now breaking monthly records (by doing less but better).

Can you tell us more about Gotch SEO Academy?

In short, I love teaching and know that building a course is a great revenue model. However, I also wanted to create something I wished I had when I started.

How do you stay up-to-date with the constantly changing algorithms and trends in SEO?

I focus on variables that don’t change, like creating and promoting exceptional content. Do those two things well; you won’t need to worry about updates.

What are some common mistakes that people make when starting an SEO agency?

Trying to appear bigger than they are. Being a one-person agency has advantages like a more personal touch and more attention.

Only a few companies are dying to be another number on an agency’s roster. So lean into the fact that you don’t have a huge team, but you’ll be the point of contact and lead the SEO campaign.

How do you measure the success of an SEO campaign?

Leading indicators are 99% of the focus, which are the total number of new SEO assets created, pages optimized (on-page SEO, internal links built, and backlinks acquired, to name a few.

Lagging indicators are organic search traffic (Google Analytics), total organic keyword footprint (Ahrefs or Semrush), and individual keyword rankings.

Can you recommend any tools or software that you use for your job?

I use a few, including Semrush (comprehensive SEO tool), Screaming Frog (SEO audits), Surfer (on-page SEO), and Grammarly (content editing).

What exciting developments or trends do you see in the SEO world that businesses should know?

AI is the focus right now. Every SEO should be using ChatGPT or AI technology to streamline their work. It’s a tool. Use it!