Performance Marketing Mastery: Jake Tlapek on DSPs, TikTok SEO & Conversions | Ep. 163

Episode 162 Frederick Dudek (Freddy D)

Performance marketing takes center court as Jake Tlapek of Finch breaks down demand-side platforms (DSPs), TikTok SEO, and conversion optimization playbooks that win customers on every channel. He shares his journey from Air Force IT to agency leader and founder-creator, including how posting twice daily sparked 100K+ TikTok followers and a steady stream of leads. You’ll learn why DSPs let brands place ads where buyers actually are—from Hulu to digital billboards—without juggling a dozen dashboards, plus why search isn’t dying, it’s moving (hello, Reddit, Pinterest, and TikTok). Jake caps it with two slam-dunk case studies: a landscaper scaling from 3 to 9 crews and a simple button-color change that 5x’d conversions.

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Key Takeaways:

• DSP dominance: Use demand-side platforms to reach buyers across Hulu, Pandora, podcasts, and digital signage—meet fans where they play.
• TikTok SEO is real: Search is shifting—1 in 4 TikTok sessions starts with a search; optimize captions, hooks, and on-screen text.
• Founder-led content wins: Twice-daily posting built Jake’s 100K+ audience and inbound pipeline. Consistency > complexity.
• Conversions are a game of inches: A button color change lifted a landing page from ~1.2% to 6.5%—micro-tweaks, macro-results.
• Messaging mismatch kills deals: Most sites speak to the owner, not the customer—rewrite copy to the buyer’s “benefit of the benefit.”
• Search isn’t dead—just moved: Blend SEO + social search (Reddit, Pinterest, TikTok) to capture intent beyond Google.
• ROAS that scales: Finch’s DSP programs target money-in/money-out efficiency, with cited 17x ROAS examples.
• People over pixels: AI is the cream in the Oreo—useful in the middle, but humans bookend the brand experience.

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Guest Bio:

Jake Tlapek is a performance marketing strategist at Finch, known for DSP-driven omnichannel campaigns and no-fluff SEO + CRO execution. He grew a 100K+ TikTok audience by posting twice daily and turns that attention into qualified demand. His wins range from doubling crews for a Chicagoland landscaper to 5x conversion lifts with surgical UX tweaks.

Freddy D's Take

Jake plays full-court press on performance marketing—open lanes via DSP buys, fast breaks via TikTok SEO, and high-percentage shots with on-page conversion. His stance that “search moves” reframes strategy: build content for platforms where your buyer already searches, then use DSPs to...