What happens when you build a company specifically to sell it—and then execute that plan?

Liz Saunders went from running registration at Seller Summit to delivering the closing keynote, all while building Fluencer Fruit, the Chrome extension that helps Amazon Influencer creators optimize their content strategy. In this powerful episode, Liz reveals her entire exit playbook, from reading "Exit Preneur" before she even started building to keeping GAAP-compliant books from day one. But this isn't just an acquisition story—it's a masterclass in understanding the Amazon Influencer ecosystem, where creators earn 1-4% commissions and brands are discovering that video converts better than text, and UGC converts better than brand videos.

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Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

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Chapters:

(00:00) Re-Introducing Liz Saunders

(03:30) The Journey of Fluencer Fruit

(07:20) Amazon Influencer Program Insights

(10:09) Shifts in Influencer Marketing

(13:35) Brand Strategies for Influencer Engagement

(19:05) Multi-Channel Selling

(21:31) Building and Selling Fluencer Fruit

(28:03) Insights from the Sales Process

(32:05) Future Endeavors

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Connect With Brett:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
• Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

Relevant Links:

• Liz’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-saunders
• Fluencer Fruit: https://fluencerfruit.com/

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Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, JC Hite, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Jeff Oxford, Bryan Porter and more

Think SEO is dead in the age of AI? Think again. While ChatGPT referral traffic surged 112% month-over-month across e-commerce sites, Google still commands 99% of search market share and processes 13.6 billion queries daily. Jeff Oxford, SEO expert and founder of 180 Marketing, reveals why smart brands are doubling down on search optimization—and how the strategies that work for Google are also positioning companies to dominate in AI search results. From his data analysis of 152 SEO campaigns showing consistent 75% traffic growth, to the "ranking factor leak" that exposed Google's true algorithm priorities, Jeff breaks down the exact 4-bucket framework that's still generating millions in revenue for e-commerce brands.

Key Topics & Lessons:

• The State of Search in 2025 - Why Google's 13.6 billion daily queries represent a 64% increase from 2024, how ChatGPT traffic grew 112% month-over-month (but still represents only 1-3% of total traffic), and why the "Google is dead" narrative is premature despite real AI disruption
• The 4-Bucket SEO Framework - Jeff's systematic approach covering Technical SEO (mostly handled by Shopify), Page Optimization (title tags, meta descriptions, headers), Content Strategy (200-300 words on category pages), and Link Building (the 0.3 correlation factor that still dominates rankings)
• What Really Moves the Needle - Data from 152 campaigns showing 20% growth at 3 months, 50% at 6 months, and 75% at 12 months, plus insights from Google's leaked ranking documents revealing click-through rate as a massive ranking factor
• The Great Blog Apocalypse of 2023 - Why standalone content sites lost 90% of their traffic while e-commerce stores with blogs thrived, how Google's "helpful content" update rewarded real businesses over affiliate spam, and Jeff's theory about Google My Business as a ranking signal
• AI SEO Optimization Strategy - How to reverse-engineer ChatGPT sources to identify link targets, why product roundups have a 0.45 correlation with AI citations (higher than traditional backlinks), and the overlap between traditional SEO and AI optimization
• The Future of Automated SEO - Jeff's experiment building a fully autonomous AI agency with zero human account managers, AI tools that can screenshot pages and generate optimized title tags, and how Gemini 2.5 Pro is changing the automation game

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Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

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Chapters:

(00:00) The Relevance of SEO in the Age of AI

(12:38) The 4 Components of SEO

(16:19) What Is the Payoff for SEO?

(20:22) Breaking Down Technical SEO

(23:43) On-Page SEO and Meta Descriptions

(25:58) Content Optimization Strategies

(33:27) Link Building

(38:30) AI and SEO: The Future of Search

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Connect With Brett:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
• Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

Relevant Links:

• Jeff’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-oxford
• 180 Marketing: https://www.180marketing.com/

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Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer,...

I had fellow agency owner JC Hite join me on the pod to discuss some really important topics. Namely, is it possible to scale with stability - which for JC means scaling your business while prioritizing, family, faith and personal relationships.

Here’s a look at what we discussed:

Key Takeaways

• The "Video of Awesomeness" Hiring Hack - JC's simple 15-minute interview addition that reveals more about candidates than traditional methods, including real examples of applicants who wrote songs about his company
• Overseas Talent Strategy Mistake Most Make - Why the "how cheap can I hire" mindset kills results, and JC's approach to paying international talent competitively to get world-class team members
• The 5 Love Languages for Workplace Retention - How applying Gary Chapman's principles in business dramatically improves team satisfaction and reduces turnover (especially crucial for the next generation workforce)
• Building a "Bench" Like Sports Teams - JC's systematic approach to always having pre-approved candidates ready, eliminating the panic of unexpected departures and empowering leaders to make tough decisions
• Mentorship Through Fear, Not Ego - How JC built relationships with icons like John Maxwell, Damon John, and Dr. Gary Chapman by being honest about his fears and willing to invest in proximity to wisdom

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Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!