Brian Dordevic on $4/hour To MILLIONS in SEO, How To Rank on Keywords, and Agency Management

In this episode of Local Marketing Secrets, Dan Leibrandt interviews Brian Dordevic (aka Brian Decoded), covering his journey from humble beginnings to leading a successful SEO agency, Alpha Efficiency. Brian, now a prominent figure in SEO, discusses his start as a virtual assistant making $4/hour, later transitioning to digital marketing and eventually launching his own agency. His SEO journey highlights his resilience and ingenuity, with early experiences like Google’s Penguin Update (2011) shaping his understanding of SEO's intricacies, especially around backlinks and content strategies.

Brian discusses his philosophy on SEO, emphasizing the importance of technical SEO, Core Web Vitals, and custom-coded websites for optimized speed and user experience. He contrasts his agency’s approach to many SEO firms that rely on template-based website builders, explaining that custom coding offers better control over site performance metrics that Google favors. This leads to higher rankings by improving key metrics like page speed, which are vital for competitive search terms.

Leibrandt and Dordevic dive deep into SEO tactics, including the value of high-quality backlinks, internal linking, topical authority, and keyword optimization. Brian asserts that SEO is an ongoing competition, where rankings are influenced by technical SEO and consistent, relevant content. He explains his agency’s process for maintaining SEO results, highlighting that factors like backlinks and regular content updates signal to Google that a website remains authoritative and relevant.

They also discuss leveraging SEO and Google Ads to identify profitable keywords and optimizing for those terms. Brian shares insights into local SEO, specifically targeting high-competition niches like legal services. With Alpha Efficiency, he has achieved significant results for clients, such as increasing a law firm’s revenue by 70%, demonstrating the power of focused SEO efforts in niche industries.

The conversation further covers agency management, with Brian sharing how he manages a 20-30 person distributed team through Slack and structured SOPs. His agency model leverages the strengths of offshore teams working in U.S. hours, emphasizing culture fit and high English proficiency among his employees. Brian’s structured hiring process ensures he selects the best talent, fostering a streamlined and productive remote work environment.

Brian Dordevic, Founder of Alpha Efficiency:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/briandecoded

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandecoded/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@briandecoded/

Newsletter: https://briandecoded.com/

Alpha Efficiency: https://alphaefficiency.com/

Dan Leibrandt, Host of Local Marketing Secrets:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/DanLeibrandtOfficial

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/danleibrandt/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanLeibrandt

Website: https://danleibrandt.com

Local Marketing Secrets Platforms:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LocalMarketingSecrets

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1TCL0LhZbsJS6mzanqnnT1?si=224075c9fbda42f5

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/local-marketing-secrets/id1741176782

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0bb5254-5d6c-4940-8211-085157cc1239/local-marketing-secrets

Podcast Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Brian Dordevic

08:56 The Importance of Custom Coding in SEO

15:07 The Role of Links and Content in SEO

24:13 SEO Tools and Strategies for Success

47:23 Maintaining SEO Rankings

56:56 Technical SEO Essentials

01:00:20 The Impact of Backlinks

01:10:09 Optimizing Google Business Profile

01:17:25 Agency Operations and Team Management

01:28:50 Niche Focus on Attorneys

#localmarketing #localbusiness #localseo #seo