Alex Wade: Why Internal Linking Still Wins in the Age of AI Search

Ashlyn Verh: Why Your Website Is the Foundation of Every Marketing Strategy

In this episode, Austin sits down with Ashlyn Verh, an Account Manager at Socius Marketing, to break down what it actually takes to build a strong digital presence for small and local businesses. Ashlyn shares her proven LVLL method — Listen, Validate, Level, Lead, and how she uses it to set realistic expectations with clients, redirect wasted ad spend, and guide business owners through a clear digital marketing roadmap. They cover everything from building a website as the foundation of your digital house, to SEO strategy, Google Business Profile, PPC, AI search optimization, and why impressions are becoming one of the most important metrics in the zero-click era. If you run a home service business or work with local businesses on digital marketing, this episode is packed with practical frameworks and honest advice that will change how you think about ranking, visibility, and long-term growth. Get Your Exclusive AIO Growth Plan - We’ll kick off with a Live AIO Audit to see how shoppers find you, followed by Competitor Research to steal their spotlight: https://lunacal.ai/team/dws/dws-meetings In this episode, we discuss: 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction 01:00 - 02:30: The LVLL Method — Listen, Validate, Level, Lead 02:30 - 04:15: Setting Client Expectations With SEO 04:15 - 05:05: How Social Media Posts Now Impact Organic Rankings 05:05 - 06:10: Should Your Brand Be on TikTok? 06:10 - 07:45: How to Build a Keyword Strategy Around Your Best Services 07:45 - 09:10: Enterprise vs. Small Business Clients — Key Differences 09:10 - 11:35: Redirecting Wasted Ad Spend and Educating Clients 11:35 - 13:40: The Digital Marketing Roadmap — Where to Start 13:40 - 15:15: Building the Digital House With SEO Content 15:15 - 16:30: AI Optimization — What Actually Matters Now 16:30 - 18:30: The Metrics That Matter Most in the Zero-Click Era 18:30 - 20:35: Impressions Are Rising While Clicks Are Falling — Here's Why 20:35 - 22:05: Off-Page SEO Strategy and Link Building 22:05 - 24:00: Inside the Agency — Team Structure and Communication 24:00 - 26:15: How to Keep a Remote Team Connected and Accountable 26:15 - 28:30: Core Principles That Have Guided Ashlyn's Career 28:30 - 31:28: Where to Find Ashlyn and Final Thoughts  Connect with Ashlyn Verh  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashlynmarieverh/  https://www.sociusmarketing.com/  FOLLOW US Website: https://www.digitalwebsolutions.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digiwebsol Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dws_global LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-web-solutions./

Shaun Kanary: How to Build Real Brand Authority Before AI Ignores You

Shaun Kanary is VP of SEO, SEM & Marketing Growth Strategies at Kuno Creative, and a college professor teaching digital marketing. In this episode, Shaun breaks down why traditional SEO is no longer enough in the age of AI and what brands need to do right now to stay visible. We cover how AI has shifted ranking authority from backlinks to trust validation, why your first-party data is your biggest competitive moat, and how to build topical authority that AI systems actually recognise. Shaun also shares the exact steps any founder, CEO, or marketer can take to start dominating a niche and becoming the go-to expert in their space. We talked about: - Why AI does not care about your domain authority - How off-page SEO signals have evolved beyond backlinks - First-party data and why it matters more than ever - The new AI-era funnel: visibility, trust, confidence, conversion, and advocacy - How to build topical authority from scratch - Why niching down is the fastest path to authority - LinkedIn thought leadership and executive personal branding - The five steps to clarify your point of view and build your entity Get Your Exclusive AIO Growth Plan - We’ll kick off with a Live AIO Audit to see how shoppers find you, followed by Competitor Research to steal their spotlight: https://lunacal.ai/team/dws/dws-meetings In this episode, we discuss: 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction 01:00 - 04:30: Why Shaun became a professor (hint: free Chipotle) 04:30 - 08:00: Teaching AI in the classroom: from enemy to curriculum 08:00 - 11:30: Why AI won't replace agency strategy 11:30 - 15:00: Using AI to simulate ICPs and test campaigns before launch 15:00 - 19:30: First-party data: the real competitive moat in the AI era 19:30 - 23:00: How constraints create better marketing strategy 23:00 - 30:00: How off-page SEO has completely changed with AI 30:00 - 34:30: Backlinks vs. trust validation: the new SEO model 34:30 - 39:00: Executive thought leadership and LinkedIn strategy 39:00 - 43:30: What brands get wrong when auditing their digital footprint 43:30 - 47:00: Why chasing high-volume keywords will hurt you now 47:00 - 51:00: The new AI-era funnel: visibility, trust, confidence, conversion, advocacy 51:00 - 55:00: 5 steps to clarify your point of view and dominate your niche 55:00 - 56:11: Where to find Shaun and Kuno Creative  Connect with Shaun Kanary  https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaunkanary/  http://www.kunocreative.com/  FOLLOW US Website: https://www.digitalwebsolutions.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digiwebsol Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dws_global LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-web-solutions./

Lisa Paasche: How This SEO Agency Founder Sold to Omnicom and Changed Everything

In this episode, Lisa Paasche, Founder at EKTE Vision, breaks down the exact pivot she made in 2015 that transformed her agency from a low-margin link-building shop into a creative powerhouse landing coverage on BBC, The Guardian, CNN, and even the Tonight Show. She shares why she made 40% of her team redundant to move forward, how she hired people with no industry experience on purpose, and what buyers like Omnicom are actually looking for when they acquire an agency. Lisa and Austin also go deep on leadership, transparency, and what it really takes to build a team that stays. From open-book financials to involving staff in hiring decisions, Lisa's approach to running a business is as unconventional as it is effective. They also discuss the current AI opportunity in SEO, why Digital PR is more important than ever for LLM visibility, and the neuroscience behind why founders burn out and what to do about it. Whether you are trying to grow your agency, prep for an exit, or just get out of your own way, this episode is packed with hard-won lessons from someone who has done it all, including a brief detour into stand-up comedy. Get Your Exclusive AIO Growth Plan - We’ll kick off with a Live AIO Audit to see how shoppers find you, followed by Competitor Research to steal their spotlight: https://lunacal.ai/team/dws/dws-meetings In this episode, we discuss: 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction & How Lisa Repurposes Her Podcasts 01:00 - 02:30: Using Opus Clip to Turn Episodes Into Short-Form Content 02:30 - 04:00: Lisa's Background & Getting Into SEO in 2005 04:00 - 05:30: The Algorithm Updates That Changed Everything 05:30 - 07:10: The Bold Pivot That Transformed the Agency 07:10 - 08:30: Landing Coverage on BBC, The Guardian, and the Tonight Show 08:30 - 10:00: How Lisa and Austin Met at SEO Week 10:00 - 11:30: The Hardest Decision — Making 40% of the Team Redundant 11:30 - 13:00: Why Lisa Hired for Mindset Over Experience 13:00 - 14:30: The Chiropractor Story — Finding Talent in Unexpected Places 14:30 - 16:00: Enthusiasm, Grit, and the Three Keys to Success 16:00 - 17:30: Why Big Creative Campaigns Still Win 17:30 - 19:00: The Roger Bannister Effect and Belief in What's Possible 19:00 - 20:30: Balancing Virality With Niche and Specific Content 20:30 - 22:00: Why Lisa Always Knew She Wanted to Sell 22:00 - 23:30: What Acquirers Are Actually Looking For 23:30 - 25:30: De-Risking Your Agency Before a Sale 25:30 - 27:30: Open-Book Financials and Teaching Your Team How Business Works 27:30 - 29:30: Transparent Pay Structures and Involving Staff in Decisions 29:30 - 31:30: The Employee Who Stayed Because of Trust, Not Money 31:30 - 33:30: What Is EKTE and Why Lisa Built It 33:30 - 35:30: Why Founders Lose Steam and How to Get It Back 35:30 - 37:30: Hiring a COO and Getting Out of Your Own Way 37:30 - 39:00: The Neuroscience Behind Founder Burnout 39:00 - 40:30: Why Founders Are Almost Always Doing Too Much 40:30 - 42:00: The Importance of Space, Nature, and Slowing Down 42:00 - 43:30: Authenticity as the Foundation of Everything 43:30 - 45:50: Where to Find Lisa and Free Consultation Offer Book a free 1-hr session with Lisa Paasche: https://lisapaaschecoaching.youcanbook.me/  Connect with Lisa Paasche  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisapaasche/  https://ekte-vision.com/  FOLLOW US Website: https://www.digitalwebsolutions.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digiwebsol Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dws_global LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-web-solutions./

Tomal Syed-Aguirre: The Real Cost of Hiring the Wrong Marketing Partner

In this episode, Tomal Syed-Aguirre, Founder of Soul Spaces, joins us to talk about what it really takes to build a relationship-first commercial real estate business in London. From ditching transactional deal culture to navigating volatile pipelines and experimenting with every marketing channel imaginable, Tomal shares the honest, unfiltered side of running a founder-led business in 2026. Soul Spaces was built on a simple but powerful idea: bring humanity back to an industry that had lost it. Tomal and his co-founder Joe saw a corporate real estate world that was cold and transactional, and decided to do things differently. In this episode, we go deep on what that actually looks like in practice, from the way they onboard clients and tailor office recommendations, to how they think about long-term contracts versus month-to-month flexibility. We also get into the real challenges of founder-led branding on LinkedIn, why Tomal deleted Instagram because he could no longer tell what was real, how AI is both exciting and frustratingly hard to implement in a still-manual industry, and why he believes the answer to modern outreach might simply be picking up the phone. If you are a founder trying to grow a service business, stay authentic in a noisy digital world, and build something that actually lasts, this episode is for you. Get Your Exclusive AIO Growth Plan - We’ll kick off with a Live AIO Audit to see how shoppers find you, followed by Competitor Research to steal their spotlight: https://lunacal.ai/team/dws/dws-meetings In this episode, we discuss: 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction 01:00 - 02:10: Why Six-Month Contracts Beat Month-to-Month 02:10 - 04:05: How Soul Spaces Tailors Office Recommendations 04:05 - 06:15: The Story Behind Soul Spaces and Why They Started It 06:15 - 08:35: Founder-Led Branding and the LinkedIn Authenticity Challenge 08:35 - 11:10: Meme Culture, Creativity, and Finding Your Brand Voice 11:10 - 13:45: What Has Actually Worked in Outbound and Business Development 13:45 - 15:05: Is Commercial Real Estate Seasonal 15:05 - 18:20: Deal Cycles, Pipeline Volatility, and Balancing Quick vs Long-Term Clients 18:20 - 21:25: How Soul Spaces Is Adopting AI in a Still-Manual Industry 21:25 - 24:15: AI Fatigue, Fake Content, and the Return to Human Connection 24:15 - 26:10: If You Had to Strip the Business Down to One Thing 26:10 - 28:00: Where Soul Spaces Would Invest if Revenue Doubled Overnight 28:00 - 31:32: Where to Find Soul Spaces and Closing Thoughts  Connect with Tomal Syed-Aguirre  https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomal-syed-aguirre/  https://soulspaces.london/  FOLLOW US Website: https://www.digitalwebsolutions.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digiwebsol Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dws_global LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-web-solutions./

Will Palmer: How This Legal SEO Founder Uses AI to Cut Churn and Win More Clients

In this episode, Will Palmer, Founder at Growth Lab, breaks down how his agency uses CallRail data and language models to surface attribution gaps that law firms never knew existed, and how that intelligence turned a flight-risk client into one who doubled their ad spend. He explains the three-legged marketing system he uses for every law firm: a converting website, targeted traffic, and airtight lead management. Will also shares how Growth Lab is building MCP servers and internal automations to drive better margins and lower client churn, why traditional SEO KPIs like keyword rankings no longer tell the full story, and how he publishes quarterly AI legal search reports to stay ahead of the market for his clients and team. Beyond strategy, Will talks openly about leading a fully remote team, why they insist on work-life balance as a performance strategy, and what his warning label as a founder would say. Get Your Exclusive AIO Growth Plan - We’ll kick off with a Live AIO Audit to see how shoppers find you, followed by Competitor Research to steal their spotlight: https://lunacal.ai/team/dws/dws-meetings In this episode, we discuss: 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction 01:00 - 03:35: AI Operations and the Search Landscape 03:35 - 06:10: Organizing First-Party Data for Clients 06:10 - 08:35: Attribution, CallRail, and the Legal Consumer Journey 08:35 - 10:55: KPIs That Actually Matter for Law Firms 10:55 - 13:20: The Three-Legged Marketing Stool 13:20 - 15:15: Lead Management and Strategic Partnerships 15:15 - 19:30: Leadership and Remote Agency Culture 19:30 - 22:20: How AI Changes the Way the Team Works 22:20 - 25:10: Feedback Loops and Quarterly Search Reports 25:10 - 28:00: Thought Leadership and the Visionary Role 28:00 - 30:20: The Entrepreneurial Artist and His Warning Label 30:20 - 31:43: Closing thoughts  Connect with Will Palmer  https://www.linkedin.com/in/wpkc/  http://www.growthlabseo.com/  FOLLOW US Website: https://www.digitalwebsolutions.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digiwebsol Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dws_global LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-web-solutions./