He once delivered 20 links for $150. Then he saw what others charged, and everything changed. 💡
At the Chiang Mai SEO conference 2025, his first conference ever, I sat down with Alexander Ljubinkovic, an SEO agency owner from Serbia who started doing SEO at 18, for Inside A Hustler’s Brain. 🎙️
We talked about his first ranking site, his best month, how he pays his team, his two best investments, and his toughest year. 🔥
📊 In this episode, we unpacked:
- 🇷🇸 Starting SEO at 18 in Serbia without PayPal
- 💰 His best month: $50K profit
- 👥 Per-task pay and AI automation
- 💡 His two best investments
- 🎯 Shooting, focus and a supportive partner
- 📅 The best and worst year, and money advice
🎥 Watch the full episode:
🇷🇸 Starting SEO at 18 in Serbia Without PayPal
As a young kid in Serbia, Alexander wanted to make money online, but Serbians couldn’t have PayPal then, and he couldn’t buy tools. So he tried SEO, learning on forums like Black Hat World, Digital Point, WebmasterWorld, and Warrior Forum. 📚
He found $10 for his first domain and promoted World of Warcraft leveling guides through ClickBank. Using only blog comments, including a PR4 link, it ranked number two for its keyword. “This can work.” 🎮
His first conference was Chiang Mai 2025, and he was surprised by how many cool people he met. He’s now planning his whole next year around conferences. 🤝
💰 His Best Month: $50K Profit
His income was “far less” when he was younger. The real money came with his agency. 🏢
His best month was about $50K in profit, not revenue. “Everybody decided to pay me then,” so “that month was party month.” 🎉
For more on growing an agency, read how to grow a 7-figure SEO agency. 🔗
👥 Per-Task Pay and AI Automation
His team ranges from five to 10 people depending on the workload. He likes flexible hours and performance-based incentives. Some are paid hourly or monthly, and some per result, like a link going live. ⏱️
His reasoning: if a boring manual task is paid by the hour, nobody has a reason to speed it up. Pay per task, and it’s in everyone’s interest to finish in two hours instead of ten. ⚡
He’s “in love” with AI. After the conference, he planned to spend a week using AI to optimize all his processes. 🤖
For more on AI in agencies, read Adam Chronister on agency success in the AI era. 🔗
💡 His Two Best Investments
- 💸 Pricing higher: he was delivering 20 links for $150, about 10 hours of work, until he saw others charging $1,500 for similar work. That selling mindset shift “allowed me to live a far easier life.”
- 🎯 Selling outcomes to businesses: SEOs care about metrics like DR, but businesses want traffic. Learning to talk to businesses about results completely changed his perspective.
His biggest regret is not asking for advice from people who had already walked his path, and not meeting more people earlier. He also found that helping people without expecting anything back often comes back to you. 🙏
For another link builder’s journey, read Russell Lobo on turning $20 sites into a $1.2M exit. 🔗
🎯 Shooting, Focus and a Supportive Partner
Alexander’s stress relief is unusual: he’s a competitive shooter. He goes to the range and fires about 300 rounds preparing for competitions. His doctor suggested gardening instead! 🎯
There’s a reason. Business people are always thinking about 15 things, and shooting is one of the rare times he focuses on one target. “It also helps with business: know your target and just focus on it.” 🧠
He credits his girlfriend, who understands the demands of business and supports him. “Choosing the right partner” is one of the most important decisions an entrepreneur makes. ❤️
As a leader, he tells his team every day: “I’m there for you.” If you make mistakes, tell him and he’ll help fix them, so nobody lives in fear. 🤝
Other personal answers:
- 👵 One person to bring back: his grandmother, who took him to the sea in Montenegro and called him back when he swam too far
- 🔒 People he trusts 100%: his mom and his girlfriend
- 🌍 Last wish: to experience and learn as much as he can
- 😟 Biggest fear: an irrational fear of not having enough, which drives him to work harder
- 🇯🇵 Where to live: Japan, where he feels most at home
- 🏡 $20M lottery: a house in Tuscany, travel every month, and three months of snowboarding
📅 The Best and Worst Year, and Money Advice
2019 was both his worst and best year. A 10-year relationship ended, he wasn’t sure about his business, Serbia’s tax change meant about $50,000 in tax (around half his income from the previous five years), and Payoneer froze his account. 😓
But that year he also connected with his best friend, who is now his girlfriend. 💛
His financial advice: pay yourself last. Make sure employees and vendors are paid first, and only pay vendors after they deliver. Then save as much as you can and invest. 💰
📝 Key Takeaways From the Alexander Ljubinkovic Interview
- 💸 Charge for value, not hours
- 🎯 Sell outcomes like traffic to businesses, not metrics
- ⚡ Pay per task to reward speed
- 🤖 Use AI to automate boring processes
- 🙋 Ask for advice from people who’ve walked your path
- 🤝 Help people without expecting anything back
- 💰 Pay yourself last, then save and invest
❓ FAQs About Alexander Ljubinkovic
Who is Alexander Ljubinkovic?
Alexander Ljubinkovic is an SEO agency owner from Serbia who started doing SEO at 18 with an affiliate site promoting World of Warcraft guides.
What was Alexander Ljubinkovic’s best month?
About $50K in profit from his agency, in a month when many clients happened to pay at once.
How does Alexander Ljubinkovic pay his team?
A mix of hourly, monthly and performance-based pay, including per-task pay for manual work, so everyone benefits from finishing faster.
What is Alexander Ljubinkovic’s financial advice?
Pay yourself last: make sure employees and vendors are paid first, pay vendors only after delivery, then save and invest as much as you can.
🎙️ More Inside A Hustler’s Brain Interviews You’ll Love
- Navneet Kaushal: Building a Million-Dollar SEO Agency and Life Lessons 🧐
- How Pranav Jha Built a $30k/Month SEO Agency from Scratch
- Chris Tzitzis On Selling His 7-Figure Agency, Life Regrets, and Missing His Mom 👇
- Liam Quirk on NEW Rules of ChatGPT SEO 💰 Why SEO Is Bigger Than Google Now
If Alexander’s story helped you, share this with a freelancer who’s still charging by the hour. 💬
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Jitendra Vaswani is a well-known expert in SEO and AI-driven digital marketing. He has spoken at international events and founded Digiexe, a digital marketing agency, and AffiliateBooster, WordPress plugin designed specifically for affiliate marketers. With over 10 years of experience, Jitendra has helped many businesses succeed online. His bestselling book, Inside A Hustler’s Brain: In Pursuit of Financial Freedom, with over 20,000 copies sold globally, underscores his influence and commitment to empowering digital marketers.