Jay Yap’s Guide to SEO Success and Wealth Building 🔥

He started as a VA on Upwork, building backlinks for a sex toy seller without knowing it was SEO. Today he’s CEO of Leadspring. 🚀

In Chiang Mai, I sat down with Jay Yap, the Filipino SEO who became Leadspring’s first virtual assistant and later its part-owner, working alongside Matt Diggity for 10 years. 🎙️

We talked about how he earned that trust, how they adapted when affiliate sites got hit, his investing, and the habits behind his success. 🔥

📊 In this episode, we unpacked:

• 🇵🇭 From call center commute to online VA
• 📈 VA to project manager to CEO
• 🌊 Adapting when affiliate sites got hit
• 💰 Income streams, gold and crypto
• 🎯 Shiny object syndrome and his routines
• 💬 Family, loss and his final advice

🎥 Watch the full episode:

🇵🇭 From Call Center Commute to Online VA

In the Philippines, Jay worked part-time at a fast food chain while studying, then decided school wasn’t for him and dropped out of college. 🍔

He got a call center job, but traffic meant 2.5 hours each way. “I’d rather work online, spend those four hours working and earn more.” So he started looking for online jobs. 🚌

On Upwork he worked as a VA, including building backlinks for a sex toy seller, “and I didn’t know that was SEO.” He had no friends in the space. Early on he listened to Alex Becker and Neil Patel, but “mainly it was just Matt.” 💻

📈 VA to Project Manager to CEO

Jay was introduced to Kurt Philip, owner of Convertica, and worked for him as a VA. A few years later they started Leadspring, and Jay applied and became its first virtual assistant. 🏢

Over 10 years he went from VA to project manager to part-owner. Now Matt Diggity has stepped back and Jay is CEO. 👔

How did he earn that trust? “Hard work and the willingness to do more than what is required.” Most people stick to their job description. Jay kept asking: “What else can I do? What else can I learn?” Learning directly from Matt and Kurt was “pretty much a shortcut to success.” 🔑

His role models are Matt Diggity, whom he’s watched grow over 10 years, and Travis Jamieson. 🌟

🌊 Adapting When Affiliate Sites Got Hit

“Matt told me our sites got badly hit.” At first it was scary: things moved fast and nobody knew what to do. 😨

What they’re good at is accepting that change is constant and adapting:

• 🔄 Shifting focus from affiliate sites to lead gen, e-commerce, and JV partnerships
• 🔗 Jay started his own link building agency focused on digital PR
• 🎥 Diversifying traffic beyond Google, including YouTube videos with Growth Spur to sell high-ticket products like supplements
• 💳 Running PPC on their affiliate sites to recover revenue

I shared that I did the same after getting hit. My partner learned Google Ads by bidding on profitable SEO keywords, broke even in six months, and now it’s scaling well. 📈

For more on adapting after updates, read Russell Lobo on treating sites as real businesses. 🔗

💰 Income Streams, Gold and Crypto

• 🏢 Leadspring: mid five figures a month, though volatile because some JV partnerships pay out once a year
• 🔗 His agency: started last year and approaching about $600,000 in annual revenue
• 🧩 Side projects: just under five figures
• 📈 Investing: the S&P, quite a bit of gold, and about seven figures in crypto

Why crypto? “Everything’s going digital now,” with tokenization, so “follow the big money to make money.” He calls it speculative but a calculated risk. ₿

He stopped focusing on money once it became a non-issue, and now focuses on lifting up people in his company. With $10M, he’d give 10% to charity and invest the rest. 🤝

For more on affiliate businesses, read Niels Zee on building a 7-figure affiliate business. 🔗

🎯 Shiny Object Syndrome and His Routines

The most common mistake he sees is shiny object syndrome: people see others making money, get distracted, and try five things at once. “Focus on one thing. Be good at it. Double down on it.” Then move to the next thing. 🎯

Jay is a routine person who checks his calendar at least five times a day:

• ⏰ Wakes at 5–5:30 a.m. (his body clock)
• 🧘 Meditates and stretches
• 💻 Does a couple of hours of calm, uninterrupted work
• 🏋️ Gym around 10, then work until 5 or 6 p.m.

For stress, he uses box breathing, which he learned from Andrew Huberman, plus meditation. He’s an introvert who is “extroverted by profession.” 🌬️

💬 Family, Loss and His Final Advice

His parents advised him not to fly to Thailand to be an “apprentice” and thought he was delusional. When he started making $10,000 a month, they were shocked. The best compliment he’s received was his dad saying he’d “overachieved.” 💛

More from our chat:

• 👩 One person to bring back: his mom, whom he lost a few years ago (I lost mine in 2018)
• 📅 Worst year: losing his mom at the same time the Google updates hit
• 🌟 Best year: this one, after grinding out his new agency
• 🚀 A day with: Elon Musk, for his innovation and future planning
• ⏪ Regret: not getting his life together sooner
• 📱 Downside of being known: constant requests for favors, so protect your time
• 🎓 Last $10,000: spend it on education, then start a business
• 🏀 Favorite quote: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,” which he has tattooed on his arm

Best advice: “If you’re going to do something, make it worth your while,” so put 110% in. His final advice: don’t be afraid to change. Affiliate SEOs who were comfortable crashed, while those doing R&D and adding PPC were affected less. 🔄

📝 Key Takeaways From the Jay Yap Interview

• 🔑 Do more than your job description and keep asking “What else can I do?”
• 🔄 Accept that change is constant and adapt fast
• 🌐 Diversify traffic beyond Google with YouTube and PPC
• 🎯 Beat shiny object syndrome by mastering one thing first
• ⏰ Protect your routines and your time
• 📚 Invest in education when in doubt

❓ FAQs About Jay Yap

Who is Jay Yap?

Jay Yap is the CEO and part-owner of Leadspring. He started as its first virtual assistant after working as an Upwork VA in the Philippines, and has worked with Matt Diggity for about 10 years.

How did Leadspring adapt when affiliate sites got hit?

By shifting toward lead gen, e-commerce and JV partnerships, diversifying traffic with YouTube videos and PPC, and Jay starting a digital PR link building agency.

What does Jay Yap invest in?

The S&P, a lot of gold, and about seven figures in crypto, which he calls a calculated risk because everything is going digital.

What is Jay Yap’s advice for beginners?

Avoid shiny object syndrome: focus on one thing, get good at it, double down, and only then move on.

🎙️ More Inside A Hustler’s Brain Interviews You’ll Love

• How Kevin Meng Built a 7-Figure Business With SEO and Copywriting? 🤑
• How Alexander Ljubinkovic Built a Profitable SEO Agency from Scratch? 😮
• Sean Si Motivational Speaker in Philippines How To Make Money at 22 Yrs
• The Millionaire’s Guide to Affiliate Marketing Success ft. Katrina Hier

If Jay’s story inspired you, share this with a VA who’s ready to go beyond the job description. 💬

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