“If somebody handed you a 200-step recipe, it’s going to be hard. What if a three-step recipe was just as tasty?” 🍔
After Affiliate World Asia 2018 in Bangkok, I sat down at his place with Mike Long, co-founder of OMG Machines, to talk SEO and affiliate marketing. 🎙️
📊 In this episode, we unpacked:
- 🃏 From game store to internet marketing
- 💰 Bring the Fresh and One Man Gang
- 🍔 The three-step SEO recipe
- 🎯 Find money without authority sites
- 🌐 Let Google pick your TLD
🎥 Watch the full episode:
🃏 From Game Store to Internet Marketing
Mike was a competitive Magic: The Gathering player who opened a game store, and soon panicked about paying the rent. In 1998, the year Google incorporated, he went online from Charlottesville, Virginia, a hub of the early tech scene. 🃏
His e-commerce sales soon outgrew the store, so he closed it. At a conference, his partner David Mills urged him to take internet marketing seriously, and he found the world of digital marketing “arms dealers” who teach everyone else the tools. People started asking him to consult. For another early SEO story, read Depesh Mandalia’s interview. 🔗
💰 Bring the Fresh and One Man Gang
With partner Kelly Felix, he launched Bring the Fresh, an SEO program. Then came One Man Gang with Greg Morrison, one of his best-known products. 💰
Mike said they’d collected around $45 million, roughly $30 million in profit, all from free affiliate traffic. In his member survey of about 500 respondents, he said around 20% reported making at least $100,000 a year. OMG Machines, his program with Greg Morrison, is built on what works for ranking. For more on affiliate success, read how I earn six figures from affiliate marketing. 🔗
🍔 The Three-Step SEO Recipe
Big SEO sites talk about 200 ranking factors and periodic tables, and most of those factors are easy to fake. Mike called that bad resource management. 🍔
OMG boils it down to three things: the anchor text, the URL and the title tag, and how they relate. Like McDonald’s, whose money comes from the burger, fries and Coke, focus on the few things that actually make you money. His favorite tool: Keywords Everywhere, cheap and underrated for finding many more keywords. For another SEO playbook, read Kyle Roof’s SEO strategies. 🔗
The key step is finding niches with lots of money but without authority sites dominating page one. 🎯
Mike sold millions in gold, directly and as a super affiliate, but exited as Google filled page one with sites like NBC, Motley Fool and Forbes. Domain and page authority matter in that sense: avoid fighting them, and put less money into a smaller site where you can win. For a niche selection view, read Mads Singers’s interview. 🔗
🌐 Let Google Pick Your TLD
His most-asked question at AWA was about the best TLD. In the US, stick to .com, .net, .org and maybe .us. Elsewhere, ccTLDs like .co.uk work much better. 🌐
The easiest test: search your target keyword, like “personal trainer Brighton”. If several .co.uk sites rank, that extension is wide open. The same goes for .io in tech. If you see none, don’t register it. For more on domains, read Raymond King on new TLDs. 🔗
📝 Key Takeaways From the Mike Long Interview
- 🍔 Focus on the few factors that move rankings
- 🔗 Align anchor text, URL and title tag
- 🎯 Pick niches without authority sites on page one
- 🌐 Check Google before choosing a TLD
- 🔍 Use Keywords Everywhere for keyword ideas
❓ FAQs About Mike Long
Who is Mike Long?
An internet marketer since 1998 and co-founder of OMG Machines, an SEO and affiliate marketing program.
What are OMG’s three SEO factors?
Anchor text, URL and title tag, and how they relate to each other.
How do I choose a TLD?
Search your target keyword on Google. If sites with that extension rank, it’s a good choice.
🎙️ More Inside A Hustler’s Brain Interviews You’ll Love
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- How To Become A Millionaire in Affiliate Marketing With Renz Gonzales
Do you think SEO is simpler than people make it? Tell me in the comments. 💬
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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.