“I hired a guy to fire someone on my behalf.” That’s how SEO Jesus describes his biggest weakness: hesitation. 😅
At Link Building Mastery in Chiang Mai, I sat down with the London-based SEO and metal fan known as SEO Jesus for Inside Hustler’s Brain. 🎙️
We talked about engagement signals, $7 press releases for 400 links, why you need to “be the product” in the AI era, and why he wishes he’d quit his day job sooner. 🔥
📊 In this episode, we unpacked:
- 🇹🇭 London vs Thailand
- 🖱️ Engagement signals for a temporary boost
- 📰 Press releases and one-page websites
- 🤖 AI overviews: be the product
- 📊 Tracking AI mentions and listicle auctions
- ⏳ Hesitation, Warren Buffett and going for services
🎥 Watch the full episode:
🇹🇭 London vs Thailand
He loves London’s communities, including its metal scene, but a night out means an hour of travel and £10 pints. In Thailand, a Grab bike costs a dollar and service comes with a smile even when you’re paying little. 😊
I agree: in my experience, Asian countries feel warmer than Europe or the US. 🌏
🖱️ Engagement Signals for a Temporary Boost
His Link Building Mastery talk was about pushing tough keywords like casino terms to page one. He couldn’t share everything, but “it basically comes down to viral social media clicks.” If Google sees you trending from a referral source, it can bump you up. 📲
It’s only a temporary boost, but in a high-ROI niche like iGaming, “even if you only rank in a week, you more than make that money back,” and you can repeat it. 🎰
The catch: you need to be in roughly the top three pages first. Backlinks get you into the top 20–30. After that, it’s much more about user experience, and sending traffic is cheaper than “smashing links” at the page. 🔗
For 2026, he thinks this “click bomb” approach will take off. Good DR30+ link sites with real traffic are disappearing, and the ones left are spammed and pricier. Keep doing links, content and digital PR, then “step on the gas” with engagement signals near the top. Most search engines, including Bing, use user data. 🚀
📰 Press Releases and One-Page Websites
“Loads of people say press releases don’t work anymore.” He’s a big fan. His one-page websites course is built on Occam’s razor: the minimum viable cost to rank. 🪒
He launches 10–20 exact-match-domain sites in a niche at once. Instead of a $1,000 link campaign each, he spends about $50 on a press release and some citations, then quickly identifies the winners. 🏁
His source is AB Newswire: expensive up front but affordable in bulk, giving around 400 contextually relevant links (many Google News approved) for about $7. “You’re not going to get MSN or Bloomberg,” but even a 5% lift is worth it. For big brands it won’t move much. For new sites it builds traction. 📈
For another take on fast-ranking tactics, read Charles Floate on parasite SEO. 🔗
🤖 AI Overviews: Be the Product
AI overviews are an opportunity but can be a shiny object. It all comes down to search intent. 🎯
If a storm blows off your roof, you search “emergency roofer near me” on Google. AI can’t fix your roof. That’s why his one-page sites aim to “be the product.” 🏠
Information arbitrage, where you take Google traffic and send it to banner ads or affiliate products, has “kind of lost your model there.” He still does affiliate, but mainly through Reddit (around 3,000 a month on one offer), and invests in services and SaaS, which an AI overview can’t easily replace. 💼
📊 Tracking AI Mentions and Listicle Auctions
AI-mention tracking tools are valuable, but every prompt is phrased differently, just like long-tail searches. Compare like with like and track trends, not single prompts. 📉
Going from zero to 50 AI mentions is a good client KPI. Don’t obsess over one prompt nobody may use. He likes how Ahrefs shows mention counts, though the details can be expensive. 💡
For terms like “best SEO experts,” the trick is listicles, including on platforms like Medium and Reddit. An idea he’s theorizing about: crowdsourced placements, where one top-10 list goes on 100 sites and slots are auctioned (say $2,000 for #1, $500 for #6). 🏷️
Things change week to week. He invested in a Reddit-posting SaaS called Key Mentions, and then ChatGPT said it was downplaying Reddit. For AI search tactics, read Anirudh Agarwal on ranking inside ChatGPT. 🔗
⏳ Hesitation, Warren Buffett and Going for Services
His biggest regret is hesitation. He stayed in his day job far too long, and his manager eventually asked if he was unhappy. He also held on to relationships needlessly. Once he left, “everything took off.” 🚪
He knew a new sales hire was underperforming but brought in a sales manager, who fired him instead. His lesson: “more decisiveness, less hesitation.” I follow a similar rule: hire fast, fire fast. ⚡
Between Musk, Gates and Buffett, he’d choose Warren Buffett. He used to be “a massive Elon fanboy” but now questions his direction. He admires how humble Buffett is: he ignores hype, kept his house for 70 years, and orders his McDonald’s breakfast depending on whether his portfolio is up. 🍔
Money advice: go for services. He registered his first domain in 2017 and spent years as an affiliate thinking he lacked the skills, then started his agency in 2022. “Even if you’ve only watched a few YouTube videos… you can charge 2K a month,” get paid up front, and learn on the job. 💰
His biggest fear is time passing: looking back in 10–20 years and wishing he’d acted faster. He’s achieved a lot in three years since quitting. “What’s 10 years going to look like?” For more on building an agency, read Navneet Kaushal on building a million-dollar SEO agency. 🔗
📝 Key Takeaways From the SEO Jesus Interview
- 🔗 Backlinks get you to the top 30; user signals help after that
- 📰 Cheap press releases and citations help new sites find winners fast
- 🏠 Be the product: AI can’t replace real services
- 📊 Track AI-mention trends, not single prompts
- ⚡ Hesitation costs more than mistakes, so decide faster
- 💼 Start selling services before you feel like an expert
❓ FAQs About SEO Jesus
Who is SEO Jesus?
SEO Jesus is a London-based SEO known for one-page websites, cheap press release link building and engagement-signal ranking tests. He started his agency in 2022.
Does click-through rate manipulation work?
According to SEO Jesus, engagement signals can give a temporary ranking boost, but only once a page is already in roughly the top three pages through backlinks. It’s most useful in high-ROI niches.
Do press releases still work for SEO?
He says yes for new sites. A bulk press release through AB Newswire can provide about 400 contextually relevant links for around $7, though it won’t move big brands much.
How should you deal with AI overviews?
Be the product. Searchers still need real services and software, while pure information and affiliate arbitrage sites are losing ground.
🎙️ More Inside A Hustler’s Brain Interviews You’ll Love
- Niels Zee On Building a 7-Figure Affiliate Business with Google Ads 🤑
- The Secret to SEO Agency Success in the LLM SEO / AI SEO World ft. Adam Chronister
- Liam Quirk on NEW Rules of ChatGPT SEO 💰 Why SEO Is Bigger Than Google Now
- Dixon Jones Talks About Link Building Strategies & Link Analysis
What are you hesitating on right now? Share this with an SEO who needs a nudge to act faster. 💬
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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.