Ahrefs Podcast

“I don't think any SEO consultant should be charging a client less than $10,000 per month.”Eli Schwartz, author of Product-Led SEO and a solo consultant for clients like Tinder, Coinbase and LinkedIn, joins Tim Soulo to talk about what SEO consulting pays, and why. His math for a $1M practice starts with a $10,000-a-month floor, and at the top of the range, he knows solo consultants earning more than $100,000 a month from a single client. They're charging for value, not hours.You'll come away knowing what to charge, how to land the clients who can pay it, and what to measure when the CEO asks what AI visibility is worth.He shares:How he quoted Blue Nile $10,000 a month, expecting a counter at $5,000, and made it his baselineWhat a $10,000-a-month client can get, from content briefs to one expert hour (his own rate on Intro: $495 for 15 minutes)Why personal brand and social proof win the big clients, and the podcast appearance that brought in G2 and WordPressWhy it took nine months of sign-offs to get "dating" into Tinder's homepage title tag, and about 12 hours to rankWhy prompts aren't keywords, and the business metrics he'd use insteadWhat's the most expensive problem you know how to solve?Where to find Eli:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwartze/X: @5leWebsite: https://www.elischwartz.co/Where to find Tim:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/X: @timsouloWebsite: https://www.timsoulo.com/Chapters00:00 Intro01:17 The $10K-a-Month Floor06:40 What $10K a Month Buys12:05 Earning Six Figures a Month16:10 How to Land Big Clients30:04 The Million-Dollar Question38:14 Build a Business, Not a Podcast43:28 Earn It or Buy It51:26 Measure by Revenue, Not Prompts56:13 The Future of AI Trackers

If you work in marketing, part of what you make is what people believe before they try the product.Nir Eyal, author of Hooked and Indistractable and a former lecturer at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, joins Tim Soulo to talk about his new book, Beyond Belief, written with Julie Li. He brings the research behind that idea: a wine that tasted better with a higher price tag, IBS patients who felt relief from pills they knew were placebos, and two identical cars rated at opposite ends of the chart.When marketing makes people expect a better product, they don't just say it's better, they experience it, which is why Nir says marketing "is the product.”He shares:- Why Liquid Death fans say the water tastes better, and what that says about marketing- The fMRI wine study and two identical cars from the NUMMI plant: the same product, experienced differently- A study IBS patients felt relief from pills they knew were placebos- Why venting about a family member or a coworker only reinforces the beliefs you already have about them- Why telling everyone about a big, long-term goal can make things worseWhat does your customer believe about your product before they've even tried it?**Where to find Nir:**LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nireyal/Website: https://www.nirandfar.com/**Where to find Tim:**LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/X: @timsouloWebsite: https://www.timsoulo.com/Chapters: 00:00 Intro00:56 Marketing and the Experience Loop07:23 Beliefs vs. Fact13:30 Planting Beliefs27:50 The Four Questions45:16 The Two Most Dangerous Words in English53:02 Why Vision Boards Backfire58:03 Announcing Your Goals

How do you triple revenue while cutting marketing spend by 90%? Ariel Rubin, VP of Content at Air, did exactly that — and won two Webbys along the way — without ever having a budget bigger than $100K per campaign.Ariel breaks down the playbook behind Air's viral marketing: working with 86-year-old TV legend Maury Povich for "almost nothing," shooting a Webby-nominated video with a two-person crew for $2,500, and growing Air's Instagram from 6,000 to nearly 70,000 followers in seven months — all organic.You'll learn why distribution — not the idea — is the real challenge, how Ariel runs a three-person content team that punches far above its weight, and why he refuses to offload creative thinking to AI. Tim and Ari also brainstorm a viral book trailer live on air, debate whether SaaS is becoming a commodity like water, and get into the real talk on backlash and controversy in brand marketing.Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(00:48) Ariel's favorite Air campaign: the Maury Povich story(02:57) Showing up bigger than you are(04:35) Is a celebrity campaign actually cost-effective?(06:10) Why distribution — not the idea — is the real challenge(08:43) Short-form Instagram and events as distribution(10:45) A tour of Air's wildest campaigns(13:47) What's done in-house vs. with contractors(16:30) Real campaign budgets: $2,500 to $67,000(21:39) Why AI can't replace taste and creative ideation(23:15) Live brainstorm: making a viral book ad(28:50) Why real effort beats AI-generated video(30:49) How Air integrates brand into top-of-funnel content(39:56) Inside Air's three-person content team(46:23) Liquid Death, SaaS as a commodity, and brand differentiation(49:55) Backlash, controversy, and pulling the Bonnie Blue campaign(56:15) Turning Air's office into a creative events hub(58:25) Rapid fire: overrated trends, book recs, and brands to watchAriel Rubin: LinkedIn | X | AirTim Soulo: LinkedIn | X | WebsiteReferenced:AirLiquid DeathClickUpUncanny Valley by Anna WienerThe Middle Passage by James HollisKareem Rahma / Subway TakesAhrefsIf you enjoyed this episode, follow the Ahrefs Podcast and leave a rating — it helps others find the show.