Today we have John Doherty, an entrepreneur and digital marketing consultant. A graduate from James Madison University, located here in Virginia, he graduated in Technical and Scientific Communication as well as Online Publication in December of 2007. The founder of a company called Credo, a company to connect to other companies with the right agency or marketing consultant for their needs, John is also busy with freelance digital marketing consulting and an amazing photographer. Welcome John! [1:00] question So, tell us something we don’t know about you. Lives in Denver, Colorado Married with a dog Graduated college in 2007   [1:49] question If you could go back in time and give the college version of yourself one piece of advice what would it be and why? Have more fun Good at managing time   [2:39] question What financial mistake did you learn the most from? Watch budget more closely   [4:27] question Side jobs are so important these days; how did you get started freelance digital marketing? Had a friend that needed help Needed to make more money   [5:33] question So, tell us about Credo. What is it and where did the idea come from? Started from freelance marketing side jobs Connects startup businesses Finds agencies/ consultants to help grow businesses   [7:11] question What made you most nervous about starting your own business? Might not work out Steep learning curve   [8:10] question So let’s dive into some search engine discussion- For our listeners that don’t know, what is SEO? Search Engine Optimization Getting your website ranked better in search engines (Google)   [8:55] question There are a lot of “SEO experts” out there, how can I tell if I am hiring the real deal or a faux expert? Look at their experience Look for agencies looking to teach you, not keep their “secrets” Do they understand how you make money?   [10:14] question What is a meta description and do they matter in my SEO description? Meta- description- a tag up in the head section of your page that describes what the page is about Does not affect your rankings Can help with getting more clicks from search results   [11:46] question What is the difference between an internal and an inbound link? Can you give an example of when they are used? Internal link- a link on your website to another page on website (Site A -> Site B) Inbound link –Also known as external link has own page authority Google counts as a vote   [13:20] question How long will it take me to see results from my SEO? It’s situational Is it a new website? How competitive is the niche?   Value link round: [14:26] question Why do you think people fail in creating their business? Afraid to start Give up   [15:15] question What books or other podcasts do you recommend to our listeners? Books: Let my people go surfing The hard thing about hard things Four hour work week   [16:09] question What is the best advice someone ever gave you? My mother said: oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we purpose to deceive   [17:05] question What is a way for our listeners to get in touch with you? Twitter: @dohertyjf getcredo.com Personal website: johnfdoherty.com   [] question Any last advice you have for our listeners? Don’t take a leap with no safety net Have 6 months of emergency money saved up You have the 9:00-5:00, but then there’s the 5:00-9:00 Keep trying- 7 ideas will fail, 2 ideas will be okay, 1 idea will be amazing Support this podcast at — https://app.redcircle.com/shows/11f32da4-3081-471f-bf51-ea341b89ab1d/tip