James Dooley: There is no magic conference where you walk in and become best friends with everyone. You should compete with your friend and see who can talk to the most people. I try my best to network. People say I do well at personal branding but I always think I could do better. Keep giving and people feel the need to reciprocate. It can grow your business by 10 to 100 percent.

Karl Hudson: We get asked about networking all the time. I struggled with it when I started. My first event was D’s Mastermind about 10 years ago. I used to sit behind a computer because I am naturally shy. With practice you get better at saying hello, having a chat or grabbing a beer or coffee. Networking multiplies everything you do. You are one of the best networkers I know.

James Dooley: We do not speak to each other during events because we are talking to everyone else. What is the exact question again.

Karl Hudson: The question is about struggling to network in the SEO industry. They see that James Dooley and Kazra have strong personal brands and want advice on improving their own brand and networking.

James Dooley: The fact you are asking shows you want to improve. You need to jump in the deep end. There is no magic conference where friendships appear. Go and turn up. I will give an example. I went to Vietnam. One guy followed me all night at the afterparty. I did not know who he was. He gave me his card. The next morning I realised he owned a huge white label agency and did incredible work. I later called him. Now we are business partners. If he did not approach me then that partnership would not exist.

James Dooley: If you are an introvert you must still start. You are not a tree. You can move. If you want to network then network. Go to events. BrightonSEO in the UK. Chiang Mai SEO or SEO Mastery in Asia. Pubcon in the US. SEO on the Beach. Spring Training for GMBs. Pick your region and go.

James Dooley: You can also buy mentorship calls. If you want to network with someone then pay for an hour. Tell them what you struggle with. A mentor might tell you who to talk to and what lane to focus on.

James Dooley: I do not care about black hat or white hat labels. We all want to rank number one. Know the risk tolerance. Some tactics work short term and fail long term.

Karl Hudson: A good game is to compete with your friend. Go to an event and see who can talk to the most people.

James Dooley: I do not go to events to talk to you. I speak to you every day. I start on one side of the room. You start on the other. I want to speak to new people. You do not know what you do not know. Someone might say something that flips your thinking. I want to meet people who are better than me in different areas. What works in the UK might not work in the US. What works in gambling might not work in finance. Semantic content networks work in many niches but they can be overkill for local. Digital PR works well in gambling and finance but you might not need it in local. Networking gives you insight into what other people test.

James Dooley: If you are nice and add value then people share back. If ten people test ten percent each, you all learn ten times faster.

Karl Hudson: The book Go Giver teaches this. Give first. People reciprocate eventually.

James Dooley: When I tried to give advice I often learned something new because they told me why something works better. Giving leads to learning. Even when you think you know something, someone can show a better version. Networking exposes you to that. It can grow your business massively.

James Dooley: To build your brand you need consistency and persistence. Comment on YouTube videos from people you want to network with. Leave something thoughtful. They notice. You look at their profile. They look at yours. It builds familiarity.

James Dooley: Engage on LinkedIn. Engage on Twitter. If you cannot go to events then start a podcast. Ask people to come on. Most will say yes. Or offer to help them for free. If you spot a problem then fix it and send it with no charge. It gets your foot in the door. If you impress someone they refer you.

James Dooley: You could offer content, schema, edits, technical fixes, server log work, internal links, pillow links or digital PR. Pick something and become the best in that lane. Do not be a jack of all trades. People remember specialists. Deliver value and networking becomes easy.

James Dooley: Summarise it like this. Deliver value and then just do it. Leave a comment in the comment section.