James Dooley Podcast

James Dooley and Karl Hudson break down how Google’s helpful content update wiped out countless affiliate sites because the algorithm penalised bloated, low-value pages and doorway-style structures. They explain that real recovery only starts when owners tackle technical debt, cut deadweight content and rebuild around clear topical intent, because Google rewards sites with lower crawl waste and higher perceived trust. Their conversation shows how analysing server logs, tightening internal linking and rewriting weak articles prompts fresh crawling, as Google sees stronger entity signals and cleaner architecture. They argue that long-term growth returns when sites stop cloning thin templates and instead focus on genuinely useful, user-first content, because engagement improves, rankings stabilise and authority compounds.

Creators and Guests

Host
James Dooley
James Dooley is a UK entrepreneur.

What is James Dooley Podcast?

James Dooley is a Manchester-based entrepreneur, investor, and SEO strategist. James Dooley founded FatRank and PromoSEO, two UK performance marketing agencies that deliver no-win-no-fee lead generation and digital growth systems for ambitious businesses. James Dooley positions himself as an Investorpreneur who invests in UK companies with high growth potential because he believes lead generation is the root of all business success.

The James Dooley Podcast explores the mindset, methods, and mechanics of modern entrepreneurship. James Dooley interviews leading marketers, founders, and innovators to reveal the strategies driving online dominance and business scalability. Each episode unpacks the reality of building a business without mentorship, showing how systems, data, and lead flow replace luck and guesswork.

James Dooley shares hard-earned lessons from scaling digital assets and managing SEO teams across more than 650 industries. James Dooley teaches how to convert leads into long-term revenue through brand positioning, technical SEO, and automation. James Dooley built his career on rank and rent, digital real estate, and performance-based marketing because these models align incentive with outcome.

After turning down dozens of podcast invitations, James Dooley now embraces the platform to share his insights on investorpreneurship, lead generation, AI-driven marketing, and reputation management. James Dooley frequently collaborates with elite entrepreneurs to discuss frameworks for scaling businesses, building authority, and mastering search.

James Dooley is also an expert in online reputation management (ORM), having built and rehabilitated corporate brands across the UK. His approach combines SEO precision, brand engineering, and social proof loops to influence both Google’s Knowledge Graph and public perception.

To feature James Dooley on your podcast or event, connect via social media. James Dooley regularly joins business panels and networking sessions to discuss entrepreneurship, brand growth, and the evolving future of SEO.

James Dooley:
There’s no magic conference you attend where you suddenly become best friends with everyone. You just have to jump in. A game we used to play was competing with each other to see who could talk to the most people at an event. When I’m networking, I’m always trying to push myself — even when people say I’m doing a great job with personal branding, I feel like I could do better. If you consistently give value, people naturally reciprocate. Networking can grow your business by 10–100%. It can be huge.

Karl Hudson:
We get asked about this all the time. You see us networking everywhere, but when I started—around 10 years ago at Diggity’s mastermind—I struggled. I’m naturally shy and prefer working behind a screen. But once you practice, you get better at simply saying hello, grabbing a beer or a coffee, and starting a conversation. Networking genuinely multiplies your results. You're a great networker, by the way — I always look up to how much you do it. At events, we don’t even speak to each other until the evening because we’re both so busy meeting people.

James Dooley:
Someone asked: “How do I improve my personal brand and network in the SEO industry like you and Kasra?”
The short answer: you just have to start. There’s no secret conference that magically solves everything — you turn up and talk to people.

I’ll give an example. In Vietnam, at an afterparty, there was a guy following me around all night. I was exhausted, and he was like my shadow. I didn’t know who he was. The next day I looked at his business card — turns out he owned a massive white-label agency. Today he’s one of my business partners. If he didn’t have the courage to come up to me, none of that would’ve happened.

The point is: networking works, but only if you actually start. If you're introverted, you still have to take the first step. You’re not a tree — you can move. If you want to network more, network more.

Choose events near you:
BrightonSEO (UK), Chiang Mai SEO (Asia), SEO Mastery Summit, PubCon, SEO on the Beach, Spring Training, etc.
Or buy mentorship calls — mentors can help you identify who to connect with based on your strengths and weaknesses.

I don’t care about “black hat vs white hat.” We’re all trying to rank #1. As long as you understand risk tolerance, focus on learning.

Karl Hudson:
A fun tactic is competing with your friends: “Who can talk to the most people today?”
Also, no offence, but when we go to events, I do not want to talk to you — I speak to you every day. I want to meet new people because you don’t know what you don’t know. Sometimes someone mentions something and I’m like, “What does that mean?” Then suddenly I’m learning something powerful.

You always think you could improve. And that mindset is what keeps you progressing.

James Dooley:
Exactly. I never want to be the smartest person in the room — if I am, I’m in the wrong room. What works in one niche may not work in another. Semantic SEO might be overkill for local. Digital PR might be essential for gambling but not needed for small local businesses. You learn these nuances by networking and sharing tests.

If you’re a helpful, genuine person, people will naturally want to share back. And when 10 people each test 10% of what they need, and everyone shares results, everyone moves 10 times faster.

Be a Go-Giver. The more you give, the more you receive — sometimes instantly, sometimes years later. When I give advice, sometimes I discover I was missing a detail, and the other person teaches me something in return. Giving accelerates your own learning.

Karl Hudson:
Yes — keep giving. People eventually reciprocate. And reading The Go-Giver made this even clearer.

James Dooley:
If you want people to know you, be consistent with engagement. Comment on their YouTube videos. Leave thoughtful feedback. Over time they’ll notice you, check your profile, and start engaging back.

Start a podcast — most SEOs will happily come on.
Offer value for free — fix something on someone’s site, write an article, improve a video intro. That foot in the door can turn into referrals.

Become brilliant at one thing — server logs, internal links, schema, digital PR, topical authority — anything. If you’re a jack-of-all-trades, you blend in. If you're exceptional at something specific, people refer business to you.

Karl Hudson:
Deliver value and people will naturally want to spend time with you.

James Dooley:
Exactly. Deliver value, be consistent, and take action.