SEOblog Interview: New York SEO Expert Phil Frost from Main Street ROI

We’re excited to have interviewed New York SEO expert Phil Frost, from Main Street ROI, for the next installment of our Featured SEO Expert Series!

Main Street ROI is one of SEOblog’s Top SEO companies in New York.

Phil Frost is the founder and COO of Main Street ROI. Phil leads the company’s operations and is the primary creator of Main Street ROI’s training programs. He is an expert in online advertising, marketing analytics and sales funnel optimization. His marketing thought leadership has been published on Forbes.com, Inc.com, Adweek.com and many other major business media outlets. Phil earned his Master of Engineering Management degree from Thayer School of Engineering and Tuck School of Business and his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Engineering degrees from Dartmouth College. While attending Dartmouth, Phil started every game on the varsity football team as the defensive safety. When Phil is not working, he enjoys running in his “backyard” (Central Park in New York City). Phil lives with his wife Erin, daughter Violet and son Emmett in Manhattan.

What would you say is unique and/or challenging about the NYC SEO industry?

“There are thousands of SEO agencies located in the New York area, so it’s certainly a competitive aspect of the industry – one of the most competitive in the world. And that definitely makes it a challenge to stand out in the crowd.”

How does your agency stand out in a crowded market like New York?

“We invest a lot in educating small businesses via our email newsletter, blog, webinars and affordable training courses. This allows us to help more businesses with their digital marketing than solely providing one-to-one services.”

Can you share a success story from a local SEO campaign centered around your area?

“We work with a pediatric dental practice in the New York area that has seen very strong growth. We’ve tripled their organic traffic over the past year, their patient acquisition has been strong and they are now focused on expanding and opening new locations in their area. One of the things that has helped with this particular client is how involved their ownership and staff are in our SEO work. For example, they share data with us about the priority geographic locations they want to target and which services are most important to them. They are quick to give feedback and approval on content ideas. We’ve found that we’re able to perform at our best when clients are engaged and are providing quick feedback about their top priorities and our SEO ideas.”

What is the best advice you ever received in business?

“I will credit my father for giving me the best advice in business and in life in general. He pinned a notecard to the ceiling above my workout bench that I would see every time I laid down to bench press. The words are burned into my memory: “You Won’t Get Stronger By Just Thinking About It.” You have to take action. Thinking and discussing are necessary, but to grow your business you must take action.”

What do you think is the most important quality that makes an agency truly great?

“A truly great agency is one that clients like working with, employees like working for and partners like working together with. Those three things can only happen when the agency has a great company culture. So I would argue company culture is the most important quality.”

Any predictions for the future of SEO?

“I predict SEO will become more technical in the years to come. We’ve already seen this in the past few years with the introduction of structured data and the increasing emphasis on site speed. The businesses that stay up-to-date with technical SEO will have a clear advantage in the future.”

What is your reaction when you hear that “SEO is dying”?

“SEO is not dying, it’s evolving. When I got started in this industry in 2006, almost nobody was using a mobile device to search online. Fast-forward to today and more people search Google on mobile phones than computers. Sure, a lot has changed over the years, but the act of searching to find information, products and services has remained constant. I would argue SEO is even more important now than it was before.”

What do you think is the most important contributor to keeping clients happy?

“Communication is by far the most important factor. What you say (e.g. transparency, honesty), how you say it (e.g. email vs. phone vs. mail vs. text) and when you say it (e.g. responsiveness vs. delays) will determine whether or not clients like working with you.”

Interested in being considered as an SEOblog “Featured SEO Expert”? Reach out to our team at [email protected]! We’d love to hear from you and give you a high-traffic platform to share your SEO agency’s story and insights.