💻 Inside the Mind of SEO Maverick James Dooley | James Dooley on The Online Performance Podcast 💻

James Dooley: I sometimes thrive off losing because then I can get back up and go again if that makes sense and I think too many people are scared. I think too many people do business within the comfort zone. Sometimes it’s better for an extrovert to work with an introvert. It’s sometimes good for someone amazing at content to partner with someone good at links. If you want to do SEO you need to find people whose strengths balance your weaknesses so you grow together. I need to do things the right way with honest trust and integrity. Yes we could make more money by giving leads to a competitor but it isn’t the right thing to do. Jason Mills: Hi and welcome to the Online Performance Podcast. The podcast that aims to help you elevate your online earnings. My name is Jason Mills and today I’ve got a fantastic episode lined up. I’ve got an entrepreneur who has the largest digital real estate portfolio in the UK. He’s hailed as one of the greatest SEOs globally. It is of course Mr James Dooley. Welcome to the podcast James. James Dooley: What an introduction that is Jason. Big you up now so you need to deliver. It’s going to be an interesting one because although you’ve bigged me up as an SEO superstar, I don’t want to talk too much about SEO today. I’m sure it will come up. What I want to get into is you as a human and you as an entrepreneur and how those two things have led you down this path of success. Jason Mills: We’re starting off each podcast with the same question. What is online success? What does online success mean to you? James Dooley: Online success can mean different things. It allows you to travel the world. It gives you free time. It allows you to work from anywhere. It allows you to earn money in your sleep. I was brought up being told the harder you work the more money you earn. Online success flips that. You can set systems up and earn passively which gives you freedom. Success is happiness, and online business gives you freedom to be happy anywhere with a laptop. Jason Mills: Love that answer and I agree. Let’s backtrack. Give us an intro into yourself and what’s got you here. What did you do before online marketing? James Dooley: My background is quantity surveying, real estate and project management. I worked for a housing organisation building houses. I realised there was a shortage of playground installers. Every 50 houses needed a public open space. I couldn’t find playground companies. That showed me a gap in the market. I started a playground surfacing and sports court business. I didn’t know SEO. I just knew I needed enquiries. That led me down the SEO route. I realised if I got my clients busier I’d be busier too. Over time we made more from lead gen than construction. The construction business still exists today. It went from £600k to £8 million a year. Jason Mills: You really took an offline business into the online world. That leads to my next question. You describe yourself as a digital landlord. What does that mean? James Dooley: A landlord rents real estate. A digital landlord rents digital real estate. Websites rank. Rankings have value. Businesses rent the website for £2k, £4k or £5k per month. They might make £40k or £50k from it. It’s rank and rent. If we don’t rank they don’t pay. It’s like doing client SEO but with guaranteed results. We have 800+ ranked rental sites and over 1,500 sites generating leads. Jason Mills: What was that transition like from offline to online? James Dooley: It’s still ongoing. Every day is a school day. We kept improving processes. It wasn’t linear. We failed a lot. We tested links, silo structures, CMS systems. Most stuff didn’t work. What did work we doubled down on. Jason Mills: You’re seen as successful in SEO. Do you put that down to testing and failing? James Dooley: For sure. I grew up with two older brothers who beat me at every sport. My dad always asked if I’d lie down or get back up. That shaped my resilience. I thrive off losing because losing lets me rise again. Too many people are scared of failure. I embrace it. That mindset shaped everything. Jason Mills: Your team clearly respects you. Let’s play a clip. Jason plays clip of Kazra praising James James Dooley: I’m proud hearing that. Kazra is very out there. I try to mentor him and keep him grounded. He’ll be one of the biggest names in the industry. He has drive and resilience. He just needs to deliver data correctly and responsibly. He wants to be on stage. I prefer to operate quietly. I saw his potential the moment I met him. Within minutes I told him to hand in his notice. He did and he’s been brilliant since. Jason Mills: So Kazra is now a partner in your businesses? James Dooley: Yes. He started as a web designer. Then he became an internal entrepreneur. Then we partnered on projects. Now he’s a partner in many things we do. He reinvests everything. He’s hungry. But I’m nothing without my team. You cannot scale without a strong team. Jason Mills: How do you keep them motivated? James Dooley: Everyone is different. Some want money. Some want security. Some want freedom. Some want status. I learn who they are. I test them with joint ventures. Some become great partners. Some stay at one JV. I now see myself as a cultural architect. I work with 11 core managers. They manage their teams. I want them all to succeed. I want them all to become millionaires. Motivation is individual. You need to know what makes them tick. Jason Mills: Do you still handle hiring? James Dooley: Only for high-level partners. My partners hire their teams. They need ownership. They can’t blame me if someone doesn’t work out. Jason Mills: Let’s switch to social media. You were a mystery figure for years. Why step into the spotlight now? James Dooley: AI. Personal brands matter more. Also investment. Someone tried to buy a site but didn’t know if it was really me behind it. I realised people need to know who I am. Also I want to attract high-level partners in areas where I’m weak. Podcasts help show my values. Jason Mills: Was staying in the shadows helpful while scaling? James Dooley: Yes. I had no time for podcasts years ago. When I built 30–40 sites a day, two hours away would slow everything down. Also I didn’t want endless debates in groups. I wasn’t interested in arguing with gurus. I just wanted what worked. Jason Mills: Let’s talk mindset. You’ve said before you want to do things you love with people you love. How important is trust and integrity? James Dooley: That came from a tough moment. Seven years ago I had clients who scaled from two vans to twenty vans solely from my leads. They said they couldn’t sleep because their entire company sat on my leads. If I turned off leads 65 families would lose income. That hit me hard. I created a vision statement: do things the right way with honest trust and integrity. We never switch clients for extra money. Money isn’t worth destroying lives. Jason Mills: You’ve seen a lot of entrepreneurs. Is entrepreneurship for everyone? James Dooley: No. Many think success equals money. It doesn’t. Some entrepreneurs are wealthy but unhappy, unhealthy, lonely. It’s not for everyone. The successful ones give more than they take. Givers win long term. Jason Mills: What about masterminds? James Dooley: I get far more than people think. Not SEO hacks. Relationships. Networking. You’re an example. We’ll likely build something together one day. That’s the value. Jason Mills: Entrepreneurship can be lonely. James Dooley: Exactly. Networking makes it less lonely and opens huge doors. Jason Mills: Introverts vs extroverts? James Dooley: Both can succeed. Introverts often excel at SEO and affiliate work. Extroverts excel at sales. Find partners who balance your weaknesses. Don’t pair two extroverts or two introverts if it creates imbalance. Jason Mills: Where’s the end game for you? James Dooley: There is no end game. I’ve seen successful friends hit their goal, lose purpose and spiral. One took his own life. Goals can create emptiness. My only goal is to be happy today. Have gratitude. Appreciate a roof and clean water. Tomorrow isn’t promised. Happiness is not a monetary target. Jason Mills: Do you practice gratitude? James Dooley: Yes. Bad days make good days better. The delta creates perspective. I embrace the low moments because they make the wins sweeter. Jason Mills: Is it true you celebrate failures in your office? James Dooley: Yes. If you’re not failing you’re not pushing boundaries. We high five failures because that’s where learning happens. Jason Mills: If you had to start again with no money and no connections but the same knowledge, what would you do? James Dooley: I’d join an SEO agency. Use my knowledge to prove value. Get bonuses. Save every penny. Build small informational sites. Use AI properly with good prompts. Rank informational terms and drive internal link revenue. Avoid affiliate until stable. Reinvent, reinvest, rebuild. Jason Mills: One final question. One tip to be successful online? James Dooley: Network. If you can’t travel, use Twitter and YouTube. Comment genuinely. Share value. Create relationships. Give first. If you give, you’ll get tenfold back. Jason Mills: Thank you James. You’ve delivered so much value. James Dooley: Pleasure Jason.