#820 Top 5 SEO Tactics That Still Work in 2025 with Sean Markey

Organic traffic is getting weird… and kinda looks like an alligator’s mouth (you’ll have to listen to the episode to see what we mean).

SEO expert Sean Markey joins Dan to break down 5 strategies still working in 2025: from parasite SEO to aged domains and Reddit "hacks." If you’re trying to cut through the LLM noise, this episode is the ultimate SEO rabbit hole.

LINKS

Sean’s SEO newsletter for CEOs and founders that hate SEO newsletters
Sean’s SEO community
22 FREE business resources for location-independent entrepreneurs
Meet the world’s most generous global entrepreneurs inside Dynamite Circle
Connect with 7+ figure founders inside DC BLACK
Remote First Recruiting: Find your next best remote hire in 21 days

CHAPTERS

(00:00:00) Today’s Guest: Sean Markey

(00:02:53) The State of SEO in 2025

(00:03:49) What SEO Leaders Are Doing (Instead of Panicking)

(00:04:44) How to Own Page 1 Without Ranking

(00:07:25) Buy Your Way Into the SERPs

(00:09:23) The Reddit Mod Hack No One Talks About

(00:12:58) How Small Channels Are Printing 60K MRR

(00:14:46) Ranking in LLMs Without a Prompt Engineer

(00:17:26) The Aged Domain Shortcut That Still Works

(00:20:54) What Is Parasite SEO (And Why It Works)

(00:22:50) The AI Prompt Stack SEO Founders Are Gatekeeping

(00:25:25) Why Local SEO Still Wins in 2025

(00:26:45) Is SEO Even SEO Anymore?

(00:29:36) Why Community > Courses in 2025

(00:33:03) The 1-1-1 Model: Simple, Scalable, Profitable

CONNECT:

Dan@tropicalmba.com
Ian@tropicalmba.com

Past guests on TMBA include Cal Newport, David Heinemeier Hannson, Seth Godin, Ricardo Semler, Noah Kagan, Rob Walling, Jay Clouse, Einar Vollset, Sam Dogan, Gino Wickam, James Clear, Jodie Cook, Mark Webster, Steph Smith, Taylor Pearson, Justin Tan, Matt Gartland, Ayman Al-Abdullah, Lucy Bella.

PLAYLIST:

TMBA 588: Embracing Growth Through Setbacks w/ Sean Markey

From Struggling Plumber to $57K MRR w/ Tom Richards

Why Founders Shouldn’t Delegate AI (Barcelona Recap)