The Collective

Trev & Steve discuss the challenges Google faces in promoting its products like Gemini, the implications of AI in advertising, and the ongoing issues with customer service in the ad industry.  If you’ve worked in Google Ads and used their support team, you know what challenges we are talking about! The guys then explore integrations of e-commerce platforms into LLMs with Perplexities recent an...

Trev & Steve discuss the challenges and realities of agency life, the perception of time in relation to productivity, and the evolving landscape of search engines and advertising in the age of AI.  They explore the implications of AI on job performance, branding ethics, and the future of Google search amidst increasing competition. The conversation also touches on the societal impact of AI and...

Trev & Steve go down the rabbit hole of exploring the evolving landscape of digital marketing, particularly focusing on the impact of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT on lead generation and SEO.  Steve had a couple legit leads pull through his site that were influenced by ChatGPT queries where C42 ranked well in those LLM sessions.  He then had a conversation with ChatGPT about rankin...

Trev got married so Steve & Ricardo held it down! The guys mainly discuss the challenges of attribution in e-commerce, particularly after the introduction of iOS 14 and they chat about the evolution of attribution tools & mention a few new SEO tools.  Conversation then shifts to the cultural differences in communication, especially the dominance of WhatsApp in Brazil. The discussion also t...

Steve & Trev chat about the transformative impact of AI on personal finance, content creation, and marketing.  Steve shares an interesting story of a specific use case of AI tools like ChatGPT for personal decision-making with a home investment decision.  They then discuss the competitive advantages of Google's Gemini, and the evolving landscape of brand loyalty and engagement metrics.  Th...

In today’s pod Trev & Steve discuss various topics related to health, fitness, and productivity.  They chat about Trevor's first half marathon he ran in Philadelphia and then delve into the benefits of running and exercise on mental clarity.  The discussion transitions to the use of technology in training, including wearables like Garmin watches, and the benefits of mouth taping for better...

In this episode Trev is joined by a friend and business owner, Nick Flamini.  Nick is the founder & CEO of Sales Tycoons ( https://mysalestycoons.com/ ) which is a fractional sales organization that helps businesses grow. Sales Tycoons works on a pay per closed deal business model where their sales team only gets paid when their client earns a sale.  This means Nick takes on 100% of the risk b...

Trev & Steve discuss their experiences with content creation, the impact of algorithms on viewership, and the challenges of navigating political and economic changes in the marketing landscape.  They discuss the general trends they’ve seen within organic views from YouTube Shorts, to YouTube and Spotify and how they’ve been approaching growing the podcast.  They then explore the evolving role...

Steve held this one down! Steve took us through his entire step by step approach to SEO for ecommerce sites -  specifically Shopify.  There are a ton of golden nuggets in this episode.  Drop your questions in the comments!  Want to learn more about us and our services? Reach out! Steve: https://collective42.com/ Trevor: https://www.r40collective.com/ #digitalmarketing #ai #aimarketing #ppc #seo #g...

We covered a few topics lol: Bluetooth health concerns, Digg, early internet marketing, social media evolution, LinkedIn advertising, AI in marketing, future of search, critical thinking, big pharma advertising, out of home advertising, local advertising trends, display ads, human interaction and AI Annnnd we had our boy Ricardo join the show!  We discussed a ton of topics ranging from the rise an...

Return of season 3! In this episode, Steve and Trev kick off Season Three by discussing the evolution of their podcast and the importance of maintaining connections in the industry.  They dive into the impact of AI on agency life, exploring how it can streamline processes and enhance client management.  And generally how they are thinking about incorporating AI into their business and how you shou...

Jam packed episode!  Trev and Steve speak about the nightmare that is Facebook Ads Business Manager. Steve shares  a person experience with Meta ad supports and gives some valuable tips on how to improve the client onboarding experience when running Facebook ads.  They then discuss the rise of AI note takers in meetings, with Trev expressing concerns about privacy and the effectiveness of these to...

Jam packed episode!  Trev & Steve discuss how they approach difficult client conversations because if you work in the digital marketing / consulting industry you’re going to have some tough calls.  Whether that be a difficult person or just struggling to drive results those tough client conversations are bound to happen and the guys discuss their approach prior to those meetings and also some...

Jam packed episode!  In this episode, Trev & Steve discuss various topics related to content creation, the streaming economy, and the impact of AI tools on non-coders.  They chat about the importance of consistency in content release and how it can be challenging putting yourself out there with your personal content. Then, they discussed Elon’s comments on Joe Rogan’s podcast how video gaming...

Halloween themed pod! In this lively Halloween-themed podcast, hosts Steve and Ricardo discuss a recent theft of Halloween decorations from Steve's yard, the community's response, and the awkwardness of being interviewed by the news. They also delve into the latest earnings reports from major tech companies, the impact of political advertising on revenue, and the upcoming Google algorithm updates...

We covered a lot from macro trends in the economy to how brands can appear in LLM results: In this conversation, Trev & Steve discuss various topics including consumer spending trends, the impact of elections on financial decisions, and the evolving landscape of SEO in relation to AI and brand mentions. They also explore how economic conditions and political climates influence consumer behavio...

We covered a lot from AI tools to saunas to the FTC’s click-to-cancel Ruling Trev and Steve bounce around a bit in this one, but they come with some great topics! This episodes ranges from sound quality improvements in the podcast to fitness routines and the recent FTC ruling on subscription cancellations.  They delve into the implications of the Click-to-Cancel rule, the actions of Lena Kahn and...

Rucking, how the WSJ’s headline for Google losing 50% of the ad market to Tik Tok & AI startups is misleading & the dead internet theory explained: Steve shares his recent fitness ventures in rucking and the guys discuss some American brands like GoRuck .  Steve consistently runs each week and started testing rucking as of late to switch up training methods that might be easier on the back...

This was a wide ranging conversation across recent travel, OpenAI’s Canvas & the Data Google Hides: In this conversation, Trevor and Steve explore various topics ranging from their recent trip to Austin, reflections on their podcasting journey, and the implications of OpenAI's new Canvas tool for content creation.  They then dive into Google's mobile-first indexing and the ethical concerns sur...

OpenAi is valued at $150 billion, yet their entire executive team from the founding days have left: In this conversation, Trevor and Steve discuss their experiences with podcasting, the evolution of AI, and the implications of Sam Altman's leadership at OpenAI. It’s been interesting to follow along with Sam’s journey, through the Elon drama and now to see the company raise the largest round of fun...

How we use LinkedIn for business development and personal branding  In this episode, Trevor shares a personal story of a recent business development through a LinkedIn DM and how he optimizes his profile for business development. Steve states how your LinkedIn can be used as a remarketing tactic to stay top of mind for your audience.  The guys then turn the discussion into a bit of a health relate...

We spoke through a recent shadow ban we experienced and then shifted to a conversation about Steve’s agency doing keyword testing for inbound:   In this episode, Steve discusses his recent experience from a trip to Texas for a bachelor weekend. The guys then shift to speak about an update from a recent shadow ban they experienced on YouTube.  They explore the importance of collaboration in client...

Leon Hitchen’s founder story & POV on building a great agency business:   Leon Hitchens, co-founder of Ruskin Consulting, shares his journey from tech blogging to starting a marketing agency.  The agency primarily focuses on white-label marketing services for other agencies, offering Google ads, SEO, and web work.  Leon and his business partner have also diversified their business by investing...

Striking a balance between being authentic & providing value with our personal organic social content:   In this conversation, Steve and Trevor discuss their experiences with posting content on platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn. They talk about the importance of being authentic and providing value in their posts. They also touch on the topic of LinkedIn strategies, including commenting on ot...

Christian Hustle, founder of WooBound Marketing joins the show: Christian Hustle, founder of WooBound Marketing, joins Trevor and Steve to discuss SEO and the challenges of running an agency. They talk about the importance of creating quality content, dealing with haters, and the concept of programmatic SEO.  They also touch on:  > The limitations of automated SEO tools and the value of Google...