SERPWizz Interviews - Giovanni Fabris

Giovanni Fabris

Giovanni Fabris is a digital marketing freelancer, founder of We Grow and many other projects such as Travellairs and Ultimate Tools. He began his career working on numerous SEO projects, but over the years his focus also shifts to other channels such as affiliate marketing, web design, and paid advertising. For several years he has been working alongside startups and companies from all over Europe to help them grow.

Check out Giovanni’s: Website, LinkedIn, Instagram, Email

What are some of the biggest challenges/obstacles you faced when starting out with SEO, and why?

Definitely make potential customers understand the value of SEO. Unfortunately, the Italian market is not yet mature from this point of view, and companies and entrepreneurs often struggle to understand how important it can be for them to rely on an expert who can grow their business organically. Thank god there are numbers and data: if sometimes words fail to convince them, the results will take care of it.

Tell us about your favourite/most successful link-building strategy - how quickly do you typically see results from this method?

The creation of valuable content, based on the use of data. Online magazines love to share articles and news rich with insight, data, and statistics. Being able to create this type of content can help you get links from authoritative websites. Obviously, just creating the content is not enough: knowing how to promote it is a fundamental part of the strategy.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, or have lost your focus temporarily, what do you do?

I turn off all my electronic devices and go for a walk, run, play beach volley or do any kind of physical activity. When you work in this sector you’re constantly receiving information and stimuli of all kinds. Sometimes it can be overwhelming. Being able to
disconnect is essential. And if walking isn’t enough, I usually get drunk. I’m joking of course. Or not…

In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your life?

I started to stop and take time to think. Until a few years ago, most of what I did, I did it by inertia, without ever stopping. Now, I try more and more to carve out spaces for myself where I simply do nothing but let my mind travel and think about whatever is going through my head. You cannot even imagine how many interesting things, changes, and ideas can arise from these moments.

What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?

“Let’s create a PBNs. They still work in 2021”. Well, they might work… until you get penalized.

What do you think about link swaps?

It is certainly not my favorite link-building strategy and definitely not the one that brings the best results. However, like all things, if the links are generated naturally and avoiding direct exchanges between two pages, I don’t see why it should do any kind of damage. I would say the opposite. But be careful not to overdo it. The risk of receiving penalties is always around the corner.

What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made?

People. Since I started delegating tasks to my collaborators or to freelancers, trusting them and giving them responsibility, I have been able to focus one hundred percent on the core of my business and on my projects.

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a “favourite failure” of yours?

When I was in the fourth grade, I missed a year of school. I will always thank my laziness and my little desire to do and study during those years. From that moment on, my ego was bruised and my desire for making up for it has led me to where I am
now. Today, there is no day when I don’t spend at least a couple of hours studying, reading, or learning something useful for my professional growth.

Are your campaigns automated? If so, what tools do you use and why?

Just some. I still don’t fully trust automation. However, knowing the right tools and how to use them is essential. It is no coincidence that a few months ago I launched a new project: it is called Ultimate Tools (https://ultimatetools.eu) and it is a collection of the best marketing tools for freelancers, startups, and marketers. There you will find some of the SEO tools I use on a daily basis.

What careers advice would you give to your 21-year old self?

Be bold(er).

What one song can you listen to every day non-stop?

Riptide – Vance Joy.

How has Covid-19 changed your company?

In recent months I have noticed a growing interest in digital marketing and requests for collaboration in this industry have increased dramatically. However, I am working on a personal project related to the travel industry (https://travellairs.it) and I can tell you it has suffered a major backlash. It is perfectly understandable but I am sure that after this difficult period, the travel industry will also be more active than ever.

What's your favourite colour?

Black.

What's your favourite holiday destination?

Asia.

What's something exciting you're currently working on/learning that only a few people know about?

During the last months, I have been working on We Grow, an online platform where companies can access the best professionals on the market, freelancers, and marketing experts, and create working groups that will be managed directly by our project managers. Our goal is to offer a complete service to those companies that want to rely on the best freelancers on the digital marketing market, without having to manage each of them individually. We already have a network of
hundreds of freelancers ready to work in synergy to grow our clients’ businesses.

What's your star sign?

Taurus.

What did you have for breakfast this morning?

Just coffee. As always.

Heather Wilkinson

Author

Heather Wilkinson is a globe-trotting content creator and PR enthusiast who’s finally put down roots in her native UK. When she isn’t working, you’ll find her pretending to care about Minecraft for her son’s sake, while secretly reading the latest Ace Atkins novel (or sleeping – her second favourite past-time).