The Ultimate Content Strategy for Dominating Google: Nathan Gotch

From Law School Dreams to Early SEO Experiments

How Nathan Got Started

Nathan’s family once expected him to become a lawyer. But even in college, he knew deep down he wanted to work online. After a few random attempts at making money (paid surveys, writing articles for pennies, etc.), he found a course that introduced him to blogging.

He loved playing college baseball, so he started a baseball pitching blog. Naturally, he hit the same wall every new blogger does: no traffic. After stumbling onto the concept of SEO, he refined his efforts, and that first affiliate commission hooked him. It wasn’t about the money (though $50 felt like a billion at the time), but the epiphany that he could generate income by ranking websites.

Launching Gotch SEO: The Early Agency Days

Taking on “Anything and Everything”

Nathan officially formed Gotch SEO around 2013, initially handling any client that came his way. Plumbers, rug companies, eCommerce stores—he was learning on the fly. While this approach brought in fast cash, he realized it also limited how efficiently he could scale and systematize.

Tip: If you’re just starting out with an agency, taking on a variety of clients can give you experience. But long term, you’ll hit a ceiling. Nathan advises anyone who wants to build a serious agency to pick a niche.

Mastering Local SEO

Although he didn’t specialize from day one, Nathan focused on ranking for terms like “St. Louis SEO Company”—and it worked so well that he was making six figures a month at one point. But as exciting as that was, he always wanted to teach and mentor, which led him to eventually transition from the daily grind of an agency to running Gotch SEO Academy.

Gotch SEO Academy: From Text-Only Lessons to Video Mastery

The Evolution of the Academy

• 2016: Nathan launched the first version of Gotch SEO Academy as purely text-based modules (he was camera-shy at the time).

• Subsequent Versions: He switched to screencast videos without showing his face, then upgraded audio quality and started using real video recordings.

• Today: The Academy has evolved into a full-on training platform complete with twice-weekly coaching calls to keep students accountable. The addition of these calls skyrocketed course completion rates from 18% to 80%.

Who It’s For

Ninety percent of Gotch SEO Academy members are agency owners who want to sharpen their systems or scale their processes. That said, it’s open to anyone who’s serious about mastering SEO in a structured, action-oriented way.

Building Rankability: A New Take on Content Optimization

Why Another SEO Tool?

There are already big players like Ahrefs and SEMrush. But Nathan realized that many content optimization tools out there encourage borderline “keyword stuffing.” When he let his team run wild with one such tool, they over-optimized, and rankings suffered.

Nathan wanted a solution aligned with his philosophy: cover topics deeply, but naturally—not by jamming keywords a set number of times. Thus Rankability was born. It uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) to identify crucial topics and “entities,” while leaving room for natural writing and user satisfaction.

The Results

In Nathan’s own “Gotch SEO Lab,” he’s seen up to 98% success rates in ranking improvements when using the Rankability approach. He no longer focuses on “how many times can I mention this keyword?”—instead, it’s “did I cover the right subtopics thoroughly and add unique value?”

Why Quality Content Takes Time (and How to Stand Out)

20–30 Hours Per Post?!

It might sound extreme, but Nathan invests anywhere from 15 to 30 hours on a single piece of content. That’s because he wants a definitive angle, not just a bland copycat approach. Whether it’s a data study, unique images, or simply a deeper perspective, that differentiation is crucial.

Quote from Nathan: “Anyone can create a mediocre piece of content now. AI just made that easier. But to actually outrank, you need something unique and valuable.”

Technical On-Page Fundamentals

For those worried about the “nitty-gritty,” here are Nathan’s core must-haves:

1. Keyword in Title: This is SEO 101. A strong, well-placed keyword in the title tag.

2. Keyword in H1: Make sure your main heading targets what users are actually searching for.

3. Unique Media: No stock photos if you can avoid it—especially in local SEO. Take real photos of your actual job sites or local area.

4. NLP Coverage: Use tools to ensure you’re covering related entities, but don’t treat them like a checklist for stuffing phrases.

Local SEO: Quick Wins and Smart Link-Building

On-Page Tweaks

• Refresh Your Content: If a page starts slipping in rankings, consider doing a full refresh—update old images, add new data, and simply re-upload to show Google it’s current.

• Keyword Placement: Make sure your main local keyword appears in the title, meta description, H1, and ideally in the first sentence.

Local Link-Building Strategy

Nathan’s approach to local is straightforward:

1. Sponsor Local Organizations
   Get links from your local Chamber of Commerce, sports leagues, or community events. These are super relevant signals to Google.

2. Linkable Assets
   Even if you’re targeting a service area, consider creating data-driven or highly informative pages that deserve a backlink. This could be a guide on “How to Spot Termites in Missouri” or “Seasonal Pest Statistics in St. Louis.”

3. City-Specific Relevance
   If you’re hyper-local, having true local references and connections beats a random mommy blog link from across the country—unless you have a creative angle that genuinely makes sense.

Building from Zero: You’re Not Out of the Game

Domain Authority Isn’t Everything

If you’re starting a brand-new site or your domain rating (DR) is under 10, you’re not doomed. But you do need a realistic plan. Target less competitive keywords first and gradually move up.

Nathan himself launched Rankability.com and spent the first year building out the software before publishing major content. In the meantime, he still leverages the authority of GotchSEO.com. Whenever you can, use your existing assets to build clout, then strategically push new content on your fresh domain once it has some traction.

The Future of SEO: AI and Content

Embracing (Not Fearing) AI

Nathan predicts AI will only continue to get better, and he’s actually happy about it. Because AI makes generic content accessible to everyone, those who go above and beyond (unique data, expert insights) will stand out.

Google’s Potential “Walled Garden”

He does foresee Google serving up more direct answers with AI, potentially reducing click-through. But local and commercial intent queries should remain valuable—Google can’t handle those purely with a snippet because users want specific services, prices, or local companies they can hire.

Why YouTube Matters (And How to Use It)

Nathan’s YouTube Journey

He started his YouTube channel only to generate leads for Gotch SEO. He never aimed for 100,000 subscribers—it just happened through consistent, high-quality videos that solved problems for viewers.

Your Strategy

If you’re running a pest control business (like many of my clients) or any local service:

• Don’t worry if your video on “How to Identify Termites in Phoenix” only gets 300 views. If 10 of those views become clients, that’s a huge ROI.

• Stay consistent with one video a week or even one video a month if that’s all you can handle. Overextending will burn you out.

Key Takeaways from Nathan Gotch

1. Niche Down: It’s the quickest route to authority and efficient operations.

2. Quality Over Quantity: Especially in the era of AI, if you want to outrank, you have to out-quality.

3. Link Building Is Alive and Well: But do it with local relevance and genuine link-worthy assets.

4. Refresh Your Content: Small updates—like re-uploading images or adding recent data—can revive rankings.

5. Stay Omnipresent: SEO is vital, but so is email, social, and especially YouTube.

6. AI Will Keep Evolving: Embrace it. Let the mediocre content flood the internet, and focus on making yours stand out.

Final Thoughts

Interviewing Nathan was a massive eye-opener, even for me—and I live and breathe local SEO for pest control companies. His systematic approach to building SEO authority, refreshing content, and creating truly link-worthy pages is the gold standard.

Whether you’re an agency owner or a local business, focusing on depth, relevance, and differentiation in your content is more important than ever. I’m taking Nathan’s advice to heart, and I hope you do, too.

P.S. Check out the full episode here: