Podcast Summary: The Russell Brunson Show

Episode: How To Do SEO The Right Way By Using The Dream 100
Host: Russell Brunson
Date: May 31, 2017

Episode Overview

In this episode, Russell Brunson shares a practical, high-level strategy for dominating SEO—using the Dream 100 methodology. He reveals lessons from the growth journey of ClickFunnels, reflects on past mistakes and successes with SEO, and emphasizes the massive leverage hidden in building relationships with key influencers and sites in any niche. Russell connects this approach not only to SEO, but to other digital channels like YouTube and Instagram, providing both mindset and tactical advice for ambitious entrepreneurs.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Faith Precedes Success in Business

• Russell opens by highlighting the importance of faith in achieving success: believing in yourself, your mentors, and your process is essential.
  • Quote: "Faith precedes the miracle. Like you want a miracle, you want to launch a business, you want to change the world, you want to do whatever. It starts with faith." (02:06)

2. The Evolution of Entrepreneurial Focus

• Russell outlines three distinct phases for entrepreneurial growth:
  • Zero to $1M: Figure out the "what" and the "how" (the offer and the sales mechanism).
  • $1M to $10M: Build out acquisition, ascension, and monetization funnels.
  • $10M to $100M: The challenge becomes driving (and converting) traffic at scale.
  • He links these stages to his coaching products—Two Comma Club (Phase 1), Inner Circle (Phase 2), and is considering an "Inner Inner Circle" for advanced traffic strategies.
  • Quote: "Our job as entrepreneurs shift[s] our creativity from figuring out what and the how...to traffic and lead generation." (04:15)

3. Reframing SEO: From “Hacking” to Relationship-Building

• Russell reminisces about his earlier, more aggressive (gray-hat) SEO days, but now pivots to sustainable, relationship-driven (white-hat) methods.
• Key realization: Traditional SEO seems slow, but if you build the right relationships, big results can come faster than expected.
• Quote: "It doesn't have to be slow and organic. You just need to get the right things from the right people." (07:20)

4. The Dream 100 Principle Is the Key

• Russell explains that the Dream 100—a concept from Chet Holmes (targeting a dream list of 100 key people in a market)—applies as much to SEO as it does to direct sales, affiliate recruiting, and influencer marketing.
• By getting links, shoutouts, or features from top sites and influencers in your industry, you can dramatically boost rankings and visibility.
• Quote: "The Dream 100 is also the key to SEO ranking. Dream 100 is also the key to Instagram influencers, and it's the key to YouTube—like all these traffic strategies—the Dream 100 is the key." (08:50)

5. Real-World Application: High-Level SEO Consultations

• Russell recounts working with Neil Patel (SEO expert) and Andrew O’Brien (PR expert).
  • Neil’s advice: Blog daily and get links from trusted, high-authority domains like Forbes and Inc.
  • Andrew’s approach: Secure actual mentions and links through targeted PR/influencer outreach.
• Russell realizes: Even journalists and top writers are "just people"—the Dream 100 works on them, too.

6. Practical Dream 100 Strategies for SEO

• Forget black-hat link-building—focus instead on your Dream 100:
  • Identify the top 10-100 writers, journalists, or website owners in your niche.
  • Build relationships (not just ask for links); get featured in their articles or on their sites.
  • Target the actual sites already ranking for your desired keywords; find ways to collaborate, get banners, popups, or email mentions.
• Quote: "Who are the sites that are already ranking for our keywords? Dream 100 those people and figure out how to get on those pages." (12:03)

7. Expanding Dream 100 Beyond SEO—YouTube & Instagram

• The Dream 100 approach works across all channels:
  • YouTube: Target the content creators with your ideal audience, find ways to collaborate, co-create, or appear on their videos.
    • Example: JP Sears shared Russell’s video, driving 500,000+ new views.
  • Instagram/Twitter/Others: Identify and build relationships with the dominant influencers already commanding your desired audience.

8. Immersion & Mentorship for Mastery

• Russell’s personal strategy for rapid learning:
  1. Immersion: Deeply study the channel or topic for several days.
  2. Mentorship: Identify and connect with 2-3 experts for direct guidance.
  3. Domination: Apply the Dream 100 strategy to scale results fast.
  • Quote: "Immerse yourself for a weekend and just geek out, figure out the strategies, get a lay of the land, and find a mentor or two and go deep." (18:56)

9. Current and Future Strategic Initiatives

• Russell teases upcoming efforts at ClickFunnels focused on:
  • Traffic acquisition (via new viral campaigns, infomercials, and other revival tactics from early internet days)
  • Retention (building new systems to keep customers engaged—hinting at a “nude squirrels” campaign)
• He encourages listeners to watch and model ClickFunnels' public moves in the coming months.
• Quote: "There's a lot of strategies we're doing now—things that we did 10 years ago that nobody does anymore...we had success with these viral sites...we're gonna do it again." (23:09)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The Dream 100 is the key. Like, it's interesting, it's key in there.” (13:47)
• “Who are the people already dominating [a channel]? Dream 100. Build relationships, rapport, buying ads, all those kinds of things.” (15:14)
• “If you don't know how to do that [get creative with traffic], then just watch me and start modeling what I'm doing over the next few months.” (25:32)
• On ClickFunnels’ massive growth: “ClickFunnels is 750th most visited website in the world.... If you take all traffic coming through ClickFunnels, probably [in] the top 300 most visited websites in the world. So we're about to crank up the heat a lot.” (24:18)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–03:00 | Introduction, faith as a foundation of entrepreneurship
• 03:00–06:00 | Three phases of entrepreneurial growth and company development
• 06:00–09:00 | Reflecting on old SEO tactics versus relationship-driven SEO
• 09:00–13:00 | How the Dream 100 applies to SEO and all major online channels
• 13:00–16:30 | Case studies: PR/SEO with Neil Patel and Andrew O’Brien, strategy breakdown
• 16:30–20:00 | Building and executing a Dream 100 for YouTube, Instagram, and beyond
• 20:00–23:00 | Internal strategies: upcoming acquisition and retention campaigns
• 23:00–26:00 | Final thoughts, encouragement to innovate and model what’s working at ClickFunnels

Actionable Takeaways

• For SEO: Curate a targeted Dream 100 list of journalists, writers, and site owners already holding authority in your space. Prioritize relationship and value over shortcuts.
• For All Traffic Channels: Apply Dream 100 thinking everywhere—who already has your audience, and how can you connect?
• To Accelerate Mastery: Immerse yourself in learning, seek mentors, and leverage relationship-building for rapid results.

Russell's Tone & Energy

The episode is energetic, motivational, and tactical—Russell’s signature passionate, rapid-fire delivery. He balances stories, reflective insights, and step-by-step advice, making the strategies both inspirational and imminently actionable for entrepreneurs at any stage.