Brian Dean Net Worth 2024: 10 Lessons From His Successful Blog Backlinko

The net worth of Brian Dean is above $5 million. 

You might be wondering how Brian Dean makes this much money.

Well, like most entrepreneurs, Brian also started his journey in his younger days and failed a couple of times.

But now, he has built a significant following in the marketing industry because of his reputation for providing actionable advice around SEO and link building through his blog posts and videos. 

The journey of Brian Dean has been inspiring and a piece of ultimate advice to many young individuals who dream to be an entrepreneur someday in their life. 

We’ve revealed his ways of earning a net worth of $5 million and the secrets behind his successful blog Backlinko.

Read the following post to know more about Brian Dean, his net worth, and the story behind his successful life. 

Who is Brian Dean?

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Brian Dean is a well-known personality with a net worth of over $5 million.

He is famous as the founder of Backinko, one of the most popular marketing blogs online. In addition to that, he is CEO of Exploding Topics which is an ultimate resource for finding rapidly growing topics.

He is an internationally recognized SEO expert. You might type in “backlinks” in Google to see his website at the top of the search results. 

Brian offers exclusive training courses packed with next-level SEO training and link-building strategies that are helpful for every individual to get higher rankings and more traffic.

The Skyscraper Technique is his most notable discovery that helped Brian quickly make a name in the digital marketing field.

We have covered his blogging style, techniques, and journey in the below paragraphs. Continue reading to know Brian’s hardships and how he reached great success.


His Early Life

Brian was raised in Rhode Island, where he also received his education, by earning a bachelor’s degree in nutrition from Rhode Island University from 2001 to 2005. 

Later, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where he chose to enroll at the University of Tufts for a master’s program in the same subject.


His Journey

Brian Dean didn’t begin his professional life in the marketing industry.

He studied nutrition.

He wanted to become a professor. He registered himself at Purdue for the Ph.D. program. Dean enjoyed all scientific things and worked on human clinical trials at Tufts. 

Luckily for him, he quit the program. In one of his interviews, he mentioned that it was difficult for him to live in Indiana, and his advisors were not nice to him. Therefore, he quit his Ph.D. program and looked out for jobs. Unfortunately, it got difficult for him to get a job as he was a new graduate in 2008, and that too with little experience.

Soon he was hired as a dietician with a good salary in hand and he began writing an eBook (on back pain). However, his work as a dietician prevented him from finishing the book. Thus, he hired a freelance writer rather than wasting too much time trying to finish the book.

Dean was dissatisfied with the poor quality of the work provided by the writer and was confident that he could write better than the what writer provided.

And that’s how Dean began working as a freelancer. He wrote approx 12 articles every day for a fitness website. When his freelance writing began to truly cover his expenses, he quit his job.

Brian Dean, then, began building websites and ultimately launched Backlinko.


Brian in the SEO Industry 

During 2009-10, Brian created multiple niche websites. All of these websites had a single page of content that was optimized for a single keyword.

Though he didn’t necessarily use black-hat SEO techniques, he lost all of his traffic overnight due to the release of the Google Panda update which impacted many other websites as well.

At that point, instead of evaluating the reason behind his failure, he started planning websites that would not be hit by Google Panda. But the underlying cause of his failure was the poor quality of the websites. It took Dean over two years to get to that realization.

His encounter with Panda update inspired him to enter the SEO industry and launch his agency.

Later, it ultimately inspired him to launch Backlinko in 2013. Currently, the website ranks in the top 3 positions of the SERP for around 10,000 keywords and receives over 700K visitors per month.

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Key Facts About Brian Dean

Brian Dean Net Worth:$5 million
Full Name: Brian Dean
Nickname:SEO Genius
Gender:Male
Birth Place:Boston, Massachusetts
Nationality: American
Age:35 Years Approx. (As of 2023)
Education: Master’s degree in Nutrition
Profession:Blogger and SEO trainer
Famous For: Backlinko and Exploding Topics
Marital Status: Married
Hobbies: Traveling and Reading Books

Brian Dean’s Achievements 

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Backlinko reaches over 5 million people every year which is a huge achievement in itself.

Backlinko was featured by Forbes as the “20 Rising Web Development And Design Blogs To Follow In 2017”.

Inc.com listed Brian in the list of “12 Brilliant Entrepreneurs in Marketing to Watch Next Year”.

Success Magazine named Brian “The world’s foremost expert on Search Engine Optimization”.

Problogger listed him as one of “The world’s most successful bloggers” along with Neil Patel.


Sources of Brian Dean’s Net Worth

Backlinko

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Brian Dean started Backlinko to share his expertise in SEO with his readers, who are bloggers, digital marketers, and business owners.

Although it is a blog, it functions more as a resource site having insanely practical strategies to improve the site’s visibility in the SERPs.

He has published an ultimate piece of content on Keyword Research which is usually the first step of any SEO campaign. It covers keyword research basics, how to find keyword ideas, keyword research tools, advanced tips and strategies, and lots more.

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So, before writing any content for your blog, conduct keyword research as Brian explains.

Even though Brian doesn’t publish many blog entries, whenever he does, he always receives hundreds of comments and shares. One of his blog posts has received over 11,000 social shares and more than 500 comments. 

On the whole, it provides a wealth of practical information including case studies. All those who want to learn SEO and grow their online business could benefit from Backlinko.

His techniques and site both are different from other platforms. He doesn’t hide anything from the users. Brian develops all his SEO techniques from his real-life experiences and shares them with the audience.

Therefore, marketers from big businesses like Apple, Disney, IBM, and Amazon subscribed to his newsletter list to get exclusive SEO tips.

Semrush Acquires Backlinko.com

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In January 2022, Brain sold out his blog to Semrush at a good amount. He received an email from Semrush asking if he wanted to sell it. It was a good deal for him as Semrush is considered the #1 platform for all online marketing needs.

Brain and his colleagues are now part of the Semrush family and work together with Semrush Academy to provide the most robust digital marketing and SEO training resources on the web.


Brian Dean Youtube Channel 

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Brian Dean’s YouTube channel is indeed a great resource as his blog.

His videos are another hub for invaluable SEO hacks that you can implement to grow your website online.

Currently, he has over 500K followers and 45 videos on his YouTube channel. Most of his videos are short ranging from 10 to 15 minutes and receive thousands of views.


Online Courses 

Along with Brian’s blog and YouTube channel where you will find free stuff, he has earned a lot of wealth from online courses for which he charges 3–4x more than his competitors.

In one of his interviews, he stated that 100% of his revenue comes from online course sales. He also revealed that his first product launch made him around $80k. And since he has launched multiple products that generated 10x revenue.

Two of his premium courses are “SEO that Works” and “Grow Your Blog Fast”, and add a lot to his net worth.


Brian Dean Net Worth: Top Lessons From His SEO Blog (Backlinko)

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Lesson 1: Choose QUALITY Over QUANTITY 

The first and foremost reason behind Backlinko’s success is the content quality Dean has worked upon.

He followed the LESS is MORE approach and turned an SEO training company from $0 to a growing 7-figure business.

Backlinko has around 50 blog posts but every single post is EPIC and offers some interesting and unique insights to its readers. Because of that, his content is appreciated by Google and attracts a ton of social shares, comments, and backlinks. This further increases his content rankings in search engines like Google. 

He has also created a content hub where you can find massive guides around content marketing including content writing, copywriting, video content, email outreach, and many more.

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This teaches us that writing one excellent post is far better than ten subpar ones. Yes, high-quality postings demand plenty of time and research, but the effort is worth EVERYTHING.

Below I have mentioned some important points from Brian’s writing that you should take into consideration while writing content for your blog;

  • Include visuals in your content. Backlinko’s constant provision of adding relevant visuals in blog posts is one of the main factors contributing to his huge audience.
  • Do not forget to provide solutions. Brian offers solutions through his writing. You can easily outrank competitors in your field if you can produce such interesting and engaging content that answers the audience’s questions.
  • One should always write quality content with an attention-grabbing title. Individuals can use platforms like Quora to identify trending topics and then produce content around those topics is the greatest way to write useful content.
  • Update your content regularly. Brian updates his published material on a regular basis. Be it headlines, stats, images, adding new content, optimizing the post for new keywords, and so on.

Lesson 2: Captivating Introduction to Hook Your Audience’s Attention

Brian Dean has written some of the MASSIVE guides but his introductions are usually short.

Some of them even have only two words but they are captivating. These short intros keep his audience engaged and make them read more. Have a look at Brian Dean’s copywriting definite guide intro section;

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Online readers do not like reading long paragraphs. Thus, your goal should be to engage your users throughout the article. This improves retention time and reduces bounce rate which leads to better rankings.

Therefore, to increase traffic to your site like Backlinko, one should learn copywriting.

Read blogs from other copywriters or browse blogs such as Copyblogger. There is no harm in investing time and money in learning copywriting.

Refer to below mentioned simple suggestions for enhancing the impact of your writing;

  • Keep the paragraph’s length to 2 to 3 sentences. 
  • Use the word “YOU” in your writing so that your audience can relate with you at the start itself.
  • Do not use jargon, keep it simple and easy to understand.
  • Don’t use unnecessarily lengthy words.  
  • Make use of grammar-checking software like Grammarly to write error-free and confidently.

Above all, read all of Brian Dean’s posts to learn how to come up with powerful titles and introductory lines, and take your copywriting skills next level.


Lesson 3: Invent New Terms & Techniques to Build Credibility

SEO seems too complex but at the same time, there’s no magic or mystery to it anymore.

The title tag, meta description, alt tag, Domain Authority, Page Authority, Keywords, etc. are some of the top SEO terms that almost everyone knows about.

So, do you really think that using the same terminology on your blog will help you stand out from your competitors?

No, you can’t!

To differentiate yourself from the crowd, you should do something out of the box and come up with some new ideas and techniques in your niche.

When it comes to creating something like that, nobody does better than Brian Dean.

The Skyscraper Technique is one of them which helps attract quality links and targeted traffic.

Have quick look at how this technique helped Brian to skyrocket backlinks to a page and overall organic search traffic on his entire site.

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It is a three-step simple method as mentioned below;

Step 1: Find Link-Worthy Asset

Finding content that is link-worthy and has received many links in your niche is the first step. For doing so, you can take the help of Google search, and SEO platforms like Semrush, BuzzSumo, or Ahrefs.

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Step 2: Create 10x Content

The next step is to make the content better than the existing ones. To create something even better, you can work on content length, freshness, design, and so on.

Step 3: Reach Out

Finally, get in touch with the site owners in your niche who have already linked their sites to similar content you have created.

This technique helped millions to start their journey of Backlinko.

Next is his PBC formula which is a PROVEN strategy to grab readers’ attention right from the beginning of the post and make them read till the end. It goes like this;

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  • P stands for Preview
  • B stands for Benefits, and
  • C stands for Call to action

One should also know about his Power Posts.

By power posts, he means “high-performing articles”. Of course, crafting power posts is an extremely time-consuming process but worth the energy you put in. This kind of stuff guarantees a lot of links and social shares. 

For an instance, for one of his blog posts How to Write a Blog Post: The Definitive Guide, he and his team took 50 hours to complete but brought huge traffic and social shares in the first week alone.

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So, do not hesitate to introduce new terms to the SEO world and become a shining star. 


Lesson 4: Launch Online Courses

There are several reasons why every entrepreneur should launch an online course. Some of them are;

  • Helps you reach a wider audience
  • Great source of passive income
  • Easy management with the launch of LMS such as Passion.io
  • They’re not bound to a specific location, you can sell them in any part of the world
  • No paperwork involved
  • Flexibility of time
  • You can start out free thus making it a safer choice than starting a business

Brian knows it ALL. He offers online education through his premium course and makes a hell of a lot of money.

Two of his popular courses (joined by 4000+ students) are;

1. SEO THAT WORKS

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This course is packed with sophisticated SEO tricks to increase organic traffic and get the most out of your blogs.

You will learn advanced link-building and content promotion strategies.

Apart from that, you will also get exposure to a proven SEO system that has helped Brian increase his traffic with fewer articles and real-world case studies of past students who have succeeded in ranking on the first page for their keywords.

2. GROW YOUR BLOG FAST

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This course reveals the latest & advanced content marketing strategies and proven content promotion techniques that are helpful to rapidly grow blogs in any niche.

If you’re a blogger, digital marketer, or entrepreneur, and want to maximize the potential of your blog, then these courses are the best resources that Brian has to offer.

But for beginners, first, I would suggest consuming all the free content by Brian Dean from his blog, Youtube channel, and email newsletter for understanding SEO basics and how things work.

Important Notes:

  • Enrollment for both courses is open only once or twice a year.
  • A 30-day money-back guarantee is also there.

Enough said about his courses. If you want to increase your net worth and ultimately meet your financial goals like Brian, you need to open up your mind.

You can also sell online courses and earn millions of dollars. But the right approach would be to create TOP NOTCH content and make it available for free first.

Then launch your own courses that are worth paying for. People who like your free content would not mind paying for the premium courses later. 


Lesson 5: Use as Many Illustrations as Possible 

Do you know that the human brain processes image 60,000 times faster than text?

If you scan the Backlinko blog, you will see that every single post has a TON of visuals.

Also, the way he presents data statistics with the help of eye-catching illustrations is commendable. Here’s an example;

Quality visuals and illustrations make your blog posts look more engaging and exciting.

So, start adding illustrations to make your content more interesting and allow users to interact with your website.

You can either outsource the graphics designing work or create your own with the help of platforms like Canva.

Canva is a go-to platform for all sorts of graphics designing where anyone can create outstanding images with ease.

You can also find a ton of video lessons on YouTube that demonstrate how to use Canva to produce great images for your blog posts, social media, etc.


Lesson 6: Use Case Studies in Your Marketing

Case studies are a great way for ESTABLISHING PROOF that what you’re offering is reliable and of good quality.

If you consume Brain’s content, you will analyze that he generously uses case studies in his blog posts and videos.

They are unique and that’s what makes his content 10 times better than his competitors.

Creating case studies is of course time-consuming. But, create an online buzz and drive traffic in the long run. They attract high-quality backlinks as well. 

Below I have mentioned a few tested techniques for producing outstanding case studies like Brian Dean.

  • Cover Real Statistics: To discover in-depth statistics on a topic, you can make use of websites like Statista which is specialized in the market and consumer data.
  • Include Actionable Strategies: When developing case studies, you must include tried-and-true tactics that have shown great results.
  • Pictorial Presentation: Present your thought process to the viewers with the help of appealing visuals. For example; display all the screenshots of how you can start a blog from scratch.
  • Experiment with different Content Formats: You do not need to always write standard blog articles. You may produce infographics, videos, tutorials, and so on.

So, if you want to develop an authority website like Backlinko, start producing case studies.

Yes, you will have to work hard and give more time, but that’s how you may come up with something original to beat your rivals and win the competition!


Lesson 7: Content Promotion Matters 

Brian does deep research and spends a lot of time creating thorough content. That’s 100% true.

But this is also a fact that he gives 10x time to promotional activities.

Even most of the top bloggers also follow the 80-20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle. They devote 80% of their effort to promoting their content and the rest 20% of their time to creating it.

So, one should remember that more time should be given to content promotion as compared to content creation. Nobody will ever read your stuff if you don’t market it well. It’s as simple as that!

Here I have mentioned a few efficient strategies for spreading the word about your blog content online.

  • Blogger Outreach: To promote their content, a lot of bloggers and influencers send out emails to other bloggers. You can do the same. Make your outreach letters simple, keep them short and to the point, and ensure that they get benefitted in some way.
  • Repurpose Content: Repurposing your existing content is one of the best strategies to increase its visibility. There are numerous methods you can reuse the content from your blog, including creating videos on the subject, creating ebooks from the content, creating social media posts, creating infographics for the same, publishing podcasts, etc. 
  • Email Marketing: You can utilize email marketing as well. But for this, you will need an active email list. Brian Dean has it all. So, whenever he publishes a new post, he informs all his subscribers which results in thousands of views, comments, and shares instantly. If you’re not building one, start building it from today.

Lesson 8: Master SEO and Learn to Rank For Keywords

Backlinko ranks number one in Google search results for thousands of keywords including super competitive keywords in the blogging niche which helps him drive huge traffic from search engines

For an instance, if you search for “content writing”, you will see Backlinko in the #1 position.

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See that?

Let’s take another example.. for “youtube SEO” there are about 44,60,00,000 results in Google but still Backlinko manages to secure the top position.

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How’s he able to do that? Well, he lives SEO every day and knows how to get into the first page of the SERPs.

This is one of the biggest reasons behind Brian’s success and his net worth went from zero to $5 million.

So, when it comes to writing a blog post, you should ensure you are using appropriate keywords. 

You should avoid choosing highly competitive keywords unless you have a high authority site with a lot of backlinks.

Targeting long-tail keywords is always a good idea because they usually have less competition and are simpler to rank for.

Next, you need to optimize every single post for a primary keyword by implementing the best on-page SEO practices.

Use the main keyword in;

  • Meta title,
  • Meta description,
  • Inro section of your post
  • Subheadings
  • Images, alt tags
  • URL (slug) of the post,
  • Sprinkle throughout the post along with LSI keywords
  • Blog post conclusion

Pro Tip: If you have a blog on WordPress, simply install Rank Math SEO Plugin and optimize your content for your target keywords with ease.

Backlinks are another key factor in Brian’s content rankings.

He naturally gets a ton of backlinks for his blog posts. But still, he does everything he can to build high-quality links for his site.

If you want to see your website ranking in the #1 position on Google, you may use the below-mentioned link-building strategies such as;

  • Blog commenting
  • Guest blogging
  • Giving testimonials to the product owner
  • Broken link building
  • Creating infographics
  • Blogger outreach
  • Influencer marketing, and so on.

Lesson 9: Consistency is the Key to Business Success

Blogging is Not a Get Quick Rich Scheme!

Building a money-making blog takes a longer time, usually a couple of years.

The same goes even for top bloggers like Brian Dean who has been working hard for over a DECADE now. And that’s another reason behind his successful SEO blog Backlinko.

If you enter the blogging industry with the mindset that you will start a blog and within 6 months it will be successful, you will fail miserably, especially when you’ve no connections online.

So, if you also want to start a successful blog from scratch, come up with long-term planning. Build a solid content creation and promotion strategy to grow your search traffic.

Most importantly, be CONSISTENT even if you’re not making any money in the initial days. This will certainly result in a successful blog and a great source of passive income.


Lesson 10: Personal Branding is More Important Than Ever

What’s the common trait among successful entrepreneurs? They are busy building their own brand.

Gary Vaynerchuk who is the most successful marketer in the world says, “Your personal brand is your reputation. And your reputation in perpetuity is the foundation of your career.”

The personal brand is nothing but building trust and reflecting who you are.

Now you might be wondering how they do that? Well, it’s just a matter of crafting your digital presence regularly.

They are EVERYWHERE.

You open Twitter. You will find a lot of valuable tweets.

Open Instagram. You will find a ton of useful posts and stories.

Open your email account. You will find useful newsletters.

Open YouTube and you will find new videos every week.

All because of this, they’re able to build trust with prospective clients and bring more business.

The same goes with Brian Dean as well.

Once his blog started getting decent traffic and revenue, he started showing his presence on other platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to reach a wider audience.

This helped him to build trust with his audience and an authority website that get massive direct traffic.

If you also want to take your business next level and generate more sales for your company, you need to develop a powerful personal brand identity.


Most Inspiring Quotes By Brian Dean

Here are some of Brian Dean’s inspiring quotes on content marketing that are worth reading for every online entrepreneur.

1. “SEO isn’t about content creation. It’s about content promotion.”

2. “Everything starts with a keyword with SEO.”

3. “Longer content helps you rank better for your target keyword and brings in more long tail traffic … a win-win!”

4. “You have to create legitimately great content and a legitimately great Website to rank in Google.”

5. “They just regurgitate what’s already out there and that’s not the type of content that’s going to rank as well in Google.”

6. “There are tons of ways to make your content more valuable than the competition.”

7. “Focus 100% on QUALITY. Not quantity.”

8. “In the world of SEO the wrong advice can hurt you.”

9. “Like links, the tweets a page has many influence its rank in Google.”

10. “If you’re serious about generating high quality links, you need to be very systematic with how you create and promote your content.” 


FAQs About Brian Dean’s Net Worth

Here are some of the important questions asked around Brian Dean and his blog that you may find useful.

How does Brian Dean make money?

Backlinko, the renowned blog around Search Engine Optimization is the main contributor to Brian Dean’s net worth. He earns more than 50% of his income from the online courses he provides. Moreover, he effectively utilizes affiliate marketing to generate passive income for him.

Is Backlinko a credible source?

Yes, Backlinko is one of the most reliable SEO blogs on the web. It has thorough case studies and step-by-step tutorials which are beneficial for anyone looking to secure top positions on the Google SERP.

What is Backlinko used for?

Backlinko is an invaluable resource for learning proven SEO strategies.

Is Backlinko sold?

Yes, in January 2022, Semrush acquired Backlinko.

Who is the publisher of Backlinko 2024?

Semrush, which is the leading online visibility management SaaS platform.  

What is the age of Brian Dean?

As of 2024, Brian Dean is 36 years old.

How to get in touch with Brian Dean?

You may get in touch with him using this form. Alternatively, you can connect with him on social media. Here are the links to his Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube accounts.


Also Read:

Final Words on Brian Dean Net Worth 2024

Brian Dean has come a long way, from NOTHING to creating an online business worth MILLION dollars.

Although, it takes years of experience and expertise to start earning a steady income online. However, with full dedication and proper guidance, generating traffic, leads and sales becomes way too easy.

Mr. Dean consistently engaged his audience by creating content on niche topics and writing whatever is authentic and reliable. 

He has achieved what he wanted to. You can also replicate the same and achieve great success in content marketing and blogging if you start implementing the lessons I’ve shared above.

Do you want any specific information on Brian Dean or his net worth? Kindly use the space below for your valuable comments.

A seasoned blogger with over four years of experience, has crafted a successful online journey and generated an impressive revenue surpassing $50,000. His expertise lies in creating engaging content and navigating the digital landscape, making him a go-to source for those seeking insights into the world of profitable blogging.

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