Have you ever wondered what happens when career setbacks turn into unexpected opportunities? That's exactly what happened to Greg Digneo, founder and CEO of Content Guppy, who transformed what could have been a career crisis into a thriving SEO agency for SaaS companies.
I recently had the pleasure of listening to Liana's interview with Greg on her business spotlight podcast, and his journey from being “amicably fired” to building a specialized SEO agency is both inspiring and packed with practical insights for anyone in the digital marketing world.
The Unexpected Beginning
Sometimes the best businesses are born from necessity rather than careful planning. In March 2021, Greg found himself “amicably fired” from his previous position. While most people might panic in this situation, Greg saw an opportunity.
“I didn't know what else to do, so I was like, ‘Hey, let's start an SEO agency,'” Greg explained casually during the interview. But there was nothing casual about his background—he had helped scale his previous company to an impressive $10 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) through SEO strategies.
What's particularly interesting is that Greg didn't just start any SEO agency. He took the exact playbook he had developed at his previous company and modified it to help other SaaS businesses achieve similar results.
From Under $1 Million to $10 Million: The Power of SEO Persistence
Before we dive into what Content Guppy does today, let's appreciate the expertise behind Greg's confidence in starting an SEO agency. When he joined his previous company in 2015, they were generating between $700K and $900K in ARR. As just the second marketing hire in a company with only five engineers, Greg was truly getting in on the ground floor.
Within a couple of months, he discovered that SEO could be a major growth driver for the business. What followed was five years of consistent, strategic effort:
“There's no real secret there. It's just kind of a grind day after day, week after week, year after year,” Greg shared. By the time he left, they were investing $40,000 monthly in content alone—not including link building—and had grown to $10 million ARR.
This experience reveals an important truth about SEO that Greg emphasized: it's not an overnight solution. However, he does tell clients they should “see traction in 90 days.” He shared an example of a client who began making $85 monthly from a single article within 30-45 days of publishing it. While not substantial, it signaled they were on the right path.
What Content Guppy Does Differently
Content Guppy distinguishes itself in the crowded SEO agency space with several key approaches:
1. Focus on Bottom-of-Funnel Content
One of the most refreshing things about Greg's approach is his honesty about what works. “We're not chasing traffic any longer,” he stated clearly. Instead of pursuing high-volume keywords that bring unqualified visitors, Content Guppy focuses exclusively on bottom-of-funnel content—content targeting people who are actively searching for solutions and ready to buy.
“We no longer go after top of funnel content anymore, because there's no real point in it,” Greg explained. He advises clients to put their top-of-funnel content on LinkedIn, YouTube, or in newsletters instead.
2. Revenue Over Traffic
Greg illustrated this principle with a brilliant example about CRM software:
“The keyword ‘What is a CRM' is gonna have thousands or tens of thousands of search volume per month… But if you're Googling ‘What is a CRM,' you're not gonna spend $150 to $500 a month on said CRM.”
Instead, Content Guppy targets keywords like “best CRM for realtors.” While this might only have 100-200 searches monthly (compared to thousands for broader terms), these searchers are more qualified and closer to making a purchase decision.
Why spend $10,000 ranking for a high-volume keyword that won't convert when you could focus on reaching the perfect potential customers?
3. Building Email Lists Through SEO
Content Guppy doesn't just drive traffic—they help clients build relationships with that traffic. Greg explained that they help clients capture visitors through founder-led email newsletters.
“We use SEO to bring the traffic to the site… It's not the 10,000 visitors or 20,000 visitors… It's the fact that you're building an email list of 10, 20, 50,000 people who are interested in what you do, want to hear from the CEO every week, and then you could eventually sell to them.”
This approach transforms SEO from just a traffic strategy into a relationship-building tool.
The Content Guppy Formula
When a SaaS company works with Content Guppy, here's what they can expect:
- Creation of targeted SEO content focused on conversion
- Building tools and resources to capture leads
- Converting content into newsletter material
- Developing a founder-led newsletter through regular interviews with the CEO/founder
- Converting these insights into engaging email content
What's particularly impressive is that Greg's team has developed specific “content archetypes” for SaaS companies that consistently convert at 2-2.5% rates. This specialized knowledge is precisely why they focus exclusively on SaaS clients in the $5-50 million ARR range.
Challenges in Building an SEO Agency
Building Content Guppy hasn't been without challenges. Greg highlighted two primary obstacles:
- Standing out in a crowded market: “Founders and CEOs and SaaS companies get pitched a lot as of SEO. So standing out is really important.” Direct email approaches haven't worked for them, so they've had to find creative ways to build trust and relationships.
- Scaling with service costs: Unlike SaaS products, agencies face margin costs with each new client. “Every client we bring in… there's a set of work hours that have to go into that,” Greg explained.
AI: Threat or Opportunity?
No conversation about content and SEO would be complete without addressing AI. When Liana brought up the elephant in the room—whether AI is killing SEO—Greg had a nuanced take.
Rather than viewing AI as a threat, Content Guppy is embracing the opportunities it presents. For example, AI tools have dramatically reduced the barrier to creating interactive content:
“Five years ago, two years ago, even a year ago, if I wanted to create a free tool like a calculator, an MRR calculator, I would have had to hire a developer, spent $500 to $1,000, waited 2-3 weeks… Now we're able to build these tools with Airtable, Cursor, or Windsurf… You're just able to say, ‘Hey, I want to build a calculator,' and 10 minutes later, you have a calculator.”
These tools not only provide value to users but also become linkable assets that strengthen SEO efforts.
Looking Ahead
As Content Guppy looks toward 2025, Greg has ambitious revenue goals. While he didn't share specific numbers, it's clear he's applying the same methodical, strategic approach to growing his agency that he uses to grow his clients' businesses.
Lessons for All Marketers
Even if you're not in the SaaS space, Greg's insights offer valuable takeaways:
- Quality trumps quantity: Focus on attracting the right visitors, not just more visitors.
- Patience pays off: SEO requires consistent effort over time, but the compounding returns are worth it.
- Relationship-building matters: Converting traffic into an engaged email list creates long-term value.
- Specialization creates advantage: By focusing exclusively on SaaS companies, Content Guppy has developed specialized knowledge that generates predictable results.
- Embrace new tools: Rather than fearing technology changes, look for opportunities they present.
Connect with Greg
If you're running a SaaS company in the $5-50 million ARR range and want to explore how SEO could drive your growth, you can find Greg at ContentGuppy.com or connect with him on LinkedIn by searching for “Greg Digneo.”
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregdigneo/
Website: https://contentguppy.com/
His journey from being fired to founding a specialized agency that helps SaaS companies scale through strategic SEO is a powerful reminder that sometimes our biggest career setbacks can become our greatest opportunities—if we're willing to apply our expertise in new ways.
What part of Greg's approach resonated most with you? Are you focusing on traffic or conversions in your marketing strategy? I'd love to hear your thoughts!