Scaling SEO in the Age of AI with Matt Diamante | From Garage Band to HeyTony

“Shortcut to Last.” That was the name of Matt Diamante’s band in the early 2000s. It’s also the perfect irony for a guest who has built a powerhouse SEO agency by doing the exact opposite: playing the long game. 🔄

In this episode, we sit down with Matt Diamante, founder of HeyTony, to explore a journey of pure grit—from driving film trucks for indie horror movies to leading a 15-person marketing agency.

We go deep into the "Messy Middle" of scaling a business and explore a red-hot Flipped Market: the world of SEO in an AI-driven world. Matt explains why he treats marketing like "heating and cooling"—a reliable utility—and why he ignores the jargon of "GEO" to focus on what actually works.

In this episode, we explore:

• The AI Hallucination: Why my AI research failed the intro, and what it taught us about the limits of machine learning.
• The Creative Hustle: How Matt went to advertising school just to "save the band."
• Scaling by Letting Go: How Matt flipped his role as a founder to get back to his technical roots.
• The Persistence Power-Up: Why the "Anti-Shortcut" is the only way to remain findable.

Connect with Matt Diamante: Join 350,000+ others following Matt’s "no-fluff" insights on Instagram @heytony.agency or visit HeyTony.ca.

Flip your own story at Gadarian.com/flipped-story