🎙️ Unscripted Small Business Podcast
Marc Pitts of DiscountVapePen.com on SEO Survival in a Regulated Industry
The founder who had to become an SEO practitioner because paid ads were cut off — on 13 years of building an e-commerce brand in one of the most regulated categories in the country.
This episode features Marc Pitts, founder and CEO of DiscountVapePen.com, a New Jersey-based online vape store he and his partners have been building since 2014. Marc’s story isn’t a typical agency or consultant story — it’s a founder who had to become an SEO practitioner because his industry left him no other choice.
From eBay Listings to a Thirteen-Year E-Commerce Brand
Marc started with small eBay listings, learned logistics and e-commerce the hard way, and eventually launched DiscountVapePen.com as a proper storefront. The vaping industry in 2014 was a different world — the barrier to entry was low, competition was limited, and editorial-style blog posts ranked easily. That changed as the industry grew up and the algorithm stopped being so forgiving.
“Running a Botanical Wellness Brand: Products, Regulations & Building Without a Playbook” — Mark Gilliland of Kyoto Botanicals on six years of building a THC-free hemp CBD and functional mushroom brand without a paid media budget that actually works in his category.
— Mark Gilliland, Kyoto Botanicals | Listen: Mark Gilliland on Regulated Wellness →
The SEO Turning Point: Structure Over Conversation
“The biggest lesson is that content written for SEO is not written for people to actually read. Learning to write more for the search engine rather than for people changed our trajectory exponentially.” — Marc Pitts
No Paid Ads, No Problem — Because There Was No Choice
Paid advertising in the vaping vertical was largely cut off by 2016. Marc and his team’s response was to get good at the one channel that was still available: organic search.
“We were forced to really learn everything we could. That’s more or less the driving force of our success.” — Marc Pitts
Why They Stayed White Hat
“We want sustainability, and those things just aren’t sustainable. It’s like standing on your toes everywhere you walk. Once you get jammed up, it could be it. That could be over.” — Marc Pitts
Connect with Marc Pitts
- Website: discountvapepen.com
The Unscripted Small Business Podcast features candid conversations with founders and operators. Hosted by Jeremy Rivera.
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