SEO Experts

Search Engine Optimization

SEO Experts List

The following are some names associated with being top SEO experts, and can be observed in SEM forums, blogs, the press, and on various websites.

Top SEO Experts Chart - A (somewhat) "Short List" of Noteworthy SEO Practitioners (50) Photos of most SEO experts listed below Jim Boykin's excellent SEO Expert Photos
	Expert (Google pages) (alphabetical list)	Nickname	Website/ Blog (SEJ 2005 Rank)	Location	Favorite Forum	Style
1	2- Aaron Wall (276K) seobook (370K)	seobook	www.seobook.com (2) www.threadwatch.org	State College, PA	SEW Forums
2	Ammon Johns (11K)	Black_Knight	www.e-marketing-news.co.uk	Brighton, England	cre8asite
3	Andy Beal (259K)	-	www.marketingpilgrim.com	Raleigh, NC	-
4	Andy Hagans (52K)	Andy Hagans	www.andyhagans.com www.linkbuildingblog.com	Cincinnati, OH	-
5	Barry Schwartz (387K) rustybrick (188K)	rustybrick	www.rustybrick.com	Suffern, NY	seroundtable
6	Barry Welford (17K)	bwelford	www.cre8asiteforums.com	Montreal, QC, Can.	cre8asite
7	Ben Pheiffer (30)	Phoenix	www.ranksmart.com	Austin, TX	SEOChat
8	Bernard nolastname	Bernard	www.measuring-up.com	Friendswood, TX	SEOChat
9	Brad Callen (86K)	-	www,seoelite.com	Indianapolis, IN	-
10	Brad Fallon (79K)	-	www.bradfallon.com	Atlanta, GA	-
11	Brett Tabke (89K)	Brett_Tabke	www.webmasterworld.com	Austin, TX	wmw.com
	Bruce Clay (162K)	-	www.bruceclay.com	Simi Valley, CA	orgamic listings
12	Chris Boggs (33K)	Chris Boggs	www.avenuea-razorfish.com	Baltimore, MD	SEW Forums
13	Danny Sullivan (699K)	dannysullivan	searchengineland.com daggle.com	Salisbury, England	SEW Forums
14	David Naylor (178K)	DaveN	www.davidnaylor.co.uk	UK	SEW Forums
15	Donna Fontenot (646) dazzlindonna (40K)	dazzlindonna	www.seo-scoop.com	Franklinton, LA	SEO Refugee
16	8- Erik Dafforn (78K)	-	intrapromote.com seo speedwagon (8)	Stow, OH	-
17	5- Greg Boser (55K)	webguerrilla	www.webguerrilla.com (5)	Newhall, CA	SEO Rock
18	Jakob Nielsen (1.4M)	-	www.useit.com	Fremont, CA	-
19	Jennifer Slegg (36K) jensense (155K)	jensense	www.jensense.com	Victoria, BC, Can.	wmw.com
20	Jill Whalen (165K)	Jill Whalen	www.highrankings.com	Ashland, MA	SEW Forums
21	6- Jim Boykin (141K)	webuildpages	www.webuildpages.com www.jimboykin.blog (6)	Troy, NY	(dp).forums
22	Lee Odden (112K)	toprank	TopRank Results TopRank.blog	Mound, MN	SEW Forums seroundtable
23	1- Matt Cutts (1.8M)	matt	www.google.com www.matcutts.com/Blog (1)	Mountain View, CA	-
24	Michael Gray (854K)	Graywolf	www.wolf-howl.com	New York, NY	-
25	Mike Grehan (153K)	-	www.search-engine-book.co.uk www.mikegrehan.com	UK	-
26	Morgan Carey (23K)	seo_guy	www.seo-guy.com	BC, Canada	SEOChat
27	Nick Wilson (199K)	nick	performancing.com performancing.com/blog	Denmark	-
28	3- Rand Fishkin (100K)	randfish	www.seomoz.org www.seomoz..org/blog (3)	Seattle, WA	seroundtable SEW Forums
29	Roger Montti (2K) martinibuster (806K)	martinibuster	www.martinibuster.com	San Francisco, CA	WmW.com
30	Shari Thurow (137K)	-	www.searchenginesbook.com	Carpentersville, IL	-
31	Shawn Hogan (62K)	Shawn	www.digitalpoint.com	San Diego, CA	seroundtable
32	Todd Friesen (20K) oilman (711K)	oilman	www.oilman.ca	Victoria, BC, Can.	SEO Rock
33	4- Todd Malicoat (58K) stuntdubl (370K)	stuntdubl	www.stuntdubl.com (4)	Troy, NY	wmw.com
34	??? ???	Earl Grey	www.syndk8.net	Ireland-?	-
35	7- ??? ??? quadzilla (247K)	quadzilla	seoblackhat.com (7)	East Teknopolis-?	seoblackhat.com
20	170	90	200	150	100	50
36-51	Other highly visible Search Engine Optimizer's, about whom I don't know that much, in alphabetical order - Barry Lloyd (20K) -- Bill Slawski (60K) Dan Thies (37K) -- Darrin Ward (701) George Werty (41) -- Greg Jarboe (30K) Jake Baillie (686) -- John Scott (2.1M) -- Joseph Morin (19K) Michael McDonald (1.1M) -- Mikkel deMib Svendsen (52K) Nacho Hernandez (24K) Scottie Claiborne (11K) Will Spencer (52K)
	SEO Name (xx) - The number in parentheses after each name is the number of Google SERP results returned for the search term - "name name". It is a "Google presence" metric. This metric has little meaning when used on common names, such as "John Scott". Also, some SEO experts are better known by their online nickname, than their real name (dazzlindonna, martinibuster, etc.) White background = United States, Green background = Canada, Yellow background = UK The 8 red 2005 SEO Blog rankings above came from the Search Engine Journal. For NINE shades of gray hat color, read Yahoo's Tim Converse definitions of SEO hat color. If you would like your hat color changed, or name removed, just email me. All SEO hats presumed white unless specifically defined otherwise. SEO Conferences - 2007 List 2007 Search Engine Optimization conferences for webmasters Personal SEO posting observations - UK English: "Google are better then Yahoo." US English: "Google is better than Yahoo." Each drives the other crazy, no doubt. That jes ain't 'rat!

NOTES and DISCLAIMER

Public Data

All info on this list is derived from public websites.
Anyone not wanting to appear on this list, please email me, and I will remove you immediately.

Completeness

This SEO expert list is not complete, but I had to start somewhere.
There are many other SEO players, that are not quite as visible.
There are many lurkers, who are just as talented as those listed above, but they never post - they just make money.
But guess who they learned from?

Objectivity

The list is based upon my own personal observations, and therefore is quite subjective. It is loosely based upon the frequency of what I observe, when surfing the internet - internet presence, if you will. How this relates to individual SEO competence is for the viewer to decide, in each case.
I have added a column for hat color, for those whose color is "self-declared".
Who else belongs on the list?
Who should be removed?

Why?

I made this list to help me figure out who is who in the SEO world. I needed to clarify Barry-Barry, Brad-Brad, Brett-Brent, Matt-Mat, Shawn-Shawn, and Todd-Todd, etc. I guess I am missing a Chris or two, as well.

Which SEO company provides the best SEO services?
I really don't know, but the SEO consultants listed above are considered to be SEO gurus by many.
One should listen to what each of them has to say, and judge accordingly.

Internet - Google Related Summaries
AdWords-AdSense Block Diagram	Google Data Centers List	Top-Paying Adwords
Google AdSense Penalties	Google SEO Ranking Factors
Google AdSense Stop Words	Google Webmaster Forums Review
Internet - General Summaries
Adobe Reader Fix Sheet	Internet Diagram	Spam Filter Words
Domain Name Registration	Modem Speeds Summary	Spam Email Report
E-Bay Tasteless Ads	Search Engine Comparison Page	Web Site Design

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This Vaughns SEO Experts Short List Summary page was last updated on 2007-10-11.

NOTES and DISCLAIMER
Public Data	All info on this list is derived from public websites. Anyone not wanting to appear on this list, please email me, and I will remove you immediately.
Completeness	This SEO expert list is not complete, but I had to start somewhere. There are many other SEO players, that are not quite as visible. There are many lurkers, who are just as talented as those listed above, but they never post - they just make money. But guess who they learned from?
Objectivity	The list is based upon my own personal observations, and therefore is quite subjective. It is loosely based upon the frequency of what I observe, when surfing the internet - internet presence, if you will. How this relates to individual SEO competence is for the viewer to decide, in each case. I have added a column for hat color, for those whose color is "self-declared". Who else belongs on the list? Who should be removed?
Why?	I made this list to help me figure out who is who in the SEO world. I needed to clarify Barry-Barry, Brad-Brad, Brett-Brent, Matt-Mat, Shawn-Shawn, and Todd-Todd, etc. I guess I am missing a Chris or two, as well.
Which SEO company provides the best SEO services? I really don't know, but the SEO consultants listed above are considered to be SEO gurus by many. One should listen to what each of them has to say, and judge accordingly.