Search Featured: Dustin Williams of SEO.com

Well everybody, this is my first interview for the SearchFeature Blog (my first interview for anything ever, really).  And to get things off to a great start, I was able to interview Dustin Williams, from SEO.com.  Dustin is a SEO Specialist for SEO.com and he is the Master Administrator of the forums at SEO.com.  Dustin is known at the SEO.com forum, and several other webmaster forums, as Web Gazelle.  The SEO.com guys (most of them anyway) are pictured here.  Back Row (Left to Right): Arnie, Scott, Adam, Peter.  Front Row (Left to Right): Dustin, Dave

Stephanie: How long have you been in the SEO business and how did you get started? How long have you worked for SEO.com and what is your title there?

Dustin: I have been in the SEO business for 4 years and I got started when I was hired to be part of a web team for an online retail company. As part of the web team I was responsible for updating and maintaining their website as well as performing the SEO for their site. About a year ago I applied for a full-time SEO specialist position with the company that was called Web targeted at that time. They were in the process of finalizing the deal that would make Web Targeted into what is now SEO.com. I hadn’t been employed there for even a week before we changed to SEO.com. I am currently an SEO Specialist at SEO.com.

Stephanie: Why SEO as a career? What is so special/exciting about SEO that makes you so passionate about it?

Dustin: I originally studied web design in school and never thought I would become so involved in SEO and internet marketing. It was through practicing it and seeing the results that I began to really enjoy it. It is seeing the results of my efforts that motivates me to keep doing it. Seeing a site that isn’t showing up in searches and then being able to apply my knowledge of SEO to help the site show up for targeted search terms is the driving force that keeps me interested in and involved with SEO.

Stephanie: You seem very passionate and serious when it comes to SEO. Are you like that in real life as well? What else are you passionate about?

Dustin: I am passionate about SEO because I enjoy seeing the results of my work. I am like that with most things in life. I have an interest in aquarium fish. I currently have a 20 gallon freshwater tank and I also have my own site about freshwater fish keeping. It is something that my Dad and his Dad also had an interest in. You could say it is in my blood. If space permitted me I would have a much larger tank.

Stephanie: Who are the most influential people in your SEO career? 

Dustin: The person who got me started with SEO is the guy who was the senior web developer on the team when I worked for the internet retail company. His name is Brad Young. He taught me the basics and pointed me out to a couple good tutorials on the internet. Brad is the person responsible for leading me to where I am today.

Stephanie: What do you think will happen in the world of SEO, let’s say five years from now?  What changes do you foresee for the industry? Will there still be such a thing as organic optimization?

Dustin: It is hard to say for sure what could change in how the search engines work. Algorithms are constantly being changed to try to improve the quality of search results. I do believe that organic optimization will still be as important in five years as it is today.

Stephanie: The SEO.com forums are fairly new. What is so special about your forum? What sets it apart from the rest?

Dustin: SEO.com as a company is still young. If you include the years that the company existed as Web Targeted then we have a few more years of experience as an SEO company. The forums were only just launched in January of this year but we have seen much growth already. I think something that we offer that is unique is that each one of the experienced SEO specialists at SEO.com is an Administrator on the forums. That means that all questions posted in the forums will be able to be answered by someone who is experienced and has achieved great results from their work. Where is it better to learn SEO than from experienced SEO professionals who practice it every day?

Stephanie: How about the rumor that SEO.com paid $5 million for the domain name? Care to confirm or deny the rumor?

Dustin: That figure is just a rumor. I know that 5 million is not correct but I do not know the actual purchase amount.

Stephanie: What do you see as the future of SEO.com? How will you distinguish your company as different from all the rest of the SEO companies out there?

Dustin: We have great plans for SEO.com. Some are close to being ready to be launched. We plan on offering various levels of SEO services that will make our services affordable to both small business and large corporations. We plan on staying current with the changing trends of the industry by having representatives present at as many SEO conferences as possible.

Stephanie: What inspires you the most when you do your work?

Dustin: It is seeing the results of my work that inspires me the most. I have always enjoyed doing things where, when it is finished, you can see some type of positive effect from what you have done. For SEO, it is the end result that is inspiring.

Stephanie: What is the #1 piece of advice that you would give to someone just starting out in SEO? What are the most common mistakes that you see people making when starting out in SEO?

Dustin: If anyone is going to get into SEO and search marketing they need to be prepared to have plenty of patience. SEO isn’t something that brings results overnight. It takes time for all the work that is put into it to bring the desired results. Anything that offers quick results in the search marketing industry has to be manipulating the system in some form or another, and the results will be short lived. My advice is to stay away from anything that promises fast results. Have patience and don’t give up if the first effort at SEO doesn’t bring the desired results.

Stephanie: Where did the name Web Gazelle come from?

Dustin: The name Web Gazelle came to be when I was first registering at some SEO forums. I didn’t want to use my real name so I needed to come up with an alias. That day at work a couple co-workers and I were imitating Randy Jackson (a judge on American Idol). We were calling each other “Dawg” like Randy does. Then we decided to replace the word “Dawg” with exotic animals. Gazelle was one that came to my head. My co-workers started saying “you da gazelle” to me. Since I was part of the web team I added Web to the front and came up with Web Gazelle for my alias on the forums. We like to mix some fun in with our work.

And speaking of mixing fun with their work, this is a little video that they made one snowy day last winter.  The crazy man with his shirt off is Adam, Nelson is filming it, and Scott is driving.  So who ever said that SEO guys are not cool?  Oh, and Adam won a $5 bet for doing this little stunt.