Who is the Rand Fishkin of black hat seo?
-
If you had to choose one person to represent the black hat community who would it be?
-
Thanks for the Responses everyone!
-
Some well known black/gray hats (note, many of these do lots of white hat stuff, too, and some have even retired fully from black hattery) include:
- Greg Boser (WebGuerrilla)
- Dave Naylor
- Todd Friesen (Oilman)
- Kris Roadruck
- Rae Hoffman
- Ralph Tegtmeier (Fantomaster)
- Bob Rains
- Neil Patel
- Eli (from BluehatSEO)
- Frank Watson (AussieWebmaster)
There's loads more, but black/gray hats often like to stay under the radar (apologies to any I've forgotten; I'm sure it's more than a few).
-
That's pretty much the story! He also goes by Mick Sawyer sometimes, though I believe his real identify is still unknown to all but a few.
Just to be fully transparent, the Newsweek reference was a big deal, but as I noted in the recent "Story of SEOmoz" post, it was a surprisingly low traffic + branding driver compared to our launch of the Beginner's Guide and the subsequent Slashdot coverage (followed by dozens of other blogs/resources). Combined w/ the Newsweek press, though, it definitely gave us a nice bump
-
There was a guy who went by the name "Earl Grey"
Rand can thank this man for getting him a break.
Earl Grey was interviewed by Neesweek as a Black Hat, when asked by the interviewer if he knew white hat SEO he could interview he gave Rands name, and SEOMoz boomed from that point.
Forgive me rand if i have not got the facts correct, but thats the routh story.
-
-
Thanks
Most are probably trying to stay under the radar so Matt doesn't get 'em.
-
Know of anyone who is currently active? (I spent 10 minutes trying to phrase that sentence in the nicest way possible)
-
The late G-Man might not be the most famous but deserves mention.
Loved and missed by all.... even tried to go under the radar of Matt Cutts.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Is bright edge an SEO platform you would recommend?
Hi mozzers, Has anyone used Bright Edge before? Is this a good platform for a website that carries over 1800 pages and is looking to scale their content? I would like to know the pros and cons of this platform. Thanks for sharing any other valuable information about this platform!
Industry News | | Ideas-Money-Art0 -
SEO Guidelines for Partner Links
We decided to follow an aggressive strategy with cross linking. We have cross linked all all the 6 different brands just above the header of a News Portal. You could see what i mean here www.in.gr
Industry News | | DOLdatacenter
Do you think that i should enable the nofollow so as not to get penalized by Google. We tend to use the same cross network linking scheme (in the header) for all branded sites. Google’s guidance on link schemes doesn’t specifically address these types of partner links, which don’t really fit the mold for “excessive link exchanging.” Thoughts appreciated.0 -
Impact SEO when sharing with other PC urls a mobile website url
Struggle with the following impact on SEO if starting to share mobile website URL. We have multiple PC urls (5 different domains).For example www.site1.com, www.site2.com, www.site3.com, www.site4.com and www.site5.com. Now I have to convince other people within the company not to use one mobile website url for all different domains. The intention is to direct all mobile traffic from site1, site2, site3, site4 and site5 to the url: m.site4.com. Based on the following articles I already wanted to combine the www.site4.com with the m.site4.com to one entity, based on the third method which is supported by Google. https://developers.google.com/webmasters/smartphone-sites/details and http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/changes-in-rankings-of-smartphone_11.html But now I have to give SEO impact feedback on the other domains. The obvious one is site1, site2, site3 and site5 will not have positive mobile SERP indexation. Second impact: Duplicated content issues across multiple websites.
Industry News | | Letty
Third impact:users from site1, site2, site3 and site5 will see the change in URL, could give a negative user experience.
Fourth impact: text on site1 / site2 / site3 / site5 is not the same as on site 4 this will implement maybe hidden content issues, which could cause penalties. Do I miss other negative SEO impact, I have been searching a lot of the articles / blogs, Q&A but can't really find sufficient information about this particular subject. Any feedback or links to articles / blogs / Q&A are highly appreciated.0 -
Is it getting harder to sell SEO services?
Is it just me, or is it getting harder to sell SEO services? SEO costs more now and takes longer to achieve results There seem to be more good SEO agencies out there (gone are the days where the primary competition was offshore outsourcers and web design agencies) It seems that the number of agencies is growing faster than the number of companies buying services As online competition heats up, it takes more and more budget to really "win" in a market, but so few companies are willing to invest enough Any others notice similar trends? What will the future look like?
Industry News | | AdamThompson0 -
How should I outsource my small business SEO needs?
Fellow MOZers, I run a small ecommerce business called mrpearl11.com, and I need assistance in outsourcing my SEO. A little about us: We sell a variety of import merchandise, but specialize in closeouts (buying merchandise at very low prices) which can translate into some real exceptional value to our customers. The buying part of the business is strong, but our online presence is weak. We have a decent high-level understanding of SEO, but I do not have the in-house skill sets necessary to truly leverage the SEO tactics and strategies that I believe we need to integrate into our processes. Thus we have a very weak SEO presence. Basically starting from scratch. Right now, we are focusing on content. Item-level content. Subcategory and category level content. General website content (about us, contact us, the checkout process, etc...) with the goal to provide a great user experience. We believe we have the right prices on the right merchandise, and that if we can set a strong foundation of content so that the user experience is positive, our future marketing efforts will have a better ROI. However, keyword analysis and targeting, data-mining, A/B testing, link acquisition, etc etc etc, really don't exist as a part of our processes on a professional level. I could try to train my in-house crew, but I think that from time a time and cost perspective, we'd be better served by outsourcing. My question to the MOZ community is how should I address my small business SEO needs? There are probably a lot of ways to go from here, but I want to start with a person or an agency, build a relationship, and move forward taking one step at a time. I don't want to jump into some kind of commitment where we're spending big bucks out of the gate, but on the other hand if we can build a track record of proven results that have a good ROI, I'm not afraid to scale up. Please share your thoughts, and feel welcome to ask questions 🙂 Thanks! Adam
Industry News | | Adam-Perlman0 -
Looking for Freelance SEO'ers
Hi, I wouldn't normally post a request for freelancers here, but I noticed someone else has done it and its not against the rules! so here goes... We are looking for Freelancers to help with our work load. In particular we are searching for Link Builders who can establish links on various websites through the use of article writing/blog content posting and other methods. Also, we require general SEOs who can perform the usual technical tasks such as creating 301's, canonicals and SEO audit reports on client websites. Ideally we only want UK based, white hatters with at least 2 years SEO experience. Please pm me if this interests you. Thanks Aran
Industry News | | Chiefblob0 -
I'm looking for a freelance SEO ninja who I can pull into client projects from time to time. Any advice?
My company helps health care providers with internet and social strategy and solutions. At times, my clients need SEO services and I need a trusted and skilled pro to turn to who I can collaborate with on behalf of my clients. I may even be interested in putting together an SEO package for my clients if I can find the right person/agency to work with. Thanks for any help/advice you can offer.
Industry News | | bgeyser0 -
Hire single SEO & SEM person or hire separate people?
I've been moved to a busines development part of the business but I'm still in charge of all of our SEO and SEM. I was only an advanced beginner to begin with but our needs have grown. I'm not sure whether to contract with one or two people. Can someone be extremely well versed in all things SEO and SEM or is it better to get two people on board that might serve as a better sounding board? While they certainly work together, both are a constant moving target and it requires us to stay on top of trends and white hat policies of all the major players. My worst nightmare is to get someone that tries to game the system and screws up our rankings long term.
Industry News | | thenorrisgroup0