The Top 10 Underrated/Under-appreciated People in SEO

It’s easy to get star-struck at a conference, with all the A-list names in attendance. Guys like ShoeMoney and Danny Sullivan are more or less continually accosted by various fans and admirers (and rightly so).

But this post isn’t about them, it’s about my ten favorite people in SEO that (IMHO) should get a lot more love, links and respeck!

1. Kim Krause Berg - Candidate for “nicest person in SEO” (maybe it’s because she’s not a true SEO but instead a usability guru). Bonus points because she basically lends her expertise for free (well, not free, but it’s REALLY cheap, I keep bugging her to raise her prices but she never does!)
2. Neil Patel - It may surprise you to know that Neil is in fact 21 and not 14. It may also surprise you know he is the most powerful SEO I know… he’s leaving the “big names” in his wake.
3. Debra Masteler - Another candidate for “nicest person in SEO”, Debra is also a smart and effective link builder. Hire her if you can, but you probably can’t — everybody wants to
4. SEOFangirl - I was surprised upon meeting her at a conference (she’s not the 50 year old, pot-bellied bearded man I imagined). She’s actually pretty beautiful! More importantly, she provides a lot of good humor on her blog. I can never get enough SEO humor. Yes. I’m a nerd.
5. Graywolf - Mr. Gray produces post after post of REAL SCOOPS on his site, and he’s usually looking out for the little guy or hatin’ on GOOG, both of which are favorite pastimes He also seems to lack an ulterior motive for helping people so much. Or maybe he just hides it well.
6. Jimmy “Jimbo” Atkinson - No one knows about Jimbo really, he manages my company. Basically that means he does the real work while I “research” and “plan” and “strategize”. He’s a jack-of-all-trades, and can program, design, usabilize or link build, depending on the job at hand.
7. Caveman - Caveman’s name holds weight among the old-hat SEO A list, but young SEO whelps may not be familiar with him — which is probably just as well, to him The man has great taste in restaurants, food, wine, and friends. His taste in business partners has been questioned.
8. Pankaj Gupta - “Panks” is an all-star link builder and one of the ringleaders of the DigitalPoint SEO underground in Delhi, India. I’m gonna to visit him this spring, actually
9. Randy Ray - Randy’s pretty well known in a few competitive affiliate niches. He’s always been honest and friendly with tips n’ tactics, which is the mark of a generous SEO. If I remember correctly, he also has a blog about BEEF. Respeck.
10. Me! Heh, just kidding. Instead, it’s YOU. YOU are under-appreciated. YOU have mad link baiting skillz and a growing domain portfolio. Most importantly, YOU are deciding this post has been so good, you’re going to link to it!

Did you enjoy this article?

Don't forget to subscribe to the Tropical SEO feed!