Today is my last day at SEOmoz. I have been here for about three and half years and it really has been one the most important experiences of my life. I met fascinating people, traveled the world, got a book deal and learned an unbelievable amount about myself and others. I am now heading in a new direction and while this requires me to leave my job, it frees me up to focus on the remaining items on my goals list.
SEO Consulting and Goals List:
For those of you who don't know me personally, you should know I take my goals list extremely seriously. It is about 250 items long and in the last two years I have completed about a hundred items. These range from the simple (try yoga), to the more complex (save a human life). While checking off the items has been fun, the real feeling of fulfillment comes from the side effects of these. My favorite moments have been deepening my relationship with my little sister as we traveled to the Pyramids of Giza and the moment I realized just how malleable my body really was after losing 50 pounds and trying out my new body at a trapeze class.
I am in the very fortunate position where I can use my passions to make money and provide real value to others. I have been doing SEO consulting for about 3 years and have worked with some of the world's most well known companies. In all likelihood, you will actually visit one of the sites I have done work with at some point today. I have also written a 400 page book on the topic called SEO Secrets which describes in detail how to do SEO consulting. Doing this consulting has given me the resources necessary to checkoff the items on my goals list and helped the clients I care about drive traffic from countless new search engine referrals. I love this stuff and through the education I recieved at SEOmoz, I know how to get results.
If you are in the need of an SEO Consultant, please feel free to contact me. I may be leaving SEOmoz, but I am certainly not leaving SEO.
Contact Danny Dover
What I Learned at SEOmoz:
Rather than just tell you, I prepared the video below to show you:
Happiness Audit:
- Is your work contributing to a greater good?
- Are your daily tasks making you a better entrepreneur?
- Are your daily tasks making you a better person?
- Are you inspiring others?
- Are you still making enough business connections, where making the connections outweigh the cons of working at your position?
- Are you making more money than you could at any other job that you could reasonably get? (Starting own company excluded)
- Are you working hours that leave time for personal growth?
- Are you able to make a name for yourself given your current position in the company? (Public facing position)
Keeping in Touch:
There are lots of ways of keeping in touch with me:
E-mail: [email protected]
My blog: https://www.dannydover.com/blog/
Twitter: @DannyDover
*sigh* This is one of those days where I have mixed emotions. Happy as can be for your new adventures, but sad as can be that you're leaving. We've talked about this many times before but I'm thankful to have had almost two years to get to know how freaking crazy you are. ;) Haha you're a good friend and look forward to hearing about the awesomeness that is your future. :) Best of luck my friend!!
NOOOOO!!!! KHANNNNN!!!!
No Danny? I don't know what I'll do. We'll miss you, man - I've subscribed to the blog, and be sure to stay in touch. Congrats on losing 50 lbs., by the way.
:-) I think the weight loss had something to do with the stress from a certian associate... You are one hard person to try to top! Thanks for all of your help Dr Pete!
Danny - it's been a pleasure working with you and inspiring to see all the goals you've set and accomplish for yourself. I wish you the best of luck in the future and hope that we still see you back here on occasion :-)
Congratulations Danny, you have served the community well during your tenure at SEOmoz, and I look forward to your next adventures. I have to say that your list is an absolutely inspiring one. Best of luck!
What's even more inspiring to me is how many he's already crossed off the list! one.amazing.dude.
Agree about the amazingness of that list. Impressive!
But... Learn to pick pocket?? hmmm...
You will be missed!!
:-)
Dude! I wondered where my $5 went last week...
Danny, Really Dude, you had to just kill my post huh? KIDDING.
Jeez I remember back in the day, meeting you when you were just the intern. You and Jane were some of the first to welcome me into the folds of SEOmoz with open arms. I can't wait to see what you do next. Congrats on what you have accomplished thus far, that is a lot for someone as young as you.
In working with you though, you have been a great spirit. Very positive and flowing. You'll be missed in the office.
Please send us postcards, I can't wait to hear where you are going and end up.
All my warmest wishes for a kick ass life from here on out, 'cuz dang dude, you have had a great ride this far.
Kate
Good luck, Danny! I really enjoyed working with you back in the day and always admired your positivity and your willingness to accept constructive criticism in your ongoing quest for self-improvement. You've made quite a name for yourself in the past few years, and I know you'll be successful with your future projects. Good luck tackling your list of goals!
Oh wow, Danny, best of luck! I know that leaving a company like SEOmoz isn't an easy decision, but I too had metrics like yours (albeit a different list). Sometimes following your heart and your dreams means making tough choices, but believe me, they're worth it! You posted this two years and one day after I wrote my "leaving" piece (haha, note to Mozzers, New Year is dangerous :p) and I wish you all the excitement, adventure, discovery and love I've had in the past twenty-four months. If you're stopping by Londontown in your journeys, let me know and we'll get a warmish pint and some chips down at my local :)
J
Wow Danny. I'm sitting here at the keyboard speechless. And for me, you know that takes a lot :)
I have greatly enjoyed seeing you on WBF, studying your checklists, reading your blog posts and maybe, someday I'll finally get to read your book that I ordered almost a year ago!!!! (I know. I know. It's the publishers fault.)
I always considered you a pretty cool dude, but now, hearing about your monthly audit and your lifetime bucket list, I consider you a certified platinum rock star.
You will be leaving a huge hole in SEOmoz as you leave and I know for a fact that you will be missed by many. I'll be looking for your blog the minute I'm done commenting so I can put it in my feed reader.
Very best wishes for an awesome 2011 and beyond pal.
I've enjoyed your articles on SEOmoz and I'm certain you're going to rock on your new adventure! Best wishes to you and all that you do!
Hey Danny,
Congratulations on an outstanding year of great accomplishment and best wishes for an even better 2011.
Sean
Best of wishes Danny. I purchased your book, read your blog frequently (as a lurker) and watched as you brought up some beautifully controversial items.
Best of wishes for the future - I am inspired by your list of 270 things to do and have just taken your happiness audit! :)
Danny, Danny, Danny... I'll miss you big time. You've brought so much fun to SEOmoz. I think you introduced me to 80% of my favorite youtube vids. And Champagne Wednesday is an institution! We'll be forever in your debt for that one. And the pie-eating contest!
Thank you for the laughs and the inspiration.
I hope you won't be a stranger! Come back and say hi to us whenever your travels bring you back home.
hugs!
Good luck out there, Danny! The office won't be the same without you. Be sure to stop in for a beer (or glass of champagne) whenever you're in the neighborhood!
One thing is for sure. We have not heard the last of Danny Dover. The new adventures will be spoken of for the times to come. God's speed Sir Dover.
Ditto - all these other comments. Good luck DD, I haven't commented here in a while, but I had to login to peace you out!
Danny, your goals list is truly inspiring and what you've accomplished in the past year is extraordinary. I'm sure many people reading this are inspired to create a similar list for themselves-- I certainly am. Best of luck in your future endeavors! p.s. Things won't be the same here without your action figuring appearing in various places throughout the mozplex.
Good luck Danny. Always fun to be with a small start-up and help it grow to the point where its time to step away and do your own entrepreneurial thing. I imagine you will be quite successful at it.
-Brandon
Wow, that must mean I've been over 3.5 years in SEO myself, because I remember the day you joined on here! Good luck on your endeavours and with your action list!
Take care and Merde Merde Merde (shit shit shit, as it is a tradition to say in theatre to wish good luck).
I think I speak for many here saying that we will miss you... I mean, you weren't only the new rising star of the Whiteboard Friday videos, you have contributed to SEOmoz with an huge amount of great checklists, posts, experiments, educational guides that have no price for any really wannabe-an-SEO-in-my-life, as it was in my case few years ago.
Have fun, live your new adventure at its fullest and jump in here from time to time, because you will being a Mozzer forever as it is a way of thinking and looking at things.
And I will jump there where you will go, following you and tweeting and facebooking.
Take care Jedi Master :)
Thank you! I have really appreciated all of your contributions. (Comments, tweets, e-mails and the biggest contribution of all, taking care of Jen) You rock!
"G-zip, G-zip! ... I've never been happy."
That one still cracks me up. Danny, you are a riot. I can't wait to see where your adventures take you.
Danny without a doubt you are one of my favorites in this industry. Good luck in all you do.
I just can not click on "like" button for this post. We'll miss you Danny.(althought, lots of us will read your blog, too :) )
Good luck and all the best.
Good luck in your future endeavors. Always enjoyed your insight and WBF's.
Hey Danny! I briefly met you in August when I visited my fiance's family in Seattle and decided to try to come find the SEOmoz building in down town. I work for a small advertising agency in Orange County, CA and I absolutely love the Pro SEOmoz products we use. But mostly, I love the whiteboard fridays and the thought provoking blog posts you always write. We will surely miss you but wish you good luck!!
And I noticed that one of your goals was to go to a TED conference. You should come to the TEDx here in Newport Beach in May. We (Brandtailers) are hosting it. I know its not TED, but maybe it could count for something? A trip to sunny socal at the very least? :)
This makes me feel:
* Lazy - seriously, your list is something I'd be unable to write.
* Old - how have you been here for 3.5 years?!
Best of luck with the future - I'm sure you won't need it.
Best of luck with your new adventure Danny. I'll certainly get a copy of your book!
I'm also starting out on my own today after spending just over 3.5 years at another SEO company so there's certainly something in the air!
I know you won't need 'luck' but I hope you get to strike off many of your goals over the next couple of years. Enjoy life! :-)
Hi Danny - bad news in the morning ... well of course I wish you the best and I am sure we are going to hear more from you in the future!
If you are travelling to Europe e.g. to Munich to the Oktoberfest you are near the Alps. I would be glad to be your guide "into" the Alps (a huge part of the Alps are in Austria, too ;-). Just to mention two open items of you list. Take care and keep going making people happy!
A classy guy, a smart guy, learned lots from this fella and he will be much missed!
There's one little thing I hope you can impart before you vacate the hallowed halls of mozland: can you tell us what/who that little guy is you keep drawing?
Even if you don't let the world know the mystery of your little character, best of luck to you out there in the big wide world!
(but please tell us!!!)
A hint, try asking Aaron Wheeler. It is not him but he may or may not have more information :-p
Danny I was really looking forward to getting beat by you in Connect 4 and working with you! Best of luck to you in everything you do and continue to make a difference in people's lives! Swing by the office sometime so you can beat me in Connect 4. =)
You do realize don't you Casey, that in the annals of history (or is that the anals?) you will be mentioned as the man that pushed Danny out the door?...how could you Casey!
He did it with brute force! :-) Kidding! Hope to work with you Casey sometime in the future.
Danny - good luck on the new adventures. Like many of us, I guess you will now have to resort to posting in the YouMoz section??? or does being a mozzer get you a hall pass straight to the main blog? :)
Seriously, I enjoyed your content and insights. I will also follow your blog and hope the book and the new gigs go super well.
:(
Noooo you were my number 1 person on SEO MOZ all the videos you did were the best...You will be missed and good luck with the new adventure.
Dude, very cool. I know how hard it is to leave a business that you had such a large part in growing and are so close to. Best of luck with whatever you plan on doing.
PS: Just pre-ordered your book. Looking forward to using the hell out of it!
Danny, thanks for all the work you have done here at SEOmoz! I have only been here a short while as a member, but I thank you for your time. Enjoy the next stages of life and may God be with you on all your ventures!
Wow!
Danny, best of luck...out here from under any employers shell, lies the best places to make your own way in a new SEO career...
But pls..stay in the US, eh! Us Canucks don't need any more competitors up here...
And let us know where you end up too, Danny....ya just never know if some of us can help out, eh!
:-)Jim
What do you mean you still haven't obtained a 6 pack? It's behind the keg! We'll all miss you Danny, good luck with life bro
Best wishes on your new venture Danny :-) I look forward to reading your book. Andy :-)
As an SEOmoz spectator to a Pro Member, I've always been able to take something valuable away from your articles and Whiteboard Friday videos (like to humor too!). Good luck on your next adventure, keep in touch!
Danny,
You are, BY FAR, one of the most talented people to ever work at SEOmoz. I've been here since the very early days and your contribution was huge and extremely valuable. I will miss seeing you here but I'm sure you'll continue to make your mark, wherever you go.
You seem like a really cool guy. I am sure life will meet you half way to accomplish your dreams. You were fun to watch and learn from on your white board Friday videos. Best of luck.
Good luck in the future Danny. I think you'll do alright because... well, you're kind of attractive.
Awwww, you'll be missed, Danny. Good luck with your new future. And here's to 2011! :D
We at Gaveltek will definitely miss your videos, as I am sure the folks at your previous employer will miss the energy and enthusiasm for SEO that you brought to SEOmoz. Good Luck Danny
Danny,
just to echo all of the comments above, the whiteboard Friday presentations will be missing something without you there !
Good luck for the future and I hope that you can keep adding to your list.
Thatch
What about that book Dannyboy???
It's been postponed (too) many times now...
That said - Best of luck in the future :o)
Thanks for all the great videos Danny. Good luck on your journey.
All the best Danny
Really enjoyed your posts. Best of luck with your new ventures.
Hey Danny, you are amazing dude! That list is inspiring even if I can accomplish a few of those goals. I will certainly miss those videos, especially as a newbe to "Mozworld" Best of luck on your journey. I know you'll be highly successful.
Hi Danny,
All the best in completing your "Bucket List". You have done some amazing things within Seomoz. Hope you do at least one White Board Friday in a year to inform us about your completion of your list. ;-)
It has been great and I wish you all the best.
Harvey Blom
Good Luck and All the Best Danny...WE gonna miss you in SEOMoz
Bye Danny, I am getting to know you through your old videos as I make my way through the older blogs. Looking forward to your book, I have it on pre-order at Amazon.
Good luck danny we'll miss ya here!
Danny, among all your contributions to Mozland, I just wanted to especially say thank you for the Whiteboard Fridays. Yours were not always SEO related (a nice break), but always entertaining and very appreciated.
Best wishes on completing your list!
James Svoboda
P.S. bring back the stash sometime!
Good luck Danny, it's been an absolute pleasure reading your material on SEOmoz. Love your Goal List, it's a great template and might just help me get my act together too!
Danny, all I can say, Good Luck for your next adventures :) and al your wish come true
Good luck Danny!
by the way where is the find a girlfriend goal on your list, or something similar? This can also make you really happy.
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lol, yeah there are other things I am doing that are not on my list. I don't think of relationships as an achievement like I do with the other things on my list. They are a little deeper than simple items to check off :-)
I have really enjoyed reading all your posts in SEOmoz. I must say that many of us (seomoz viwers) will going to miss you a lot. Anyways, thanks for all those posts. Hope to see you somewhere posting some of your stuffs and experiences to make us aware about internet marketing.
Take care and good luck for your future journey.
Hey Danny,
I wish you all the best in your future endeavors. It was great "meeting" you here at SEOmoz. Learned a lot and I realized I myself have been in SEO for 3+ years.
Thanks also for the interview.
Godspeed!
Jurgen
Thanks Danny for Sharing your experience.. You are amazing I salute your Enthusiasm. You are a true motivator and role model..
Good luck Danny! in your next work...
now who is going to follow up on the tweet influence?
https://www.seomoz.org/blog/how-do-tweets-influence-search-rankings-an-experiment-for-a-cause
Best of luck to you on your next adventures Danny. If you ever make your way to Orlando, definitely reach out to me.
As someone who recently a simular change in my life I wish you the best of luck.
Best wishes and best of luck Danny!
I wonder how many CV's the moz has received in the last 2 days!
Best of luck Danny
Best of luck to you in your future work!
When you make your appearance on that late night talk show, please give us a heads up!
Best Wishes.
You will be missed.
Good luck on the goals!
Good luck! :)
Danny its been nice to read your post on seomoz...please keep posting...wish you all the luck for the future :)
I've never met you, but I've watched countless Whiteboard Friday videos of yours. Your knowledge, charisma and humor will be missed at SEOmoz. Keep on flying! Best of Luck!
Hate to see you go, Danny, but I'm sure your new destination must be presenting some very inviting opportunities, so I'll just wish you luck in all you do. You've definitely contributed to the community, and I hope you'll still have some visibility.
I'll be monitoring your future career closely, so don't you disappoint me :) all best wishes!
Congrats on all the great work and the reward that comes with it. Best of luck on all future moves!
All the best for the future Danny.
We'll Miss ya Danny!
Best of luck and thanks for the wisdom :) I can't agree more.
Congrats man! I definitely enjoyed reading your posts. All the best to you on your journeys.
Mr. Danny,
This is the way of life. We always want to go ahead and it shoud be, Mr. Danny, my best wishes for your future. And some new friends and new people are waiting you!
You are a very inspiring person. I wish you the best of luck!
Finished your book eh! RELEASE IT! I want it now!
Good luck Danny!!!
ps: Rand, who's next ?!!?
All the best for the future Danny and thanks for your contribution in the world of SEO. Have always fun doing SEO!
OH NO!!! We are going to miss ya, Danny!!! Good luck! :) I am sure we'll see you again soon, though.... ;) xox
Release your book, and good luck!
Good luck Danny!
Sad to see you go Danny but have fun with whatever it is you do! I have loved the WBF when you filled in for Rand. I am going to head over to Amazon right now and pre-ordering your book!
Best of luck Danny. Thanks for all the great info. Hope you finish your list and have a chance to make a new one!
Wish you All The Best for your future endeavors Danny!
Thanks for all the informative WBFs.
All the Best Danny, Your articles are amazing for SEO industries. Really you are rocking man!!.
Good luck on your future adventures, I am sure we will be seeing more of you online and at conferences. I will miss your WBF vids. Keep up the good work and congrads on the 50lbs
Good luck for the future!
Thank you Danny for your great posts while ur @ SEOmoz, will keep following you on twitter for ur latest!
Enjoy it !!
All the best for the future Danny - does this mean Rand will be forced into resuming Whiteboard Friday Duty? :)
Best of luck!