Over the past few months, we've announced a number of exciting changes here at the mozPlex. Some of those include becoming focused on our software, new SEO tools and a cultural change with our TAGFEE Tenets. With that, we're committed to being transparent and authentic and feel we've done a great job keeping the SEOmoz community up to date on many of these changes.
However, one area we've been slacking is in ensuring that our community knows who we are, as a team. There are many mozzers who mainly work behind the scenes building tools, or providing excellent customer service to our members. Along with our shift from consulting, we've had a few organizational changes and people's roles have changed. Additionally we have a number of moz Associates that help contribute to the blog and provide expertise in Q & A.
We'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to our team, and ask you to get to know us a little better. There are a few new mozzers that may even surprise you! This is an exciting time for us and the community and we're excited to introduce ourselves. Each mozzer was asked to provide their title, social media accounts, top moz moment (tools created, blog posts written, etc.), then I asked them to answer a few fun questions. So without further ado, I'd like you to meet the mozzers.
Development Team
Every team plays an important role to the success of SEOmoz and our tools, but the development team is key. Without this group we wouldn't have the suite of amazing tools that we have to offer our members today. Browse through the developers and see who has worked on your favorite tool, and learn more about the people behind the scenes.
Ben HendricksonSr Software Engineer@bhendrickson moz Moment
I am proud to answer questions like this in a confusing and self-referential way. "From the day I started building the Linkscape prototype to the day we launched the first version was about 10 months. I think that project went well." |
Chas WilliamsSoftware Developer moz Moment
My favorite Youtube video. "I work mostly on Linkscape these days. I wrote the code for anchor text distributions and the new views for OSE, so the OSE launch was a proud moment for me :)"
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David JoslinSystems EngineerDavid on LinkedIn moz Moment
On Saturday morning I hang out with my kids until my wife gets her beauty sleep and then I try to get a mountain bike ride in before working in the yard and other chores. "Since starting in August I have worked to improve our uptime significantly through monitoring, tuning, and application fixes. " |
Jeff PollardLead Web Developer@nFluxx Jeff on LinkedIn moz Moment
"I make sure your website experience is a wonderful one! :)" On Saturday morning I like to catch up on sleep.
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Kate MatsudairaVP Engineering@katemats moz Moment
Why is the sky blue? Because of Avogadro's number - the number of molecules in a mole determine the wavelength of light reflected (I learned this in my physical chemistry class when we had to derive Avogadro's number if the sky was yellow -- as a result I will never forget this bit of trivia). "Helping bring SEO tools and technology to the next level" |
Ken WoodruffSenior ArchitectKen will have to remain a mystery for another day because he did not get me his bio information in time. To be continued... |
Nick GernerSenior Engineer@gerner Nick on LinkedIn Nick on Facebook NickGerner.com moz Moment
On Saturday morning I go for a run, then chase my cats Garrison and Ira until my wife Susan wakes up. Nick Leads SEOmoz API development and is currently working on solutions for historical Linkscape data tracking. |
Phil SmithDeveloper@philhsmith moz Moment
"Working on sooper-top secret project" The funniest job I ever had was… In high-school during the summer I would be the guy-in-a-foam-costume mascot for the local mall I worked at. Think giant purple dinosaur (but not barney.) |
Roger MozbotNeeds No Title@roger_mozbot moz Moment
Standing on a crate in order to be as tall as Googlebot.
Raised by a protein-rich, startup-obsessed race of robot aliens.Can't stand paying per click.
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Marketing Team
Now that we are focused on our SEO tools, the consulting and marketing teams have been combined. There have been a number of changes in roles and we're now more focused than ever on getting our products launched, participating and leading our amazing community, and creating excellent content for our readers. Take a peak at our new Marketing team!
Danny DoverSEO Specialist@DannyDover Danny on LinkedIn moz Moment
Rock, Paper or Scissors? Paper. Danny is at least half full of SEO know-how On Saturday morning I…Kick ass and take names. Want to be on the list? |
Jen Sable LopezCommunity Director@jennita Jen on LinkedIn moz Moment
Having worked remotely for 9 months, I LOVE being in the office.
The funniest job I ever had was... in college one summer I tasted beef. It paid well, but was really disgusting! |
Joanna LordDirector of Customer Acquisition & Engagement@joannalord Joanna on LinkedIn moz Moment
My favorite Youtube video is… The Sunscreen Song "My focus is on introducing new audiences to our awesome resources and SEO tools. " On Saturday morning I… wake up, make coffee, check analytics, and then go explore my new home--Seattle. |
Scott WilloughbyDirector-Conversion & Retention Marketing@great_scott Scott on LinkedIn moz Moment
Rock, Paper or Scissors? Rock! \m/Whiteboard Fridays On Saturday morning I... wish cartoons were still as cool as they used to be. |
Product Team
The product team leads the path to ensuring that the products being built meet the needs of our customers and they manage the projects from inception through deployment. Essentially they make sure we're all doing our jobs. :)
Adam FeldsteinDirector of Product Management moz Moment
Funniest jobs: I once played a rock/punk gig at a high school party. Ended up being extra fun when the lead guitarist locked his keys in the van with the engine running (fortunately I think we had already gotten the gear out). Current Focus: 1) Ship a new version of the mozBar. 2) Something much bigger (that I can't talk about yet) |
Ben HuffProduct ManagerBen on LinkedIn moz Moment
The sky is blue because blue light waves are the shortest visible waves coming from the sun, and scatter off of molecules in the air the easiest. "I focus on herding cats. Recently that included getting Open Site Explorer out the door, safe and sound. I'm currently working on doing the same for the new Keyword Difficulty tool." |
Matt HeilmanArt Director moz Moment
"I make SEOmoz look good"
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Operations Team
Who keeps the company working like a well oiled machine? That's the Operations team of course! They jump in and help with any aspect of the company as needed and are often our customers first point of contact. Without their magic touch the office would be running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Thanks for keeping us from running into each other!
Arden TurnbullCustomer Service Manager / Office Coordinator moz Moment
Arden keeps our customers happy! |
Christine V.Director of Operations moz Moment
If SEOmoz was a Lifetime movie, I would be played by William Hung. I do my best to increase the staff's level of happiness and productiveness, much like Tattoo on Fantasy Island. |
Sarah BirdChief Operations Officer@SarahBird Sarah on LinkedIn moz Moment
On Saturday morning I… Sleep in and then go for a long run around Lake Union. I own legal, financial, HR, and generally help make everything run smoothly. I also champion the Marketing Department and the SEOmoz API. I love my job. :) |
moz Associates
This is an amazing group of experts from across the search marketing industry. We're priveledged to have this group contributing to the blog, helping with Q & A and providing insight for new products. It sorta feels like we're showing off... because we totally are!
Cindy KrumCEO & founder of Rank-Mobile - Denver, CO@Suzzicks Cindy on LinkedIn Cindy on Facebook moz Moment Cindy is a mobile marketing evangelist. She'll be providing help in Q & A on mobile topics. Why is the sky blue? Because that is the way Google wants it? (We're not sure if it will stay blue though - its still in beta and hasn't officially launched.) |
Duncan MorrisFounder and CEO, Distilled - London, UK@duncanmorris moz Moment Given that I always drone on about information architecture I guess I should really point to this post though at the time it came out this was my most interesting post. On a Saturday morning I travel around the south of England to the coldest and wettest playing fields in existence to play field hockey for Wimbledon Hockey Club. Of course in the UK we just call this hockey, but that would give you all the false impression that I'm rock hard and can ice skate. |
Jane CoplandSEO Consultant, Ayima Search Marketing - London, EnglandJane on LinkedIn Jane's Personal Social Media Profile moz Moment
The funniest job I ever had was… I used to work for Rand ;) "I've written a couple of successful blog posts for SEOmoz (I worked as a full-time employee at SEOmoz from 2006 until 2009). My favourites are: Don't End URLs in .0, What Rand and Jane Write When They're Drunk, the follow-up and A True Story. It's about hookers." |
Kate MorrisKate Morris, Search Engine Marketing Consultant - Austin, TX@katemorris Kate on LinkedIn moz Moment
I'm proud to be an … Army Brat. "My favorite blog post on YouMoz was Paid Search: Detaching From an Agency, which is what got me speaking on my first panel at SMX East 2008." My favorite Youtube video is … Louis CK - Everything is Amazing, and Nobody's Happy |
Lindsay WassellQ & A - Tampa Bay, FL@lindzie moz Moment
On Saturday morning I… am awake before dawn caring for my newborn twins! This post: Rethinking Duplicate Content I'm proud to be a… SEO |
Michael CottamPrincipal, Michael Cottam SEO Consulting - Portland, OR, Canada@Michael512 Michael on LinkedIn Michael on Facebook moz Moment
I'm proud to be a member of the downtown Portland Rotary Club and on the Ambassador Board of the Children's Cancer Association. I like this one, and it seemed to generate a pile o' comments: https://moz.com/blog/its-a-feeding-frenzy-for-keywordrich-domains |
Peter MeyersPresident, User Effect - Chicago, IL@dr_pete moz Moment
The funniest job I ever had was… Stuffing photo envelopes with a pot dealer and Christian survivalist. The post: SEO Cheat Sheet: Anatomy of a URL My most popular post on my own blog (by a longshot) is 25 Point Website Usability Checklist. Why is the sky blue? ... because The Flying Spaghetti Monster made it that way. |
Richard BaxterDirector / Founder SEOgadget.co.uk - London, UK@richardbaxter moz Moment
My favorite Youtube video is… Eric Clapton Shreds - is pure awesome and always puts a smile on my face. One day match this level of guitar genius... Hmm. I like writing about tools you guys do - Like this and this and pretty charts on ranking factors using Linkscape data like this. And I really like talking about Microformats. |
Rob OusbeySearch Marketing Consultant, Distilled - Seattle, WA (soon to be)@RobOusbey On Saturday morning I: often wake up to the smell of bacon The funniest job I ever had was: watching petrol drip down an inclined hot plate to measure the amount of residue. I won an award for it. Hotplate Rob they called me. Ahh, good times, good times. |
Sam CrockerSEO Consultant, Distilled - London, for now!@crockstarltd Personal Fashions & Trends Blog moz Moment
I'm proud to be a… n Uh-merican, where at least I know I'm free! I'm pretty new to the moz crew but I was pretty pleased with manning up to take on a "doozy" for my first Q & A and think I found a good solution to the problem The funniest job I ever had was… working at McDonalds when I was 14 years old. My mom said "you can work for me for free 6 hours a day or you can get a job" we all know that Macky D's is one of the few places that will hire 14 year olds and the rest is history. |
Tom CritchlowHead of Search Marketing, Distilled - London Baby.@tomcritchlow moz Moment
Rock, paper scissors? After years of playing poker I can now comfortably crush Will at rock paper scissors despite him claiming it's a game of chance. I will gladly play any game of any sort for money. My most loved SEOmoz post was this one, mainly because of it's sensationalist headline... Headlines ftw. My proudest SEOmoz contribution was speaking at both the Seattle and London pro seminars in 2009 and getting some really positive feedback and comments. |
Will CritchlowCo-Founder of Distilled, UK & US - London, UK. Though anywhere rainy appears to do.@willcritchlow Will on LinkedIn moz Moment
Rock, Paper or Scissors? I always lose this to Tom. Rock. Taking credit for lots of things done by our team, I'm probably most proud of the London PRO seminar in October last year. My personal favourite post, mainly for the title (just google "space monstering") is this one. |
Boss Team
Last, but definitely not least we have our co-founders Rand and Gillian. They may very well be the most well known of the bunch, but I bet you didn't know Rand used to be a black market Pokemon dealer! Without these two, we wouldn't be the team we are today.
Gillian MuessigPresident/Co-Founder@seomom Gillian on LinkedIn moz Moment
I'm proud to be a… Mozzer. Nothing feels quite so good as seeing the fruition of a life's work. I couldn't have asked for more. "I'm the corporate evangelist and international voice for SEOmoz. My role is to connect the the SEOmoz community with the SEOmoz team and to spread the SEOmoz brand to new audiences and markets." |
Rand FishkinCEO@randfish Rand on LinkedIn moz Moment
On Saturday morning I ... am hopefully sleeping in (though perhaps a more accurate answer would be that I'm at an airport).The Beginner's Guide I am proud to be a ... husband. (Geraldine: Awwww!) |
Thanks for taking the time to get to know us!
Well, congrats to Joanna for joining the Moz team and I must say I'm delighted to be coming on board as an associate! I'm really looking forward to helping out with the community and contributing in the very near future!
Oh and Jen - when do I get my associate badge? :-)
Can I also have a "special" badge?
Congrats Mr Baxter :o)
do I get a badge as well, now that I somehow rank 8th for "mozrank" in google...
bit of a surprise that I got drilling through my analytics last night!
:-D
MOGmartin
You'll always be special to me, Rob. I'll make you a badge out of a beer mat. I'll even laminate it for you :-)
Ayimites wear these to work on Fridays.
best. badge. ever.
Spreading Optimisation Awareness amongst ale drinkers, using only a badge*: That's old school grassroots marketing. Our shared dream of an SEO storyline on Coronation Street inches ever closer.
 *Assisted by Jane, obviously
It's a dev ticket at the moment. :) Soon!
Holy snap. What a morning. First off--huge thanks to Jen for putting this together...great post!
I am stoked to have joined the team & I am looking forward to harassing you all with emails, desk visits, and stupid jokes (I work hard at these).
In all seriousness--the SEOmoz community as a whole really exemplifies so much of what I love about this industry, and I cant wait to get started on what is sure to be an awesome ride...
p.s. too bad the Brady Bunch didnt have a poodle they adopted...I would so be that poodle.
Sorry but you only have two remaining choices.
1) You could be Fluffy, the cat that only appeared in the pilot
2) Or (shudder) Oliver the cousin whose entrance to the series killed it.
You could always thumb wrestle Kate for the Cindy position :)
PS - Welcome to the family o' moz.
So thrilled to have you on board Joanna. I feel really lucky to have you here!
Jen, I think you should have used a Brady Bunch picture instead of the Flintstones. You guys are way more tech savvy than those old Bedrock folks and seems to be a combination of a few different families! I just want to know who Marsha is, Danny, Dr. Pete, or maybe even Jen?!?!
Edit: For my third grade spelling skills!
If you had only been doing your spelling homework in third grade instead of watching Scooby Doo you might be a better speller Casey!
Brady Bunch parallels?
Mike - Rand Fishkin
Carol - Sarah Bird
Greg - Tom Critchlow
Marcia - Jane Copeland
Peter - Will Critchlow
Jan - Lindsey Perkin Wassell
Bobby - Dr. Pete
Cindy - Kate Morris
Alice - Jen Sable Lopez (when she's not being Pebbles)
Sam (Alice's Boyfriend)- Danny Dover
Tiger - Roger Mozbot (duh!)
Ha! Nice.
One thing: *Copland ;)
Whoops. Sorry 'bout that Marsha. There are a ton of Copelands here in the states so it was just habit.
I'd edit the comment, but it's too much work to strip it of it's breaks 'cuz otherwise it'd have like a million spaces. Somethings a bit wonky with the edit process (at least in Opera)
Alice!?!?!?! And to think... I liked you.
No, no, no Pebbles! You've got it all wrong! Alice was the power behind the throne! She was the one that had it all together and kept everything running smoothly.
OK, so she had poor taste in boyfriends. But I upgraded your boyfriend to Danny! How much better is that?!! (My apologies to Mr.Lopez)
The Brady bunch was actually the initial plan for this post... but I think it will end up being our new About page instead. :)
Nice post, Jen! A great post to have around, as I often am asked whilst answering Q&A, "Do you still work here? I thought you left; I went to your profile and read your leaving post!" Not sure how many times I've explained that I work for Ayima Search Marketing in England now :)
And congratulations on hiring Joanna: what a fantastic addition.
I do love it that you used my explanations of what my posts were about as anchor text to link to them!
Sadly, you did leave off my answer to "I'm proud to be a..." though :p
Hey Jane, Didn't you leave SEOmoz? :P *runs and hides*
And yes, we all know London rocks. *pouts & kicks dirt* (that was her proud of ... to be a Londoner)
In all seriousness, great team you got going over there, just happy to be a part of it and able to help out anyone I can.
And Welcome Joanna!!!!!!! Can't tell you all how excited I am about this new addition to the team. Get ready for some bold, bright new marketing moves with that one on board. :)
That was indeed my "proud of".
Also proud of being one of the Q&A contributors who says rubbish like "whilst" (and "rubbish"), looks at the web on a "mobile" (not cell) phone, remembers when everyone used Bebo, and spells it "optimisation" ;)
Mint.
Glad you stuck the word "mint" in the end of that. Takes me back to my childhood... Wait, I'm only 19. I think I might've used that word at least once in the past two months...
Oh yes. It was placed there deliberately :)
Mint
haha I know I couldn't keep everyone's answers on here or it would have been too hard to read and 50 pages long. Sorry I had to cut something! :P
Nice meeting all of you!
Woah - Joanna Lord a Mozzer???? Congrats Joanna!!!
mmhmm, that's right! Awesomeness eh?!
This is about as close as you can get to an SEO dream team. Wow, so much talent in one company. Congrats to SEOmoz on your recent hires. Joanna Lord in particular - she rules.
Thanks :) We agree on all accounts!
TOP MOZ LESSON - Be careful when Jen sends you an email full of questions, because she'll always use the most incriminating answers. Of course, you might ask "If you know that, why do you give any incriminating answers at all?" to which I would retort "Whatever! Shut up!!"
Great to have so many new people on board. I feel like we should have some kind of Staff vs. Associates competition, preferably something we Associates have an advantage at. Cricket, maybe? I'll have to learn how to play it, I guess. That's the sport with the bludgers where you have to catch the Golden Snitch, right?
muaaaaaa ha ha. You should have known better :)
Wow, what a team indeed. It's about time we got a comprehensive introduction!
Wow, new staff, new associates! So exciting! Congrats to everyone :)
Strange, you don't look like the typical evil SEO spammers! ;-)
Btw. who I need to sleep with to become an associate?
Finally meeting the team! :)
Nice meeting the team! :)
Nice to have a post with all the Moz Band presented... it's helping feeling be part even more of something great... and very funny to be around and in.
An idea could be something similar but referred to us, the other 'half apple' of SEOmoz (obviously it would need to be thought the format).
Ciao Jen and go on this way.
Knowing the caliber of many of SEOmoz's associates adds a huge value to Pro Membership. I've been remiss in utlizing the full extent of Q&A - not any more. (Take advantage of it Pro members.) What a fantastic depth of knowledge behind the answers!
Personal congrats also to Pete, Kate and Richard!
Thanks Dana!
I'm really happy to be a part of such a great group of people and looking forward to getting stuck in and helping out in any way I can!
I reckon there's another entire post that could be dedicated exclusively to everyone's response to favorite YouTube video... I'm sure there were some gems in there that I've never heard of.
Thanks again to SEOmoz and most importantly to the great community of people that use moz's tools and tips!
@seomom is epic! : )
Great Team and we appreciate your talent.
Congrats Joanna! Awesome addition to the team. Good luck!
What Taylor said!
Huge congratulations to Joanna and to SEOmoz for acquiring such keen talent.
Nick Gerner's work on the historical linkscape is the most important for me at the moment at leas :)
It's great to put names to faces, tasks to titles, and to truly get a glimpse to all the folks who make SEOmoz possible and create such good stuff. Thanks!
Just wondering what an SEOmoz Associate is?
https://www.seomoz.org/users/view/104603
This member, for example...
my how you've grown
And Gillian is Rand's mom too right? So we got some family business dynamics going on. Do you guys ever hear Rand saying stuff like "Yes Mom, leave me alone!"? lol
I'm involved in a family business too.
I think its always good to humanize small businesses. Nothing worse that dealing with companies online where all you get is a contact us form and no about us page.
Haha, "God Mum you're so embarassing!" might be another thing Rand says if that's the case!
Seriously though, it's great if everything works well and it is a family business (sorry for the emphasis, it just isn't verified so I can't believe it just yet). I would never be able to work with my family again.
traxor: verified.
That's awesome - you've got a cool son. Without sounding a bit cheesy, he's one of my idols in the whole entrepreneur/ceo area. Him and Beaker from the muppets.
There's no offence meant there - I just love his stupid voice. Beaker's voice is funny too.
(only kidding).Â
LOL. It's the American British way! (apologies to Sam the Eagle from The Muppet Christmas Carol)
Mee mee mee
Honestly I cannot think myself working with Mom...
but I agree totally with your last sentence.
Drat! I totally screwed up on the Brady Bunch analogy. Gillian should have been Carol, and Rand should have been Greg.
There's nothing better than being able to put a face to the name, it makes the experience so much more personal.
Great team, great tips, great great great!
I think it's interesting to see who's behind the scene, and what is the background of different ppl at SEOmoz.
Commitment and transparency is what made us choose SEOmoz as our SEO playground.
P.S. This is really the worst photoshop photoshopping ever..! :)
Great post and fantastic photoshopping! Where can I hire you for some manipulation work Rand?
LOL!
I'm proud to know you guys.
Good on 'ya!
Really great post Pebbles. Now how am I going to get the, "We'll have a good time, a yabadoo time...) tune outta my head?
The personal info I most related to: Scott Willoughby; On Saturday morning I... wish cartoons were still as cool as they used to be. Amen to that brother!
Wow! How things have changed over the years...
Gratz Mozzer's
Wow, that is very cool. Seems like you all are almost like a family. Didn't know Joanna was working with you. Very cool. Cindy's google comment had me laughing...
Woow, though I've gone though moz team page for several times, but I didn't realise it was that large.
Nice to have a look on everyone who works for seomoz :D
Nice Work! All Q and A contributors. SEO is an art which is why we think outside of the box all the time. You have to get your blog structured first, then work on the content like this one.
-- removed link - Jen