About Me

Personal

I am a 20-something resident of the South of England who spends too much time in front of his computer or in the pub, and not enough time in the fresh air. I have previously studied Computer Science, Web Design and History at University level, and continue to study part time with the Open University.

I began working in the search engine industry early in 2000, joining the Link project at Lycos UK. The aim of the Link project was to build a categorised directory of websites relevant to the UK Internet user (similar to the Open Directory). I worked on categories that included Business and Genealogy, before taking responsibility for the categories I had previous knowledge of: Telecommunications, Computers and the Internet.

The Link project allowed me to explore much of the UK and US web in 2000, during an exciting period of online growth. New websites opened every week and new business models were touted as challenging and redefining traditional business - of course many subsequently failed. I continued to work on the Link project through the subsequent decline and watched many of the websites I had previously reviewed disappear (some famous, many not).

I left Lycos in November 2001 to enter what was an embryonic sector of the Internet industry: search engine marketing. I joined the UK editorial team of European pay per click search engine Espotting, just as the company began to push into Europe ahead of it's American competitor Overture. The company grew from 50 staff in 3 countries (UK, Germany, France) to over 180 in 10 countries across Europe, with partners including (or that have included) Yahoo!, Lycos and Ask Jeeves.

My work at Espotting included planning, creating and managing search marketing campaigns for businesses across a range of industries and sizes, from sole traders to global brands. I rose to the position of UK Agency Editorial Manager, responsible for an Editorial team dedicated to working with major Advertising Agencies and the major brands they represent. I also contribute to the development of the company's technology and business processes.

I left Espotting in February 2004 after two exciting, busy years to work with a variety of clients on PPC and SEO projects, including at a leading publisher in the UK. I setup my own search engine marketing (SEM) company Catalyst early in 2005. I am responsible for overseeing client campaigns across a range of industries, both business to business and business to consumer.

Writing

Time permitting, I also write for online publications, including EuropeMedia.net (now closed, articles here), FreePint.com, various newsletters about online marketing, and PayPerClickAnalyst.com. Links to articles can be found on these pages: Search engine technology , search engine marketing and other articles (range of topics).

I can be contacted through this page.