Joost de Valk explained
Joost de Valk |
Birth Date: | 16 February 1982 |
Nationality: | Dutch |
Occupation: | Entrepreneur, App developer |
Years Active: | 2007-present |
Known For: | Yoast SEO |
Notable Works: | WordPress SEO |
Joost de Valk is an entrepreneur and application software developer from Wijchen, Netherlands who is best known for Yoast SEO.[1] [2] [3] De Valk started out as a consultant and blogger in 2004 before developing Yoast, one of the most successful plug-ins for WordPress.[4]
Career
De Valk started out as a consultant for companies like: eBay, The Guardian, Disney,[5] and other major companies. Working on the plugin was a hobby in his spare time. De Valk started a blog in 2004,[6] and by 2005 his website for SEO was named "joostdevalk.nl".[7] After moving to and eventually selling the domain "css3.info," de Valk created the Yoast platform in 2007.[3] He launched the first version of WordPress SEO in 2010, and founded the company Yoast BV in 2010.[8] [9]
At first, the Yoast company was to consult before he developed both the Yoast SEO plugin and a Google Analytics plugin, both for WordPress. In 2012, De Valk released a premium version of Yoast SEO. In April 2016, Yoast BV sold the Google Analytics for WordPress plugin. In June 2020, Yoast acquired the Duplicate Post plugin, another very popular WordPress plugin.[10]
The software that De Valk created runs on more than nine million websites and on 11.4% of the top million sites in the world.[11] On WordPress, the De Valk SEO software has been downloaded five million times. Michael David, the author of WordPress Search Engine Optimization (2015), referred to it as "the granddaddy of all SEO plugins".[12]
In January 2019 De Valk stepped down as CEO to become Chief Product Officer for Yoast and began working for WordPress in marketing. De Valk's wife Marieke van de Rakt, took over as director (CEO) of Yoast.[13] De Valk left his position with WordPress after six months citing a failure to see his place in the organization.[14] [15] De Valk and his wife are investors in blockchain startup WordProof.[16]
Personal
When De Valk was twelve years old he borrowed money from his parents for a computer; he then began building websites. He attended the University of Applied Sciences and continued in Internet Technology. At 24 years old he became a father.[5] De Valk married Marieke van de Rakt and together they had four children. Marieke was a professor with a Ph.D and she left her job in 2013 to support Yoast SEO.[17]
Further reading
- Book: Ward . Eric . French . Garrett . 2013 . ultimate Guide to Link Building . United States. Entrepreneur Media Corporation . 978-1599184425 .
- Book: Karr . Douglas . Flannery . Chantelle . 2010 . Corporate Blogging for Dummies. Hoboken New Jersey. Wiley Publishing Inc. . 978-0470604571 .
External links
Notes and References
- News: Constantin . Lucian . Poor WordPress documentation trips developers, yields plug-ins with XSS flaw . 4 August 2020 . . . 21 April 2015.
- Web site: The History of Yoast . Yoast.com . Yoast . 4 August 2020.
- News: Yoast SEO And All in One SEO Pack — What to Choose? . 3 August 2020 . . 26 June 2020.
- Book: Ultimate Guide to Link Building: How to Build Backlinks, Authority and Credibility for Your Website, and Increase Click Traffic and Search Ranking . 179 . Eric . Ward . Garrett . French . 978-1599184425 . April 5, 2013 . Paperback . Irvine, California . McGraw-Hill Companies, Incorporated . English.
- News: Kats . Carin . This Dutch Google specialist converts € 10 million per year with his internet company and is deliberately not in the Randstad - this is the reason . 4 August 2020 . . 1 June 2018.
- Web site: Dunlop . Michael . Joost De Valk – Why I'm Successful Mr Yoast SEO . incomediary.com . IncomeDiary . 4 August 2020.
- News: How Joost de Valk became a successful internet entrepreneur. incomediary.com. Dunlop. Michael. December 8, 2018.
- News: Joost de Valk, founder of Yoast, shares his success story. March 15, 2016. First Web Designer. December 8, 2018.
- Web site: 37 SEO Experts Those in the Know Follow. October 7, 2014. Eisenberg. Bryan. ClickZ. December 8, 2018.
- Web site: Yoast Acquires Duplicate Post, Brings on Creator Enrico Battocchi as a Senior Developer. 16 June 2020.
- Web site: Yoast Plugin Usage Statistics. BuiltWith. July 2, 2018.
- Book: David, Michael. WordPress Search Engine Optimization: a complete guide to dominating search engines with your WordPress site . Birmingham, UK. 264. Packt Publishing Ltd. 2015. 978-1-78588-764-2. Google Books.
- News: Marieke van de Rakt new CEO Yoast . Emerce . 25 January 2019.
- News: Boogert . Erwin . Joost de Valk has left WordPress . 4 August 2020 . Emerce . 7 June 2019.
- News: Chandler . Jeff . Joost de Valk Steps Down as WordPress Marketing Lead . 4 August 2020 . WorldPress Tavern . 5 June 2019.
- Web site: Founders of Yoast SEO take a stake in Amsterdam-based blockchain startup WordProof. 31 August 2020.
- Web site: EP. 5: How the Founders of Yoast SEO Are Managing Happiness . Davidhenzel.com . 2 September 2017 . David Henzel . 4 August 2020.