Stephan Spencer Explained

Stephan Spencer

Stephan Spencer is a three-time author under the O'Reilly Media brand, search engine optimization (SEO) expert, inventor, podcaster, speaker, and founder of Netconcepts.

Early career

Spencer holds an M.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In his PhD study, he worked in the Institute for Molecular Virology and Department of Biochemistry where he developed improved visual representations of biological viruses.[1] [2] Spencer served as research assistant on a project researching ways to improve communication about virology on the World Wide Web.[3] [4] He presented a paper on this topic at the Second International Worldwide Web Conference, where he met some of the team from Netscape and got interested in web development. In 1994, while still in graduate school, Spencer developed his first website.[5] Spencer left his PhD study to pursue a career in Internet marketing.[6]

WritersNet

Spencer founded WritersNet in 1994 while a graduate student. WritersNet was acquired by CrowdGather in June 2011.[7] [8] In January 2008, a lawsuit was filed against Spencer as the founder of WritersNet by literary agent Barbara Bauer, who simultaneously filed suit against the Wikimedia Foundation, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Inc, and over a dozen other parties on the legal claims of defamation, conspiracy, and tortious interference. Wikimedia Foundation was removed from the suit in May 2008,[9] and the suit itself was dismissed in November 2010.[10] [11]

InnSite

Spencer also founded InnSite while a grad student in 1994.[12] InnSite was an early implementer of real-time updatable user-generated content, and was featured in the book Special Edition: Using CGI published by Que in 1996.[13] InnSite was named "Best Inn Directory of 1998" by Yahoo! Internet Life magazine.[14] InnSite was acquired by an undisclosed party in 2010.[15]

Netconcepts

In 1995, Spencer founded web design agency Netconcepts on a bootstrap budget in Madison, Wisconsin.[16] [17] The agency provided Internet consulting,[18] an ecommerce platform called GravityMarket and an email marketing platform GravityMail with automated spam scoring.[19] However, over time it grew to specialize in search engine optimization.[20] [21]

New Zealand

In 2000, Spencer moved to New Zealand to set up a second Netconcepts branch in Auckland. He acted as managing director from a smaller office in Christchurch while the Wisconsin office continued to operate as headquarters. The company used an internal intranet to collaborate between offices.[22] Netconcepts grew to over 40 employees between the two offices, with yearly revenue of over $5 million, making it one of the largest SEO firms in New Zealand. However, clients were typically US-based, and included corporations such as Verizon, Home Shopping Network, and REI. The firm received recognition for its flexible hours and employee-centric working environment, including from the New Zealand Government.[23] [24] [25] [26] His operation in New Zealand had notably high staff retention rates.[27] Spencer moved from New Zealand back to the US in 2007.[28]

Acquisition by Covario

Netconcepts was acquired by Covario in 2010.[29] Spencer worked as Vice President of SEO Strategies at Covario in 2010 for less than a year after the acquisition was finalized.[30]

GravityStream

Spencer is the inventor of the pay-for-performance SEO technology platform GravityStream,[31] was included in the acquisition of Covario and now part of Rio SEO's toolset.[32] [33]

Post-Acquisition

Spencer now works as an SEO and internet marketing consultant and has worked with clients such as Zappos, Chanel, and Sony.[34]

Spencer is on the advisory board to CrowdGather,[35] and board member to Impact Network, a charity that builds and operates schools in Zambia.[36] In 2008, Spencer worked with Jimmy Carter's humanitarian organization, The Carter Center, to set up a successful blog.[37]

Writing

In 2009, Spencer co-authored The Art of SEO, with Rand Fishkin, Eric Enge, and Jessie Stricchiola.[38] Published by O'Reilly, the book was named Search Engine Land's Best SEO Book of 2009.[39] Spencer and his co-authors came out with the second edition of The Art of SEO in 2012, and the third edition in 2015. Spencer is author of Google Power Search, an advanced Google search manual, published in 2011 by O'Reilly.[40] Spencer co-authored Social eCommerce with Jimmy Harding and Jennifer Sheahan which was published in 2014 by O'Reilly.[41]

Spencer is a contributor to a number of marketing journals and blogs. He has been published in Practical Ecommerce,[42] MarketingProfs,[43] Search Engine Land,[44] Multichannel Merchant,[45] The Huffington Post,[46] and CNET,[47] among others.

Bibliography

Speaking

Spencer has been speaking at Internet marketing conferences for over 20 years, including covering SEO and digital marketing topics[48] for the American Marketing Association (AMA),[49] Shop.org,[50] Internet Retailer,[51] SMX, Search Engine Strategies,[52] O'Reilly/TechWeb,[53] PubCon,[54] NEMOA, Etail, WordCamp,[55] ACCM,[56] among others.

Media

Spencer is the host of two podcasts, Marketing Speak and The Optimized Geek. Both have appeared on iTunes New and Noteworthy[57] [58] and In 2016, Spencer made multiple live television appearances on local affiliates of ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC,[59] speaking about the geek lifestyle and raising awareness for children in foster care.

Family

Spencer encouraged his oldest daughter at the age of 14 to start a blog, neopetsfanatic.com. He advised her on using AdSense to monetize the site, earnings were up to $1,100 per month.[60] [61] [62] Spencer and Chloe have co presented at conferences DMA08 and BlogPaws. Chloe has spoken on her own as well, including BlogHer, DMA, YPulse, SMX West, BlogWorld, SMOC, and SES, and has appeared live on Denver 9News and the Bay Area's ABC7 News. BlogPaws has appeared on live TV as well.[63] [64] [65] Spencer and Chloe have appeared on interviews such as blogtalkradio,[66] as well as Chloe has appeared alone on WebProNews,[67] [68] ClickZ,[69] ReelSEO, and Blogger Stories.[70] In addition to encouraging Chloe to blog on her own site, he encouraged her to blog for The Huffington Post and, on his recommendation to Arianna Huffington, Chloe became a Huffington Post blogger at the age of 16 in 2008.[71]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Reovirus Virion-Like Particles Obtained by Recoating Infectious Subvirion Particles with Baculovirus-Expressed ς3 Protein: an Approach for Analyzing ς3 Functions during Virus Entry. American Society for Microbiology. Journal of Virology. 5 March 2016.
  2. IRIS explorer software for radial-depth cueing reovirus particles and other macromolecular structures determined by cryoelectron microscopy and image reconstruction.. Journal of Structural Biology. 9361260 . 10.1006/jsbi.1997.3902. 120. 1. 11–21 . Spencer . SM . Sgro . JY . Dryden . KA . Baker . TS . Nibert . ML. 1997. 10.1.1.648.3079.
  3. Web site: Communicating Information about Virus Structure and Biology Via the World Wide Web. Institute for Molecular Virology. 6 March 2016.
  4. Web site: Electronic Publishing of Virus Structures in Novel, Multimedia Formats on the World Wide Web. Institute for Molecular Virology and Integrated Microscopy Resource. 6 March 2016.
  5. Web site: How a Dane County Business Set Up Shop on the Information Superhighway. Netconcepts. In Business. Bankston. Karen. January 2004 . 6 March 2016.
  6. Web site: Who Is Stephan Spencer: Web Marketer - Stephan Spencer. 2009-12-03. en-US. 2016-07-10.
  7. Web site: About WritersNet. WritersNet. 7 April 2016.
  8. Web site: Case Study: WritersNet. Netconcepts. 15 July 2006 . 7 April 2016.
  9. Web site: CrowdGather Adds Writers.net To Portfolio Of Forum Properties. The Street. Business Wire. 7 April 2016.
  10. Web site: Bauer v. Wikimedia. Digital Media Law. 7 April 2016.
  11. Web site: Bloggers Aren't at Fault for Comments Made on Their Site. Netconcepts. Spencer. Stephan. 15 November 2010 . 7 April 2016.
  12. Web site: Case Study: InnSite. Netconcepts. 10 July 2006 . 7 April 2016.
  13. Web site: CHAPTER 28-Learning from the Pros. Que Pub. 7 April 2016.
  14. Web site: Best Inn Directory of 1998. Netconcepts. January 2004 . Yahoo! Internet Life. 7 April 2016.
  15. Web site: Case Study: InnSite. 10 July 2006. www.netconcepts.com. 2016-07-10.
  16. Web site: Stephan M. Spencer, M.Sc.. Netconcepts. 6 March 2016.
  17. Web site: Are You a Hustler?. Quicksprout. Patel. Neil. 6 March 2016.
  18. Web site: Businesses move into blogosphere. The New Zealand Herald. Hembry. Owen. 6 March 2016.
  19. Web site: A Marketing Geyser. Internet Retailer. Gardner. Elizabeth. 6 March 2016.
  20. Web site: Netconcepts does it the other way round . Internet Archive . National Business Review . Ballantyne . Stephen . 2 March 2016 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20040906101229/http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=8832&cid=3&cname=Technology . September 6, 2004 .
  21. Web site: Natural selection makes for online success. Computer World. Hedquist. Ulrika. 2 March 2016.
  22. Web site: Searching for better returns. The New Zealand Herald. Shaw. Steven. 1 March 2016.
  23. Web site: Case studies: Stephan Spencer. Employment New Zealand. New Zealand Government. 7 April 2016.
  24. Web site: Netconcepts a happy Kiwi sweatshop. Business to Business. 7 April 2016.
  25. Web site: Netconcepts helps companies increase sales on the Internet. Madison. Newman. Judy. 7 April 2016.
  26. Web site: Web firm wins search engine deal. The New Zealand Herald. Gifford. Adam.
  27. Web site: Breakfast - Tuesday November 21. One. TVNZ. 7 April 2016.
  28. Web site: Meaningful SEO Metrics. StephanSpencer.com. StephanSpencer.com. 7 April 2016.
  29. Web site: Covario Acquires NetConcepts. Search Engine Journal. Baker. Loren. 12 January 2010 . 7 April 2016.
  30. Web site: Stephan Spencer. LinkedIn. 7 April 2016.
  31. Web site: Dollars For Hours On The Way Out For SEO?. MediaPost. Search Engine Land. 7 April 2016.
  32. Web site: Acumium acquires e-commerce platform from NetConcepts. Internet Retailer. Evans. Katie. 7 April 2016.
  33. Web site: Method of optimizing search engine rankings through a proxy website. Google Patents. Patent US20070143283 A1. 7 April 2016.
  34. Web site: How to Get the Most Out of Your Brand Journalism Campaign. Inc.com. Reynolds. Molly. 5 August 2014 . 7 April 2016.
  35. Web site: Advisors. CrowdGather. 7 April 2016.
  36. Web site: The Board. Impact Network. 7 April 2016.
  37. Web site: Five Tips for Making the Most of Blogs. Non Profit Pro. Santicola. Abny. 7 April 2016.
  38. Book: The Art of SEO (Theory in Practice). 978-1449304218. Enge. Eric. Spencer. Stephan. Stricchiola. Jessie. Fishkin. Rand. 2012-03-17.
  39. Web site: A Roundup Of 2009's Best SEO Books. Search Engine Land. Sherman. Chris. December 2009 . 8 April 2016.
  40. Web site: Google Power Search. O'Reilly Media.. O Reilly. 8 April 2016.
  41. Web site: Social eCommerce. O Reilly. 8 April 2016.
  42. Web site: Articles by Stephan Spencer. Practical Ecommerce. 8 April 2016.
  43. Web site: Stephan Spencer. MarketingProfs. 8 April 2016.
  44. Web site: Stephan Spencer. Search Engine Land. 8 April 2016.
  45. Web site: Posts By Stephan Spencer. Multichannel Merchant. 8 April 2016.
  46. Web site: Stephan Spencer. Huffington Post. 8 April 2016.
  47. Web site: 'Google bowling' and negative SEO: All fair in love and war?. CNet. Spencer. Stephan. 8 April 2016.
  48. Web site: Speaker Profile: Stephan Spencer. stephanspencer.com. 8 April 2016.
  49. Web site: Stephan Spencer Founder and President Netconcepts. AMA. 8 April 2016.
  50. Web site: Stephan Spencer Author. Shop.org. 8 April 2016.
  51. Web site: Stephan Spencer. IRCEContent.com. 8 April 2016.
  52. Web site: Speaker Profile Stephan Spencer. Search Engine Strategies 2010. 8 April 2016.
  53. Web site: Stephan Spencer. Oreilly.com. O' Reilly Media, Inc. 8 April 2016.
  54. Web site: Stephan Spencer. Pubcon. 8 April 2016.
  55. Web site: WordCamp 2008 San Fran: Stephan Spencer – SEO Mistakes Most Bloggers Make. One Mans Blog. P. John. 29 August 2008 . 8 April 2016.
  56. Web site: Live from ACC: Power Forum Packs a Punch. Multichannel Merchant. Ramaswami. Rama. 8 April 2016.
  57. Web site: About - Optimized Geek. en-US. 2016-07-10.
  58. Web site: About - Marketing Speak. en-US. 2016-07-10.
  59. Web site: SEO Interviews of Author and SEO Expert Stephan Spencer. en-US. 2016-07-10.
  60. Web site: So Easy A Child Can Do It. MarketingProfs. 8 April 2016.
  61. Web site: SEO So Simple A Child Can Do It: In 5 Easy Steps. Search Engine Land. Spencer. Stephan. 4 December 2015 . 8 April 2016.
  62. Web site: It Beats Babysitting: McFarland Teen Makes Money By Blogging. https://web.archive.org/web/20160910081722/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-171434049.html. dead. 10 September 2016. The Capital Times. Welch. Lynn. 8 April 2016.
  63. Web site: Speaking at BlogHer 2007. Chloe Spencer. Spencer. Chloe. 8 April 2016.
  64. Web site: On Panel @ DMA w/Stephan & Chloe Spencer. Shoe Money. Schoemaker. Jeremy. 8 April 2016.
  65. Web site: SMX West 2008: Chloe Spencer. WebProNews. 8 April 2016.
  66. Web site: Optimize your Blog for Search Engines. BlogTalkRadio blog. 8 April 2016.
  67. Web site: Interview with WebProNews. Chloe Spencer. Spencer. Chloe. 8 April 2016.
  68. Web site: How Teens Can Make Money Online. WebProNews. Johnson. Abby. 8 April 2016.
  69. Web site: Digital Wunderkind Discuss the Best Teen-Focused Campaigns. ClickZ. Heine. Christopher. 9 September 2010 . 8 April 2016.
  70. Web site: Blogger Stories: Chloe Spencer. Blogger Stories. 8 April 2016.
  71. Web site: COUP! 16-year Old Takes Over Huffington Post. The Huffington Post. Kotecki Vest. Erin. February 2008 . 8 April 2016.

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