Hi there! My name is Stephan Spencer. I’m a 3-time author, avid blogger, international speaker, and consultant on all things SEO. Over the course of my 30+ year career, I’ve founded my own SEO agency and even created a unique pay-for-performance
SEO technology.
I love to share my wisdom and expertise with others,
especially on my two weekly podcasts Marketing Speak and
Get Yourself Optimized. Check out the rest of my story below!
I’ve been on a quest for deeper meaning in my life since 2012. I didn’t know I would hear the voice of God. I didn’t know I would meet my soulmate. But I opened myself up to learning more about higher realms — and ended up enriching my inner world.
I was a true geek right from the beginning, as you can see here.
Computers may have been new, but that didn’t stop childhood me from teaching myself how to code. By 1984, I had already refined my computer skills enough to code assembly language and machine language. I wrote my own BBS (Bulletin Board System) from scratch and ran it on our only family home phone line
(which annoyed my mother to no end).
While still in graduate school, I helped launch two user-generated content (UGC) sites. InnSite was an award-winning pioneer in the online bed and breakfast directory space. WritersNet was not only the definitive directory of published authors, editors, publishers and literary agents, it was also a thriving online forum with tens of thousands of posts.
I submitted my first paper and it got accepted to my first ever Internet conference. It was a nerd’s dream come true. I was star struck, meeting the inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, and the inventor of Apache and Netscape Server, Rob McCool. Yes, I’ve been around the block a few times!
I dropped out of my PhD but was still able to acquire a Master’s in Biochemistry while working on biological viruses. One of my specialties while being a grad student was 3D rendering and visualization of these viruses, like the picture you see here. The promise of untold riches as a startup founder was too alluring to pass up.
I bootstrapped my small web design agency in Madison, Wisconsin. It later evolved into a
full-scale SEO consulting firm.
I had the only multi-page case study in Special Edition: Using CGI due to the fact that my two websites, Writers.Net and InnSite, were real time updatable with CGI scripts.
I co-authored an academic journal article that also got featured on the cover with images I produced on Silicon Graphics workstations.
It was exciting enough to have landed a feature story about me and Netconcepts in a print magazine. But being the cover photo for that issue — that sent me over the moon! The staff writer shadowed me and my client Food Concepts for weeks, chronicling the evolution of their web presence, from inception to launch.
My move allowed me to simultaneously embrace my wanderlust and expand Netconcepts overseas. Thanks in large part to our Auckland branch and the stellar team there, Netconcepts was able to expand to eventually crack $6 million in revenue.
I first shared my expertise as a columnist to Building Online Business magazine. I later went on to write a column for Unlimited Magazine, one of the top business magazines in New Zealand. This opened me up to a number of new opportunities writing for various magazines and websites.
Other big name clients included
REI, Verizon, Home Shopping Network
and more!
GravityStream was a landmark invention that bypassed the need for IT resources when implementing technical SEO changes. This optimization platform saved businesses time and resources by automatically optimizing large-scale, dynamic websites. I later applied for a GravityStream patent in 2007.
I became a proponent of blogging and influenced many of my clients to start utilizing this medium. Steve Spangler, inventor of the viral Diet Coke-Mentos experiment, became an early blogger per my advice. I also played a role in convincing President Jimmy Carter to blog his travel experiences for his non-profit The Carter Center.
The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. I encouraged my daughter, Chloe, to launch a site of her own: neopetsfanatic.com.
She launched the Neopets fan site and some months was even exceeding $1000 in passive income from Google AdSense when she was just 14.
The move allowed me to be more accessible for prominent speaking gigs in the U.S. My speaking career has brought me to over 100 events and conferences across the globe. The move also helped my daughter, Chloe, launch her speaking career.
BusinessWatch did an in-depth feature on my rise in the SEO industry.
I co-authored The Art of SEO, now in its fourth edition. The book has become a go-to roadmap for anyone looking for tactics, tools, and ranking methods for SEO. It was a huge honor to be an O’Reilly author. I’ve been a huge fan of O’Reilly ever since I taught myself Perl in 1993 from an O’Reilly book.
Three different people encouraged me to attend Tony Robbins’ Unleash the Power Within where among things, I walked on 2000° hot coals in my bare feet. Little did I know it would be the catalyst to completely reboot my life.
My company got acquired by Covario!
This was one of the pivotal moments in my business life. It always helps having two bidders competing with each other to buy your business. The earn out timeframe I negotiated was six months, which allowed me to jump right into my second business the same year.
Although selling my company was a big win financially, my spiritual tank was empty (though I didn’t understand that at the time). It was at this time I fully committed to optimizing my health and wellness.
As you can see, in less than a year I became unrecognizable from my former self. I also journeyed within and did a lot of inner work, and I embarked on some world travels as a “Platinum Partner.” The next 3 years would be a quest to explore the depths of my soul and to find ways to reveal light in the world.
I used my first solo book to cover the full range of Google’s powerful search-refinement features. Google Power Search keys readers into finding anything on Google using advanced tools and techniques. This was my second book published by O’Reilly.
After getting touched on the head by a monk, I had a psychedelic experience where I felt the oneness of everything, I experienced God, and saw everything in technicolor (like a super-vivid cartoon!). My life would never be the same.
I wrote up a “relationship vision,” prayed to God for my soulmate to show up RIGHT AWAY, and like magic, she was introduced to me by a mutual friend 12 hours later. And you know what they say: “When you know, you know.” For me, it was within 10 minutes of meeting Orion.
I proposed to Orion only 9 days after we met — I had the ring and everything! But, much to my surprise, she said “no, not yet!”. I was crushed, but undeterred! Nine months later, I re-proposed, and this time… she said “yes!”
I worked hard to launch “The Optimized Geek”, which I would later rebrand as “Get Yourself Optimized,” – and now, all these years later, I’ve never looked back!
The show is by far one of my proudest achievements. Every week iconic world-shakers, TED Talk luminaries, channelers, best-selling authors, and thought leaders from Tel Aviv to Taos (and everywhere in between) join me to share insights as we take you on a quest to live a spiritual, enlightened, and connected life.
I did 11 TV appearances as a guest on local news programs. I stopped by sets from Sacramento to Phoenix to share my insights on SEO, giving back, geeking out, and growing up in a foster home.
I married the love of my life, Orion, in a beautiful ceremony in Costa Rica. Orion, is an award-winning speaker, podcaster, transformational coach, and hypnotherapist, inspires and challenges me every day.
Our miracle baby has given me immeasurable joy, plus a new purpose and made me such a better person! His birth has reinforced what I already knew — when you put your trust in God, miracles happen. He has joined his sisters and bridged the 23-year gap since having my youngest daughter.
It sounds odd that an entrepreneur would pray for a job, but that’s what I did. Inspired by my guest Sheila GiIlette, in the middle of the night on January 22nd, I asked God to give me a job. He answered immediately. He showed me “the Matrix” — this illusion we call reality! Overnight, I became clear on what I was here for. And as a bonus, it awakened my psychic abilities. Of course, this profoundly changed the course of my personal and professional life.
Inspired by my guest, Kurtis Thomas, I asked God to be my business partner. He said yes, and it shifted the trajectory of my company. My team grew, we started working on more meaningful client accounts, and I no longer needed to run around being a “road warrior.” Clients found me. It’s clear to me that God is using me as an instrument. This is His business; I’m just a steward of it.
Truly a milestone in the evolution of the podcast in more ways than one. Capping off 400 hours of content, this was also one of Orion’s and my favorite episodes.
Rabbi Chaim Miller, author of the The Practical Tanya, joined me for a powerful discussion about the interplay between spirituality and religion. He talked about how intricate, precise and orchestrated everything is and how the Bible hides within it clues and secrets about the true nature of reality.
is an internationally recognized SEO expert, internet entrepreneur, consultant, and professional speaker. He has keynoted and spoken at hundreds of conferences including American Marketing Association (AMA), Shop.org, Internet Retailer, IRCE, and PubCon. He’s contributed to a number of marketing journals and blogs, including Search Engine Land, CNET, and more. He currently hosts the Marketing Speak and Get Yourself Optimized podcasts, both of which have appeared in the iTunes New and Noteworthy.
