Hi, folx! I’m Chris Silver Smith, and I’ve just joined KeyRelevance as their new Director of Optimization Strategies. I thought I’d provide a brief post here on the group blog to introduce myself.

I previously worked for Netconcepts on development and management of their automated search optimization software, and while there I also provided search marketing consulting for some of the top Internet Retailer 500 brands as well as other Fortune 500 company sites.

Prior to that, I was head of the technology department for Verizon’s (now spun off as “Idearc”) Superpages.com where I headed up teams that worked upon taxonomy, map based search development, mobile applications, city guides, weather systems, RSS and APIs, and more. I worked there for over a decade and have around five patents pending for some of that work, involving local search and user-interface technologies.

I’ve worked in search engine optimization from the very early days to present, and I really enjoy it. I used to play with Rubik’s cubes when I was growing up, and SEO work often feels like I’m still solving puzzles, only I now get paid to do it!

I’m looking forward to working with the folx at KeyRelevance — I’ve known both Christine and Li from the search marketing conference circuit, and I’ve always been impressed with the level of expertise combined with ethical commitment I’ve seen with this firm.

Anyways, greetings to all of you regular readers of this blog as well as past, present and potential future clients! We have a very strong team of experts here who all have a dedication to providing a high quality of work — I look forward to working with you, and to providing some occasional observations and search marketing advice through this group blog.