Search Engine Optimization Expert Witness

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

Experience in all aspects of online marketing—search ¬engine optimization, search ¬engine advertising, affiliate programs, online PR, etc.—along with more traditional offline marketing. A background in book publishing and technology, including e¬commerce development, product development and management, user¬ interface design, software¬ product design, consumer research, training, and documentation. Founded an e¬commerce service provider funded by the world’s largest VC firm, and an “online enabled” publishing company, Top Floor Publishing. Worked in the e¬book industry. More recently involved in “re¬commerce”—the purchase and resale of used products online—including managing an Amazon.com Marketplace/Fullfillment by Amazon store. An accomplished public speaker and author of dozens of books about the Internet and online marketing, including several best sellers.

22 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN ALL ASPECTS OF ONLINE MARKETING

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) • Web Site Development
• Search Engine “Link” Campaigns • Web Application Development
• Pay Per Click (PPC) • E¬mail Newsletter Publishing Search ¬Engine Advertising
• Web Project Management
• Affiliate Marketing • User Interface Design
• Online PR • Improving Online
• Online Advertising “Conversions”
• “Community” Marketing • Amazon Marketplace/FBA
• E¬commerce Site Development Merchandising & “Re¬commerce”

EXPERT WITNESS EXPERIENCE [COMPLETE LIST ON REQUEST]

• Pay Per Click keyword¬ bidding case involving FreeCreditReport.com
• Affiliate Marketing and Ecommerce Patents involving:
• Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Digital River, and Others
• Internet Billing System Patent
• Expedia Hotel Taxes and Fees Litigation
• Microsoft Patent¬infringement claim related to the use of sound on Web sites
• Trademark disputes related to domain names, company names, and the effects of trademark confusion on search¬engine traffic
• Software comparison in a competition dispute related to a major software purchase

PUBLICATIONS

• ~50 Internet¬ Related Books
• Author of a best selling “for Dummies” series
• An award¬ winning technology column in two State Newspapers for over 11 years; hundreds of periodical articles Staples.com’s
• Video¬ training courses (SEO, Linking for SEO)

REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE

Extensive online experience (bulletin boards and online services), dating back to 1984
Working on the Internet day¬ to ¬day since 1993
Working in software development since 1981…cyberspace ¬software dev. since 1991. Founder of an e¬business service provider funded by one of the world’s largest venture¬ capital firm
General Manager/Architect of a large site for a consortium of seven law firms; the site has 400,000+ pages, with sophisticated content¬ management and lead¬ management utilities running behind the scenes
Founded a publishing company, with e¬commerce sales, in 1997
VP of Web Solutions for a national ISP
VP of Marketing for a Web¬ development company
Consulting services for scores of companies, large and small, from Amazon.com to Lonely Planet, a small furniture firm to a medical¬ transcription service, law firms, real¬ estate firms, and much more
VP of Business & Corporate Development for a “Re¬commerce” firm

PUBLIC SPEAKING
Extensive public speaking: 100+ radio show guest appearances, ten years of speaking engagements, including seminars, panels, workshops, teleseminars, etc.

SKILLS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Employed search¬ engine marketing to triple the revenues of a computer¬ peripherals company in less than12 months.
Employed Web design and search¬ engine marketing to jump start sales for an online scaffolding company. Increased revenues from $10,000/mth to $700,000/mth in a year
Generated 75% of revenues for a Denver¬ based real¬ estate startup through search ¬engine advertising campaigns.
Built a partnership with one of North America’s largest publishers to deliver software to bookstores throughout the U.S.
Raised $4MM from Softbank/Mobius to start an e¬business service provider, later sold to iBoost.
Founded a computer¬ book publishing company, with revenues exceeding $300,000 in the first year.
Used low¬ cost, online/offline PR and guerrilla marketing techniques to position a book on the Amazon.com best¬seller list, to promote another book into becoming the most widely reviewed and praised title in computer¬ book history, and to build a private series brand.
Author of the best selling Idiot’s series (1993 – 2000), Dummies subject series (5 editions, most recently July 2012), and another Dummies subject series (Dec. 2005)
Integrated a dozen different Web¬ development/hosting teams—with over hundred staff, and located in ten different cities—into a single division.
Provided strategic/technical analysis to the CEO/executive team regarding acquisitions.
Hired and trained a staff from 0 to 65 in less than six months.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

PRIVATE COMPANY, VP OF BUSINESS & CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT, CO¬FOUNDER
Denver, CO: July 2010 – Present
Business development and software development. Site is a significant player in the rapidly growing buy back business; it currently buys back CDs, DVDs, and video games, returning used products to the retail market, with electronic¬ product categories coming soon. Partners include private retailers, North America’s #1 and #2 online electronic retailers.

LEADNATION, LLP FOUNDER, CEO Philadelphia, PA: July 2009 – January 2011
Co¬founder of a firm creating premium Web sites for businesses, along with ancillary services that help them generate and manage business leads.

PRIVATE CONSULTING PRINCIPAL Denver, CO: 2002 – Present
Providing Internet channel¬ management and Internet¬ marketing and ¬strategy consulting services to a varied client base. Current services include assisting clients in developing online¬ marketing strategies, increasing traffic through search¬ engine marketing and optimization, designing and implementing Pay per Click search¬ advertising campaigns, designing Web¬sites, developing Web¬ applications, revenue ¬transaction conversion, and affiliate¬ program development. Client list available on full CV.

DNAML, PTY SR. VP, UNITED STATES Denver, CO: August 2007 – June 2008
Helped this Australian digital¬ publishing company with business¬ development campaigns, introducing the company to some of the world’s largest publishers in New York and London. Helped the company develop relationships with publishers such as Wiley, McMillan, Hachette, Random House, Harper Collins, Elsevier, and others.

INDIGIO GROUP DENVER, CO: 2001 – 2003
VICE PRESIDENT MARKETING
A Web¬applications development and Internet¬ marketing¬ strategy consulting company with clients such as Budget Rent a Car, Cendant, North American Van Lines, Orbis, and Dex Media. Direct responsibilities included the production of strategic marketing plans and materials, overseeing all marketing products, new ¬business sales development, and Internet marketing¬ strategy development for clients. Also liaised with key clients and directed all public relations and advertising campaigns. Ensured significant press coverage for the Company, greatly increasing its visibility in Colorado.

INTERNET COMMERCE & COMMUNICATIONS Denver, CO: 2001
VICE PRESIDENT WEB SOLUTIONS
A national Internet Service Provider and Web¬hosting company. Developed and implemented a strategic plan to merge dozens of geographically dispersed Web¬design and Web¬hosting divisions acquired during the prior 18 months. Managed a team of 60 staff members, in 8 cities, providing Web Development, Web hosting, Internet marketing, and e¬commerce applications to thousands of small and medium¬ sized businesses in an ASP (Application Service Provider) mode. The division produced revenues of approximately $8MM in 2001. In addition introduced new tools, processes and procedures to improve the department’s efficiency and reduce overhead, and designed a number of new ASP products—e¬commerce and e¬mail publishing—for introduction to the small¬ business market.

BIZBLAST.COM Denver, CO: 1998 – 2001
CO¬FOUNDER
An E¬Business Service Provider, delivering e¬commerce services to small and medium ¬sized firms on a monthly subscription basis, when doing business online was still relatively new and difficult for most companies. Developed the original business plan and marketing strategy, including raising the company’s $4MM first ¬round investment, led by one of the world’s largest VC firms, SoftBank/Mobius. Researched the market to evaluate the competition and developed the original product design, including user ¬interface design and managing focus groups. Developed the company’s marketing and offer strategy and identified target markets and subscriber¬ acquisition programs. Business¬ development role included negotiating distribution partnerships, including one with Macmillan USA to deliver BizBlast software to bookstores throughout North America, and sought out partnerships to provide more products and services to BizBlast clients, such as the PayPal relationship that provided another transaction method for BizBlast clients.

TOP FLOOR PUBLISHING Denver, CO: 1997 – 2003
FOUNDER, PRESIDENT
A publisher of highly regarded books related to online business and marketing, written by industry experts. The company’s first book became the most widely reviewed and praised title in computer¬ book history, and the third was an Amazon.com best seller. Created the company’s marketing strategy and managed all marketing and public relations campaigns. Built a brand—the Poor Richard’s series—that quickly became very well known and respected in the computer¬book industry. Managed all aspects of the organization, including overall budget responsibility, product development, and co¬op advertising. Devised an online¬ marketing strategy that turned this startup into a widely distributed and well known publisher in the industry, and built the company’s e¬commerce system.