Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes…

It has been more than 10 years since I began working for Virante/Angular. In that time I have made incredible friends, created exciting technologies, and had the privilege to work with brilliant people doing wonderful things for great clients. But all good things come to an end.

I honestly cannot look back at the last 10 years and lodge a legitimate complaint. The other executives who have helped lead our company along the way have done nothing but give me the resources, support, and gentle nudges-back-to-reality I have needed to grow my own knowledge and build great things for our clients. From free tools like OpenCaptcha and LinkSleeve which have literally stopped tens of billions of pieces of spam from making their way onto the web, to innovative search solutions like nTopic, second page poaching, and SEOAlarms, I feel we have never stopped moving forward for a second.

However, something has changed. The sophistication and complexity of Google’s algorithms have dealt two blows – first, clients need nuanced, focused, and dedicated advice to succeed at scale and second, proper knowledge to deliver that advice requires more research than ever before. This has led me to a fork in the road – either focus on delivering clients knowledge that might become quickly outmoded, or focus on research that can be shared by all. We need specialization – consultants who stay on top of the research, and researchers who produce that knowledge. For me, the choice was difficult but clear.

As of today, August 24th, I will be taking on the roll of Principal Search Scientist at Moz. I have long had an affinity for Moz – its people, its vision, and its technology – but I have most had an affinity for its commitment to research. There simply is no other organization on the planet right now that funds, produces and promotes SEO research as much as Moz.  I will be working under Adam Feldstein to help bring new technology to Moz while working with Cyrus Shepard and Trevor Klein to continue to share my thoughts and research with the greater Moz community via the blog.

I leave behind me at Angular a thriving company. Angular is the largest it has been since inception, July was the most successful month in company history, and Angular is delivering results for more customers than ever before. Under the steady leadership of our executive team – with Jonathan, Kyle, Jake, and Tripp heading key service lines – I am confident in Angular’s growth and ability to continue providing innovative and effective consultation, services, and products for clients. Regardless, Moz has been gracious to allow me to continue to assist in Angular’s transition, revealing their true colors as a company that wants to serve the search community first and foremost.

The next few months will certainly be exciting and life-changing, but I truly hope that this new role will allow me to help far more people navigate the treacherous search landscape. Thank you all for your support, you’ll be hearing from me soon.

Russ