Bloggers highlight: Sam Murray (@sammurray)

At the end of the year I want to give some extra attention to those the bloggers from State of Search, after all, they really make this blog. I want to look at what they wrote, ask how their year was and what their expectations are. A digital thank you for their work.

Today it one of the three bloggers who were here from the very first start: Sam Murray. Sam works with Lisa at Vervesearch and is one of those silent powers. There are SEOs you will see on stage of a conference everywhere you go and there are those who work hard behind the scenes, they don’t need to be on stage. Sam is one of them. And he is knowledgable allright, his posts show that.

A few questions

I asked Sam the same questions about 2010 and 2011 as I did the other bloggers:

What was your highlight of 2010?

Apart from Tottenham Hotspur finally qualifying for the Champions League, and beating the European champions 3-1 at home…. I would have to say the success of one of my clients. After 4 months the site has increased its organic traffic by 98% and has more than doubled their revenue. I still have a lot of ideas for the site to go forward and the great thing is they are very open to changes which is great. Seeing that success is why I love what I do and knowing that you can help a website like that is very rewarding.

What was the thing you least liked of 2010?

Not getting to enough conferences. I love attending conferences so if anyone wants to send any complimentary passes feel free!

What was your best post on State of Search in 2010?

It has got to be my ‘10 ways to increase your twitter followers and 10 tools to do it.’ The post was very warmly received in the community, obtained 408 re-tweets and 31 comments. I still get emails and tweets from people about it saying how useful they found it which is great. Only 2 weeks ago the Vice President of the New York Jets Matt Higgins even tweeted me saying he found it the best resource so far! Think I may now be a NY Jets fan 😛

What are your expectations for 2011?

Apart from world domination by Google? Ok, I want to really push Verve Search forward. Lisa Myers will be returning from maternity leave so we will be back to our fighting best. I also want to be more active in the community and get better at networking as that is definitely one of my weaknesses.

His posts

Yes, the ‘10 ways to increase your twitter followers and 10 tools to do it’ post was the most successful post Sam did on State of Search. I can tell you even that it has been the best post on State of Search in 2010! It has had the most views, is the best found article via search engines, the third most commented and the most retweeted post out there. But to be honest, focussing on that post alone (which has tips in it everybody is looking for) would be a shame because Sam wrote more great stuff. Just look at “Top 10 FREE SEO Tools & Plug-ins You (Literally) Couldn’t Live Without” or his latest “Why your Link Strategy Should Involve Guest Blogging and Tips for Success“. Both very good posts and must reads for every marketeer out there.

There is only one problem with Sam. I always have to push him to make his deadlines ;). But Sam, you might be cutting your deadlines close, your posts and you as a person are highly appreciated! Thank you!