Search Expert Duane Forrester Joins Bruce Clay, Inc. as VP of Organic Search Operations to Take the Road Less Traveled

Where does the former lead SEO at Microsoft/MSN and leader in the development of Bing Webmaster Tools go after an eight-year tenure at Microsoft? If the corporate world is a freeway, Duane Forrester heads for the exit, takes the road less traveled, and joins Bruce Clay, Inc. in a newly created position as Vice President, Organic Search Operations.

It’s time to enjoy the open road.

Bruce Clay, Inc. adds Duane Forrester to the team in order to provide businesses with an exclusive advantage in search engine optimization methodology and digital marketing strategy. Forrester, who was awarded Search Personality of the Year at the 2014 U.S. Search Awards, is a visible and popular figure in the search industry.

“Everyone knows that Duane could have gone to work for any company he wanted,” says our president, Bruce Clay. “It’s an honor that he chose to work here.”

Duane will have oversight of the organic search direction at Bruce Clay, Inc., as well as the company’s content, social media and design departments. He will also serve as a spokesman for Bruce Clay, Inc. by attending and speaking at industry conferences.

“Duane has great experience with how things work, and that will help us to enhance our existing capabilities for all aspects of digital marketing, including SEO, social media and web design. This is the man who created the Bing Webmaster Tools — that will give us a wealth of insight,” Bruce points out.

An SEO with Many Talents

Duane’s professional career path reveals a man who wears many hats — but one who wears each hat confidently. It’s easy to see why, no matter which hat he wears, Duane gives his all to the project or company at hand. He comes from a small business background and helped run a family-owned motel for 16 years. It was during this time that he learned what it takes to run a small business and discovered that he has a passion for helping companies grow.

Duane has made significant contributions to every place he’s worked, from developing the first player’s program for Caesar’s Palace in Canada to managing SEO at a sports startup that has since become a leader in the sports content publishing world.

Then, Microsoft called. During his eight-year career at Microsoft, Duane served as senior product manager at Bing — a role that led to the creation of Bing Webmaster Tools — and spent nearly five years as the primary touchpoint between Bing and the webmaster community. During this time he became known as the approachable face of Bing, bridging the gap between the search engine’s inner workings and the information-hungry SEO community.

“If you’ve ever heard Duane speak at a conference, you know that he is able to answer any question about how a search engine handles particular SEO concerns, from 404 pages to HTTPS,” said Mindy Weinstein, director of training at Bruce Clay, Inc. “He always has an answer and a thorough explanation — we are so excited to be able to take that experience and infuse it into our analysts’ ongoing education and our open enrollment SEOToolSet Training.”

So, the Big Question: Why BCI?

“Over the past decade I’ve been approached by countless agencies,” says Duane. “However, Bruce Clay, Inc. is different because of three main pillars that we stand on: services, proprietary tools, and talent. Most agencies don’t have as deep a tool set. They use rich tools, but not proprietary tools. If they need something fine-tuned for a client, they can’t walk down the hall and ask the programmer to add a parameter — which is something we can do.”

“When it comes to talent, I see agencies struggle. BCI is very stable and has an expert knowledge base. I know the team that’s here — and they’re smart SEOs.”

The Road Ahead

For Duane, the role of VP of organic search operations at BCI will allow him to take all of his cumulative experience and use it in new ways. He will be free to talk openly about Google, turn ideas into products faster, and enjoy the open roads of sunny Southern California — on the weekends, of course.

For BCI, having Duane on the team is a natural part of the company’s growth and commitment to excellence. For the last eight years in a row, Bruce Clay, Inc. has made the Inc. Magazine 500|5000 list as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. Most recently, in September the company added author, speaker, and paid search expert David Szetela as VP of paid search marketing operations.

“A growing number of our clients come to us for both SEO and PPC services, and Duane’s deep understanding of both disciplines will help accelerate that growth,” David explains.

Are You Confident in Your SEO Agency?

SEO is technical. You pay an SEO agency for its technical insight, experience, and ability to drive traffic to your site that grows your business. What if an agency had all of the above, plus skills and experience that no other agency could claim?

What if an SEO agency had Duane Forrester on the team?

With the addition of Duane Forrester, Bruce Clay, Inc. brings his knowledge of SEO to the world-class offerings of the company.

“If companies want to win at SEO, they should talk to us at some point,” says Bruce.

So let’s talk.

Melanie Saxe was a senior content writer for Bruce Clay Inc. She holds a B.A. degree in journalism and has many years of experience crafting content for the web. When she's not writing at work, she’s usually playing Legos with her son, tinkering with her poems, or singing jazzy songs.

See Melanie's author page for links to connect on social media.