In the Hot Seat: 10 Questions for Wil Reynolds

1) Why did you decide to start SEER Interactive?

        I love search.  I love what it can do for businesses, and I love working with a good team, so I decided to do just that -- build a great team of people that I liked to work with.

2) What is the one mistake that you see clients making most often in regards to SEO and/or Internet Marketing?

        Not investing in the resources to actually analyze the impact that their web site is having on bottom line metrics.

3) What do you see as the future of SEO?

        I think search is ingrained in the fabric of people.  As a result, understanding how vast databases prioritize information and order searches will have value for some time.  The one thing you can bank on is that whatever SEO is today will be different a few months from now in some regard.

4) What do you do when you are not doing SEO and in the rare moments when you put your crackberry down?

        It is a shame that it took me the longest time to write a response.  Quite honestly, I might be going to the gym, mountain biking, skiing, or doing something to stay in good physical shape.

5) Tell us more about your volunteer work.

        I had two friends pass before I was 12 years old.  As a result, I have always had a desire to work with kids who were sick or in need of help.  I started with just playing with sick kids at a children's hospital.  Since then, I have moved on to work with runaway youth with the Covenant House, and I also work with Operation Understanding, a leadership organization that sends groups of  African American and Jewish kids to Israel and Senegal to understand more about one another's cultures.

6) What was your first job?

        Paper boy, of course.

7) What would you be doing if you were not doing SEO?

        I would be an economics teacher.  I love kids and teaching them how the economy affects their everyday lives.  Or maybe a chef -- I love to cook.

8) What is your favorite place you have ever been to?  Where would you like to go?

        I love New Orleans.  I typically go for Mardi Gras, but this year it will be jazz fest!  I have it on my docket to do Hong Kong, Shanghai, and maybe Australia in 2008.  I hear those things are called vacations.

9a) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

        I would get more sleep.

9b) What would you change about the industry?

      I would get rid of the "con artists."  Quite seriously, they are ruining the industry.

10) What are some cool, up-and-coming, helpful, and/or well-designed websites that you enjoy?

        I spend most of my browsing time on Technorati, Digg, Google Reader, Spyfu, and Quantcast.