Who Do You Watch?

So when you want to know what is happening in the world of organic search engine placement who are you watching? Whose words are you hanging on, checking out the techniques, and monitoring their blog and Twitter traffic?

Here’s my list of who I watch to find out what to keep tabs on:

Matt Cutts

Matt is a Google software engineer. He is the voice to the industry for Google. Currently he is in charge of the Google WebSpam Team. He is a high profile blogger and is active on Twitter. You can check out his blog to see if you should be keeping an eye on him. I have to say that some of his blog posts are about his cat and weird stuff, but sometimes he has excellent nuggets and insight into Google that are very important to be aware of to stay at the very top of your game.

Danny Sullivan

Danny is a pillar in my industry. He is the editor of Search Engine Land and previously the creator of Search Engine Watch which was one of the most popular blog/ezines in my industry until he sold it to Jupiter Media and lost control of the content. Danny has excellent insight and is one of my most watched experts. You can visit Search Engine Land to see what you think.

Kevin Marks

Kevin is a new Google Engineer that I am just starting to watch. I haven’t decided if he is important to watch yet, but I am checking out his blog.

Webmaster World News

Although this is not one person, but rather a forum, this is the place to watch new topics surface. You’ll find out what others think about new algorithms that search engines have rolled out, hot topics, trending topics, and personal commentary. All the major search engines have forum monitors to see what the professional community is saying about them and problems. They post answers, take threads to higher ups and allow professionals to have open commentary with them there in the forum. I find it an indispensable assets. When you see a drop in SERPs you can find out if a new search algorithm has hit and what the early impact is on website. You can visit Webmaster World News to see what you think.

I am a free member, but you can pay a subscription there if you want. I post under the name Nancy99 on Webmaster World. You will frequently see my posts there under the AdWords topics.

If you have someone who you watch, I would love to know so that I can follow them too. Just leave their name and link in the comments below.