This October marks 17 years since we started Eminent SEO, which is honestly a little wild to think about!
When Chris and I started the company in 2009, digital marketing looked very different. SEO was different. Social media was still becoming a real business channel. Websites were simpler, mobile was changing how people used the internet, and AI was nowhere near the everyday marketing conversation it is now.
A lot has changed since then, and if there is one thing I can say after nearly two decades in this industry, it is that change is probably the only thing you can count on.
What has stayed surprisingly consistent is what businesses actually need from their marketing.
They need clarity. They need people to understand what they do, why it matters, and why they are worth choosing. They need to build trust. They need a strong customer experience. And they need marketing that actually helps move the business forward, not just creates more things to report on.
That has always been the part of the work I care about most.
We Have Always Been Problem Solvers First
Eminent may have started as an SEO company, and SEO is still a major part of who we are, but the work has never stayed neatly inside one box.
Sometimes a client comes to us thinking they have an SEO problem, and they really have a website problem.
Sometimes they have traffic, but people are not converting.
Sometimes the website is fine, but the messaging is confusing.
Sometimes the brand feels dated, the photography is weak, the local presence needs work, or there is no strategy connecting all the different things they are doing.
And sometimes the solution is something we did not expect at all.
Over the years, that has meant building websites, developing brands, creating content, planning campaigns, designing print pieces, shooting photography and video, managing social media, improving local visibility, writing email campaigns, creating physical products, producing signage, and yes, even recording a custom jingle for a client to use in their marketing videos.
That is probably one of the best ways to describe what Eminent has become over the years.
We solve problems.
Sometimes the answer is SEO. Sometimes it is creative. Sometimes it is technical. Most of the time, it is a combination of several things working together.
Strategy Still Matters More Than Tactics
Marketing has no shortage of shiny objects.
There is always a new platform, a new tool, a new tactic, a new algorithm change, or now, a new AI product everyone suddenly feels like they have to understand immediately.
Some of those things matter. Some of them do not. And some matter a lot, but only for certain businesses.
One of the biggest lessons I have learned over the years is that more tactics do not automatically equal better marketing.
More traffic does not help if the website does not convert.
More content does not help if it is repetitive or does not add anything useful.
More social media does not help if there is no strategy behind it.
More channels do not help if none of them are working together.
Before we recommend anything, we want to understand the business, the audience, what is already working, where the gaps are, and what the actual goal is.
That part may not be as exciting as chasing the newest trend, but it is usually where the best work starts.
Creativity Is Not Separate From Strategy
One thing I am especially proud of is how much Eminent has grown creatively.
A lot of people still hear “SEO agency” and picture us sitting behind computers looking at keywords and analytics all day. There is obviously plenty of that, but there is also a lot more happening behind the scenes.
Some of our best ideas start in notebooks, on whiteboards, in sketches, or in conversations before they ever make it onto a screen.
We plan photo and video shoots. We design physical pieces. We work through packaging ideas, print materials, signage, branding, social creative, website concepts, and campaign messaging. We test things, revise them, rethink them, and sometimes completely change direction halfway through because the better idea shows up.
That hands-on part of the process matters to me because marketing does not only exist online.
Your storefront is marketing.
Your packaging is marketing.
Your voicemail is marketing.
Your signage, your emails, your reviews, your photography, your website, your social media, and the experience someone has when they interact with your team all contribute to the same overall perception of your brand.
That is why strategy and creative should not live in separate worlds.
The Industry Keeps Changing, and So Do We
We have been through more Google updates than I could ever count, watched platforms rise and fall, adapted to mobile-first everything, seen video become one of the most important forms of content, and now we are watching AI completely change the way people search for information and discover businesses.
The way people find brands is changing again.
Search is no longer just about ranking in ten blue links. People are researching through Google, social media, Reddit, YouTube, AI tools, reviews, local listings, and direct recommendations, often all during the same buying journey.
That means our job has changed too.
We still care deeply about SEO, but we are also thinking about AI visibility, brand authority, customer experience, content quality, video, local search, conversion, and how all of those pieces work together.
The tools keep changing, but the fundamentals have not changed nearly as much as people think.
You still need to understand your audience, make your value clear, build trust, create something worth paying attention to, and make it easy for people to take the next step.
More Than SEO
Our name is Eminent SEO, and at this point, I think it is kind of funny because we have become so much more than that.
We are still very much an SEO company, but we are also strategists, designers, developers, writers, photographers, video producers, marketers, problem solvers, and people who are constantly trying to figure out the best way to help a client get from where they are to where they want to go.
Sometimes that work happens in Google Search Console.
Sometimes it happens in a notebook.
Sometimes it happens behind a camera, in a recording studio, on a website, in Adobe, inside WordPress, on a whiteboard, or standing in the middle of a client location trying to figure out the best way to capture something.
That variety is part of what has kept this work interesting for 17 years.
Thank You for 17 Years
No company gets to 17 years without a lot of people behind it.
We have had clients who have trusted us with their businesses for years, team members who have grown right alongside the company, partners who have brought their expertise to the table, and plenty of people who have supported us along the way.
I am incredibly grateful for all of them.
I am also proud that, 17 years later, we are still curious. We are still learning. We are still trying new things. We are still solving problems, creating, adapting, and figuring out what comes next.
That part feels very much the same as it did in the beginning.
Here’s to year 18.
