We have just learned the shocking news that Jill Whalen, an SEO expert, educator and pioneer, has died.
Whalen was one of the first female search marketers in our industry, paving the way for many in our industry to follow her way. Her way was to prioritize ethical content quality over fabricating other search ranking factors, because she knew, even three decades ago, that honest work would win out in the long run.
Here is a post from her daughter, Corie, about the devastating news:
Even though Jill retired over a decade ago, she was so foundational to our industry that even those who have not heard of Jill Whalen in one way or another have been positively impacted by her work in this space. I have posted some of the industry reaction to her passing on the Search Engine Roundtable.
About Jill Whalen
Jill Whalen began doing SEO in 1995 and retired in 2013, feeling that she was no longer needed to defend content SEO as the primary method for achieving successful search rankings. Whalen always championed the “white hat” cause for her two-decade SEO career. For decades, Whalen ran her successful SEO agency, High Rankings, the High Ranking Forums and her newsletter. She spoke at countless conferences, wrote hundreds of articles (including many here), and helped build up this industry into a respectable business.