Loren Baker
Loren Baker
Founder - Search Engine Journal
Read more about Loren

The Art of Getting Up, Dusting Yourself Off and Fighting Onward

Las Vegas 2014 | 15 - 17 November 2014 | 16:45

In 2001 I quit my job in SEO and online advertising to go travel the world as an English teacher in Japan. In 2003 I wound up following a woman to Brazil, a country where the average English teaching salary was $3 per hour.

Since paying my school loans and other US responsibilities at $3 an hour was not an option, I decided to start doing SEO contracting again. A lot had changed in 2 years, specifically Google.

In an attempt to learn more, catch up and reclaim my name in the world of search, I nickeled and dimes together a blog that I called Search Engine Journal. Within 3 months I sold my first ad for $35 a week. Within 3 years, SEJ was a 6 figure blog. Now, it’s the second most popular search site after Search Engine Land.

In 2007 I spun a consultancy off of SEJ which later became Search & Social Media thru a merger and then a bigger digital agency. In 2013 I left the company and my equity behind after my largest client (who was 40% of billings) quit due to poor performance and shitty work by the agency (which had become large, fragmented and bloated).

Within the course of 3 months I went from having almost nothing to building a new boutique which is now successful and profitable, servicing clients from major retail chains to cable networks and Hollywood studios.

This is a story of turning nothing into something, losing it all, and starting over from scratch.

Get in the Know
Sign-up for the Latest News from UnGagged

Get notified about speaker announcements, tickets, schedules and much more.

Speak at UnGagged
Ready to take the stage?

We’re always looking for talented and knowledgeable speakers who are prepared to engage in an honest discussion on the state of digital marketing.

Learn More