I am incredibly sad to report that the beloved Bill Atchison, known in the SEO community as IncrediBILL, has passed away. He has been sick for some time now and has now moved on. He was so well loved and respected the the SEO and webmaster community, that everyone who has ever known him in-person or online is devastated.
He has contributed so much the community, his WebmasterWorld profile shows that he had almost 15,000 posts there. He joined the forums back in January 24, 2005. On Twitter he posted over 18,000 times, we covered his contributions on this site countless times and he has been so giving of his time over the years, he was a true inspiration.
His bio at WebmasterWorld reads:
My career has spanned 3 decades working as a software engineer with major companies full-time and contract, such as Lotus, Compaq, Amdahl, Rolm, Tallgrass Technologies as well as some small companies and founding a couple of startups. Additionally, was self-employed with my own company building large ecommerce sites and the software they ran on including automated SEO. Built lots of small online sites and shops as well. Currently I'm with the Internet Marketing Ninjas.
Here are some of what the community is saying about Bill after learning the news:
Neil Marshall:
Bill has had a number of health issues for quite a while, and, despite that, he was always chirpy and positive. Over the years Bill and I became great friends, and we'd laugh and joke about so many wacky subjects. Despite the challenges he faced, he always kept on being positive.Bill did a great deal of work for the WebmasterWorld community over the years, and, i'm certain that many of you that knew him will be very sad to hear of his passing.
RIP Bill Atchison
Brett Tabke:
Deeply saddened to hear of Bill's passing. He was a dear friend to the community, an outstanding programmer, and one of the most unique personalities around here. He will be missed.
Marc Harris:
Some of my fondest memories of Bill were late nights at Pubcon. It's hard to believe he is gone.
Jim Boykin:
It was an honor and a pleasure to know Bill for so many years and to be able to work with him for a few years at Webmasterworld. I'm going to miss you Bill sad
Alistair McIntyre:
I only knew Bill through WebmasterWorld and spoke with him from time to time over social media. He had his health issues, but more importantly, he had a great sense of humour. Very sad news to hear of his passing.
Meg Geddes:
Gutted. He and I and pageoneresults have been OG cronies for what seems like decades. I never met him in person, but we had some interesting phone conversations. Half the time I wanted to slap him upside his head, but that's what great friends are like. I will miss him so much.
Roger Montti:
He used to come hang out with us in San Francisco when I put the local SEO Drink-Ups together.He was the master of shocking you while simultaneously making you laugh, then afterward feeling confused as to whether you should feel guilty for having laughed along to his edgy but witty humor.Truly will miss him. Glad for the honor and privilege to have known him and to have counted him as a friend.
You can read more from his friends at WebmasterWorld.
