This is part of the say something nice about an SEO/SEM series - feel free to nominate someone over here.
Joy Hawkins, 31, lives in Uxbridge, ON, Canada with her family including 3 kids under the age of 6 years old. Joy is known as one of the top experts in local SEO not just because of her skills in helping her clients but also in how she graciously and unselfishly shares her knowledge with her peers.
Joy is very active in the niche local SEO forums, including Local Search Forum, Local University Forum and the official Google My Business forum as a top contributor. She also writes at virtually all the industry sites. She is also very active on social media, including Twitter, sharing what she can across the community including local SEO tips, new user interface tests and so much more. She is a speaker, an educator and a full time mother.
We have covered her findings here countless times and I personally appreciate everything Joy has done for our community and so many of her peers also deeply respect and thank her.
Genna Carbone nominated Joy and wrote:
Joy Hawkins is an integral part of the SEO community. Not only is she a Google Local Contributor, but she is also an amazing consultant. She has spent a great deal of time helping many with specific issues (even if they are not a paying client). In addition, Joy has shared and spread awareness of all things local. From the Possum update to local spam, Joy has brought a great deal of attention and knowledge to these subjects, that truthfully, most SEO's do not understand fully. A HUGE thank you to Joy for everything she has done in the community (and I know that this little paragraph hardly covers it) and for her generosity to the SEO community. Thank you!
Joy Hawkins Bio: Joy Hawkins is a Local SEO expert who is a Google My Business Top Contributor. She regularly contributes to many online communities in the Local SEO world, including the Google My Business forum (Top Contributor), the Local Search Forum (Top Contributor), and the Local University Forum (Moderator). She is also a contributor to the Moz Local Search Ranking Factors survey. Joy is the owner of Sterling Sky in Canada and is the author of the Expert's Guide to Local SEO, which is an advanced training manual for people wanting a detailed look at what it takes to succeed in the Local SEO space.
Favorite thing about the SEO community? I love how open people are about sharing tactics that have worked for them. I also love how we have so many great mentors who are willing to coach and advise people who are starting out. Some of my big inspirations have been Mike Blumenthal, Linda Buquet, Conrad Saam, and Darren Shaw.
One piece of advice to the SEOs out there? When you start caring more about your clients' revenue than your own, you'll find that you no longer have to worry as much about how to grow your business because it just starts growing naturally.
Favorite things in general? I love silver and sparkly things so much that I actually incorporated it into my business name (yep, Sterling is another word for silver).
What you want to be known for in the SEO space? My goal is to be known as a leader in the Local SEO space and continually learn new tactics and strategies to make businesses get more conversions from Google. I also love training and consulting with other Local SEO agencies and problem solving "why don't I rank" cases.
You can learn more about Joy on her company site, at LocalU and follow her on Twitter.
This is part of the say something nice about an SEO/SEM series - feel free to nominate someone over here.
