This is part of the say something nice about an SEO/SEM series - feel free to nominate someone over here.
Rohan Ayyar lives in Ahmedabad, which he calls the SEO capital of India, with his wife of 10 years and his six-year-old son. Rohan is very active in the SEO community, he has written at tons of SEO blogs, contributing his content as often as he can at these sites including SEMRush, Search Engine Journal, Search Engine Watch, Search Engine People and also on more mainstream sites like those of Entrepreneur, Hubspot, Social Media Today, The Next Web and so so many more places. He actually has contributed over 1,000 posts across over 250 different blogs.
So he is pretty giving of his time and writing, it clearly shows.
He has been doing the SEO thing for about five years, I believe. He is well respected in his community and is just one of those hard working individuals.
Jaydip Parikh nominated Rohan and wrote:
Rohan is an expert marketer. He is having in depth knowledge about SEO, also he is contributor for various known publication.
Rohan Ayyar Bio: Rohan Ayyar is an experienced marketer known for his flamboyant and no-nonsense approach to SEO and content marketing.
Notwithstanding Google’s war cry against guest posts, Rohan has recorded over 1000 of them on 250+ business and tech publications, including The Next Web, Adweek and Fast Company. In the true spirit of the SEO community, he has established strong relationships with marketers and brand strategists all over the world.
Rohan brings extensive know-how from a variety of verticals to digital marketing – he has worked as a milk truck driver, English teacher, network administrator, immigration agent (bordering on human trafficker), and retail store manager, among other professions – enabling him to instantly relate to all sorts of brands and businesses.
After a five-year stint at E2M, one of India’s top digital agencies (founded by another of our featured community members Pratik Dholakiya), Rohan is now moving on to SEMrush as their Regional Marketing Manager for India.
Favorite thing about the SEM community? The endless resilience and resourcefulness of the search community never cease to surprise me. In the early days of SEO, we were not taken seriously by CMOs and ad agencies, but we’ve managed to shed the seedy impressions and show our worth with creative hard work, data-backed strategies, knowledge sharing, and consistently making a difference to the business bottom line. Anyone entering the field now knows that if they demonstrate these qualities, fame and support are sure to follow.
Senior members of the SEO community are quick to recognize greatness in others before themselves. They continue to selflessly reveal the tactics they’ve developed, knowing fully well that keeping secrets will make them more money.
The result is that we’ve now built up such a huge knowledge base that newbies can learn all they want without someone having to actively teach them.
We know exactly what Isaac Newton meant when he said, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
One piece of advice to the SEOs out there? To beginners, don’t look for formulas and quick-fixes – there are none. Don’t form opinions, form hypotheses.
To the “thought leaders” and those with awards under their belt, don’t assume that unknown guys are naïve. Keep your mind open, as you no doubt did when you were a clueless noob. That’s what got you where you are today.
Favorite things in general? I don’t have any particular favorites when it comes to food, colors, or such, because I believe in living in the moment and doing what I like, when I like it. That said, I love beach vacations, trekking, visiting museums, riding motorbikes at hypersonic speeds, and talking to people. :~) Whenever I can steal 15 minutes from my routine, you’ll find me curled up with a book.
What you want to be known for in the SEO space? I want to do my best to encourage change in the way that SEOs, agencies and businesses go about marketing, especially in India. I want to help them move away from spamming and interrupting their audience, and move towards developing a deeper understanding of marketing, and connect with their customers by relying on data, focusing on branding, and adopting cutting-edge tools and methods.
You can learn more about Rohan by following him on Twitter or connecting with him on LinkedIn.
This is part of the say something nice about an SEO/SEM series - feel free to nominate someone over here.
