About Me
I started dabbling on the internet in 2002 when I launched my first website, Equine Online.
Like a lot of people who started by building sites for fun I had no formal training and played around with Microsoft Frontpage before realising its limitations. I moved onto using Dreamweaver where I became rapidly aware of my limitations!
I invested in a few hours one to one with a local trainer who gave me a basic grounding in Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Flash. I then launched myself on an unsuspecting public as a freelance web designer. I did this in the evenings whilst working full time in largely none IT roles such as interior design and finance.
In 2004 I moved to France and soon after arriving I launched a website called Go Brittany. Initially it was just a forum where expats could communicate with each other, seek help and advice etc.
I developed the site into a community portal with space to advertise local property for sale, gites to let etc. A few months in I was approached by a company, FrenchEntreé, who wanted to launch a site in Brittany. We came to an agreement that I would become the franchisee and editor of the new site after merging Go Brittany and so FrenchEntree-Brittany was born.
I spent the next year or so generating an income from advertising revenue by developing the website, online community and client base before selling the franchise in the spring of 2006 as I was returning to the UK.
For the next 2 ½ years I continued to work as a freelance web designer as well as further developing my own projects such as Equine Online.
Having always been fascinated by SEO, In September 2008 I decided that I wanted to specialise so took up a position at Just Search as an SEO programmer. I then moved into the role of SEO Advisor where I offered technical support to two account managers and their portfolio of clients.
In November 2009 I was excited to start a new, in house role as SEO for Hotels London which is part of the Laterooms group. My challenge is to increase traffic to the site and assist in improving conversion rates.
In my own time I continue to work on my own projects which includes everything from dating sites to property.
In my rare moments of downtime I run and am currently working on lowering my half marathon times. I also like to play with my two miniature ponies. Wine tasting and archery are also favourite hobbies for my partner and I though not at the same time!
