As many folks now know, Todd Malicoat (aka Stuntdubl) is leaving WeBuildPages. His plans for the future are uncertain, but one thing is for sure. Wherever Todd goes in the SEO or online marketing world, he can be largely assured of a high salary, a great deal of respect and a senior position. How did a young man in his mid-twenties become so successful? Is there something we can all learn from Todd's example?

• Todd's major exposure to the SEO world came (under his pseudonym) on WebMasterWorld.
• Todd's been a ubiquitous presence at SES & PubCon conferences for several years.
• Several exemplary personal traits
  • Approachability
  • Friendliness
  • Good at drinking beer (seriously)
  • Easy to spend time with
  • Exceptionally learned about the search world and the web

Todd's also:

• Plugged in to industry news (both public and private sources)
• Personally connected to search engine employees
• Runs a well-read, well-respected blog (and updates it infrequently enough that almost every post generates links from other bloggers and news sources)
• Highly talented at writing coherently and succinctly
• Open with his knowledge & shares when he gets the chance

These features make it likely that Todd's probably received more unsolicited job offers in the past 2 days than most of us have in our lives. I suspect that if he does go to an SEO firm, he'll have a lot of independence and authority from day one.

 This post wasn't made to heap praise on Todd, it's really here for those in the search world, or any other, to get a good idea of what makes for a successful career and how, in such a young field, just a few years of positive experience can build an exemplary reputation.

Hopefully I haven't just raised his starting salary by $10,000. :)