Bio: Matt Paines

Matt Paines is the MD of XSEO Ltd an SEO Company, he is also a Director of FeatureFeed Ltd a provider of bespoke news content to webmasters and site owners, for inclusion to their web sites.

Trained as an Electronics Engineer in the early 80s, Matt stayed within the electronics industry for 15 years. The latter part of this period was as MD of HHV Ltd, part of the Hawco Group. By chance in the mid ‘90s the group chairman uttered the now immortal words emblazoned in his mind – “this internet thing, we should do it”. Like many site owners at the time the company made the mistake, that is still being made today, internet marketing is not about building a web site and printing some coffee coasters with the web address on it. That is where the search engine optimisation expertise came from, it started with a need as an “ordinary punter”.  So when in 2001 Matt took the reins of his first incarnation of what was later to become XSEO, he was very much aware of the needs of the end user.

Matt pretty much kept his head down, concentrating on the business in hand. To his surprise in 2004, Microsoft invited him to join a very select team to fly out to Seattle to discuss the software giants new search engine. Being one of only 8 SEOs globally and the only UK SEO, he could hardly refuse.

He has spoken at various local and national events on the subject of SEO, including the world famous Search Engine Strategies Conference. Matt writes a search news blog, runs training seminars and even publishes free tutorials on the subject.

Other than being a devoted family man, he is a certifiable petrol head. He has always had an interest in cars, boats and planes. And, as a young man, was always dismantling something. But his real passion is for motor bikes, and everything related. Whist for years having been found guilty of saying (like most bikers) “I’m going to do a trip next year”, in 2007 he finally took the step to do it, he rode to the Le Man MotoGP and of course blogged it.

Back 25.07.2007.