About Me

I am Brian.

I have been fascinated with computers and the internet since I was small. When I say small, I must have been 12 or so. When I was 14, I picked up a copy of HTML for dummies, and made my first website. It was hosted on one of those free 10MB hosting services like geocities. No, that site doesn’t exist anymore, but I will tell you that I thought it was cool to use frames for a layout (Note: It is NOT cool to use frames). I thought I was the smartest kid, ever.

I eventually went to college for computer science, but slowly realized that I can learn this stuff anywhere. Really. Google is the best resource, ever, for someone interested in web technologies. Search engines have taught me so much more than any college text book. So, instead, I spent my tuition on learning something that I was interested in: politics and law. I also became fascinated with marketing when I worked a job, while in college, as a Marketing Coordinator for a software company. There I applied my superb ability to BS on paper with my technical knowledge, and I learned quite a bit.

When I realized I was never going to work in politics or go to law school (after I graduated college), I decided to do a little private web consulting. While doing this, I got better at designing/optimizing landing pages. At this time, I even started my first blog. It was a tech/gadget blog called swongled.com. My fascination in marketing, and my obsession with web analytics led my journey to Search Engine Marketing/Optimization. I was sold. Keeping up to date on the latest trends, tactics, and metrics became more than a job or duty for clients – it became a hobby. Frankly, I loved it.

Then, one day, a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to move to Los Angeles. I said Yes. I moved, and I actually found an opening at a company doing in-house SEO. I accepted their offer. I moved my way up from an SEO/SEM to Director of Internet Marketing in under one year, which is where I find myself, now. My focus is in conversions. I don’t like looking at traffic numbers as much as I like looking at conversion rates and numbers.

This? This is my site. My blog. My tips, thoughts, knowledge, and theories.