We had the good fortune of connecting with Bill Ross and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bill, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The story starts in 2000 after graduating from Siena College with a degree in Psychology. I knew I wanted to use it in the digital marketing space, but at the time, I was unsure how. I moved to Raleigh, where I worked for an agency called Market Smart Interactive (which went out of business shortly after I started there). That is where my spark and journey to own my own agency began.

I knew I needed more experience in the space, so I moved to a larger market, Chicago, and ran the SEO for two large (40 million pages each) content websites, Encyclopedia.com and Highbeam.com.

From there, I went agency-side, where I built the SEO practice at a large agency in Chicago called Critical Mass and a Big 4 Consulting Firm called PWC. While there, I built strategies for clients such as Nissan, Infiniti, Humana, Moen, and other global brands. Working agency-side taught me so much more than just the skills I needed to do digital strategy; it also taught me, partially through frustration, how I wanted (and didn’t want) to run my agency.

My agency wouldn’t be defined by how many design awards we’ve won or clients we have but rather by our relentless pursuit of great brand experiences, building trusted friendships, and caring about client success more than our bottom line.

So, I harnessed the top website designers and digital strategists I worked with at top agencies, consulting firms, and brands and built a new digital agency experience in Wake Forest, NC.

That was in 2013; since then, I haven’t looked back.

As a full-service digital marketing agency, we provide an agile and data-driven suite of Internet marketing services to companies who want to amplify their reach, create great online experiences, and increase leads or sales.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
From a business and personal standpoint, doing what’s right, helping businesses succeed, and giving back.

I believe businesses, at their core, should be there to help and teach first, and sell second.

Providing a great customer experience and placing the client first can outperform or amplify any marketing initiative.

I believe in giving back through community activities and helping others succeed through teaching.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
So 3 shoutouts come to mind:

1. There are many books and authors that I could name that helped shape my thought process within the marketing space, such as Simon Sinek, Jim Collins, and Gary Vaynerchuk.

2. My parents supported my passion when I was younger by getting me a computer to learn on so I could keep my spark alive.

There were also many quotes that my father introduced me to over the years that I have tried to use as guidance for my business.

The first, on my desk at home, is by Calvin Coolidge; it goes, “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

The next is by Theodore Roosevelt, which my father put in a frame and gave it to me before I went to college, and it still sits on my desk. “It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

3. Finally, the most important is my wife for supporting me while I was up late at night and while I worked weekends to build my company.

Website: https://linchpinseo.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelinchpinseo/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/linchpin-seo/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/linchpinseo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/linchpinseo

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