Web PieRat

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Hi there, I’m Jill Kocher. AKA Web PieRat. I’m not entirely sure what that means, but it makes me giggle. The geek culture’s obsession with pirates got me thinking about blog names, but all the good pirate domains were taken. So I took PieRat instead. Get it? PieRat? It’s STILL funny! Though after polling my friends, I may be the only one who thinks so.

I love technology and, like you, spend far too much time online. I love the interwebs, even when the tubes are clogged with spam. I love that it’s finally cool to be a geek. Where was this trend 20 years ago when I was in high school?! I love internet marketing and social media. I’m really jazzed that I don’t feel compelled to capitalize “internet” anymore. Or hyphenate “email” and “ecommerce.”

But mostly I love SEO. It’s like being a geeky detective, piecing together the story from bits of data here and there, and reasoning through the cause and effect. There’s more science to it, and more data-driven decisions to be made than some think. Every day I learn something new — the playing field changes, or I read about a new tool, or I have an epiphany as I’m staring at a spreadsheet. If you’re not learning something new every day in this business, then you’re not looking far enough outside your sphere.

During the work day I’m the SEO Manager at Groupon in Chicago. By night I’m, well, usually still online. Or reading or sleeping. Sometimes all 3.

I’m also mom to a 8-year-old fireball named Hazel. You won’t see her here much — she reads and writes at a fifth grade level but I haven’t trained her to optimize content yet. Maybe next year.

Hope you enjoy my blog. Aaarrrgghhh.