This is part of the say something nice about an SEO/SEM series - feel free to nominate someone over here.

Bruce Clay lives in Southern California with his wife, his children are grown and he is even a grandfather - well, some of you may know that since Danny Sullivan has introduced him once at the SMX shows as being a 108 years old. Bruce has been in the SEO space from before the space was known as SEO or SEM or really had any name. He is one of the reasons there is a space at all to be honest.

His company was the first company to ever sponsor a search marketing show and for decades and decades his company continues to sponsor search marketing shows. Why? Because he and his company helped form the space as we know it.

Bruce is incredibly generous with his time both at events speaking on literally any topic in search as well as writing articles to help educate the industry. He has helped people in our industry who are now known as experts become experts. He has helped people in our industry grow from interns into people who know run large companies themselves.

It is hard to go through everything Bruce has done for our industry. He seems so much like a father figure for the industry because he has been around so long, helping people grow and has never lost any of that passion he has for the industry and the people within it, even though he has been doing it for longer than almost anyone else. Maybe that is why he is known as the "god father of the search industry."

Bruce was nominated by two people one was an anonymous nomination and the other was Virginia Nussey, who works for him but has a very reputable name in the space on her own right.

Virginia Nussey wrote:

Bruce Clay is a generous educator and highly ethical advocate for the search marketing industry. He's a caring leader and passionate about the community. In the 20 years he's been doing SEO, he's invested countless time and resources in people and industry educational resources. He didn't mean to be the first mover in a new industry, but impeccable timing and some critical vision landed him a fitting role, one he wears with humility -- the godfather of SEO.

The anonymous nomination:

He’s helped build the industry to what it is now, and has always maintained a white-hat approach, utilizing Google guidelines in his SEO best practices. 20+ years of Digital Marketing.

Bruce Clay Bio: Bruce Clay is founder and president of Bruce Clay, Inc., a global digital marketing optimization firm providing search engine optimization, pay per click management, social media marketing, SEO-friendly site architecture, content development, and SEO tools and education.

Prior to launching his company in 1996, Bruce operated as an executive with several high-tech businesses, with a far-reaching professional background in leading Silicon Valley firms. Bruce holds an MBA from Pepperdine University and a bachelor’s in math and computer science from Western Illinois University. As an industry thought leader, he is an accomplished speaker, author and educator. Each year, Bruce speaks at leading industry conferences and conducts training courses for students worldwide on concepts and methodologies related to Internet marketing. His insights have been featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, PC Week, Wired Magazine, Smart Money and many more.

Bruce authored the book “Search Engine Optimization All-In-One For Dummies,” now in its third edition, published by Wiley. It contains 765 pages of hands-on, practical guidance for implementing comprehensive SEO. His book “Content Marketing Strategies for Professionals” covers how to use SEO and content marketing together to reach a target audience online and generate sales. Bruce is also a past member of the board of directors of SEMPO, the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization. In 2013, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award of Excellence in Vision, Execution and Market Influence in the Practice of Search Marketing by the History of SEO advisory board.

Bruce Clay receives Lifetime Achievement Award of Excellence in 2013. Bruce Clay received the 2013 History of SEO advisory board's Lifetime Achievement Award. Notable accomplishments include: Past member of the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO) Board of Directors. Selected as the search engine optimization expert by NHK-TV in their one-hour award-winning TV special “Google’s Deep Impact." Author of the book “Search Engine Optimization All-In-One For Dummies,” containing more than 750 pages of SEO and web marketing methodologies and tactics published by Wiley (third edition published in 2015). Co-author of “Content Marketing Strategies for Professionals,” a guide to using content and SEO to earn search rankings, attract the right audience, build brand loyalty and inspire customers to buy. Frequent speaker at industry conferences including SMX, ad:tech, Pubcon, Inc. Magazine's GrowCo, DOMAINfest, Affiliate Summit, and many others both within the U.S. and internationally. Recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the History of SEO advisory board. Creator and teacher of the highly rated Bruce Clay SEO Training courses, which are delivered in a classroom setting for hands-on learning.

Favorite thing about the SEO community? I like that the SEO space is constantly changing, that the participants are not cutthroat, and that there is enough business for us all. I like that the work is like solving puzzles for a living and that the job keeps the mind working fill speed.

One piece of advice to the SEOs out there? Know your stuff: Read, stay current and experiment. Every day a SEO technique changes that was okay yesterday and now it isn’t, or something used to work but now won’t, or something slid by in the past but now that same behavior hurts rankings. If you fall behind you may be giving bad advice to clients and hurting their business. So know your stuff! Treat it as a career and not a job.

Favorite things in general? My favorite color is red, although I generally am seen in black. I like many foods, but I have grown fond of good old ribeye’s on the BBQ. I get to travel about 80 days a year, often to our International offices, so my hobby is traveling more than anything else.

What you want to be known for in the SEO space? I would like to be known as a giving contributor. I have spent much of my career educating and answering on SEO through many conferences, classes and especially my website. I want to help others and I hope I have been seen that way. Nobody owns SEO, it is a great frontier, it is a dynamic and changing experience and I have been honored to be a player in the space.

You can learn more about Bruce at his company site and connect with him on LinkedIn.

This is part of the say something nice about an SEO/SEM series - feel free to nominate someone over here.