Scott
Van Achte
My Name is Scott Van Achte and I am a husband, father and the Senior SEO at StepForth Web Marketing.
You’ve found the place to learn more about me!
Who Is Scott Van Achte
I was born and and raised in the Comox Valley and after a brief time living in Victoria BC, and an even briefer time living in Dease Lake, my wife and I ultimately moved back to Comox where we have settled down to raise our family.
After completing the Computer Systems Technology program at Camosun College in 2002 I ultimately ended up landing an entry level job at StepForth Web Marketing in January of 2003. I quickly shot up the ranks there to the position of Senior SEO, and have remained with the company ever since, holding my position now for 18 years at the time of this writing!.
After a couple years working for Ross, my wife graduated from UVIC and was offered a teaching position in Dease Lake. We felt it was in our best interest that she accept that job, and fortunately for me, at that time Ross allowed me to begin working from home. This was back in 2005 and the past 15 years have taught me that we made the right decision. Working from home does have its challenges, but it also has its rewards.
SOCIAL MEDIA
While I am not overly active in social media, I am present on several platforms. In some cases my profiles represent myself as an individual, and in others I represent myself as Comox Valley Guide, my side-project. Comox Valley Guide profiles include Reddit, Instagram and YouTube. Individual profiles include Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn.
Comox Valley Guide
My professional career is limited to working solely with StepForth Web Marketing, but I do dabble with one of my side projects, a website devoted to the beautiful Comox Valley.
What started as a small hobby site back in 2006 has grown and matured over the years as I have slowly expanded on local content. The site still remains a hobby, and while I do find time occasionally to work on it, for the most part it does not quite get the attention it deserves. That said, it has been a great platform for teaching myself various design skills and helped me to hone my skills with WordPress.
When I started Comox Valley Guide, I had very few clients who used WordPress. At the time most client websites were hard coded HTML sites. Today that has changed and the vast majority of my day to day work resides within WordPress.
StepForth Web Marketing
Shortly after graduating from Camosun College I was hired by Ross Dunn at StepForth Web Marketing. This was back in 2003. At that time I was hired for part time work doing filing and other small “busy” tasks. Within a month or two I found myself helping with basic SEO jobs, primarily research, reporting and other simple but necessary jobs.
It was not long after that, maybe a few months at most, when I found myself helping with the full optimization of websites, writing articles for our blog and other industry publications and completely immersed in the world of SEO. Before long I took over the role of Senior SEO and have never looked back.
I have been with StepForth for 18 years now and have managed countless SEO campaigns, site audits and other various SEO research projects for a combination of small, medium, and large companies. What began as a part time job to help pay the rent has blossomed into a long-term permanent career with a great company.
StepForth Blog
At StepForth I also contribute to the SEO Blog. Here you will find some of my most recent posts:
SEO 101 PODCAST
SEO 101 is a popular SEO podcast on WebmasterRadio.fm. It is hosted by Ross Dunn and myself Scott Van Achte.
Our show provides helpful SEO information and updates on recent news for beginners without overwhelming listeners with too many technical details. With more than 3 Million Downloads, it is one of, if not the most popular SEO podcast targeted towards beginners.
I took over as co-host in 2020. We continue to release new episodes every two weeks on WMR.fm
Here are some of the more recent SEO 101 episodes:
SEO 101 Ep 398: Google SEO Tips for 2021
Ross Dunn and guest host, Scott Van Achte, review Moz’s SEO tips for 2021 and share their own. They also cover some of the latest search news in mobile, local SEO, and a search engine taking more user share than many expected it would.
SEO 101 Ep 397: Examining Google’s December Core Update
Google’s December Core Update was immense and it stirred up a lot of emotions (positive and negative) for site owners with improved rankings or those devastated by the update. Ross and Scott review what is known about the update, who was affected, and how to respond to it if you were on the losing side of the results. In addition, they discuss other noteworthy SEO news and answer a question from another valued listener.
SEO 101 Ep 390: HTTP2 Update for Googlebot, More Google My Business Issues and Mueller Files
Guest co-host, Scott Van Achte discusses the latest SEO news with Ross Dunn such as upgrades to Googlebot, support for the regional schema in videos, and another glitch with Google My Business Insights. The hosts also discuss a number of news items from the past couple of weeks prompted by comments from Google’s John Mueller; mainly debunking SEO myths and common misunderstandings.
Download This Episode Here or Stream Below!
SEO 101 Ep 388: People Cards, Google Glitches, a WordPress Warning, and Questions Answered
Google is launching People Cards in India to allow individuals to create their own Rolodex-like listing in Google (shades of authorship?), Google suffered a massive indexing glitch, Firefox renews with Google and you won’t believe how much money they make! Scott and Ross also discuss issues with Google News indexing new providers, an important tip on using caching plugins in WordPress, a major issue with the latest WordPress upgrade, and much more.
Download This Episode Here or stream below!
SEO 101 Ep 382: The Latest Broad Core Google Algorithmic Update, Tips for Business During COVID-19
Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte welcome a surprise guest before discussing the recent broad core update from Google that has significantly affected a large number of websites. Ross shares examples of how businesses can make the most of the COVID-19 downtime. The rest of the show focuses on news on local reviews, Mueller files, and a shake up in online ordering using Google My Business.
Download This Episode Here or stream below!