SEO Dream Team – The SEO game for those in entrenched in the industry! Not to be confused with Search Engine Smackdown or this spam game with Matt Cutts as referee. To be honest, this isn’t much of a game at all, it’s one of those annoying blog tag posts, but it’s cooler than anything else you’ve done. Of course this one might hurt your brain, so I challenge you to take the time and respond with a well-considered post.

The Inspiration:

A few weeks ago I played a friendly, adult game of kickball. Yes, kickball! A co-worker asked me to join and being the mature grownup I am, I participated in a terrific hour long game. I was a bit nervous because I had terrifying flashbacks to the school yard days of fifth grade. Fortunately, I was a bit of tomboy, so I never had to worry about getting chosen last, still all adolescent flashbacks are frightening. And then my mind drifted to SEO (like it always does… I’m a blast at parties) and that led me to now.

The Rules:

  1. No one talks about SEO Dream Team.

Just kidding. For real now…

  1. You can choose up to seven team members, but are not required to have seven (are you ballsy enough to say you only need yourself?).
  2. You can simply list member names or assign fictitious positions; the process is entirely up to you, so get creative!
  3. After you’ve listed your team members, please tag three other SEOs.
  4. You need to be tagged before you respond (unless you’re obnoxious).

And to get the ball rolling, here’s my SEO Dream Team:
Please note, I chose people based purely on my knowledge of their work, admiration for their thoughts and their overall presentation at conferences or on blogs and forums. I’ve never worked well with close friends, apparently I’m an aggressive worker and I do best in a professional environment of highly motivated, type A personalities. Not to say that my SEO friends wouldn’t fit this description, but I didn’t want to play a nice game, I wanted to brutally slaughter any and all competition. That’s just how I play, when you’re tagged you can play nice if you prefer!

CEO: Danny Sullivan

I think Danny needs no explanation. However, he wasn’t on my original list because I was thinking more about the nitty gritty details. After a conversation with Brent Csutoras, I realized I needed a leader and there was no better man for the job. Danny has vision, grace, an amazing track record and a sense of humor. What more could ask for?

R&D: Gord Hotchkiss

For some reason, Gord was the first person I wanted on my team. I’m a sucker for numbers and behavioral studies and those are never in short supply when Gord’s in the room. I’ve never had the courage to introduce myself, but I’m head over heels for his research methods and would be starstruck working with him.

PR: Matt Cutts

Matt has only worked his PR and reputation management magic on Google, but I have a feeling he’d be a genius wherever life took him. I’d definitely want him on my team rather than a competitor’s. Watching him work his PR voodoo over a crowd of search marketing conference attendees is pure gold.

Social Media: Cameron Olthuis

I’ve admired Cameron’s work for a long time, but his recent presentation at SES San Jose really won me over. He’s young, but incredibly driven, grounded and intelligent. When it comes to social media he knows it inside and out and doesn’t feed you a line of bull because he genuinely lives for this stuff.

Creative Director: Matt Inman

I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone that attended SES San Jose that I’m quite smitten with Matt, of course not nearly as much as Tamar. So, this is a personal choice because he wore a He-Man shirt and a professional one because I’m amazed by his abilities at the ripe old age of 24. He’s an incredible designer, developer, writer, marketer and business person. I’m scared to think of what he will accomplish by the time he’s thirty and in my fake little world he’s an excellent addition to my SEO Dream Team.

Analytics: Avinash Kaushik

What bothers me most about analytics? Making a decision based on inaccurate or poorly interpreted data. I’ve been reading Occam’s Razor for awhile now, but my brain only associates names with visuals, so I didn’t hold onto his name, until my copy of Web Analytics: An Hour A Day showed up. Now, I’m an annoying fan.

I couldn’t decide on my last person, so it would either be: Stephan Spencer (a man after my own scientific heart), Michael Gray or Greg Boser. I’m most familiar with Michael thanks to Facebook, but have always adored every presentation and post made by each of those individuals. All four seem highly intelligent and to the point, a must for any team to run efficiently!So, that’s my SEO Dream Team! What’s yours? I tag Brent, Simon and Carolyn.NOTE: Nobody tag Tamar (per her request).