In around 2000 or 2001 I wandered into Cre8astie Forums as a web developer determined to figure out how to get Google to efficiently crawl and index dynamically generated content. After meeting the diverse and amazing team there, I ended up making that my full-time home for the next half decade or so. Over the years, I learned many things from many people (and I'd like to think that maybe I taught a few people a couple things, too).

Bill, then going by the handle of "Braggadocio", played a key role in my learning process. In a specific level, he taught me to read and understand what Google was saying, be it in breaking down patents, public statements, or forum posts by the enigmatic Google Guy. I also learned at that time that it was as much about what Google didn't say as it was what Google was saying - something that remains true today.

Nowadays, we talk a lot about "Search Intent." Back in those days, we'd talk a lot about "Google Intent." In understanding what Google was trying to do while exploring patents and other materials that might explain how they might try to accomplish that goal, Bill taught me to anticipate what was coming. Google would (and still does) "try" to do things with various levels of success. By understanding what Google is trying to do, I learned how to create a strategy that would make it easier for Google to successfully accomplish that goal on my pages.

Bill taught me that SEO is as much about meeting Google's Intent as it is about User Intent or any of the other factors that we SEOs love to list as the most important signals. He taught me to set the standards for optimization rather than to chase them.

I don't spend as much time seeking out new patents anymore - Bill has sort of made a career out of that, so I let him handle that legwork most of the time. As such, he continues to teach me something new almost daily. He identifies the things to looks at, breaks down the key points, and it leaves me with the vastly simplified task of digging into the salient aspects to fully understand them.

There is a list in my head of mentors that I've had over my 25+ years of building web sites. Though we don't have as much bi-directional communication as we did 15-20 years ago, Bill stands above most of the rest because he continues to teach me something nearly every day and has done so over the course of two decades.

Thanks for the help, brother. I owe you one (or a million).