Meet the speakers

Josh is a web design business coach, podcast host and web agency founder based out of Columbus, Ohio. Through his podcast, YouTube channel, online courses, and web design community Web Designer Pro®, he teaches web designers how to build a web design business that gives them freedom and the life they love.

Heyyo! I’m Alexia and I’m the founder of Visual Vibe Design. I help businesses become the whole damn vibe with branding, websites and SEO designed to convert.
I’ve been a featured summit speaker, guest on the Web Design Business podcast, and I teach workshops for NWA businesses at the Fayetteville Public Library. Strategy is my love language, design is my playground, and caffeine is my sidekick. Always down to party… and somehow still get stuff done.

I’ve spent over a decade helping web designers and creative/tech service providers go from “selling services” to charging more than they ever dreamed possible while creating more income from their existing skillset and delivering high-value work without overworking or second-guessing their prices.

Darren Shaw is the founder of Whitespark, a leading provider of local SEO software and services since 2005. He’s the force behind the Local Search Ranking Factors survey – the industry’s most cited resource – and a trusted educator with over 45,000 newsletter readers, 11,800 YouTube subscribers, and 3,500+ course sign-ups. For 15+ years, Darren has shared his insights on stages around the world and in hundreds of podcasts and webinars, helping businesses and marketers master local search.

Lori has worked in paid search since 2016 and is a co-author of The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords. She has been a partner at webShine since 2011, where she manages and strategizes paid media campaigns across Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and Meta Ads. Lori has experience working with a diverse range of clients, from small local businesses to global organizations, and stays closely involved as advertising platforms continue to evolve.

Stephanie Flanders-Martin brings more than 30 years of executive leadership, franchise management, and business development experience to her role as a multi-area Franchise Owner with TEAM Referral Network. Her professional background spans the Franchise Quick Serve Industry, where she held leadership positions ranging from Store Manager to Vice President of Business Services, developing deep expertise in operations, team leadership, and scalable systems.

Stephanie currently owns and operates TEAM Referral Network franchises across Northern Colorado, Southern Wyoming, Oregon, and Southern Washington. She is highly respected for her ability to build strong, results-driven referral communities and to coach members on how to grow sustainable businesses using proven networking strategies, accountability structures, and relationship-based systems.

With a strategic and people-centered approach, Stephanie helps business owners move beyond surface-level networking to create intentional connections that drive visibility, trust, and consistent referrals. Her leadership style blends structure with collaboration, empowering members to clarify their message, strengthen referral partnerships, and grow with purpose.

Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics/Nutrition from North Dakota State University and an MBA with an emphasis in Human Resources from City University, bringing both operational insight and people-development expertise to her work within TEAM.

Yagmur Simsek is an independent SEO and content strategist, the founder of Search ‘n Stuff Community & Networking Events, and the co-founder of Global Cyber Security Network. With over a decade of experience in SEO, she specialises in developing robust content strategies and fostering organic growth for both B2B and B2C clients.

Previously serving as the SEO Manager for Philip Morris International’s UK market and SEO Strategist for Re:signal Agency and other digital marketing agencies, Yagmur’s expertise extends both in-house and consultancy roles, giving her a unique perspective on optimising visibility and scaling growth strategies tailored to each client’s needs. Her consultancy services include expanding in-house team capabilities, building SEO-driven growth strategies, and leading hands-on training sessions to empower teams.

Yagmur is a seasoned speaker, having shared her insights at renowned industry events such as BrightonSEO, International Search Summit Barcelona, Women in Tech SEO Festival, SEO Vibes, We Love SEO Paris, SearchNorwich, Search London, SEOFOMO and Search ‘n Stuff meetups. She frequently speaks on SEO content strategies and organic startup growth, aiming to inspire actionable progress within the digital marketing community.

Miranda Kelton is a Headshot & Branding Photographer based in Bend, Oregon. She owns a full-service Portrait Studio and specializes in helping entrepreneurs, business owners, and teams elevate their brands through powerful, customized photography. Known for her personalized approach, Miranda creates images that give her clients the confidence and content they need to market their businesses effectively. Through her work, she has helped professionals across the West Coast showcase their expertise, connect with their audiences, and stand out in their industries. As a speaker, Miranda shares insights on branding, visibility, and the role of strategic imagery in helping entrepreneurs establish trust and expand their influence.

Nathan Ingram is a business coach who helps MicroAgency owners and SEO professionals build stronger, more sustainable businesses. Based in Birmingham, Alabama, he has been building websites for clients since 1995.

Nathan is the creator of MonsterContracts, a set of proven contracts designed specifically for WordPress client work. As a speaker, Nathan draws from 3 decades of real-world agency experience to share practical, no-nonsense guidance. He has spoken at hundreds of online and in-person events, with a focus on helping business owners move from constant reaction to clear direction and steady growth.

Peter Rota is a Senior Technical Manager at HUB International, a freelance SEO consultant, and a LinkedIn creator with 75,000+ followers.With 14 years of hands-on SEO experience, Peter has worked with clients ranging from small local businesses all the way up to S&P 500 companies.Known for his honest, no-BS approach, he posts daily on LinkedIn, publishes ebooks, and partners with brands on sponsored content. His work blends deep technical SEO expertise with personal brand building showing SEOs how to create demand, attract clients, and make more money in their careers.

Andy Milligan is the founder of MMG Design, a web design strategy studio based in Columbus, Ohio. He works with B2B healthcare and professional service companies to use design to earn trust, drive revenue, and support measurable business growth.

Andy began his career in design and marketing by teaching himself web design, branding, and digital strategy while building projects for small businesses and startups. Over the last two years, he has grown MMG Design into a multi six-figure agency through relationship-driven marketing, podcasting, and consistent LinkedIn content- without relying on cold outreach or paid ads.

He is the host of the Marketing by Design podcast, where he interviews marketers, founders, and agency leaders about what they are doing to get exceptional results.

His work and content focus on helping service-based business owners turn visibility into trust, and trust into revenue.

Anna holds an AAS in Web Development and BAS in Business, and has spent the last seven years working various tech roles in higher education while slowly growing a small web design business on evenings, weekends and during those generous academic holidays. Recently she’s learned to use Looker Studio to simplify website analytics reporting both for her clients and her colleagues. When Anna’s not overdosing on blue light, you can usually find her crafting or cooking.

Bengü Sarıca Dinçer is a SaaS SEO Manager at Designmodo and a freelance consultant for SaaS companies. She’s a proudly certified data nerd and a firm believer that data analytics doesn’t have to be painful. With 12 years of experience across agencies and startups, Bengü has supported medium and large-scale companies with national and international presence.

Dennis Yu is the CEO of Local Service Spotlight, where he helps web designers, local SEO pros, and small agencies turn “SEO services” into predictable revenue—by building the systems and tools that make local service businesses easier to market, track, and scale.

A former search engine engineer, Dennis has spent the last decade deep in the trenches of local lead-gen, scaling campaigns across Facebook and Google with over $1B in cumulative ad spend and thousands of real-world tests on what actually moves the needle for plumbers, roofers, HVAC, and other home service categories. His work bridges the gap between marketing theory and “does the phone ring?” execution—pairing fundamentals (technical SEO, content, tracking, offers) with ruthless practicality.

Dennis also teaches teams and agencies how to productize results: creating repeatable processes, simple dashboards, and content systems that boost visibility, trust, and conversions—without bloated deliverables or “mystery SEO.” At SEO Surge Summit, he’s here to share what’s working right now to help you sell and deliver SEO offers that scale sustainably.

Dyllon is a local SEO specialist and practitioner with a focused background in Google Business Profile optimization and local search strategy for service-based businesses. With hands-on experience building, optimizing, and scaling Google Business Profiles across competitive markets, he has developed a practical understanding of how local visibility, behavioral signals, and trust factors influence real-world rankings and lead flow.

His work centers on transforming underperforming listings into reliable inbound assets through structured optimization, data-driven execution, and strategies aligned with Google’s evolving local algorithms. Rather than relying on outdated tactics or theory, Dyllon emphasizes repeatable systems that produce measurable results, including increased map pack visibility, inbound calls, and qualified local leads.

At the SEO Surge Summit, Dyllon brings a clear, execution-focused perspective designed to help agencies, consultants, and operators cut through noise and apply local SEO strategies that work in today’s search environment.

Eric Dingler is the creator of the R.O.D² Framework and the Profitable Team System, trusted by overwhelmed solo founders who want to hire their first team member with confidence. After years of leading teams across multiple countries and making every early leadership mistake himself, Eric learned that great teams are built on clear systems, not guesswork. Today he runs In Transit Studios, a digital agency powered by a distributed team he developed through the same process he now teaches.

Through the Profitable Team Accelerator, Eric helps business owners stop operating at the edge of burnout and start leading with clarity, structure, and purpose. His practical approach shows bootstrapping business owners how to hire well, delegate the right way, and develop people who actually help the business grow revenue and profits. Attendees consistently walk away seeing what’s possible when they stop doing everything alone and start leading with a proven system.

Jason Gracia is an entrepreneur, author, speaker, and thought leader with over 25 years of experience in the web design and online business space, but he is best known for founding one of the most successful website agencies in the coaching and consulting spaces, where he pioneered a productized approach to web design.

Instead of building custom websites, he designed a single results-driven website for clients and sold that same standardized website more than 700 times, generating millions of dollars in revenue in the process. This experience led him to specialize in helping designers escape custom work and build scalable, productized website businesses.

Today, Jason teaches website designers how to design once, sell repeatedly, and build agencies that scale without burnout.

Joy is the owner of the Local Search Forum, LocalU, and Sterling Sky, a Local SEO agency in Canada & the USA. She has been working in the industry since 2006, writes for publications such as Search Engine Land, and enjoys speaking regularly at marketing conferences such as MozCon, LocalU, Pubcon, SearchLove, and State of Search. You can find her on Twitter or volunteering as a Product Expert on the Google Business Profile Forum.

Layla Pomper is the Founder & CEO of ProcessDriven® and the go-to expert on systemizing small team operations.

Since 2018, Layla has been using software, process documentation, and storytelling to guide over 2,100+ clients and 135K YouTube subscribers to “enjoy the process” so they can delegate, grow, or simply relax.

Creator of the Systemization Snapshot™— an operations audit and report that has benchmarked the operations of hundreds of teams—Layla’s mission is to turn “build your business systems” into a game that small teams can win in any industry.

LinkedIn: www.inkedin.com/in/laylapomper/
YouTube: processdriven.co/youtube

Mark is director of SEO agency Candour, Founder of SaaS tool AlsoAsked, and has been involved in SEO for over 20 years, with experience running everything from e-commerce businesses to affiliate sites. He recently founded the new cats.txt internet standard and when not working on sites, is doing the Search with Candour podcast, the Core Updates SEO newsletter and “unsolicited” #SEO tips on LinkedIn.

Meg Casebolt helps experienced founders, consultants, and creators become findable in AI-powered search—not through keyword tactics, but through strategic authority positioning.
As founder of Love At First Search, she works with experts who don’t need more SEO advice but do need a new way to be understood by modern search systems. Her approach focuses on helping people become quotable and recommendable: teaching them to claim specific expertise territory and build the signals AI uses to evaluate credibility.
She co-hosts the Aggressively Human podcast and has developed frameworks including BEACON and Human-First SEO methodology to help service-based businesses transition from traditional optimization to sustainable authority building.
Meg lives in Rochester, NY with her husband, two boys, and an 80-pound pit bull, and maintains strong opinions about Broadway musicals, romance novels, and the structural importance of s’mores.

Melanie Boylan started STOMP back in 2013. Since then she has completed numerous certifications in the digital marketing “space” and got her Train the Trainer qualification. Over the years she has worked alongside numerous Irish educational disciplines, from universities to entrepreneurial setups and then larger companies and corporates. In 2020 she started collaborating on a frequent basis with the Local Enterprise Office and Marie Manning Financial. These relationships meant Melanie moved more into group training and 1:1 mentoring, but she still enjoys her direct training as well.

Since 2016 Melanie has been a Freelance Journalist and has written a lot for StartUp Mindset and Irish Tech News. Then in 2020, her and her best friend Esther Ocampo started a podcast called the Monday Morning Marketing Podcast. Now starting its 6th year they have welcomed guests from across the globe and have brought their own sense of humour to the field of marketing. Have a listen today!

Michelle Bourbonniere, PhD, is the founder of Words on the Rise, an SEO consultancy which specializes in small site SEO. She works with solopreneurs and small teams to develop smart SEO strategies to get their website and their brand in front of the right audience of people. She specializes in keyword research, content planning, and in helping brands show up (and show up well) in AI search results.

Sam is a local SEO strategist and agency founder who helps local service businesses and web designers turn organic search into stable, recurring income. He built a multi-six-figure local SEO agency from scratch in under three years by focusing on simple, repeatable local SEO processes.

He founded Thencan, a lean SEO and web design agency based in Bend, Oregon, starting alone in the corner of his bedroom and growing it into a team of eight serving dozens of contractors, clinics, and other local brands across the United States and Canada.

Sam has spoken about SEO at multiple industry events, contributed to Whitespark’s 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors report, and actively collaborates with other local SEO experts to help clients continue getting results from local search in an AI-driven era.