Peter Mead is an SEO consultant based in Australia.
Peter Mead is a highly experienced, award-winning senior SEO consultant and digital marketing strategist through his company SEO Workshop. Known in the industry as “The Godfather” of SEO in Australia, Peter has brought decades of hands-on expertise in technical SEO, content marketing, and online business growth since 1997. Peter’s commitment to authentic, results-driven strategies and his friendly, collaborative approach have made him a respected figure among peers and clients alike.
As an expert SEO Consultant, Peter specialises in advanced SEO solutions, including:
- Technical SEO audits
- Organic online growth
- Digital marketing strategy
- Content optimisation
Since 1997, Peter has helped businesses thrive by leveraging his deep understanding of search engine algorithms (Google, Bing), web technologies, and user-centric content. Peter’s skills encompass web development, information retrieval, analytics, and WordPress optimisation. He is renowned for his analytical mindset, strategic insight, and dedication to maximising website performance and ROI for clients across diverse industries.
The Legacy
Peter Mead’s influence extends beyond consultancy.
- Peter Mead has worked with Internet technologies and in digital since 1997.
- Peter founded SEO Workshop and has been the director since 2021.
- Peter has co-organised the in-person Melbourne SEO Meetup (now SEO Collective) since 2011.
- Hosted the Semrush Australian Search Marketing Academy webinar series, and is a regular speaker at industry events such as Search Marketing Summit and Global Marketing Day. Peter’s thought leadership is recognised through his guest contributions to leading podcasts, including Kalicube’s “Branded Search (and Beyond)” and Duda webinars.
- Peter has hosted Duda webinars since 2022.
- Peter hosted Semrush webinars from 2017 to 2021.
- In 2019, Peter received the prestigious Semrush Special Recognition Award at the Sydney Opera House, highlighting his significant contributions to the SEO community and digital marketing industry.
- Peter has worked as a Senior SEO Consultant at Bring since 2022.
- Peter worked as Head of Marketing at Bitcoin Australia from 2018 to 2019.
- Peter worked as a Senior Technical Consultant and Team Mentor at StudioHawk from 2019 to 2022.
- Peter was a partner and consultant at Digital Streets Australia from 2016 to 2018.
- Peter was an SEO Manager at Foundr Magazine from 2015 to 2016.
- Peter was a policy panel member at auDA in 2015.
The Godfather
Peter’s has a nickname; Godfather, and its a bit of a fun story. This came about due to people recognising his maturity and years of industry experience. So the Godfather nickname was written litterally on the Semrush award, as seen in the photo.
The Consultant
Starting with HTML 3.2 in 1997
In 1997 Peter developed an interest in HTML 3.2 after Tim Berners-Lee efforts were realised by the W3 Consortium. Prior to this during the 1990s Peter was working on various projects involving early computer systems and the internet.
It was kind of a new frontier in those days, and Peter was learning as he progressed with DOS Windows 95, Linux and other operating systems, and helping people connect to the internet using 56k modems.
Peter had an interest in Internet communications which were cutting edge at the time such as email, web browsers, Usenet Alt Newsgroups, and ICQ Chat and a range of other technologies, including various search engines at the time. Here is a little bit of relative history about HTML 3.2
Google began to dominate in the early 2000s onward
Peter was Database Programming, as well as building web pages and as time progressed into the 2000s was diving deeper into Software Development, Web Server Architecture, and Networking Systems. In the early 2000s Peter completed an Advanced Diploma of IT, covering a wide range of IT/Computer related topics, as at that time it was the early days of computing education.
Peter was already building CMS (Content Management Systems) and Browser based Intranet Systems. However, Peter maintained his focus on Web Development and Internet Communications with a particular interest with Information Search and Retrieval via Search Engines as Google began to dominate in the early 2000s onward. After Google asserted its presence, searching for information would never be the same again.
Early Optimising, Keyword stuffing, DMOZ links etc.
In 2004 Peter encountered WordPress 1.2 at a time when Blogging platforms and CMS were becoming more popular. It quickly became a major platform since it involved PHP, MySQL & Apache server, all open-source technologies.
Also Peter was fortunate enough to meet WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg in person, and shared an important affinity with his mission to Democratize Publishing.
Peter also continued to undertake ill-advised experiments around manipulating search engines using keyword stuffing, cloaking, directory links and so on. For example DMOZ links were a major prize to obtain by various means.
Suffice it to say Google was already working on algorithm changes to prevent these kinds of activities. This was however, how many early SEOs learned in those days.
Professional consulting
In 2011 after spending a number years professionally Developing Intranet and Web Solutions in a corporate setting and part-time consulting, Peter moved into full time consulting. This came at a time when Google was releasing major Algorithm updates and penalties with Panda and Penguin, causing some sites to be completely knocked out of the search engine results altogether.
Search was changing and in the years since, there have continued to be a huge number of changes and developments in the industry, offering a wide variety of opportunities to gain wisdom with more technologies and methodologies.
This has all enabled Peter to bring a wide range of knowledge and experience in his approach to both his personal projects and with clients.
The Roles
Winner: SEMrush Awards Special Recognition Award 2019
These Australian Search Marketing awards recognizes the success of industry professionals in Australia. The best search marketing bringing growth outcomes for companies are awarded. Entries are open to company with improved online results in Australia over 12 months. The 2019 awards ceremony and gala dinner was held at the Sydney Opera House.
Peter Mead was awarded the Special Recognition Award.
More information here: Semrush awards 2019 winners
Webinar Host for SEMrush
Peter Mead has been hosting webinars for a number of years on SEMrush’s popular Youtube channel. This includes Australian Search Marketing Academy (ASMA) and SEO Surgery APAC. Peter has had the pleasure of interviewing many of the worlds leading industry experts. A variety of relative topics are chosen with the best professionals giving their insights and best practice approach.
View the Australian Search Marketing Academy Videos here:
View the SEO Surgery APAC Videos here:
Peter Mead’s public profile on SEMrush: https://www.semrush.com/user/145846945/
Co-Organizer: SEO Collective
The SEO Collective (formerly Melbourne SEO Meetup) is a community of industry professionals and business owners who catchup every month to talk about SEO. The group started in 2011, and has been kept alive and growing strong over the years by many passionate and genuine members. Peter is passionate about the SEO community and is proud to be a co-organizer of the group.
SEO Meetup can be found here https://www.meetup.com/Melbourne-SEO/
The SEO Collective can be found here https://seocollective.org/
RSVP for Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane events at Eventbrite here https://www.eventbrite.com.au/o/seo-collective-41944358523
Kalicube Contributor
Peter has been a regular guest contributor since 2019 to the podcast series “Branded Search (and Beyond) with Jason Barnard“. This leading digital marketing podcast series is produced by Kalicube and Jason Barnard.
Guest on Global Marketing Day 2019
Global marketing day is a full global event being televised across four global cities over 24 hours. Peter was a guest expert in Sydney.
Many thanks to our amazing experts who joined us today! 🔥#GlobalMarketingDay @DanielWildIPA @dejanseo @connections8 @tribe @thegoogleguy @petermeadit @nick_brogden @jeffbullas @dejanseo @jforchard @jasonmun @petermeadit @NoStanding_ @LongtailUX @NoStanding_ @StateofDigitalP pic.twitter.com/CYzkifEClq
— SEMrush (@semrush) October 31, 2019
https://www.globalmarketingday.com/
SEMPO committee member
SEMPO is the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organisation. Peter has been a committee member, and helped to organize webinars with highly respected industry guests. SEMPO officially ended in 2020.
SEMrush Summer Jam Guest
SEMrush Summer Jam is a private event for the SEMrush international community. It’s an exclusive informal gathering where the closest friends of the brand get to share their ideas on the software development, forge new relationships, and even start new projects and business ventures together!
Peter is very grateful and proud to be included in the SEMrush family who has done so much for the SEO community over the years. Peter is also very respectful that his contributions have helped shape the direction of the SEMrush toolkit over the years.
How You Can Contact Me
If you want to learn more or ask any questions, please contact me or fill out the form below