The Trade Mourns The Loss Of Jill Whalen

It’s with a heavy coronary heart that I’m reporting that one of many founding pillars of the web optimization business, one of many first feminine SEOs in our business, and one of many people who made the business what it’s in the present day, has handed away. Jill Whalen retired from web optimization over a decade in the past, having gained her struggle to make sure that SEOs prioritize content material over different elements.

Jill handed lower than two weeks in the past from an aggressive kind of most cancers. She was solely 63 years outdated and survived a husband, kids and her stunning grandchildren. Whalen grew up in Framingham, Massachusetts and graduated from the College of Massachusetts Amherst with a level in sociology.

Jill began doing web optimization in 1995 and all the time championed the “white hat” trigger for her two-decade web optimization profession. For many years, Jill ran the Excessive Rating Boards and publication, spoke at numerous conferences and business occasions and helped construct up this business into a good and sincere enterprise. The truth is, she is without doubt one of the only a few SEOs who’re notable sufficient to have her personal Wikipedia web page. In 2017, I wrote a brief piece of how the business honored Jill, so ensure that to learn that as effectively. The picture above is one I took of her on stage at an SMX in 2009.

I requested two individuals in our business, who has labored with Jill from the early days, if I can share there posts from Fb.

Heather Lloyd-Martin wrote partially (hyperlink may not work):

I am gutted to study Jill Whalen handed away.

Jill and I obtained our begin collectively within the web optimization world over 25 years in the past. She employed me as a copywriter, which finally advanced into us writing the RankWrite Publication, the primary publication to debate content material and web optimization.

Jill was a pioneer.

Here is my favourite Jill story about our first talking alternative collectively.
Think about this — the venue is the Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam, an exquisite, historic constructing. Folks from everywhere in the world packed the home. They even filmed the occasion and put it on-line — which, in 1999 (ish), was new and an enormous deal.

So as to add to the anxiousness, there was an enormous gong along side the stage. In case your speech ran extra time, somebody would ring the gong.

I imagine this was Jill’s FIRST TIME ON A STAGE. And he or she rocked it!

Simply take into consideration that. Jill went from being a stay-at-home mother to talking on a world stage in entrance of lots of (possibly hundreds; it is all a blur now). That could be “regular” in the present day, however again then, what Jill did was revolutionary.

Jill was a trailblazer.

Many individuals within the web optimization business can hint their success and lineage again to Jill and one thing they discovered from her. She welcomed new girls getting into our then-male-dominated business, encouraging them to take the stage and set up their model. Hell, she even began her personal Excessive Rankings convention collection.

Jill was a badass.

When Jill retired from the web optimization business, I used to be nearly…jealous. She left on the top of the celebration, deciding web optimization wasn’t enjoyable anymore, and it was time to maneuver on. But once more, she remodeled her life by getting wholesome, singing karaoke, recording phrases of knowledge from her kayak, and having fun with life.

The lady I knew, who popped vegetable gummy nutritional vitamins as a result of she hated actual greens, was doing yoga, talking at 3P occasions, and had a weblog known as What Did You Do With Jill, reaching a brand new viewers of parents hungry for her knowledge.

Jill was a metamorphosis artist.

…

Maintain on to your family members tight, my associates. And to all my early days web optimization associates — if I have never advised you recently, I like you all. Thanks for being a part of my life.

Relaxation in energy, my pal.

Mike Grehan wrote partially (hyperlink may not work):

I’m so saddened to listen to simply in the present day that Jill Whalen has handed. She actually was the primary girl of web optimization. She and I turned massive associates initially of the business and remained so all through. We did not see one another a lot in any respect after she retired. However I stayed in contact and she or he had a complete new factor occurring residing in DC and was very comfortable. She by no means advised me that she was battling most cancers.

My ideas are together with her household. Jill was a novel voice within the web optimization business again within the day. And we all the time seemed ahead to seeing one another on the many, many conferences we spoke at collectively. Thanks, Jill for the large contribution and the fantastic friendship we had.

I am positive I’ve many pics of us collectively at conferences. That is the primary one I got here throughout. Me with Jill (left) and Scotty (proper) members of the unique SES Convention crew. We might all the time be discovered hanging on the bar for comfortable hour (and every other hour we fancied too). Fantastic occasions, and fantastic recollections.

RIP my pal Jill.

And her daughter, Corie Stein wrote partially (click on by way of to learn the complete publish):

After a quick however valiant battle with an particularly aggressive kind of most cancers, I’m devastated to share that my mother Jill handed away peacefully on June ninth. All the pieces occurred so quick, and it doesn’t really feel actual regardless of my intense involvement together with her care. My mother was within the midst of residing her finest retired life with my dad, significantly as an “Amma” to Max, when this horrific illness struck her down a little bit over three months in the past.

After I was rising up, she was a keep at residence mother. However I witnessed up shut how she turned an surprising but unimaginable entrepreneur. Within the 90s, she was on the forefront of what advanced into Search Engine Optimization (web optimization). She is rightfully acknowledged as a pioneer in that subject, and I watched as the lady who was traditionally too shy to select up the cellphone was invited to talk at conferences everywhere in the world. And he or she did it. At one level, a number of years earlier than she retired from her wildly profitable profession operating her firm Excessive Rankings, I obtained to go together with her to the “Googleplex” in California. I nonetheless have the 2007 “Google Dance” t-shirt. Within the days earlier than she handed, she mirrored on and was very happy with that profession, as she needs to be.

Appears like a chaotic time to step in and share this, however I’ve been absent on right here recently as a result of, sadly, my mother @jillwhalen handed away this week after a brief however exhausting fought battle with an particularly aggressive kind of most cancers. To say I’m devastated could be an understatement.…

— Corie Whalen (@CorieWhalen) June 14, 2025

I used to be deeply saddened to listen to in the present day concerning the passing of @jillwhalen earlier this month. Jill was a search pioneer and an unimaginable human being. I all the time loved my interactions together with her.

My honest sympathies to her daughter @CorieWhalen and the remainder of her household.

— Casey Markee (@MediaWyse) June 22, 2025