Full Name Richard Conway Children 2 children Role Computer entrepreneur | Residence Auckland, New Zealand Name Richard Conway | |
Occupation Founder of Search Engine Optimisation company Pure SEO | ||
Richard Conway (born 1978) is a British-New Zealand computer entrepreneur who has a BSc (Hons) in business computing from Leeds Metropolitan University. The founder of search engine optimisation company Pure SEO, he is based in New Zealand's largest city, Auckland. Richard and his wife Emily have two children.
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Early career
Richard’s early work experience included working on a multidimensional database at PricewaterhouseCoopers and as a venture analyst for Dawnay Day group. In 2001, while working in the commercial property industry for Tarn & Tarn, an East London estate agent, Richard began to develop experience in search engine optimisation (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM).
Richard set up his first Google AdWords campaign in 2002, focusing on commercial property acquisition. In one year, his success in this area saw the company reduce spending on national advertising from 180,000GDP to 24,000GDP with double the number of customer enquiries.
Pure SEO
Pure SEO is New Zealand’s top-ranked commercial website for the search term ‘search engine optimisation’ and ‘SEO’. Operating from Beaumont Street in the Auckland CBD, Pure SEO provides search engine optimisation, AdWords and social media marketing services to national and international companies.
Richard established the company after he moved to New Zealand from the UK in 2009. Pure SEO has grown from a one-man operation to a company of 20 full-time staff and 150 clients in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. Among Pure SEO’s clients are Fletcher Building, Subaru of New Zealand, Turners Auctions and the New Zealand Heart Foundation.
In early 2014, The Harvard Group became an investor in Pure SEO, and the web firm was awarded a Deloitte Certificate of Achievement as sixth-ranked New Zealand business in the Asia Pacific Technology Fast 500, reflective of an annual growth of 508%.
Richard’s ambitious goal of being the top-ranked commercial website for the term ‘SEO’ was achieved in early 2012.
Pure SEO won the Google Engage All Stars Agency 2013 and The Supreme Award at the David Awards 2013, and was a finalist in the 2013 Westpac Auckland Central Business Awards. It is a member of the NDM (Network of Digital Marketers) for the New Zealand Marketing Association.
Career Highlights
Pure SEO was named the New Zealand winner of the 2013 Google Engage All-Stars competition in July of the same year. Pure SEO's win meant a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Richard, who spent two days at Google HQ, the Googleplex, in San Francisco, talking to other practitioners from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Mexico and Australia.
In July 2014, Richard was personally invited to the privately owned Necker Island for four days as part of an elite group of entrepreneurs to network and enjoy Richard Branson’s hospitality.
Richard is a member of Entrepreneurs Organization and the Auckland Rotary Club and lectures as part of the digital marketing course for the New Zealand Marketing Association. He also wrote and teaches the Marketing Association ‘SEO, Need to Know’ workshop.