About Us
Sterling Sky Inc was founded in 2017 by Joy Hawkins. Joy has been working in the SEO industry since 2006. She worked for 2 different online marketing agencies for a total of 11 years before starting Sterling Sky. You may have seen us around online at:
Our Achievements
Here are some of our achievements:
- Columnist on Search Engine Land
- Google My Business Product Experts
- Speaker at State of Search, Pubcon, & SMX
- Writer for Moz
- Faculty Member & Speaker at LocalU
- Owners of the Local Search Forum
- Moz Local Search Ranking Factors Contributors
- Certified Google Partner
Joy Hawkins
Owner/Founder
Joy Hawkins has been working in the Local SEO industry since 2006 and loves being a Google Top Contributor. She also loves spending time managing Google Ads accounts and has been certified in both Google Search & Display. She is also a speaker at various search engine marketing conferences such as SMX & LocalU, Pubcon & Mozcon. Joy…
Colan Nielsen
VP of Local Search
Colan started in the local SEO world back in 2010 and is also deemed a product expert by Google as a Top Contributor on the Google My Business Forum. He is a contributor to Moz’s famous Local Search Ranking Factors survey and is a former Google MapMaker Regional Lead. Like Joy, he is obsessed with everything related to…
Deborah Hickey
Paid Search Analyst
Deborah has been working with Google Ads since 2010. She loves problem solving and is always up to the challenge of optimizing Ads accounts for many types of industries. She also enjoys baking and loves to challenge herself with any new or complex recipes. On her free time she loves having tea parties and playing…
Yan Gilbert
Senior SEO Specialist & Analyst
Yan has been creating websites since 2008 and now enjoys helping others grow their businesses through SEO. He is certified in many digital marketing products including Google Analytics, Google Mobile sites and Inbound Marketing through Hubspot Academy. Armed with a psychology degree from McGill University, Yan is adept at finding ways to help businesses achieve…
Richard Hawkins
Chief Technology Officer
Richard has been running IT systems for over a decade and graduated from Liberty University in 2008 with his Bachelor of Science in Communications. When he’s not working with his wife, Joy, he works full-time as a video editor & technician for Living Truth.
Josh Mallett
Paid Search Analyst
Josh has been working with Google AdWords since 2013. He enjoys doing the day-to-day maintenance, troubleshooting issues with accounts and doing keyword research. His parents are still trying to understand how he makes money; and some say he ages backwards. When he isn’t working, he is usually out climbing mountains?
Nikki Brown
Local SEO Analyst & Account Manager
Nikki has been working in the Local SEO industry since early 2014. She is passionate about helping small businesses and uses her ever growing knowledge of the industry to help them succeed. Nikki has a Business Management degree from Ryerson University, where she majored in Marketing. In her spare time, Nikki loves to spend time with her husband and 2-year-old daughter.
Wes Michy
Publicist & Local SEO Analyst
Wes began his career working in mass media in 2004, but decided to learn more about “The Google” in 2011. Since then he’s been working in the trenches securing earned media links and publicity for his clients, deep diving into competitor research, and being an all-around outreach pro. Similarly to how Neo sees the world…
Dave DiGregorio
Director of Local Search
Dave has been in the digital space for over 15 years now, dating back to high school, where he created his first website for a robotics class. As a hobby in college and shortly thereafter, he created and maintained various sports forums and blogs, before moving on to a professional role for an SEO agency. Starting out as an Analyst doing reporting and link building, Dave worked his way up to the Senior SEO Specialist role, where he worked on the technical SEO for the agency’s corporate sites.
Zach Mallett
Paid Search Analyst
Zach works on Google Ads accounts and link building. He enjoys learning new things, optimizing accounts, and finding that perfect keyword. In his spare time, He is often volunteering at his church, just hanging out with friends or getting beat in a game of Super Smash Bros.
Becky Weller
Content Writer & Local SEO Analyst
New to the team, Becky comes from a writing-focused background. She previously worked both in the healthcare field and for a website designer working on content creation and some limited optimization. She is an eager student, ready to dive deeper into the world of SEO and learn all she can from her incredibly experienced colleagues. In her off time she also writes young adult fiction novels, and loves spending time with her two kids and husband.
Jason Brown
Local Search Analyst & Spam Fighter
Jason Brown is a Local SEO Specialist at Sterling Sky. He is one of our spam fighters and is also a Google My Business Product Expert on the Google My Business forum. He spends his free time battling fake online business reviews. He has over 13 years working in SEO and is a leading expert on online reviews. He is also a columnist for SEMrush and a regular speaker at Pubcon.
Carrie Hill
Local Search Analyst & Community Manager
Carrie comes to Sterling Sky with SEO experience that dates back to 2006! She has a passion for figuring out what works for each and every client and picking apart the problems that arise in our “it depends” relationship with Google. When notnoodling around in all things Local Search, Carrie can be found curled up with her 4 dogs, 1 cat, and a good book – or cooking up something fairly amazing in the kitchen.
Brian Barwig
Local SEO Analyst & Account Manager
Brian has been working in Local SEO since 2008 when he began building an online business. He has built several websites from the ground up and enjoys all aspects of Local SEO, especially helping small businesses grow. When not doing SEO things, you can find him at a hockey rink playing, or coaching his 2 kids.
Is This You?
Sterling Sky Might be Hiring!
Occasionally we’re looking for the right fit for our amazing team, do you think you have what it takes? If you’re interested in working with the best of the best, drop us an email with your resume/CV and we’ll take a look!
Client Testimonials
Read about the experiences our clients have had with Sterling Sky.
Colan reviewed our website and then delivered a report on how to optimize for local SEO. He presented factor after factor, accompanied by separate TO DO lists for each. MY partner and I both recognized the excellence and value of the information delivered. Colan, thank you. https://www.lidivorcemediation.com/
In the past 10 years we've worked with many SEO companies to improve our web presence, organic positioning, and lead generation. Absolutely none of those companies were able to make an impact on our business like Sterling Sky has.
Sterling Sky specializes in value-driven SEO, which to a small business like ours means smart, strategic, long term, value-aligned SEO, and not gaming the latest twists for ephemeral gains.
Sterling Sky constantly strives to create a detailed understanding of our business industry in general and our particular space specifically - then combines that knowledge with our SOAP analysis and desired market positioning. The Sterling Sky team utilizes a wide range of strategies from internal brainstorming, website improvement, link building, earned media, and advertising. I experience this congruence personally because I have a monthly meeting to go over exactly this analysis on each of our verticals. Essentially, Sterling Sky is a detailed oriented, custom-built, local SEO company that is interested in understanding its clients' business in order to deliver long term value and relationship.
Over the past years, our business has grown constantly, culminating in more than 50% growth in 2019 alone. I attribute a significant chunk of that growth to our relationship with Sterling Sky maturing after years of carefully building blocks of success with our partnership. After being burned several times with generic, copy-paste one size fit-all SEO companies, I can confidently and very happily say that we found a home SEO company with whom we intend to have a very long partnership.
https://www.makingyousmile.nyc
Joy Hawkins is one of the most knowledgeable local search practitioners in the industry. She understands how to research, identify, and solve GMB ranking issues like no one else. If you’re struggling to rank in local search, Joy is the consultant that will get you on the right track. www.whitespark.ca