# Ross Hudgens

> Ross Hudgens is the founder and CEO of Siege Media, a content-led SEO agency he built from a one-person freelance operation in 2012 into a 100-person, Inc. 5000 honoree (six consecutive years) backed by private equity at an eight-figure valuation. A Chapman University marketing graduate, he cut his teeth as the first employee at Single Grain before going solo after Google's Penguin update reshaped the industry. Today he advises brands like Zapier, Casper, and Airbnb on organic growth, co-created the GrowthComet agency training course, angel-invested in SparkToro, and in 2026 published 'Generative Engine Optimization: The Definitive Guide to AI SEO' with Wiley — cementing his position at the forefront of AI-era search strategy.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Siege Media
- **Organizations:** Siege Media, GrowthComet, YPO (Young Presidents' Organization)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S., Business Administration (Marketing Emphasis), Chapman University
- **Known for:** Built Siege Media from a solo freelance operation to a 100-person agency with $148M+ annual client traffic value, Inc. 5000 honoree six consecutive years, Named to Inc.'s Best Workplaces list

## Career timeline

- **2009** — Graduated Chapman University; began SEO career at Billy.com as Manager, SEO
- **2010** — Joined Single Grain as first employee under Sujan Patel; grew client base from 3 to 20 clients
- **2011** — Moved to Full Beaker Inc. (Seattle) as Manager, SEO; grew company from inception to multi-million dollar revenue in insurance/mortgage verticals
- **2012** — Founded Siege Media in August after Google's Penguin update disrupted lead-gen site model
- **2016** — Siege Media hit $2.1M in annual revenue
- **2017** — Revenue grew to $3.2M (~50% YoY); team expansion
- **2018** — Angel invested in SparkToro (Rand Fishkin's audience research tool) — part of $1.3M round from 35 angels
- **2021** — Sold majority stake in Siege Media to Protective Technologies Capital LLC at an eight-figure valuation; remained CEO
- **2021** — Co-created GrowthComet — 84-lesson agency training course with Johnathan Dane (KlientBoost CEO)
- **2023** — Joined YPO (Young Presidents' Organization) in May
- **2024** — Presented 'Data-Driven Lessons from 12+ Years of Content-Led SEO' at BrightonSEO San Diego
- **2025** — Delivered 'The Evolving Content Marketing Playbook' at SEO Week; argued brand is now the biggest SEO differentiator
- **2026** — Published 'Generative Engine Optimization: The Definitive Guide to AI SEO' with Wiley (ISBN 9781394439805)
- **2026** — Running full-day GEO training course at BrightonSEO San Diego (September)

## Achievements

- Built Siege Media from a solo freelance operation to a 100-person agency with $148M+ annual client traffic value
- Inc. 5000 honoree six consecutive years
- Named to Inc.'s Best Workplaces list
- Sold majority stake at eight-figure valuation to Protective Technologies Capital (2021)
- Angel investor in SparkToro ($1.3M seed round, 2018)
- Co-created GrowthComet — 84-lesson agency training course
- Published 'Generative Engine Optimization: The Definitive Guide to AI SEO' with Wiley (2026)
- Member of YPO (Young Presidents' Organization)
- Conference speaker: MozCon, BrightonSEO, SEO Week, SearchLove, SMX, BlueglassX
- Work featured in NYT, Washington Post, Forbes, Hacker News

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Building Siege Media's third annual Content Marketing Trends Report; running industry survey for 2026 benchmarks.
- **2026-01** — Published 'Generative Engine Optimization: The Definitive Guide to AI SEO' with Wiley (ISBN 9781394439805).
- **2026-09** — Scheduled to present and run full-day GEO training at BrightonSEO San Diego.
- **2025-04** — Delivered 'The Evolving Content Marketing Playbook' at SEO Week 2025 — argued brand equity is the dominant SEO signal.
- **2024-09** — Presented 'Data-Driven Lessons from 12+ Years of Content-Led SEO' at BrightonSEO San Diego.

## Links

- Website: https://www.siegemedia.com/team/ross-hudgens
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosshudgens/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/RossHudgens
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosshudgens/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ross-hudgens
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-26