I've never met Matt, but he made me smarter-- more aware of how search engines work.

I illustrated a post about guest blogging back in 2014. It talked about how guest blogging could no longer be used as a sneaky SEO tactic. You could no longer hire someone to write a junky post and fill it with links to lure people to your site. Why not? Because Google was wise to the tactic, and Matt Cutts had just shut it down.

I decided to include a caricature of Matt in the illustration. I read a lot about him as I did my research, and it was clear he was a very smart, respected, and well-liked guy. My condolences to Matt, and I shall keep him in my prayers.