About Mark Excell
I have spent the last twenty years working across search, design and development, and the honest answer to why is that I find all three genuinely interesting. Not as separate things, but as parts of the same problem. A website that ranks well but is a struggle to use has solved half the problem. A beautifully designed site that nobody finds has solved the other half. Getting both right at the same time is where the interesting work happens.
How I got here
I started out in design studios and print production, which taught me the fundamentals of visual communication before the industry shifted decisively towards digital. There is something valuable about learning craft in a physical context, understanding how colour behaves in print, how type sits on a page, how a layout guides the eye, before translating those principles to a screen.
When digital took over, I moved with it. I spent time at Racoon Digital working on accounts including Cartoon Network, Unilever and McDonald's, which gave me a thorough education in how large organisations think about brand consistency and quality at scale. What I noticed, though, was a gap in the market. At the time, businesses either paid agency rates for agency quality, or they went to a web shop and got something functional but generic. I wanted to offer something different: proper strategic thinking, genuine craft, and real accountability, at a price point that worked for businesses who deserved better than the budget option.
Running my own consultancy for fourteen years taught me things that no certification can replicate. How to diagnose a problem properly before proposing a solution. How to have honest conversations with clients when something is not working. How to build the kind of trust that means clients come back, and recommend you to others. The results speak for themselves in some cases, but the relationships matter just as much.
The move into teaching felt like a natural extension of something I had always done informally. Throughout my career I had mentored colleagues, explained technical concepts to non-technical clients, and helped people understand things that felt intimidating at first. Formalising that through a teaching qualification and a lecturing role at a local college felt like the right next step. Teaching something well forces you to understand it more deeply than simply doing it, and I have become a better practitioner as a result.
Right now I am at an interesting point. I am actively developing my knowledge in areas that are moving fast, particularly Generative Engine Optimisation and AI-driven search, while also thinking carefully about where I want to take things next. This site is part of that process.
In addition, I have also invested time in formal study and professional certifications from organisations including IBM, Google, Meta and the University of California, Davis. The full list is on the home page.
How I work
A few things have stayed constant across twenty years of working in different contexts, for different clients, in different disciplines.
Craft matters
Getting things right is not just about meeting a brief. It is about understanding why the brief exists and what success actually looks like. Whether it is a piece of code, a design system or an SEO strategy, the quality of the thinking behind it is what determines whether it works in the long run.
Good work should be accessible
The gap I spotted early in my career has not gone away. Quality strategic thinking and genuine craft should not be the exclusive preserve of organisations with large budgets. Some of the most rewarding work I have done has been for smaller clients who simply needed someone to take their digital presence seriously.
Precision is not optional
In SEO, an incorrect canonical tag can quietly undermine months of work. In development, a single misplaced character can break a deployment. In design, the difference between something that feels right and something that almost feels right is often a matter of a few pixels and a lot of attention. Getting the details right is not perfectionism, it is professionalism.
Curiosity keeps things honest
The disciplines I work in change constantly. The SEO strategies that worked five years ago are not the same as the ones that work today. GEO did not exist as a discipline two years ago. Staying genuinely curious, continuing to study, and being willing to update your thinking when the evidence changes, is the only honest approach in a field that moves this quickly.
Outside the screen
Away from the screen I have competed in archery at county level for a number of years, representing Dorset and holding four county records. There is more overlap between archery and the work I do than you might expect. Both reward patience, consistency and the ability to stay focused under pressure. Both punish rushing. And in both, the difference between a good result and a great one usually comes down to the quality of the preparation rather than anything that happens in the moment.
I also spend time on game development and AI image generation as personal projects, partly because they are genuinely enjoyable and partly because understanding tools from the inside makes you a better practitioner. You learn things by making things.
