Samy Thuillier
Verified Expert in Marketing
Marketing Expert
Lisbon, Portugal
Toptal member since November 18, 2022
Samy is a digital marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) expert with 10 years of experience supervising marketing teams or executing operational parts hands-on. He was involved in the digital marketing of 200+ sites, and his strategies resulted in two companies adding over $25 million in revenue. Samy is also an SEO instructor who created The Complete SEMRush Course on Udemy and wrote 500+ SEO-optimized articles for clients and himself.
Project Highlights
Expertise
- Digital Marketing Strategy
- Google Ads
- International Marketing
- Paid Search
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Semrush
- Team Leadership
Work Experience
Marketing Director - SEO and Social Media
Alan's Factory Outlet
- Oversaw the marketing department as marketing director, defining SEO, eCommerce SEO, and social media strategies that expanded the customer base by 20%.
- Implemented innovative SEO and local SEO tactics and social media campaigns, resulting in a 7x increase in revenue on these channels, with a record-breaking $15 million annual sales volume.
- Started YouTube SEO, Pinterest marketing and SEO, top-of-funnel content (ToFu), and bottom-of-funnel content (BoFu), contributing to $750,000 in sales through these platforms.
- Recruited and mentored a dedicated team of seven professionals, including SEO experts, senior designers, and content creators, leading to a 30% improvement in overall sales performance.
VP of Marketing
Dacast
- Managed the marketing function with an emphasis on championing corporate branding and personal branding, expanding the customer base by 20%, and increasing customer engagement.
- Achieved sales objectives and profit marketing totaling $10 million in annual sales volume.
- Increased sales by 11% by defining a new brand identity, including a new mascot, typography, and tone of voice.
- Generated $550,000 in sales after developing 15+ email campaigns and digital newsletters through HubSpot. Defined and oversaw multi-channel campaigns using search, display, YouTube, remarketing, and Performance Max.
- Hired and trained a team of ten developers, UX designers, content writers, and project managers, improving overall sales by 20%.
Chief Marketing Officer
Online Freelance Agency
- Directed the strategy and launch of a global site redesign, lifting visits by 50%, engagement by 40%, and user satisfaction by 10%.
- Drove the strategy and execution for a digital campaign on LinkedIn, outperforming the engagement goals by 45%.
- Developed viral marketing, cross-channel, and inbound marketing campaigns, eclipsing engagement goals by 20%.
- Increased the conversion rate by 30% by optimizing customer incentives through tiered promotional campaigns, marketing materials, and direct marketing.
- Contributed to the company being ranked in the top 50 of FT 1000 in 2020, the Financial Times' annual list of Europe's fastest-growing companies.
- Oversaw the work of 11 people, including developers, writers, and designers, to develop traffic, identity issues, and implement site efficiency by 23%.
Head of Digital Marketing
Adveris
- Led the marketing team of the best French web agency in 2020, with 120 contracts signed in 592 days, that is, one contract every five days.
- Oversaw the SEO of a client ranked first in patent security, achieving over a 13% increase in annual recurring revenue and earning over €1.4 million per year on 46 keywords on Google.
- Implemented international SEO and intervened in Google Ads, Facebook Ads, social media, and email marketing missions for clients like KitchenAid, Lidl, Porsche, Atlantic, NETGEAR, Groupe BPCE, La Laitière by Nestlé, La Tour d'Argent, and Well..
Growth Hacking and Digital Marketing Specialist
Self-employed
- Created an eCommerce strategy for a fashion brand, achieving €1 million in revenue in 12 months.
- Redefined a pharmaceutical company's community management, getting 3,000+ fans per month and increasing engagement on posts by 400% and 20% on website visits.
- Generated 5,000 new leads for a bedding company due to SEO and Google Ads.
Founder and Head of Marketing
Cavalier Bleu
- Created an eCommerce menswear brand from scratch targeting urban customers aged 25–35 with a casual chic style and achieved the break-even goal in year two and €500,000 in annual revenue in year three.
- Devised a marketing strategy for client acquisition on social media—ensuring effective Facebook and Instagram account management and display and email marketing—achieving 10,000 orders in 22 countries in three years, of which 15% were repeat orders.
- Managed a team of six people, including their recruitment and training, and developed an onboarding process.
Project History
Digital Marketing Strategy for Live-streaming Platform
http://dacast.comDeveloped and implemented a highly successful digital marketing and account-based marketing (ABM) strategy for a video and live-streaming platform, resulting in $1.2+ million of revenue in seven months.
Dacast is a B2B live-streaming online video platform with 5,000 clients in 47 countries that allows businesses to broadcast and host live and on-demand video content and offer free or paid programming.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Defined and implemented a new strategy following Google core updates.
• Defined new semantics, keywords, and silos.
• Coordinated an SEO team of one director and three writers.
• Performed on-page and off-page technical optimizations.
• Defined a new backlinks strategy.
• Increased the traffic by over 15%, gaining 270,000 unique monthly visitors, and revenue by over 12% and counting thanks to SEO.
PAID SEARCH
• Defined and managed multi-channel campaigns using search, display, YouTube, retargeting, and Performance Max.
• Provided copywriting services for new campaigns.
• Coordinated a dedicated team.
• Achieved a 30% increase in revenue for the same monthly budget and a 25% reduction in CPL.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Implemented HubSpot, ABM strategy, and marketing automation.
• Created landing pages for promotional operations.
• Increased ARPU by over 10%.
Digital Marketing Strategy for Freelance Platform
Developed and deployed a multi-channel digital strategy resulting in €5+ million in sales and 633% more website traffic.
• Drove strategy and execution for a digital brand campaign, outperforming engagement goals by 30% and traffic by 633%.
• Conceived a new LinkedIn marketing strategy to develop top-of-mind awareness and move from a bland identity to a witty brand, which increased site traffic from Linkedin by 247%.
• Increased the AOV by 15% by revamping the SEO content strategy. Hired and trained a team of 10 writers, link builders, and developers to expand traffic opportunities and improve website efficiency.
• Led new customer acquisition campaigns through SEM, retargeting, and Facebook advertising.
• Identified new opportunities for user acquisition and revenue growth with referral marketing, Amazon, and loyalty program.
SEO Director for Top-tier Travel Company
Designed, implemented, and supervised a new SEO strategy resulting in €2+ million revenue, 6,294 new customers, and 200,000+ visits per month.
Lidl Voyages is France’s third biggest website for travel offers, with 60,000 clients and €17 million in revenue.
SEO OPTIMIZATION
I led a complete technical on-page and off-page analysis of the platform and interviewed users to optimize UX, page speed, and Google crawl budget.
SEO CONTENT
I researched questions and articles at different stages of the buyer’s journey, such as awareness, consideration, and decision, and created a complete content strategy.
EMAIL MARKETING
I segmented the customer email database to send specific, automated offers according to their behavior. Using growth hacking, I enriched the email database with prospects looking like existing customers.
SEO Specialist for World Leader in Trademark Protection
Optimized the website and landing pages, resulting in 237% growth in organic traffic over 18 months.
MY ROLE
• Planned and developed a content plan for the website to rank on new keywords.
• Defined a backlink strategy to develop the website’s authority.
• Performed technical optimizations on the website in HTML/CSS.
• Managed a team of writers and link builders.
• Used Semrush, Google Analytics, and Screaming Frog to perform SEO analysis and monitor web analytics.
SEO and Paid Search Director for World's Leading Network Products
Designed, implemented, and supervised the SEO and paid ads strategy for the leading company in networking products, earning $1.6+ million in revenue.
OVERVIEW
NETGEAR is an American computer networking company based in San Jose, California, with offices in 22 other countries. It produces networking hardware for consumers, businesses, and service providers.
OFF-PAGE OPTIMIZATION
I designed a complete strategy to get backlinks to catch up on the competition and be the first on the page for important keywords.
CREATING TARGETED CONTENT
I researched questions and articles at different stages of the buyer’s journey map and created a content strategy.
PAID ADS
I designed a complete acquisition strategy on Google Ads and Twitter Ads to get qualified leads interested in networking products; especially enterprise leads to maximize the revenue.
Paid Search Director for Home Appliance Company
Developed Google Ads campaigns in five countries for a top-tier home appliance company, resulting in 35% online sales.
OVERVIEW
KitchenAid is an American home appliance brand owned by Whirlpool Corporation. I led their Google Ads strategy in France, Italy, Germany, England, and Spain.
MY ROLE
• Worked with the marketing team to create and launch new campaigns, resulting in a 25% increase in conversion rate.
• Conducted keyword research and monitored the performance of search terms on Google Ads for optimal results.
• Managed PPC account budgets while ensuring that they remained within budget guidelines.
• Collaborated with the SEO team to ensure that landing pages were optimized for conversions.
• Created weekly reports detailing campaign progress and sent them to management for review.
Paid Search Specialist for eCommerce Company
Devised Google Ads campaigns for the accounting app of a software company resulting in €1+ million in revenue in 12 months.
MY ROLE
• Monitored, analyzed, and reported on campaign performance on a daily basis, making recommendations for optimization based on findings.
• Conducted ongoing keyword research and expansion, as well as negative keyword discovery, to continually improve campaign reach and performance.
• Utilized bid management tools to make recommendations on keyword bidding to maximize ROI.
Education
Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance and Risk Management
HEC Paris - Paris, France
Master's Degree in Political Science
Sciences Po - Lyon, France
Skills
Core
Google Ads, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Digital Marketing Strategy, Digital Marketing, Paid Advertising, SEO Content, Content Strategy, B2C Marketing, Copywriting, On-page SEO, SEO Keyword Research, SEO Audits, Brand Marketing, Growth Hacking, Funnel Optimization, Email Marketing, LinkedIn Marketing, Inbound Marketing, Branding, Facebook Ads, Social Media, Social Media Content, Social Media Strategy, Instagram Marketing, Facebook Marketing, Community Management, Social Media Posting, Social Media Marketing (SMM), Local SEO, SEO Tools, Account-based Marketing (ABM), Customer Engagement, Pinterest, Pinterest Marketing
Business Models
SaaS, SaaS Product Marketing
Platforms & Tools
HubSpot, Ahrefs, X (formerly Twitter) Marketing
Technical
Google Search Console, HTML, CSS
Other
Semrush, Google Optimize, Paid Search, International Marketing, Consulting, Team Management, Team Leadership, B2B Marketing, Technical SEO, Growth Marketing, Startups, Programmatic Marketing, Website Redesign, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Direct Marketing, YouTube Marketing, eCommerce, eCommerce SEO, Tone of Voice, International SEO, Corporate Branding, Personal Branding, Instagram Account Management, Viral Marketing, Remarketing, Digital Newsletters, Newsletters, Marketing Materials, Startup Marketing, Loyalty Marketing, ConvertKit
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