Imagine if search engine optimization (SEO) was simple.
For many, that seems like an impossibility. But for Eric Ritter, it’s a mission.
Ritter is a nationally sought-after digital marketing expert. He is the self-proclaimed SEO Sommelier and CEO of Digital Neighbor — a Tampa digital marketing agency.
Born and raised in Mainz, Germany — a city on the Rhine River that has been famous for wine since the days of the Roman empire — Ritter grew up among vineyards and vintners. From a very early age, he was instilled with an appreciation for quality and the keen attention to detail required to create a fine, world-class product.
Ritter brought that passion to his profession but was surprised time and again when colleagues and superiors didn’t share his high standards.
“Most of my working life, I felt frustrated,” Ritter said. “Frustrated working in agencies that settled for less and gave their clients not nearly enough. Frustrated as I transitioned into in-house work and the lack of action and accountability.”
Ritter recalled the phrase “good enough” being thrown around a lot. At first, it felt like he was being instructed to wrap up one project and start on the next priority, but he soon understood it as an imposition of low expectations. And that was not good enough for him.
“For me, meeting expectations is not enough, and it has never been. That’s why I broke free in 2016 and started Digital Neighbor — a full-service digital marketing agency that focuses on making SEO simple and, yes, even fun!”
Digital Neighbor is the product of Ritter’s friendly personality and years of experience honing very specific techniques. He built his team around tailoring those best practices into custom digital marketing solutions. No matter the business’ size, industry, or location, no company gets an action plan identical to any other.
Ritter credits that personalized attention as the key to Digital Neighbor’s success.
“My clients come to me for the expertise and in-depth attention, and that’s precisely what they deserve and more. So I get to know each company’s situation and work from there—no one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter proposals from me. I pair every company with the digital marketing strategy and services it needs in much the same way a sommelier pairs the proper wine with your meal. It’s why I recently started calling myself the SEO Sommelier.”
SEO Sommelier is more than a title for Ritter. It’s an opportunity to bring his passion for wine and vinification into the digital marketing space, and he wants to share that with you.
Join Ritter for Sip & Search — a series of private wine tastings and marketing workshops for businesses and community leaders in the Tampa area. Click here for a list of upcoming events. Seating is limited, so interested parties are encouraged to RSVP right away.
Since he built his first website in 1995, Ritter has won many awards for innovation, advertising, and creativity. He has also been published a number of times and is a regular contributor to well-respected digital marketing publications and podcasts.
Today, in addition to his roles as SEO Sommelier and CEO of Digital Neighbor, Ritter is a popular speaker and an avid marathon participant who runs 40 miles per week. He is also a professor of Digital Media for The Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications at the University of South Florida in Tampa — a position he has held since 2010.
