Marshall Simmonds

Marshall Simmonds is the Founder of Define Media Group, a boutique consulting firm specializing in enterprise AI search marketing, strategic audience development and acquisition diligence.

He has been active in search since 1997. From 1999 to 2011, he served as Chief Search Strategist at About.com, where he oversaw its growth into one of the most trafficked content networks on the internet. When About.com was acquired by The New York Times Company in 2005, Marshall assumed responsibility for search strategy across the full NYTCo portfolio — including NYTimes.com, Boston.com, and the International Herald Tribune in Paris — growing search referrals to more than 25% of total traffic. Define Media Group was formally spun off from NYTCo in January 2011.

Over nearly three decades in the industry, Marshall has worked with some of the most recognized brands online, including The New York Times, Salesforce, Bloomberg, NBA, Netflix, NPR, The Boston Globe (Boston.com), J.Crew, NBC Universal, Versant Media, Consumer Reports, Carter's, New York Magazine, PwC, iHeartRadio, Straight Arrow News, Weather.com, Gannett, USA Today, The Economist, Business Insider, Wenner Media, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), Hearst Digital Publications, Time Inc., AARP, Condé Nast, Newsweek, Oprah.com, ESPN International, NHL.com, Madison Square Garden, National Geographic, CBS, the Canadian Broadcasting Company, and many others.

Marshall studied Psychology, Sociology and Speech Communications at Portland State University in Oregon.