I was born and raised in Ireland. I am now a naturalized citizen of the United States. My real name is Fionnuala and I changed it to Fionn when I moved to the US. The ancient Irish name spelling did not do well in the US market! I moved to the United States in 1996 with my family and I have been taking full advantage of the strong supportive entrepreneurial climate of my adopted country. I have founded 5 companies since 2003 and have helped many entrepreneurs like myself to become very successful in the online space. I have worked with Fortune 500 Companies and I am passionate about training and education in a field which I love and has been very good to me.
When the Coronavirus first hit and we were told to stay home. I was looking for employment and I had decided to update my blog. When I started updating it I decided to change it from a business blog to a more personal blog incorporating my two great passions cooking and travelling.
Work Bio:
“Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined having a second career which has been so rewarding and fulfilling. Online Marketing has opened many doors and allowed me to grow as a business leader in a truly great industry where there is never a dull moment” – Fionn Downhill
I am the Chief Executive Officer of Elixir Interactive (http://www.elixirinteractive.com). Established in February 2003, Elixir is a digital marketing agency that focuses on search and social media. They specialize in helping companies understand how their customers think and interact online and then use that information to develop highly targeted marketing programs. By leveraging experience, technology and creativity, they deliver results that generate sales, brand awareness and outstanding ROI. As an organic SEO company Elixir under my guidance saw the need to create more efficient tools to manage the SEO process. Elixir created the SyCara SEO tool set which became a separate entity which was acquired in 2015 by SimPartners.
I believe that the cornerstone of Elixir Interactive is delivering value and excellent customer service. Elixir Interactive strives to create dynamic partnerships with all their clients to ensure Search Engine Marketing is a major contributing factor in the growth of their online presence, and sales and lead generation efforts.
After completing my management education, I specialized in training. I received advanced training qualifications with the prestigious Guardian Business Service and the Industrial Institute of Great Britain and worked with organizations such as British Airways, and Price Waterhouse.
I was very involved in the advancement of search engine marketing and I am a strong advocate for best business practices in the industry. I am a past board member of the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO). I was a founding member and past chair of the SEMPO Institute which was launched to provide first class training for the search engine marketing industry worldwide. I am a frequent speaker on Search Engine Marketing. I have been a Search Engine Watch subject matter expert and wrote a very successful column called “The Business of Search”. I am an accomplished speaker on the subject of search marketing and search marketing training. I have has spoken at AD-Tech, Search Engine Strategies, SMX Expo, Searchnomics, AMA, Society for women engineers to name a few. I have been quoted on the subject of Online Reputation management and has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, NPR on the subject. I am a past faculty Associate at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at ASU where I developed and taught digital marketing for their Global Management certificate program. I also developed a 28 module online digital marketing course for Thunderbird at ASU.
