Rand Fishkin

Founder/Wizard of Moz

SparkToro CEO. Author of Lost & Founder. Feminist. I love underdogs, cooking, & helping people do better marketing

In 2018, I started SparkToro, software that makes audience research accessible to everyone. I'm also cofounder of indie game maker, Snackbar Studio, author of Lost and Founder: (2018), prev founded & led Moz (2001-17) and am a frequent keynote speaker on marketing and entrepreneurship. But, I'm probably best known as the amateur chef husband of renowned author, Geraldine DeRuiter.

Cofounder & CEO

I co-founded SparkToro (with Casey Henry) to enable high quality audience research for marketers, PR folks, entrepreneurs, and product builders without the need for expensive, time-consuming, inaccurate surveys or impossible-to-scale manual research.

I'm calling it. Britney Muller's post here yesterday is the most important short piece on AI you'll read this year. Why? 👇👇👇

Cofounder of SparkToro, Alertmouse, & Snackbar Studio. Author of Lost & Founder. Feminist. I love underdogs, cooking, & helping people do better marketing

The marketing "funnel" isn't dead, at least not from the perspective of site owners seeking an analogy of the business-side experience. BUT... if you're seeking analogies for buyer behavior, the funnel really doesn't work anymore.

IMO it's more like a pinball machine. Potential buyers bounce between sources of influence, researching, observing, asking, searching, and browsing before, after, and during the decision-making process. This week's new #5minutewhiteboard breaks down how this works (and hopefully convinces your boss/team/client to stop thinking of buyer journeys as linear, funnel-like processes) 👇

If you somehow missed our joint report with Datos, A Semrush Company from 2 weeks ago:
 - AI tools continue to grow
 - But they're not taking market share from traditional search
 - Zero-click searches continue to rise (based on this + the recent Pew study, I suspect we're now >2/3rds of Google searches ending without a click)
 - Gemini and ChatGPT appear to be the breakout winners in AI. The other LLMs' growth has stalled.
 - The EU continues to adopt AI faster than the US (still surprises me!)
Full report link below 👇

Alexandre Tomic

Alea

Founder

Founder and CEO

Vegas Legends

Netbooster

Ingénieur commercial

I’m the founder of Alea and Vegas Legends—both multi-award-winning companies recognized as pioneers in the global iGaming industry. With 20+ years of experience across B2B and B2C sectors, I’ve built and scaled ventures that combine innovation, regulatory insight, and player-first design to deliver world-class digital gaming experiences.
I began in affiliate marketing, growing into roles as operator, aggregator, and platform architect. This full-spectrum journey gave me a 360° perspective on how the industry functions—user acquisition, retention, gamification, compliance, content curation, and API integration. I focus on building secure, scalable, and adaptive platforms that evolve with players, partners, and shifting regulations.
At Alea, I led the creation of a next-gen casino aggregation platform that changed how operators access and manage content. At Vegas Legends, we merged storytelling with gameplay to build one of the most immersive gamified brands in the market. Both ventures earned top-tier industry awards and built long-standing partnerships with leading providers and regulators.
I’m also an experienced keynote speaker and panelist, sharing insights on platform strategy, industry trends, API innovation, and leadership at global conferences and summits.
In addition to my work as a founder and speaker, I’m the creator and host of Under Pressure, a podcast where I interview iGaming founders about their entrepreneurial journeys—recorded entirely inside a hyperbaric chamber. The concept reflects the reality that “diamonds are made under pressure,” and so are founders. We explore ambition, setbacks, resilience, and breakthrough moments—inside a space that physically represents the pressure they’ve faced.
Outside of gaming, I’m a passionate biohacker and advocate for high-performance living. I explore wellness protocols including NAD+ therapy, hyperbaric oxygen treatment, cognitive enhancement, and longevity science. I believe personal optimization drives better business clarity, creativity, and endurance.
I’m also committed to advancing API governance in iGaming, promoting scalable integration standards that ensure interoperability and resilience as the industry evolves.
Today, my focus is on building at the intersection of technology, performance, and storytelling—whether launching ventures, mentoring startups, or rethinking how platforms and people grow.
Let’s connect—always open to bold ideas, real conversations, and collaborations that move iGaming and tech forward.

Cedomir Tomic

I didn't know if I should do this one.

MICHAEL SCHMITT. The name everyone in iGaming knows but pretends not to. Malta Media. The website you check three times a day hoping your company isn't in the Editor's Choice section.

Back in July, when he posted a photo of some guru with long hair saying I looked like I came back from the future (link in comments), my friends asked if I should be worried. "Maybe he's coming for you," they said.

I met him at SiGMA World. We talked for hours. He was nothing like I expected. And because I’m me and I need to get my highs in new ways these days, I invited him to do the Under Pressure Podcast. 

In this clip, Michael breaks down the Evolution-Playtech war, the Black Cube mess, and why Evolution's behavior stopped looking like crisis management and, maybe, started looking like something else entirely.

Some of you will hate this. Some of you are already in his articles and know exactly what he's capable of finding.

I don't agree with everything he does. But Michael backs everything with documents. He doesn't speculate and maybe that's what scares people. I respect that he doesn't hide behind politeness when the truth is ugly.

Full episode coming soon. Meanwhile, enjoy the clips. More coming next week.

Founder at Alea & Vegas Legends | Host of the Under Pressure podcast | Relentlessly building the most secure and reliable casino game aggregator | Promoting API governance & best integration practices in iGaming

Third time's the charm, or maybe I just have a problem.

Last week at the SiGMA World Central Europe B2B Awards, I bid on "The Eternal Return" by Lucienne Spiteri. That makes three of her pieces now hanging in our Barcelona office: The Goddess of Good Fortune, Where the Heck is Alice, and now this one.

I'm not an art collector. I don't know the first thing about what makes something valuable in that world. But I know what moves me, and Lucienne's work does that every time. There's something in the balance she captures, the way opposites dance together, that resonates with what we try to build at Alea.

And when you can support incredible talent while funding real projects through the SiGMA Foundation it's not a difficult decision to make. The €120,000 raised that night will go to communities in the Philippines, Brazil, Guatemala, Peru.

That matters as much as any booth or any award.

Thank you Eman PULIS and the entire SiGMA World team for creating these moments where our industry can actually give back.

And it's just as well we've opened up a new office with more wall space.

A final thank-you to my bidders in crime:

- Ode to Ancient Rome by Sandra Kowalski sold to PUNIN GROUP 
- Italian Woman by Alesandra Savina sold to Focus Gaming News 
- Duel by Laura Delia sold to PUNIN GROUP 
- The Eternal Return by Lucienne Spiteri sold to Alea 
- Fate by EDO sold to 18Peaches 
- Cristiano Ronaldo  signed picture donated by The Power Plugin sold to 18Peaches

Just finished judging for The International Gaming Awards  2026.

Second year they're doing it in Barcelona. The city where I used to live. Though Let’s see if I can be objective when the venue is 20 minutes from my office.

Judging is strange. You see what companies actually build versus what they say they build. You see innovation that will matter in three years sitting next to innovation that mattered three years ago but nobody noticed.

The submissions this year were different. Less "look at our huge numbers" and more "look at what we solved." Maybe the industry is maturing. Or maybe I'm just getting older and noticing different things.

The ceremony is January 18th at the InterContinental. 5% of all ticket sales go to Care International and Children with Cancer, so buy a ticket. It’s worth it for that alone. 

Good luck to all the nominees, including, I hope, a few names I know well.

Thank you Colin Thompson, Lana  Thompson from Clever Duck Media for your patience with me, and for adding me to the roster once more.

Seventeen times. That's how often MICHAEL SCHMITT mentioned NEXT.io - The World’s iGaming Community during our four-hour conversation.

I started laughing around mention number twelve. So, of course, I had to ask if Pierre Lindh⚡️ was his nemesis. 

"No bad blood," Michael words. Then he explained what he thinks is wrong with some of their journalism. It's in the reel, I don't think I need to repeat it. 

The real surprise moment, for me, is that the investigator everyone fears, the guy operators don't want to be seen with, he'd go on Next.io's podcast. 

At first, I saw the car crash of it all: Michael asking why their Evolution coverage reads like PR. Pierre asking why Michael built his entire business on making people uncomfortable.

Both would be right, but here's the thing; when you stop and think about it, they're not that different. Michael built everything from outside the club. Pierre built Next.io from inside it. But they both care about the work. Both have strong opinions about what journalism should be. 

I know because the next Under Pressure podcast is with  Mr. Chocolate, himself. (I call Pierre that because Lindh is one letter away from Lindt.) I had the chance to talk to both of them about it. 

I think they'd surprise each other. I think the conversation would be better than either of them expects.

Full episode next Thursday. 

PS: Next.io's writer Zak  Thomas-Akoo's post with the article Michael references: https://lnkd.in/dNdiqyCq

MICHAEL SCHMITT is the most well-known secret in iGaming. Everyone reads his Editor's Choice. Nobody talks about him, or to him. At least not publicly.

The irony? We created him.

He tried to join the club 3 years ago, and we said no, so he built something else. A media site close to pulling a million visitors a month and an investigation firm handling a thousand cases a year.

Even Alea ignored him back in the day. I ignored him.

What people get wrong is thinking he's bitter. Spending 4 days with him in Barcelona changed that for me. 

Tomorrow, the full conversation drops on the Under Pressure YouTube channel.  I'd be interested to know if it changes your perspective, too. 

Sorry it took so long, but the best explosions need time to build.

Quick quiz: anyone guess the last word I said to MICHAEL and that Märit so cleverly replaced with a 🍆? Winner gets one 😋

Quick announcement: This week's Under Pressure is delayed until Tuesday. 

Who's to blame? Watch the blooper reel. The episode is gold. The raw footage? Let's just say I am having a lot of different conversations with a lot of different people.

This is the unglamorous reality of producing controversial content in iGaming: hours of captioning corrections, fact-checking discussions about major operators, and making sure we can actually publish what was said. Because we need to make certain that explosive conversations are released responsibly.

I love my job. I also need a very large drink. 

Tuesday. Be ready. This one's going to be worth every extra hour of bleeping, editing, and praying.(And yes, Cedomir Tomic told me to blame him. MICHAEL SCHMITT told me to blame Alex. I'm blaming the hyperbaric chamber. ✌️)

taplio

The Battle

Rand Fishkin

Cedomir Tomic

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreRand Fishkin's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreCedomir Tomic's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Rand Fishkin

Cedomir Tomic

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Rand Fishkin's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreCedomir Tomic's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreRand Fishkin's LinkedIn Performance