Head Of Google’s Web Spam Team Matt Cutts Is Going On Leave

Google’s Matt Cutts — who holds the title of “distinguished engineer” — is taking a break from his duties as Google’s chief web spam fighter. Cutts has announced on his personal blog that he’s taking leave through October. It will be the longest break Cutts has ever taken from Google since he started with the company […]

Chat with SearchBot

matt-cutts3-1920

Google’s Matt Cutts — who holds the title of “distinguished engineer” — is taking a break from his duties as Google’s chief web spam fighter. Cutts has announced on his personal blog that he’s taking leave through October.

It will be the longest break Cutts has ever taken from Google since he started with the company back in 2000 and since he began overseeing the web spam team in 2004. It’s also one that he writes is overdue. From his post:

When I joined Google, my wife and I agreed that I would work for 4-5 years, and then she’d get to see more of me. I talked about this as recently as last month and as early as 2006. And now, almost fifteen years later I’d like to be there for my wife more. I know she’d like me to be around more too, and not just physically present while my mind is still on work.

Cutts says he’ll be off work through October of this year. He notes he won’t be checking any work email. He also stressed that there’s no specific event behind him taking the time off, other than fulfilling this long-standing promise to his wife.

It’s not clear yet who will be taking over his duties while he’s gone. Cutts did advise those seeking the type of advice he’s known for offering from Google to make use of these resources:

You can also check out his recent AMA from our SMX Advanced conference last month:

All the best with the break, Matt, from those of us here at Search Engine Land.

Postscript (Oct. 31, 2014): Cutts is extending his leave. See our follow-up story: Will He Ever Return? Head Of Google’s Web Spam Team Matt Cutts Extends Leave Into 2015.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Danny Sullivan
Contributor
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Get the must-read newsletter for search marketers.