Hayden Schuster
I'm a Senior SEO Manager at Optimal. Nights and weekends, I build my own sites to see what actually works.
- Works at
- Optimal, a OneMagnify company, since May 2026
- Lives in
- Austin, Texas, since June 2026
- Grew up in
- The Portland area, Oregon
- Studied at
- University of Oregon, 2013 to 2017
Portland to Eugene to Austin
I'm proud of Portland, where I grew up. It's obviously a massive part of who I am. I'm in Austin now, I'm excited about being here and I love it, but I do miss home still, and it means a ton to me.
Growing up a Ducks fan
I was going to Autzen Stadium before I could walk. I grew up on it. Saturday afternoons in the fall were non-negotiable. Constant drives from Portland. I still follow the Oregon Ducks, the Blazers and the Timbers from Texas.
Austin, where I live now
I'm from Portland, OR, and recently moved to Austin, Texas, where I'm currently melting in the sun. I told LinkedIn on May 4, 2026: “Next stop: Texas. 🧳🤠” By September, still in Ducks colors: I know i'm deep in Longhorn territory now, so I'll be wearing even more green and yellow around town. 😏🦆🏈
How I ended up working in SEO
Five stops, from a student IT job to SEO for enterprise brands, each wearing the Eevee evolution that fits what I was learning there. The exact titles and months are on my resume.
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20132017
FF. GlaceonGlaceonUniversity of Oregon
Four years as an IT student technician. I went to college during the Marcus Mariota era. Years later, that era turned into The Quack Report, my Ducks site.
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20182020
AA. EspeonEspeonClark County Event Center
My first marketing job. My farewell line:
So, very simply, to everyone who let me fly before I could run, Thank You.
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2020now
BB. VaporeonVaporeonRose City Marketing
My own marketing business since May 2020.
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20212026
EE. JolteonJolteonAdpearance
Almost five years. SEO went from part of my work to the title on it.
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2026now
FlareonFlareonOptimal, a OneMagnify company
Senior SEO Manager since May 2026. On LinkedIn I call it
building programs for enterprise brands navigating the shift from search engines to answer engines.
What the work is, in one line
From a LinkedIn post in July: To win the recommendation, content must be visible enough to find (found), verifiable enough to trust (understood), and quotable enough to use (chosen).
Here's what that means in plain English, and how I work at my full-time job.
How I build these sites
I'm an SEO, not a developer by training. For years I could audit structured data but couldn't fix the JSON-LD template myself. Now I design the templates, write the specs and the checks, and use AI to write the code to those specs, then check every change before it ships. I have made so many mistakes. Here are the mistakes and the checks they led to, plus how I think about the work.
CC. LeafeonThe sites I build as a fan
These exist because I’m a fan first and an SEO second, and sometimes those two things collide.
My other sites, including the ones that didn't work, are in the portfolio.
EE. JolteonWhat I'm like outside work
Not everything needs a system. This page is the one place on this site that isn’t about search, architecture, or frameworks. Obsessed with my indoor and outdoor leagues, even in my 30s. I also lift, walk a lot, read fiction that messes with time or reality, and jump from hobby to hobby every month or so. Oh, and I’m a huge traveler!
Ten things I'm into, stacked like Tetris pieces into four full lines. Tap one.
Bella, my corgi
What are you probably doing right now if it’s not work hours?
Probably walking my corgi and listening to audiobooks, or convincing myself I’ll only check one thing and then checking five, or doing something active to shut my brain off and failing slightly at that.
She also runs Ask Bella, the Q&A on this site: ask her anything about me, and every answer links to the page that proves it.
Soccer
What do you do when you’re not staring at search consoles?
The big one: Play soccer.
Oregon Ducks
SURPRISE: I am way too emotional about Oregon Ducks football.
The Quack Report has a Pokémon Lineup game, in case the Ducks thing wasn’t clear yet.
- Jan, postseason
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep, regular season
- Oct, regular season
- Nov, regular season
- Dec, postseason
Regular season Sep 5 to Nov 28 (GoDucks.com, 2026 football schedule); postseason Dec 5 to Jan 25, only if they get there (College Football Playoff, 2026-27 schedule). Read .
Trail Blazers
Rip City. That’s me courtside at the Moda Center; the rest of the season I watch from Austin.
- Jan, regular season
- Feb, regular season
- Mar, regular season
- Apr, regular season
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct, regular season
- Nov, regular season
- Dec, regular season
Regular season Oct 20 to Apr 11 (NBA, 2026-27 regular season schedule); postseason From Apr 13, only if they get there (NBA, 2026-27 key dates). The NBA hasn't published when the 2027 playoffs end or the Finals dates, so May and June stay off the board. Read .
Seahawks
NFL Sundays, September through the playoffs.
- Jan, regular season
- Feb, postseason
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep, regular season
- Oct, regular season
- Nov, regular season
- Dec, regular season
Regular season Sep 9 to Jan 10 (NFL, 2026 schedule announced); postseason Jan 16 to Feb 14, only if they get there (NFL, 2026 schedule announced). Read .
Timbers
Portland's MLS team, with a split season this year: MLS stops for the World Cup, so June is the one month the Ducks, Blazers, Seahawks and Timbers all sit out.
- Jan
- Feb, regular season
- Mar, regular season
- Apr, regular season
- May, regular season
- Jun
- Jul, regular season
- Aug, regular season
- Sep, regular season
- Oct, regular season
- Nov, regular season
- Dec, postseason
Regular season Feb 21 to May 24 (MLS, 2026 key dates)Regular season Jul 16 to Nov 7 (MLS, 2026 key dates); postseason Nov 18 to Dec 18, only if they get there (MLS, 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs key dates). Read .
Travel
A mountain lake and a lantern gate. The lake photo has company: look closer.
Books
Mostly audiobooks, mostly on Bella's walks.
Esports
What’s something you do for fun that sounds fake when you say it?
Most embarrassing? Probably watching other people play professional video games. No need to elaborate, that’s already as nerdy as it gets.
The gym
What’s something you track obsessively that does not need tracking?
My entire health database, whether it’s steps, sleep, calories, workouts, heart rate, body fat %, LDL cholesterol, whatever, it’s insane. I gotta chill.
AA. EspeonQuestions nobody asked me
From my old About page: No one actually asked these. I made them up. That’s fine.
What’s the point of this site, really?
To think out loud in public. It’s a place to document how I approach SEO systems, what I’ve learned working on complex sites, and how my thinking keeps evolving. It’s not meant to sell anything aggressively. If it helps someone else think more clearly, that’s a win.
Do you build websites just for fun?
Yeah, constantly. I have a problem. I also build stuff purely because I’m a fan of something and want it to exist. Some of them turned into real sites.
Why do you overthink way too much?
Awesome question, thanks for asking, wow! Because my brain is always looking for the underlying system, even when something could just be left alone. Once I notice a pattern, it’s hard to unsee it, and my default response is to keep pulling the thread.
What’s a hill you will absolutely die on?
Clear structure and consistency beat clever one-off ideas every time. In SEO, in work, and honestly in most parts of life. Structure compounds. Life swings.
What’s the most common SEO advice you disagree with?
That “SEO is dying, lol.” It isn’t. It’s just evolving, which is a very different thing. What’s dying are shortcuts, surface-level tactics, and the idea that you can outsmart search systems without understanding how they work. The fundamentals still matter. Structure still matters. Clear intent still matters. The people struggling are usually the ones doing SEO like it’s still 2015.
What’s something you refuse to optimize in your life?
Music listening. No algorithms, no efficiency, nada. I’ll replay the same song 20 times a day until I hate it. Pretty embarrassing.
What’s something you love that you’d never put on a resume?
Uhhh, well I’m an absolute sports fanatic, whether it’s NFL (Go Seahawks, Sam legit), College Football (Go Ducks, next year our year????), Premier League (Go Liverpool), MLS (Go Timbers, Thorns), NBA (Go Blazers, we’re winning another trophy in the next three years), and the list goes on. Even love watching and playing tennis and other stuff.
What’s a small thing that can instantly ruin your day?
There’s something personal with me and traffic. I just don’t have the patience.
What’s something you enjoy that surprises people?
Honestly, that I'm an introvert. Love my house, love being alone. My social battery dies so quickly, and if I’m not around the right people, it’s no fun.
BB. VaporeonWrite to me
A question about a post, something on one of my sites that looks wrong, or just hi. It comes straight to me, and I read every one.