Ranking algorithms. LLMs. Recommendation engines. The systems that shape what people see—explained by someone who's built them and marketed with them.
All 100% Free.
From Ben Wills
Writing HTML since 1994
Writing Software since 1998
SEO, PPC, & Online Marketing since 2001
Latest
Commentary, training, Q&A, and technical breakdowns for marketing engineers.
Who This Is For
If you've ever written a script, hit an API, or wished you understood the systems behind your marketing tools—this is for you.
Primary audience
You already do some engineering work on your marketing team—scripts, automations, data pipelines. You want to go deeper and do it better.
Primary audience
You see the value of engineering skills and want to take on more technical responsibilities within your marketing role.
Primary audience
You work across SEO, PPC, analytics, or growth—and you want to understand the algorithms and infrastructure behind the platforms you use every day.
Secondary audience
You bridge marketing and technology already. Deepen your engineering fundamentals with content designed for your perspective.
Structured Series
In-depth, structured series covering core engineering topics for marketers. New series releasing over the coming weeks.
What You Get
Engineering knowledge from a marketer's perspective—not a developer's.
Stay current on the technical changes shaping marketing—algorithm updates, platform shifts, and emerging systems—explained with engineering depth.
Get answers to technical marketing questions. Real problems from real marketers, addressed with engineering rigor.
Structured episodes covering data structures, databases, search engines, machine learning, and LLMs—built for marketers, not CS students.
Every episode includes video, a full transcript, and curated resources so you can keep learning beyond the episode itself.
Understand how systems work and why they matter to your marketing—without needing to write production code.
Not just SEO. Covers PPC, social, analytics, content systems, and the infrastructure that connects them all.
Most marketers don't understand systems. Most engineers don't understand marketing. I've spent my career in both.
I've built search engines and I've optimized for them. I've written ranking algorithms and I've tried to beat them. I've architected data infrastructure and I've analyzed the data that flows through it.
That dual perspective is rare. It's also exactly what's needed to explain engineering concepts in ways that actually make sense to marketers—without dumbing it down or losing the important details.
Technical content is either too engineering-focused (assumes you already know the context) or too marketing-focused (treats everything as a black box). Nothing speaks to the growing number of people who need to understand both.
This site fills that gap. Engineering fundamentals, explained with the intuition and context that marketers need. No tutorials. No fluff. Just how these systems actually work.
FAQ
No. This is about 90% engineering concepts and 10% marketing context—not writing production code. You'll understand how systems work without needing to build them yourself.
No. While search engines are covered, the content spans PPC auction systems, machine learning, databases, LLMs, analytics infrastructure, and more. If a marketing platform runs on engineering, it's fair game.
A mix of weekly episodes, commentary on current marketing technology news, Q&A from the community, and structured deep-dive series. Each episode includes video, a full transcript, and additional resources.
Yes. All content is 100% free. The goal is to build a trusted resource for marketers who want real engineering understanding—not to sell courses or certifications.
Most marketing content focuses on tactics and tools. Engineering content assumes you're a developer. This covers the engineering behind marketing platforms from a marketer's perspective—with real depth, not dumbed-down analogies.
Ben Wills—someone who's spent 12+ years in software engineering and 12+ years in marketing. He's built search engines and optimized for them, written ranking algorithms and tried to beat them.
Get weekly insights on the engineering behind modern marketing—new episodes, technical news, and Q&A delivered to your inbox. 100% free.