Dan Golden

Co-Founder, President & Chief Search Artist at BFO

Dan Golden teamed with fellow Northwestern graduate, Steve Krull, to found BFO (Be Found Online) in 2009. As Co-Founder, President & Chief Search Artist at BFO, Dan has led the team from its roots as a search shop to a full-service performance digital media agency; optimizing paid and organic media across search, display, social, and mobile platforms. Voted one of the best places to work in Chicago, BFO is one of the fastest growing digital marketing agencies in the Midwest, with 5 consecutive years on the Inc. 5000 list.

Dan’s professional career started as a touring musician with Chicago’s Buddha’s Belly who was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2004 Chicago Music Awards. As a “side gig” he got his start managing paid & organic search for ConsumerGuide and after the band broke up, he grew his paid search chops managing teams on some of the largest accounts at Performics, which was acquired by DoubleClick & Google before Dan left to start BFO. Gaining experience in automotive with brands like Cars.com, Toyota, Lexus, and enterprise retail accounts like Northern Tool, FTD & Cabela’s, Dan brings a wealth of big brand experience to BFO’s clients, and he wears many hats in doing so. Seeing that he is a search geek at heart, he still spends time auditing accounts, testing new tactics, diving into analytics, and making strategic recommendations for BFO’s clients. As a member of the Google’s Exclusive Performance Advertising Council, Dan is a part of a small group of industry leaders with exclusive early access to upcoming Google Beta Products.

When he’s not in the office, Dan can probably be found walking around his neighborhood, pushing his toddler in a stroller and enjoying quality time with his family. Dan also guest lectures on Digital Media at DePaul University. He’s still passionate about music and enjoys playing any stringed instrument (with frets). At the end of the day, Dan believes it’s all about making a difference, saying that “When coming into work, it’s not about simply showing up, delivering a report and getting paid. Whatever it is you’re doing, kick ass at it and do the best work you can.”