About me
I'm Rafa Villaplana, SEO + AI Search consultant
15 years of SEO experience, as an SEO Manager and Head of SEO at lead generation, telecoms, insurance and SaaS companies. Today I run Linking & Growing and help you get found on Google and cited by AI.
15
years of SEO experience
+100
companies across different industries
+1M €
in annual revenue across the projects I’ve managed
+100 %
traffic growth in many projects
My story
From the computer lab to leading SEO teams
I studied computer engineering, although it wasn’t my first choice. My first contact with SEO came around 2010, during an internship at a company that worked on search engine optimisation projects.
Back then there were no master’s degrees or specialist courses. I learned by reading forums and blogs by leading figures in the industry, and by testing everything on my own projects before applying it to the projects I worked on.
Since then I’ve led SEO for lead generation companies, comparison sites and SaaS, with teams of more than five people and projects with over a million euros in annual revenue.
Today, at Linking & Growing, I bring together SEO, AI Search, link building and digital PR so that companies show up where their customers are searching: on Google and in AI answers.
Career
15 years growing businesses
2026
CEO · Linking & Growing
I founded my own consultancy for SEO, AI Search Optimization, link building and digital PR to help SMEs and companies grow in Google and AI.
2024
Head of SEO · Sesame HR
Responsible for national and international SEO strategy, coordinating the Inbound, Product, Brand, PR and Sales teams.
2022
SEO Manager · Premium Leads
SEO strategies for the group’s multiple verticals.
2020
Head of SEO · Contratar Online
SEO strategy for the lead generation verticals.
2018
Head of SEO · Beemy
Planning and executing SEO strategies for digital lead generation projects.
2016
SEO Manager · Ipglobal Tech Hub
SEO strategies for the group’s multiple verticals.
2010
First steps · Computer engineering internship
My first contact with SEO, at a company that ran search engine optimisation projects. At the same time I started my own niche projects to test everything I was learning.
Tools
I use every day
- Ahrefs
- Semrush
- Sistrix
- Screaming Frog
- Search Console
- Google Analytics 4
- Make.com
- APIs and MCPs
- Claude and ChatGPT
Talks
I share what works at industry events
Congreso Marketineo · Valencia · 2022
Link building, indexing and success stories
A digital strategy talk at Las Naves on how to build authority with links, make sure Google indexes them, and what results they deliver in real projects.
Calendar
Latest talks and events
6 Nov 2026 · #CerveSEO in Valencia
Valencia · Wayco Ruzafa · Host of the round table on SEO and AI
4 Jul 2026 · WordPress Day IA Valencia
Valencia · Speaker
18 Sep 2025 · SEO Vibes On Tour
Madrid · Speaker
Organising an event? Invite me to speak.
Past talks
WordPress Day IA Valencia
While you optimise for Google, five AIs are already deciding what to recommend to your customers
Valencia · Sala Túria · 4 Jul 2026
Lanzadera · startup accelerator
SEO and AI (LLMs) training for the programme’s startups · 2 editions
Valencia · Marina de Empresas · Jun 2026
SEO Vibes On Tour · WhitePress
SEO automation with Make
Madrid · 18 Sep 2025
SEO Office Hours en Español
Two live sessions: with Rosario Aznar (Sep 2025) and with José Miguel Molina (Jan 2025)
Online · 2025
Meetup WordPress Valencia
Strategic link building
Valencia · Dec 2024
Los Caffinitys · Link Affinity
Link building strategies, with Sico de Andrés
Online · 22 Feb 2024
My consultancy
Linking & Growing: we turn visibility into real revenue
SEO, AI Search Optimization, link building and digital PR for companies that want to show up on Google and in ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity answers.
Shall we talk?