Mary Smucker
MBA · Founder, Simple Search Marketing
Formerly known professionally as Mary Smucker-Priest
Built on expertise.Fueled by curiosity.Grown through relationships.
THE ORIGIN STORY
Mary Smucker has always loved figuring out how to make things work. At four, she was painting rocks and trying to sell them from her parents’ porch. Summers at the family cottage brought new ventures with her best friend: charging relatives admission to dance performances, selling artwork, and serving some admittedly questionable homemade food.
That entrepreneurial spirit never left. After earning her MBA from Brandeis University and building her search marketing expertise as a consultant at three Boston-area agencies and in in-house roles at Dell EMC and GoDaddy/Afternic, Mary founded Simple Search Marketing with a straightforward goal: to build exceptional SEO, paid search, and paid social programs, with the freedom to make strategic decisions grounded in expertise and evidence.
She pictured an independent consultancy with two clients. Through referrals and word of mouth, it became an agency serving about 40, backed by a talented team of search and social marketing professionals.
WHAT DRIVES HER
The thrill of solving the puzzle
For Mary, the best part of search marketing is the challenge: forming a hypothesis, digging into the data, finding the missing pieces, and watching a strategy produce measurable results. The moment an idea becomes reality still gives her a thrill.
But results are only half the story. Mary becomes personally invested in her clients’ success. She gets to know the people behind the business, understands their challenges, and celebrates their wins. Many of those relationships have become real friendships, including with people at some of the world’s best-known brands.
Nearly a decade in, Mary still works with the agency’s original clients, and many other partnerships have lasted more than five years. To her, that kind of trust is one of the most meaningful measures of success.
THE LEADERSHIP TEAM
Building the team she always wanted
Early in her career, at a Boston-area agency, Mary worked alongside Katie and Catherine, both fresh out of college. She saw their talent right away and enjoyed working with them so much that she asked for them on every client project she was assigned.
Over the years, Katie and Catherine built impressive careers and deep expertise of their own. So when Simple Search Marketing was ready to expand its leadership, Mary knew exactly who to call. She reunited the trio, bringing Katie and Catherine on as Vice Presidents. Today, their shared history and complementary experience shape how the agency is led.
Katie and Catherine lead alongside a talented team of SEO, paid media, analytics and design specialists, and every one of them is a big part of what makes Simple Search work.
Meet the full team →It’s what Mary believes makes any business work: surrounding yourself with talented people you respect, trust, and truly enjoy working with.
SPEAKING + INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Invite Mary to speak
Mary shares practical, data-backed perspectives on search, measurement and AI for conferences, webinars, podcasts and team workshops.
Suggested topics
What AI search engines cite, and how to earn it
How Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity choose sources, with tests from our own site.
Why your ad platforms and analytics never agree
The attribution gaps between Google Ads, GA4 and your CRM, and which ones are worth worrying about.
Privacy-safe measurement for healthcare marketers
Keeping tracking useful without letting patient data reach ad and analytics platforms.
Connecting search and social to revenue
One plan and one set of numbers, from first click to closed deal.
From two clients to 40
Building a woman-owned, senior-led agency on referrals and long-term relationships.
FROM MARY'S DESK
Selected articles by Mary
- ANALYTICSWhy Google Ads and GA4 never agree, and when you should worryRead the article →
- AI SEARCHWhat AI Overviews actually cite, and why YouTube keeps winningRead the article →
- HEALTHCAREHow to measure healthcare marketing without leaking patient dataRead the article →
- SEO + AEO2027 SEO/AEO prediction: your website vs. off-site propertiesRead the article →
- PAID SEARCHYour Smart Bidding is optimizing for page views. Here’s how to tell.Read the article →
- AI SEARCH9 questions to discover your target audience in AI searchRead the article →
the puzzle never gets old ✶
Still curious. Still invested.
Simple Search Marketing has grown far beyond what Mary first imagined, but what drives her hasn’t changed. She still loves solving the puzzle. She still gets excited when a strategy works. And she still believes the best partnerships are built on care, shared goals, and mutual trust.