Hello, my name is Sander Heilbron
and I am a specialist in | Technical SEO

Where it began

I still remember the moment I first got my hands on a computer. It was the eighties, and my very first machine was a Commodore 64. Like many others at the time, I was initially drawn to it by the games; it was hard not to be fascinated by the magic that seemed to come to life on the screen. But it didn't take long before curiosity pulled me in even further.

I started learning BASIC, typing in lines of code from magazines and experimenting to see what would happen. Soon after, I ventured into machine language, trying to understand what was really going on under the hood of the C64. It marked the beginning of a lifelong fascination with how computer technology works.

Connecting before the internet

At some point, I expanded my setup with a modem, the Telcom 1200. Through that modem, I discovered Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). These were early online communities where you could upload and download software, read news, and exchange messages with others. Downloading games was especially popular, but for me, it was more than that, it was a glimpse into a connected world. Looking back, those BBS experiences were my personal introduction to what would later become the internet.

Discovering the web

Years later, in the mid-nineties, while studying Commercial Economics, I encountered the internet for the first time. I was immediately intrigued, not just by the technology itself, but by the possibilities it created. Websites were still new, and I became fascinated by their technical aspects and potential as a platform for communication and business.

My first real opportunity came in the late nineties, when I was involved in building a website from a marketing perspective, during a period when digital marketing was still an emerging field. It focused on bringing people together, and made me realize the potential of the web as a platform for connection, communication, and growth.

Where marketing meets technology

From there, my career evolved into the world of media agencies, just as internet advertising began to take off. Working with leading platforms, publishers, and advertisers during this period of rapid growth, I developed a strong interest in the technical side of measuring, delivering, and optimizing digital advertising.

Over time, my focus shifted toward technical SEO, web performance, and accessibility. Today, I focus on improving the technical foundations of digital platforms, ensuring they are discoverable, fast, accessible, and able to function effectively for both users and the systems that interact with them.

Shared standards and technologies

What drew me to the web in the first place was its openness. The ability for anyone to build, connect, share, and discover information through open technologies and shared standards felt incredibly powerful, and it still does today.

That philosophy continues to shape the way I approach digital platforms and the technologies behind them. I believe the web works best when websites are fast, accessible, interoperable, and easy to discover for everyone, from users and browsers to search engines and other systems.