Dana DiTomaso

Dana DiTomaso is the Principal & Founder of Kick Point, where she brings over two decades of digital marketing expertise to help businesses navigate everything from SEO fundamentals to today’s complex analytics challenges.

You’ve likely encountered Dana’s work whether you realize it or not, either through her LinkedIn Learning courses that have reached over 180,000 learners worldwide, her 14+ year run as a technology columnist on CBC, or her presentations at marketing conferences around the world. Her expertise in digital analytics has made her a go-to resource for marketers who want to move beyond vanity metrics and into data that actually matters.

Dana’s path to analytics mastery began with an unexpected foundation: a geography degree followed by early software jobs that were clearly on the cutting edge of technology, if your definition of cutting edge includes building “software” with Microsoft Access and working with Lotus Notes. While creating websites on the side starting in 2000, her first client asked a simple question: “How do I get on Google?” Dana didn’t know the answer, but promised to figure it out. That moment of curiosity sparked what would become a deep passion for SEO and, eventually, digital analytics.

After going full-time with web development and marketing following a layoff in 2002, Dana immersed herself in the SEO world, building expertise that would later earn her a nomination as “SEO Speaker of the Year” by Search Engine Land in 2018. But around that time, analytics began capturing her attention as she realized her clients needed better data insights than what was currently available. By 2020, analytics had become her primary focus—a natural evolution for someone who describes herself as an “analytics detective” who loves solving problems that haven’t been solved before.

In her role at Kick Point, Dana is constantly looking ahead to what’s next for the industry. She currently spends a lot of time investigating how AI can enhance both marketing strategies and analytics processes, always with an eye toward practical applications that deliver real value for clients. What drives Dana most is seeing how improved data, and now emerging technologies, help clients make better decisions. She believes that the only way to do marketing well is to put in the work, including a commitment to continuous learning.

To that end, Dana founded Analytics Playbook to continue her mission of making analytics accessible and actionable with her training and courses for marketers and agencies. Her approach focuses on the complete analytics process, from proper setup and data collection to meaningful analysis and client-ready reporting.

My first “real” job out of university involved providing support for what could be called software in Microsoft Access. I didn’t know a lot about it when I got the job, so I bought myself a “teach yourself Microsoft Access in 28 days” book and dug in. I no longer deal with Microsoft Access (thankfully) but the one thing that has been a constant in my career is committing to continuous learning. My advice for anyone in digital marketing: never stop being curious about what’s next.

When she’s not diving into conversion paths or debugging tracking implementations, Dana can be found pursuing her ever-expanding collection of hobbies, which currently includes 3D printing, cross-stitch, fantasy football, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and video games. For fun, Dana and her wife decided it would be a super great idea to buy a house that hadn’t really been updated in 30 years and sink a lot of time and money into it. She’s also currently working on teaching her cat how to go for walks, which is a great way to learn patience.