Interviewing Adriana Stein

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Introducing

!Based in Germany, Adriana is a Digital Marketing Consultant for B2B and B2C companies across English and German-speaking markets. She helps clients better understand and speak to their ideal customers, grow their company’s global digital presence, increase brand awareness and sales, and sustainably scale their businesses through holistic digital marketing strategies. She acts as a strategic partner for Senior Level Marketers and specializes in SEO, content marketing, and marketing automation.

We asked her everything from how she first got into SEO to what empowers her to be the brilliant woman she is 💪🏽

How did you get into SEO?

When I moved to Germany 5 years ago from the US, I spent the first few months learning German and then started working as a Content Translator on a freelance basis. One of my first clients was a Marketing Manager and taught me the basics of SEO, which I basically have applied and improved on ever since then.

What is your favourite SEO task?

Watching the numbers go up on SEMrush position tracking projects!

What is your go-to tool or resource that you can't live without?

SEMrush, hands down.

What is something you learned in SEO that made you have an 'AHA' moment?

The fact that high search volume keywords aren't always the best choice, despite that I was instructed to use this strategy from multiple clients and even SEO agencies. By focusing on B2B tech the last two years and having a lot of success there, I've come to realize that low search volume keywords can be just as advantageous, particularly in this industry. They are often Bottom of Funnel searches that come with higher conversion rates and also have less competition, meaning you rank higher at a faster rate.

What is your proudest industry achievement?

Being published on Moz was one of my proudest achievements.

What advice would you give women who are starting out in SEO?

It's sort of a combination of two things:

1. Learn as much as you can and be proactive about learning

2. Charge more for the things you learn

There are many people who claim they can do SEO, but they're not proactive about improving their skills or suggesting to their superiors or clients how things can be improved. I read a recent quote from agency owner Chris Walker that was along the lines of "Work like you already have the salary you want in the future" and this is so true both for freelancers and employees. And for women it's especially important, because knowledge gives you the power to rise in your career.

Use knowledge to give yourself the power to move forward and good things will definitely come your way.

Give a shout out to a woman in the industry who inspires you and tell us why

I found Jennifer Goforth Gregory when I joined her Facebook group the Freelance Content Marketing Writer and read her book on freelance content writing. It totally changed my world, because it helped give me so much direction on what I could do as an SEO freelancer. I started to think of myself as a real businesswoman, gained confidence in my skills, focused on working with clients who respected me, and super importantly, found a community of likeminded individuals to help and uplift each other. I don't think I would've come near as far without the community she developed and the information she shared.

Finally, what empowers you to be the brilliant woman you are?

This answer is a bit more personal for me. When I was 12 years old, I lost my mom to a rare autoimmune disease. I was lucky that when I was very small she was still well enough to teach me to read (she was also a teacher before I was born), which instilled in me a huge love of knowledge. She struggled heavily throughout her 6 year sickness and tried to be there for my younger sister and I. As I grew older, I wanted to make her proud and continue learning, as well as live my life to the fullest, because I learned early on how short life can truly be.

In order to accomplish that, I decided after an extensive solo backpacking trip in Europe that I would move from Joseph, Oregon, USA (my hometown) to Hamburg, Germany completely on my own in order to develop my career in International Business. Once I arrived, I put myself through German language school and now I've lived here for 5 years. My career in Hamburg ended up being in freelance content marketing and SEO. I am so thankful for that, because it's my true passion, particularly the writing aspect. SEO is the perfect combination of creativity and strategy, and I love being able to dynamically work on multiple, complex, and even bilingual SEO projects with amazing clients from around the globe.

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Thanks Adriana for a truly insightful interview, you can check out Adriana's website and connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

To view more interviews with brilliant women, check out our Interviews page. If you've enjoyed reading this interview, then we'd love for

to share your story with the world! Simply fill this form here, we welcome brilliant SEOs from all walks of life! 🙌🏽