Welcome to a new
Introducing
We asked her everything from how she first got into SEO to what empowers her to be the brilliant SEO she is 💪🏽
How did you get into SEO?
I started out in journalism as the content editor for a website. I made content for all channels, from email and social to video, newspaper articles, brochures and even going to events. But it was SEO that consistently had the best results, so I threw myself into learning everything about it. From there, I jumped to agencies to work on loads of different websites and categories at once. It was intense but so rewarding! There are so many parts to SEO that there’s always something new to test and learn.
What is your favourite SEO task?
The research that goes into a big strategy – whether it’s competitors, audience insights, keywords, taxonomy, or a gap analysis – I love getting stuck into the data. It’s so satisfying when you spot opportunities and patterns.
What is your go-to tool or resource that you can't live without?
I’m in Semrush every day, it’s great for stealing ideas from competitors and quickly getting a sense of a category, and the Google Search Console API for Google Sheets is an underused gem – it can get you all the data that’s usually hidden by the 1000 rows limit.
What did you learn in SEO that gave you an 'AHA' moment?
Content clusters. Before I was just jumbling different topics together in a blog section to be able to create ‘content’ (any content!). However, understanding content clusters gave me the keys to being strategic and structured with a website. It helps you see where content should sit and how to create journeys and sequences that lead to conversions, rather than just driving traffic.
What is your proudest industry achievement?
Finally winning two Drum Search Awards! I’d entered the Drum for multiple clients over the years and never won, but we finally bagged two in 2020. It feels so good to have the strategy recognised. We’ve won other awards since but those will always be so special to me.
What advice would you give those starting out in SEO?
Put yourself forward all the time and tell people what you’re doing. I used to think that if I did great work, people would notice. And guess what – they didn’t! I learned to just put myself forward for everything and get over any icky feelings that it was bragging or obnoxious. I shout about great results and keep notes of everything I’ve done. People can’t value your work if they can’t see it!
Give a shout-out to someone in the industry who inspires you, and tell us why
Lily Ray is an absolute gem. She puts so much work and research into her analysis and I’ve learned so much from her.
Finally, what empowers you to be the brilliant person you are?
Working with so many other amazing women! From my team to the inspiring women in my agency and across the industry, it makes such a difference to see so many great female leaders.
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Thanks, Emily, for a truly insightful interview! You can connect with Emily on LinkedIn.
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