Welcome to a new
Introducing
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?
After a few post-grad career stumbles, a friend recommended I check out an entry-level sales job at Conductor, which I'm happy to report I was truly terrible at (you should hear my early cold calls). However, during these awkward phone conversations, I started to learn about SEO and got really interested in the industry. When Conductor began to build out its Professional Services team, I raised my hand for the job, and to their enormous credit, they gave me a chance.
What is your favourite SEO task?
Teaching. I love showing someone how to optimize a page or fix a technical problem and seeing something just click. It's very rewarding.
What is your go-to tool or resource that you can't live without?
Conductor of course! But I also get lots of industry news from Twitter and Moz
What is something you learned in SEO that made you have an 'AHA' moment?
Proper hreflang tag implementation. This is one of the most common headaches I run into when working on international sites. It seems obvious, but I've found it to be the last thing on a checklist when it should be one of the first.
What is your proudest industry achievement?
Hosting a webinar around digital ADA compliance. This is something I’m very passionate about and think that we as an industry need to make a bigger push for. Everyone deserves an accessible internet.
What advice would you give women who are starting out in SEO?
Raise your hand for everything. You'll learn by doing and no one will offer you the opportunity unless you ask for it. It's also important to cultivate your hobbies outside of work. Networking in your chosen industry is important, but you make real connections when bonding over shared interests. After 8 hours in a conference hall, sometimes people just want to talk about The Great British Bake Off.
Give a shout out to a woman in the industry who inspires you and tell us why
Christine Schrader. I'm lucky to have a friend like her to help me navigate the industry and share puppy pictures with. She has an amazing ability to marry SEO, content and humor. I’ve noticed that there seems to be this misconception that writing for SEO means your content needs to be stale. Christine proves that’s not the case.
Finally, what empowers you to be the brilliant woman you are?
Laughing at myself. I make mistakes. Lots of them. All I can do is find the humor, learn something and move on. If you can find something funny that new challenge you signed up for won’t be so scary. You will screw up. It's guaranteed. But you’ll have a really great story to tell the intern someday.
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Thanks Katie for a truly insightful interview, you can learn more about her through her 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