WTSFest Philly is back on October 1st!
WTSFest Philly is back on October 1st!
We're excited to launch a new initiative on our website, Weekly Interviews where we'll interview brilliant people in our industry and share their stories with the world!
Introducing Lily Ray, Founder at Algorythmic and VP of SEO & AI Search at Amsive! Lily is an NYC-based SEO & AI Search professional. With over 15 years of experience in the SEO industry, she is the founder of Algorythmic, an SEO and AI search consultancy, and VP of SEO & AI Search at Amsive. Her work focuses on SEO & AI search optimization (AEO/GEO), E-E-A-T, Google Discover strategy, and the data behind Google's algorithm updates. She is an international keynote speaker and provides original research regularly featured and quoted in industry publications.
When I was a student at NYU, I stumbled into a job doing SEO and Social Media Marketing. At the time, I was studying for a degree in Politics with a minor in Spanish, but when I found the SEO job, it changed the trajectory of my career plans. I fell in love with SEO the minute that I saw my optimizations translating into real traffic in Google Analytics - and this was back when you could still see the exact keyword the user typed into Google organic search.
While I had originally planned for a career in law or government, my plans quickly shifted when I found an in-house role doing SEO full time. I was able to spend that year with my first official full-time employer teaching myself SEO, including learning from my mistakes (like being hit by the Penguin update!). After that year, I moved into the agency world and began working will well-known brands.
My favorite SEO task is auditing sites affected by algorithm updates. After years of reviewing traffic drops, the patterns have become more obvious over time, but identifying the specific reason for any given drop is always an interesting scavenger hunt. Believe it or not, I love evaluating manual actions for the same reason, and helping with reconsideration requests. You can learn a lot about SEO by understanding what DOESN'T work, not just what does.
At this point, it would have to be Claude Cowork / Claude Code, but using lots of SEO data from Ahrefs, Sistrix, DataforSEO, Similarweb and more.
I have 'AHA' moments almost every day in SEO. But I would say that the first time I ever read the Search Quality Guidelines from front to back was when I really got a sense for how Google evaluates content and website quality and E-E-A-T.
I've really enjoyed delivering the keynotes for some of my favorite SEO conferences like MozCon and BrightonSEO.
Start by reading Google's documentation about how search & SEO work. It's important to understand the official "rules" of SEO so you can understand which SEO guidance is compliant with Google's policies. Many SEO / GEO recommendations actually go against Google's guidance, and can lead to major performance problems down the line.
Britney Muller - for being ahead of the curve with all things AI, and for being so generous with cutting through the noise and sharing her knowledge
Knowing that I can help others in the industry is what keeps me going!
I've been blown away by the incredible WTS community. When I started in SEO, it was a very male-dominated field. WTS has done so much to support women and ensure they have a seat at the table in the SEO industry.
----
Thanks Lily for a truly insightful interview! You can check out Lily's website, follow her on X or connect with her on LinkedIn.
If you've enjoyed reading this interview, then we'd love for YOU to share your story with the world! Simply fill this form here, we welcome brilliant SEOs from all walks of life! 🙌🏽