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Interviewing Sonja Marinkovic

Date: 28/09/2022

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Introducing

Sonja Marinkovic
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Based in Serbia, Sonja is a freelance SEO consultant and owner of Digital Search Hero. Her favourite things to work on include content strategy, on-page SEO, tech SEO and webmaster tasks. When she's not working, she reads, watches documentaries, paints, and organises random things.

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

How did you get into SEO?

My first connection to SEO was my mental health and self-improvement blog I started 5 years ago. I wanted to learn WordPress, SEO, copywriting and share my opinions. A blog was a good way to complete all those goals. I had lots of hits and misses with the keyword and content strategy, but I managed to rank for some blog posts. The blog has helped me to get a full-time SEO job in a company where I worked for 3 years before I started my freelance journey.

What is your favourite SEO task?

My favourite part of SEO is getting to know how SEO works in different industries and collecting useful insights on competitors, search intent, and organic growth possibilities. Each industry is a different challenge and an amazing way to broaden your SEO understanding and skills. If we can translate it to an SEO task, it would be an initial SEO audit and content strategy.

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

SemRush, Google Search Console, Google Data Studio, Screaming Frog, Google Docs and Google Sheets.

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

The impression that lots of testing and experimenting on websites can really give you some in-depth insights about how to structure your SEO strategy and define priorities. Nothing is set in stone and that's really exciting.

What is your proudest industry achievement?

It's always good to see increased CTRs and the number of inquiries for my clients. Also, I like when they see their website has been recognised by Google as an authority for a relevant commercial query.

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

Keep experimenting and testing things as the SEO industry is a dynamic one. Surround yourself with supportive and knowledgeable mentors. In case you're not sure how to start your SEO career, I would always recommend practising SEO on your website, as the learning curve there is steep and fast, but you will certainly learn a lot of useful SEO things.

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

I'd like to give a shout out to AlizΓ©e Baudez, my wonderful mentor from WTSMentorship program with who I've discussed things such as energy management, motivation, finding clients, and so much more. Also, I would also mention a few women who really made a significant mark in the SEO industry, such as Aleyda Solis, Marie Haynes, and Lily Ray.

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

A desire to challenge myself with new and exciting projects, and the courage of taking risks and starting my freelance business in the midst of the Covid pandemic where I wasn't even sure how it was going to work out and how to find clients.

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Thanks to Sonja for a truly insightful interview. You can check out her website and connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.

To view more interviews with brilliant women, check out our Interviews page. 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! πŸ™ŒπŸ½