SEO

26 Women and Nonbinary SEO Pros Who Inspire Me

Published

2 months ago

March 8, 2024

26 Women and Nonbinary SEO Pros Who Inspire Me

In the lead-up to International Women’s Day, I started reflecting on all the amazing women and nonbinary folks in our industry who I have learned from and who continuously inspire me in my career.

Here are the top 26 whose expertise, results, and insights I greatly admire and think you will, too.

Make sure you check them all out. Anyone who has seen me eat a delicious meal knows I save the best til last, and this list is no different.

But let’s also be real for a moment…

I’m totally aware that many of the people who’ve inspired me are the big names you see on a lot of these sorts of lists. That’s just the nature of life.

And there are obviously loads of super smart, but lesser known, women and nonbinary folks in SEO who deserve attention too… so I also asked my friends and colleagues for shoutouts on who inspires them and rounded their suggestions up in an epic MEGA list of 99+ inspiring SEO experts we think you should follow.

Check it out on X →

Talent transcends borders, and so does this list. Like it, share it, repost it, but above all, follow and support all the experts you see here.

SEO Consultant @ Orainti

What she’s known for: Technical SEO, international SEO

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: Everything. Literally everything. But if I had to pick one, it would be Aleyda’s free SEO roadmap on learningseo.io. If by some miracle you aren’t already familiar with Aleyda’s work, she freely and frequently shares a ton of knowledge bombs on all things technical SEO, enterprise-level skills and general tips for SEO professionals.

Owner @ Marie Haynes Consulting

What she’s known for: Google penalty recovery, how Google’s algorithm works

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: Marie’s Google algorithm update list is so good, I check it out every time (yes, every. single. time.) I run a traffic loss audit or want additional context on the latest updates. I also love her insights on penalty recoveries and understanding Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines shared in her Search News You Can Use newsletter.

CEO @ Keylime Toolbox

What she’s known for: Creating Google Webmaster Central, developing search patents

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: Vanessa is an ex-Googler and has done some seriously cool things in the SEO space that don’t get enough attention, in my opinion. Check out her patents, book, and read her speaker bio for everything else.

Vice President of SEO Strategy & Research @ Amsive Digital

What she’s known for: E-E-A-T, Google core algorithm insights

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: Firstly, I love her rockstar vibe (I mean, who doesn’t?). Professionally, Lily’s take on E-E-A-T is very insightful and aligns with what I’ve also seen with my clients. I also love the insights she shares on why Google just may not be into your site and what’s really up when it comes to core algorithm traffic losses.

Independent Marketing Consultant

What she’s known for: SEO futurist, entity optimization

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: If you ever have the chance to see Jes present live, take it. She is an absolute powerhouse, sharing a wealth of knowledge about where Google and the future of search are heading. In particular, I love her tips on owning your brand entity and optimizing it so it’s Google-friendly.

Co-Founder @ Fractl

What she’s known for: Digital PR, SEO automation with GPT4

Where to follow her: LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: Kristin delivers so much value through her free scripts that automate many aspects of SEO. I recommend starting with this list of 20+ scripts. But you should also check out everything else she shares. You can thank me later.

CEO @ SEO In House

What she’s known for: Enterprise SEO, executive SEO

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: Jessica wrote the book on Executive SEO and I highly recommend it if you’re an in-house SEO or offering enterprise services. My biggest takeaway—that I often reflect on deep into the hours of sleepless nights even years after reading the book—is the concept of becoming an “SEO pacesetter.” If the organizations we work in unified all teams around SEO, imagine the pure potential that would be ripe for the picking. Jessica’s book helps make that potential a reality.

Chief Content Officer @ MarketingProfs

What she’s known for: Creating “ridiculously good content,” escaping “marketing mediocrity”

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: Can you be a writer or marketer and not be at least a little in love with Ann’s philosophy? As the world’s first Chief Content Officer, we all have a lot to learn from her about creating content that truly stands out online. Ann’s been sharing great insights for years. If you’re new to her work, I recommend starting with her books Everybody Writes and Content Rules.

Senior Technical Consultant @ Dejan Marketing

What she’s known for: Technical SEO, SGE Research

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: I LOVED Nik’s presentation at the 2023 Singapore SEO Summit. She shared loads of search generative experience (SGE) knowledge bombs, data about how AI may change the SERPs and what that means for brand visibility from search-based channels. If you haven’t taken SGE out for a spin yet, check out Nik’s two-minute SGE guide to get you started (from anywhere in the world).

Owner + Link Builder @ BibiBuzz

What she’s known for: Link Building

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: Not only is Bibi an awesome human sharing good vibes, she’s also a damn good link builder praised for her ability to share actionable, helpful information about all things link building. Check out her entire process here.

Global SEO Lead @ Kurt Geiger

What she’s known for: Global SEO, Enterprise SEO

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: I’m a huge fan of cross-collaboration between SEO and non-SEO teams to achieve meaningful outcomes. So it’s no surprise why Maria’s ability to work cross-functionally in large organizations inspires me to no end. It really is not an easy feat, yet she sure makes it look effortless. There’s also a lot more to learn from her if you aspire to a leadership position in the industry as an in-house SEO like how to make better reports for your c-suite or turning data into impact.

Founder @ Marketing Syrup

What she’s known for: Technical SEO Educator

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: If you’re looking for quality education on advanced technical SEO skills, Kristina’s content and courses are a great place to start. Prior to my career in SEO, I was an educator and have not been able to ignore the education crisis our industry experiences. There really is a lack of beginner-friendly yet expert education for skills that can be difficult to master. If you’re tired of teaching yourself every little thing about technical SEO (and constantly wondering if you’re doing it right), do yourself a favor and check out Kristina’s courses instead. You’re welcome.

Technical SEO Consultant @ Not a Robot

What they’re known for: Technical SEO, JavaScript wrangling

Where to follow them: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: If you’re into nerding out over SEO, good storytelling, and you enjoy a decent splash of snark, you’ve got to check out Jamie’s content. From their delightfully fun feature on SEO fairytales to sharing their experience wrangling messy JS or auditing large websites to bite-sized commentary in the Rich Snippets newsletter, Jamie shares a ton of golden nuggets.

Head of SEO Communications @ Wix

What she’s known for: SEO Communications, big-brand SEO

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: I love Crystal’s ability to take a technical SEO concept, like structured data, and communicate its strategic value in a way business owners can understand, like in this post. As SEO professionals, we need to do more of this if we want to increase our odds of getting buy-in for SEO initiatives.

CEO + SEO Consultant @ SEOSLY

What she’s known for: Comprehensive technical SEO guides + templates

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: Olga shares many comprehensive step-by-step technical SEO checklists and templates that really are a one-stop shop. If you’re new to SEO and want the confidence you’re not missing out on any vital steps during audits, or you’d like an expert’s tips on exactly how they use SEO tools in their processes, I recommend checking out Olga’s blog starting with this post on how to audit your site with Ahrefs.

Senior Content Marketing Manager @ Moz

What she’s known for: SEO content strategy, SaaS content

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: Chima’s tips on content strategy that delivers results are a dream. I especially love it when she shares a behind-the-scenes view of her process, like in this post sharing how she tackles content briefing. I’ve learned so much from Chima over the years and am sure you will too.

Business Consultant @ Britney Muller Inc

What she’s known for: AI + LLMs, Data Science for SEO

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: I’ve been following Britney’s work since she was a Senior SEO Scientist at Moz. Recently, her work and interests have focused on education around data science, AI, LLMs, and all these hot topics taking the SEO world by storm. I especially love her ability to explain emerging technology in a beginner-friendly way (like her post explaining Google’s ML model BERT or her website making machine learning accessible for marketers).

Head of Marketing @ Elevar

What she’s known for: Google Analytics, marketing attribution, data for SEO

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: If GA4 and attribution models do your head in, check out Kayle’s Analytics in Minutes YouTube channel. I also recommend checking out her guides on using GA4, SEO analytics, and the top three GA metrics worth tracking.

Web Infrastructure + Intelligence Lead @ Uber

What she’s known for: In-house SEO, Getting buy-in for SEO

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: Jackie shares some great insights for in-house and non-in-house SEO pros alike. From tips on how to get buy-in for SEO initiatives in a large organization to how to IPO as an SEO, there’s a lot to learn here. I also love her take on how SEO is not a black box because it really isn’t, and it’s our job to educate non-SEO stakeholders about it.

CMO, Board Member, Advisor & Angel Investor

What she’s known for: Executive SEO, angel investing

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: Joanna has held multiple executive-level marketing positions, including a stint at Moz. I love seeing how leaders like Joanna think and approach various challenges at an executive level, and if you do too, give her a follow. I especially love her hot take that what makes a great brand includes “fighting for your customer and championing something bigger than yourself.”

Head of Search & SEO @ Alamy

What she’s known for: Technical SEO, Image SEO

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: Roxana has an incredible mind for analytics and technical, data-driven work. With a background in mathematics, she really knows her stuff when it comes to technical SEO. I recommend checking out her technical SEO tips in a free course shared with the Freelance Coalition as well as her next-level image SEO insights from her presentation at LondonSEO XL 2023.

General Manager of Agency Services @ EngineRoom

What she’s known for: SEO leadership, SEO agency management

Where to follow her: LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: Sam and I have had the pleasure of working together for many years in the first female-led SEO team I’ve been a part of in any agency. We’re quite proud of this feat and have transformed our team, consisting mainly of non-SEO professionals, into an SEO powerhouse delivering super-cool results for clients. If you aspire to step into agency leadership roles, Sam has a wealth of knowledge and experience you can learn from.

Founder @ Flow SEO

What she’s known for: SaaS SEO

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: I met Viola very early in my SEO journey and have enjoyed watching as her career transformed over the years. I love the philosophies she shares about issues beyond SEO that are central to the day-to-day lives of anyone working in startups and scaleups. Check out her podcast for inspiring conversations about things like finding flow, conscious leadership, and more.

Founder @ Women in Tech SEO

What she’s known for: Building a community for women in SEO

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: Areej is renowned for her work supporting women in SEO through her Women in Tech SEO social and Slack groups. She also runs community events, and free mentorships and promotes other women in the industry in multiple ways. For instance, you can find female speakers, founders, and freelancers on her website.

CEO @ The Content Factory

What she’s known for: Digital PR, remote work

Where to follow her: Twitter, LinkedIn

My fave takeaways: Kari’s been sharing her journey on running a remote digital agency since well before the pandemic made it common practice. I always find her insights on how she’s grown a multi-million dollar remote agency very insightful. She also manages Sisters in SEO where she frequently shares fair and inclusive job opportunities along with down-to-earth SEO advice.

Founder @ Oree Virtual

What they’re known for: Making the web a more inclusive space

Where to follow them: Samantha is no longer on social media, though you can connect via their website.

My fave takeaways: As promised I’ve saved the best for last. The thing about inspiration is that it’s most powerful when someone’s content compels you to keep researching, keep digging and keep learning well beyond the message they initially shared.

Samantha co-founded Sisters in SEO, the group where I first became inspired by the idea of creating an equitable, inclusive web. As content creators and web designers, we’re in the perfect position to use our skills for a noble purpose with tangible human impact. Because of Samantha, I’ve since helped clients make their websites more diverse and inclusive. I discovered initiatives like this and this among many others.

I highly recommend reaching out and learning more about how you can also make the web a more inclusive space, one page at a time.

Thanks for supporting all voices in SEO with us

There are so many amazing people in our industry, so we couldn’t fit them all into one list (as you can imagine). Thanks for supporting everyone listed above!

Also, remember to check out other inspiring SEO experts in this X list. And if you have space for one more, I’d appreciate some social love on X and LinkedIn too 😉

Related Topics:Inspire Nonbinary Pros seo women

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Google March 2024 Core Update Officially Completed A Week Ago

Published

12 hours ago

April 27, 2024

Max

Google has officially completed its March 2024 Core Update, ending over a month of ranking volatility across the web.

However, Google didn’t confirm the rollout’s conclusion on its data anomaly page until April 26—a whole week after the update was completed on April 19.

Many in the SEO community had been speculating for days about whether the turbulent update had wrapped up.

The delayed transparency exemplifies Google’s communication issues with publishers and the need for clarity during core updates

Google March 2024 Core Update Timeline & Status

First announced on March 5, the core algorithm update is complete as of April 19. It took 45 days to complete.

Unlike more routine core refreshes, Google warned this one was more complex.

Google’s documentation reads:

“As this is a complex update, the rollout may take up to a month. It’s likely there will be more fluctuations in rankings than with a regular core update, as different systems get fully updated and reinforce each other.”

The aftershocks were tangible, with some websites reporting losses of over 60% of their organic search traffic, according to data from industry observers.

The ripple effects also led to the deindexing of hundreds of sites that were allegedly violating Google’s guidelines.

Addressing Manipulation Attempts

In its official guidance, Google highlighted the criteria it looks for when targeting link spam and manipulation attempts:

Creating “low-value content” purely to garner manipulative links and inflate rankings.
Links intended to boost sites’ rankings artificially, including manipulative outgoing links.
The “repurposing” of expired domains with radically different content to game search visibility.

The updated guidelines warn:

“Any links that are intended to manipulate rankings in Google Search results may be considered link spam. This includes any behavior that manipulates links to your site or outgoing links from your site.”

John Mueller, a Search Advocate at Google, responded to the turbulence by advising publishers not to make rash changes while the core update was ongoing.

However, he suggested sites could proactively fix issues like unnatural paid links.

Mueller stated on Reddit:

“If you have noticed things that are worth improving on your site, I’d go ahead and get things done. The idea is not to make changes just for search engines, right? Your users will be happy if you can make things better even if search engines haven’t updated their view of your site yet.”

Emphasizing Quality Over Links

The core update made notable changes to how Google ranks websites.

Most significantly, Google reduced the importance of links in determining a website’s ranking.

In contrast to the description of links as “an important factor in determining relevancy,” Google’s updated spam policies stripped away the “important” designation, simply calling links “a factor.”

This change aligns with Google’s Gary Illyes’ statements that links aren’t among the top three most influential ranking signals.

Instead, Google is giving more weight to quality, credibility, and substantive content.

Consequently, long-running campaigns favoring low-quality link acquisition and keyword optimizations have been demoted.

With the update complete, SEOs and publishers are left to audit their strategies and websites to ensure alignment with Google’s new perspective on ranking.

Core Update Feedback

Google has opened a ranking feedback form related to this core update.

You can use this form until May 31 to provide feedback to Google’s Search team about any issues noticed after the core update.

While the feedback provided won’t be used to make changes for specific queries or websites, Google says it may help inform general improvements to its search ranking systems for future updates.

Google also updated its help documentation on “Debugging drops in Google Search traffic” to help people understand ranking changes after a core update.

Featured Image: Rohit-Tripathi/Shutterstock

FAQ

After the update, what steps should websites take to align with Google’s new ranking criteria?

After Google’s March 2024 Core Update, websites should:

Improve the quality, trustworthiness, and depth of their website content.
Stop heavily focusing on getting as many links as possible and prioritize relevant, high-quality links instead.
Fix any shady or spam-like SEO tactics on their sites.
Carefully review their SEO strategies to ensure they follow Google’s new guidelines.

SEO

Google Declares It The “Gemini Era” As Revenue Grows 15%

Published

1 day ago

April 26, 2024

Max

Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, announced its first quarter 2024 financial results today.

While Google reported double-digit growth in key revenue areas, the focus was on its AI developments, dubbed the “Gemini era” by CEO Sundar Pichai.

The Numbers: 15% Revenue Growth, Operating Margins Expand

Alphabet reported Q1 revenues of $80.5 billion, a 15% increase year-over-year, exceeding Wall Street’s projections.

Net income was $23.7 billion, with diluted earnings per share of $1.89. Operating margins expanded to 32%, up from 25% in the prior year.

Ruth Porat, Alphabet’s President and CFO, stated:

“Our strong financial results reflect revenue strength across the company and ongoing efforts to durably reengineer our cost base.”

Google’s core advertising units, such as Search and YouTube, drove growth. Google advertising revenues hit $61.7 billion for the quarter.

The Cloud division also maintained momentum, with revenues of $9.6 billion, up 28% year-over-year.

Pichai highlighted that YouTube and Cloud are expected to exit 2024 at a combined $100 billion annual revenue run rate.

Generative AI Integration in Search

Google experimented with AI-powered features in Search Labs before recently introducing AI overviews into the main search results page.

Regarding the gradual rollout, Pichai states:

“We are being measured in how we do this, focusing on areas where gen AI can improve the Search experience, while also prioritizing traffic to websites and merchants.”

Pichai reports that Google’s generative AI features have answered over a billion queries already:

“We’ve already served billions of queries with our generative AI features. It’s enabling people to access new information, to ask questions in new ways, and to ask more complex questions.”

Google reports increased Search usage and user satisfaction among those interacting with the new AI overview results.

The company also highlighted its “Circle to Search” feature on Android, which allows users to circle objects on their screen or in videos to get instant AI-powered answers via Google Lens.

Reorganizing For The “Gemini Era”

As part of the AI roadmap, Alphabet is consolidating all teams building AI models under the Google DeepMind umbrella.

Pichai revealed that, through hardware and software improvements, the company has reduced machine costs associated with its generative AI search results by 80% over the past year.

He states:

“Our data centers are some of the most high-performing, secure, reliable and efficient in the world. We’ve developed new AI models and algorithms that are more than one hundred times more efficient than they were 18 months ago.

How Will Google Make Money With AI?

Alphabet sees opportunities to monetize AI through its advertising products, Cloud offerings, and subscription services.

Google is integrating Gemini into ad products like Performance Max. The company’s Cloud division is bringing “the best of Google AI” to enterprise customers worldwide.

Google One, the company’s subscription service, surpassed 100 million paid subscribers in Q1 and introduced a new premium plan featuring advanced generative AI capabilities powered by Gemini models.

Future Outlook

Pichai outlined six key advantages positioning Alphabet to lead the “next wave of AI innovation”:

Research leadership in AI breakthroughs like the multimodal Gemini model
Robust AI infrastructure and custom TPU chips
Integrating generative AI into Search to enhance the user experience
A global product footprint reaching billions
Streamlined teams and improved execution velocity
Multiple revenue streams to monetize AI through advertising and cloud

With upcoming events like Google I/O and Google Marketing Live, the company is expected to share further updates on its AI initiatives and product roadmap.

Featured Image: Sergei Elagin/Shutterstock

SEO

brightonSEO Live Blog

Published

2 days ago

April 25, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

Hello everyone. It’s April again, so I’m back in Brighton for another two days of ~~sun~~, sea, and SEO!

Being the introvert I am, my idea of fun isn’t hanging around our booth all day explaining we’ve run out of t-shirts (seriously, you need to be fast if you want swag!). So I decided to do something useful and live-blog the event instead.

Follow below for talk takeaways and (very) mildly humorous commentary.