The Search Magic team traveled to Philadelphia two weeks ago for the Women in Tech SEO Festival. And let us tell you—it was awesome!
As the proud Wellbeing sponsor, we couldn’t have been more excited to support this inspiring, woman-led initiative.
Photo Credits: Lindsay Ladd
What we loved most about the event was the quality of the talks. Each speaker provided inspiration and valuable ideas to consider. Thanks to the dedicated team and volunteers, the conference was thoroughly planned.
“This is more than just a conference”. It perfectly reflects the event’s spirit. It felt like a warm community meetup. The atmosphere was filled with smart and kind individuals, creating an amazing environment.
We left with plenty of food for thought and inspired by the incredible women shaping the SEO world.
Here are our highlights from the conference along with interesting takeaways!
Table of Contents
From Guidelines to Growth: Unleashing the Potential of E-E-A-T,
Bianca Anderson, Organic Growth Manager, his & hers
Photo Credits: Lindsay Ladd
Bianca took the stage to discuss creating an EEAT Playbook in this new era of search.
She explained the practical application of Google’s official Search Quality Rater Guidelines, emphasizing the importance of quality, experience-driven content.
She highlighted the use of original research, the organization of topics into clusters and pillar pages, and the application of strategies like Reddit data mining and competitor comparisons.
Bianca revealed actionable CTAs that could elevate a team’s strategy, shared real case studies, and demonstrated how to create both branded and non-branded content through guest posts and short-form videos.
Key Takeaways:
- Use original research and data-driven insights to add value.
- Organize content into clusters and pillar pages to establish topical authority.
- Apply strategies like Reddit data mining and competitor analysis for unique content angles.
- Create first-person content to provide experience, expertise and authority through your content.
Crafting a Winning Formula for Holiday E-commerce Triumph
Jamie D’Alessandro, Associate Strategist, SEO, Amsive
Photo Credits: Lindsay Ladd
The talk covered all things holiday, highlighting how holiday efforts extend beyond SEO and require a multi-channel approach for success.
It focused on optimizing e-commerce with strategies like using internal research data to enhance navigation, especially for holiday sales, through tools such as gift finders and quizzes.
Personalization, easy user experience, and local SEO optimization for deliveries and payments were emphasized as key elements in creating a customer-centric e-commerce platform.
Attendees left with practical tips, frameworks, and a new way to approach the most stressful time of the year.
Key Takeaways:
- Focus on creating an amazing digital experience across channels.
- Implement interactive content concepts, like gift finders and quizzes to guide holiday shoppers and enhance the browsing experience.
- Don’t throw your seasonal landing pages into the trash. Keep them for the next season and save the SEO juice, rankings and backlinks gathered.
Localizing Success: Creating a Digital Customer Journey That Drives Sales
Krystal Taing, VP, Solutions, Uberall
Photo Credits: Lindsay Ladd
The talk focused on optimizing local SEO for multi-location brands and localizing the customer experience.
It emphasized the importance of maintaining complete business profiles on platforms like Google Business Profile and Apple Maps. How to leverage positive customer reviews and ratings, and provide detailed Q&A sections for prospective customers.
Strategies for tailoring customer journeys to local contexts were explored using data-driven case studies, highlighting techniques to identify unique local needs and preferences.
The session showcased how adapting digital strategies to these nuances could significantly enhance engagement and boost conversion rates.
Key Takeaways:
- Multi-location brands must maintain 100% complete profiles on platforms like Google Business Profile and Apple Maps to increase visibility and trust.
- Providing comprehensive Q&A sections can address prospective customers’ concerns and streamline decision-making.
- Leveraging positive customer reviews and ratings is crucial for building credibility and attracting more local customers.
In/credible: AI & Our Appetite for Truth
Kavi Kardos, Director of Organic Growth, KlientBoost
Photo Credits: Lindsay Ladd
The talk provided a broad overview of the evolution of internet discourse and its impact on modern approaches to truth.
Kavi explored how the evolution of AI has decreased our appetite for objectivity and raised concerns about the dangers of bias in machine learning, such as the mistrust caused by AI’s reliance on statistical correlations rather than real data.
She cautioned that the growth addiction of big corporations has driven the development of AGI and expressed worries about how companies like OpenAI could use competitive advantages to restrict access to authentic data.
Kavi highlighted the shared responsibility of the internet’s shapers to apply pressure on search engines to adopt best practices.
Key Takeaways:
- The growth addiction of major corporations has contributed to the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), raising ethical concerns about its impact on society.
- There are significant dangers associated with bias in machine learning, particularly the mistrust generated by AI’s reliance on statistical correlations instead of real data.
Make Inclusion the Default: Tips to Make Your Content Inclusive
Purna Virji, Principal Consultant, Content Solutions, LinkedIn
Photo Credits: Lindsay Ladd
In her talk, Purna specified that inclusion needs to be a default consideration in content marketing campaigns, asserting that the Fear of Messing Up (FOMU) should not hold anyone back. She discussed the future of inclusive content, advocating for accessibility, diversity, and the celebration of niches.
Purna shared tactics and strategies to make content more inclusive, highlighting the importance of removing barriers through clear, simple language and creating responsive designs with thoughtful color schemes and hierarchical headings.
She reiterated that content should be inclusive by default to provide an optimal experience for all users.
Key Takeaways:
- Average content doesn’t create an optimal experience,
- Removing barriers to understanding is crucial; using clear and simple language enhances accessibility for all users.
- Implementing responsive design that includes thoughtful color schemes and hierarchical headings contributes to a more user-friendly experience.
SEO Testing Framework: Set Up Your SEO Test for Success
Celeste Gonzalez, Director of RooLabs, RicketyRoo
Photo Credits: Lindsay Ladd
Celeste provided a framework for SEO testing that focused on time-based testing and A/B or split tests.
She mentioned the importance of structured data analysis and testing, particularly for metadata, prioritizing high-impact URLs, optimizing design, and concentrating efforts on changes that maximize search experience optimization.
The talk guided attendees through the process of developing ideas for SEO tests, covering proposal preparation, progress monitoring, and result reporting, while uncovering insights into generating valuable test ideas and documenting results for analysis.
Key Takeaways:
- Website design and the importance of user-friendly layouts are key to the overall search experience.
- The process of generating valuable SEO test ideas involves careful proposal preparation, consistent progress monitoring, and thorough result reporting.
- Documenting results effectively is vital for analyzing the impact of SEO tests and refining future strategies based on insights gained.
PPC + SEO: How to Harness Changes to Enable Integrated Marketing
Navah Hopkins, Evangelist, Optmyzr
Photo Credits: Lindsay Ladd
Navah shared her passion for integrating PPC and SEO strategies through Baldur’s Gate 3, bolding the importance of collaboration between these teams. She encouraged connecting all assets, such as Google Search Console and Google Business Profiles, to Google Ads to unlock valuable reports and ad types.
The talk also outlined three core actionable ways that PPCs and SEOs could empower each other for better results, including replacing Dynamic Search Ads with PMax, conducting a UTM responsibility audit, and preparing for a paid social-first world.
Key Takeaways:
- Collaboration between PPC and SEO teams is essential for maximizing the effectiveness of digital marketing efforts.
- PMax should replace Dynamic Search Ads for improved ad performance.
- Conducting a UTM responsibility audit helps clarify tracking and accountability between teams.
- Integration of tools and strategies can lead to better insights and more informed campaign decision-making.
This is BigQuery: Unlocking Limitless Data in the Age of Looker
Sam Torres, Chief Digital Officer, Gray Dot Co
Photo Credits: Lindsay Ladd
Sam Torres introduced BigQuery as a powerful tool for processing large datasets, which is ideal for clients with massive amounts of URLs.
She explained how BigQuery’s cloud-based storage and processing capabilities enable the building of predictive models and facilitate gaining deeper insights.
In her talk, Sam worked to demystify BigQuery, helping marketers learn how to navigate the tool to enhance their data and improve reporting performance. By the end of the session, attendees felt ready to take on BigQuery and maximize their data utilization across GA4 and GSC.
Key Takeaways:
- Users can set up alerts for long-running or high-cost queries, enabling better resource management and cost control within BigQuery.
- By leveraging BigQuery’s capabilities, organizations can improve their data-driven decision-making processes, leading to more informed business strategies.
- BigQuery’s robust processing capabilities are particularly well-suited for handling large datasets, making it an ideal choice for clients with massive amounts of URLs.
Let’s Train Our Way to a Better SEO Industry
Natasha Burtenshaw-deVries, Director, Organic Growth, Flywheel Digital
Photo Credits: Lindsay Ladd
Natasha shared her experience of diving head-first into the world of training SEOs and the challenges she encountered along the way.
Attendees gained insights into these challenges and their implications for the industry, feeling inspired to contribute to its growth through training.
She discussed the difficulties in finding quality training for intermediate SEOs and emphasized the importance of helping ourselves and others learn SEO effectively.
Natasha highlighted the value of mentoring and finding knowledgeable individuals who can provide training, as well as the necessity of using critical thinking rather than overly relying on AI.
She also covered how to read data effectively and encouraged attendees to embrace the role of a data analyst, even if they were not particularly fond of working with data.
Key Takeaways:
- It can be challenging to find effective training programs for intermediate SEOs, highlighting a gap in the market.
- Mentoring plays a crucial role in helping individuals learn SEO effectively and find the right resources to enhance their skills.
- Understanding how to read and interpret data is essential for SEOs, and attendees learned practical tips on becoming more comfortable with data analysis.
Unleashing Your Authentic Self to Skyrocket Your Career
Heather Hamilton, SEO Consultant, Well Optimized SEO
Photo Credits: Lindsay Ladd
In her session, Heather talked about how empathy is a valuable trait for professionals and encouraged self-reflection to identify the qualities that contribute to effective leadership and teamwork.
She highlighted the importance of authenticity, recommending that individuals bring their true selves to work while also maintaining self-discipline and setting healthy boundaries.
Attendees learned to uncover their unique superpowers and how to unleash them in the professional world, reframing their thinking around executive presence and confidence.
Additionally, Heather provided tips to improve self-confidence and positively impact the energy and culture within their workspaces.
Key Takeaways:
- Empathy is recognized as an essential trait for effective leadership and teamwork, enhancing interpersonal relationships in the workplace.
- Engaging in self-reflection can help individuals identify their strengths as leaders and team members, benefiting both personal development and organizational success.
- Maintaining healthy boundaries is crucial for personal well-being and ensuring a positive work dynamic.
Wrapping Up
WTS Fest offered a wealth of insights and practical strategies for navigating the current SEO landscape.
Each talk was informative and inspired attendees to prioritize collaboration, uphold ethical practices, and commit to continuous learning to foster meaningful growth within the industry.
We look forward to seeing what’s in store for the next WTS Fest – London edition!
P.S. To learn more about the Women in Tech SEO community and discover valuable resources, and next events, visit their website at Women in Tech SEO!