By Li Evans
This week since I'm over here in London, I decided to focus on two great women internet marketers from the UK. I'm hoping to have a treat for you later, since I'm planning to catch up with the two of them later this evening, I might even manage to capture some video interviewing these two lovely ladies. If the timing works out, I might post it later this evening (I'm going to try - but no promises!).
One of our talented women represents one of the top companies in the industry over here in London. The other women works for a UK based internet / digital marketing firm. Both women are great fun to hang out with and really know their stuff when it comes to this market space. Today, let me introduce you to Marie Howell of Bruce Clay and Lisa Ditlefsen of Base One Group.
Marie Howell
Marie's been in the industry for 4 years and is the face of Bruce Clay in the UK and Europe. I first met Marie in Chicago out the lunch that SEO FanGirl held and I knew I wanted to feature her in this series. When I got the confirmation I was coming to London, I thought, what better way to feature her, could there be?
Marie worked as a freelance consultant for European businesses before going back to
university and doing a second degree to be a teacher. She taught in an
award-winning school and headed up a department there. Marie considers instructing,
presenting, crowd control, raging hormones and serious multi-tasking plus
speaking in tongues and very long hours were (and are) all part of daily life
for for her!
Now for some Q&A with Marie:
Most successful professional accomplishment?
That's a hard one. I
could opt for doubling a sports client's online revenue within 60 days of taking
on the contract, or working on behalf of the British Council and presenting a
paper and findings to a Government Minister and 70 members of her senior staff
in Bogota, Colombia. Or, probably what I consider to be my most successful
accomplishment happens on a daily basis: teaching online businesses to optimise
their websites and show them how to be successful online marketers, giving them
the tools they need to attract qualified traffic, converting them into sales and
watching their companies grow and prosper. I love helping clients and making
their businesses grow!
Why
do you like/love this industry?
I love the fact that
this business it is ever-changing and your knowledge is ever-augmenting: there
is always something new to learn and new SEO experiences to be had. I love the
challenge and the 'thrill of the chase'. This industry gets hold of you and
entraps you totally: you are enticed into it, seduced completely by it and then
develop such a passion for what you do that you know you will never manage to
leave its sultry sheets! lol!
I adore helping
people. It is delightful and so rewarding to know that you have made such an
impact on someone's business. When they see their rankings increasing, visitor
numbers increasing and their personal wealth growing, they are ecstatic: it is
fantastic to see that and be instrumental in that.
What aggravates you most about
this industry?
When SEO people hold
parties at the same time – how do you choose which one to go to! No- seriously
- I get upset when I hear of clients who have been 'burned' by so-called SEO's.
You hear tales of guaranteed no.1 rankings, promises of fortunes to be reaped,
vast sums of money being paid over month after month, and nothing the
client site has a minimal level of work done on it, if anything, and the
promised first pages do not happen or, if they do, it is for keywords that
people aren't actually searching for. It aggravates me that these companies
have trusted their 'seo' and they have been given a shoddy service. That is
part of the reason I appreciate conferences like SES so much as it brings
together so many talented people and allows for growth and learning by all and
sets a standard for the industry. On the flip side of this, it is also
fulfilling both personally and professionally when you spend time with these
clients and explain the methodology that goes in to optimising their site and
you get them to understand what you will do for their site through an iterative
process of hard work, continual effort and dedication. It is about becoming a
part of their business for the life of the contract (if, indeed, the contract
ends) and investing in them to make their business grow. So an initial
'aggravation' to use your word becomes beneficial and rewarding collaborative
effort.
What big "thing" do you think
will prevail in 2007?
Social networking is
continuing to ‘kick it’ so far this year and I believe it will increase
exponentially with a myriad of new sites and opportunities. Capturing this
phenomenon and adapting it for SEO purposes is developing well – for an
expanding number of industries. What started as an experiment has become
rewarding for several different verticals and I think this will be honed over
the coming months to address other sectors, too.
What do you think of the term
"LinkBait"?
Linkbait as a concept
is fantastic, in terms of a link magnet: it is an integral part of the site
development process. It is imperative that it has integrity and offers value to
the user. As such, I consider it vitally important and have a creative team
which works to devise effective 'linkbait' for the companies that we work with.
It can bring quality, natural 'votes' to a credible client site. I just
consider it a catchy way to get users attention: as part of a smart marketing
plan and to generate much-needed links to some of our clients.
The term can also have
negative connotations if associated with spamming or just gaining a 'headline',
as has been suggested of late. However, Linkbait is just simply something to
grasp people's attention for a sufficient time by offering them something of
value to them at that particular moment – whether information or just fun. Link
baiting can, if creatively used, bring an incredible amount of exposure to other
resources or other services that the client offers, hence cross-selling or
cross-promoting. Of course, effective linkbait will assist in "Backrub" behind
Google.
What's your favorite blog to read
(doesn't have to be a Search Blog)?
I am, of course, a true
and loyal Bruce Clay Blog fan
:) It is my daily
delight! I love to read Rand & Rebecca &
Co, I thoroughly enjoy Lee Odden's excellent Top Rank
Blog Jim's Sterne
Measures and Loren Baker's SEJ
but also some 'other interest' blogs such as the Brian Fitness Blog which always has some excellent articles
and the French Business Garden Blog
to name but a few. But
being an European SEO business at the heart of Europe, it is also vital
that I keep up to date with what is going on in technology and marketing areas
over here so I also check out daily news sites like the Financial Times media & tech area
and Digital Media Europe amongst others.
Right
now, how many women bloggers do you read?
Well, Lisa starts my day but
there are some fantastic ladies out there that I read on a regular basis…Amanda Watlington
is one incredibly smart and incisive lady, Webmoxy is awesome, I love Meg Walker's new blog plus, of course, there is this crazy redhead - who
I finally got to meet in Chicago - who is pretty cool too! :)
MBL is an excellent way of investigating
new blogs (and keeping all of your communities under one roof) and I am
constantly expanding my frame of reference there, too.
What made you get involved in this
industry?
Hmm…the truth is via
something pretty dumb that I did, actually. A number of years ago I had this
great idea to set up a very cool product based website: did vast amounts of
market research and study, sourced some fabulous products, negotiated great
rates, created a supply and distribution chain, organized staff, had this
incredible CMS based website designed and created, uploaded the products, did
marketing due diligence, etc, etc, Thought I had everything covered and then sat
back. For some bizarre reason, the orders didn't come flooding in (just a
trickle, actually)…. I had overlooked one vital component of any online
business: SEO. I hadn't designed for the search engines, I had just taken at
face value what the web designer said and trusted him. This was at a time when
SEO was just a bud in morning sunlight, gradually and tentatively unfurling in
the UK. Still reeling from my ignorance, I started to learn and grow…. And I am
still learning today which, more
importantly, is what has made me stay in the industry!
I worked as a freelance
consultant for European businesses before going back to university and doing a
second degree to be a teacher. I taught in an award-winning school and headed
up a department there – so instructing, presenting, crowd control, raging
hormones and serious multi-tasking plus speaking in tongues and very long hours
were (and are) all part of daily life for me!
Now for some fun!
What's "SEO Biker" all
about?
The name kind of
evolved slowly and it is pretty boring story really. I have been riding for
years, everything from customs to sports to sports tourers, and it is seriously
'my thing' (except in the dead of the British winter as it is just too cold and
too dangerous, with the UK population being half asleep at the wheels of their
cars!). As not many ladies ride over here, I have long been referred to as a
'biker babe' (a biker babe is a girl who rides on the back of her man's bike –
and they knew it would irritate me as this was not the case! I am a biker not a biker babe) When I became heavily
involved in the SEO world a few years ago, the SEO kind of attached itself and seobiker
was born! (The SEO has since metamorphasised to stand for something other than
search engine optimization but it
would embarrass me too much to explain, so I will leave it to your
imagination!)
Is it
true that there are more black hat SEOs in the UK than "Non-Black" Hat?
My pure, virginal white hat would not allow me to
investigate the dark side, so I would have to say that upon that score, I am in
complete ignorance! I have met some extremely intelligent UK industry people
some who travel to the US shows and some who I know you will encounter at SES
London very soon.
If Mike Grehan, David Naylor, Rob
Kerry, SEOIdiot (Paul Madden) and Ammon Johns were
competing from Mr. SEO UK, who'd win?
Now that's a tough
one: Yorkshire's Dave is seriously cool and very outspoken and frank - Mrs
Naylor is a very lucky lady (as is he!). Mike Grehan is incredible:
seriously intelligent and so respected! Anyone who hasn't downloaded his Search Engine
Marketing book and has it on their desk needs to pull their fingers out and
get ordering! Personally, I have spent many nights curled up reading his
creations– beautiful writing style – or hearing about his travels with the
fabulous Joe Morin (we will miss him in
London)! I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting Paul, Rob and Ammon properly
but am hoping to run in to them at SES
London.
Gorgeous males in the industry you ask? Tough one! I would
have to start with Rory De Niro who is the hottest guy ever, but there are so
many others: the delightful Lee Odden, the gorgeous Ben Hadley, Joe Morin, Rand
Fishkin, the fabulous Mike Sack, Neil Patel, Dave Naylor & Matt Baillie to
mention a mere snippet! I am looking forward to meeting more hot men of SEO, however, SEOFangirl is the one with the full
rundown and, Li, having met the lady in person, I know that SEOFangirl
is not you!
That's right, but hey SEO FanGirl is my pal around buddy here at SES London! :)
Now lets meet Lisa!
Lisa Ditlefsen
Lisa has been in marketing for 6 years, with 2 of those working in the Search Marketing industry and currently works for Base One Interactive here in the UK. At Base One Lisa heads up the SEO & Web Analytics group within the company.
Lisa also owns and blogs at SEO Blog UK. She and contributing writer, Bethan Jenkins, both contribute great information about the search industry on the blog. Along with her SEO Blog, she also has a photography blog, where she posts some great picturse.
Now for some Q & A with Lisa:
Most successful industry
accomplishment?
The
first time I got one of my clients a No. 1 placement for a competitive keyword on
Google.
Why do you like/love this industry?
I love the fact
that it’s no definitive right or wrong answer in the search industry. A lot of
the work is coming up with a strategy that is right for your client, convincing
a client that it’s not all about quantity but quality. It’s no point in having a
hundred no1 in the SERPs if 1) people don’t click through due to badly written
title and meta tags or 2) they don’t convert because the keyword is too general.
Ok here I go again, basically I love this industry because I get totally carried
away talking about it, I can honestly say I love my job.
What aggravates you most about this
industry?
Nothing
really aggravates me, huh who am I kidding. Actually it’s a little annoying that
still in 2007 you get judged for the way you look as a woman. I guess I have a
bit of an “Erin Brokowich syndrome”. It a lot more men than women in this
industry, and most of them are not judgmental at all.
What kind of impact do you see
social media having on SEO?
I’m excited and a little scared
about the whole Social Media, especially Social Search. I’m all for social
bookmarking and rating a site to boost their placements in the SERPs. BUT when
it comes to incorporating that kind of social opinions into the search engines
I’m worried it could go all wrong. I read a post the other day on SEOmoz that
brought up a very fair point, if personalised search becomes part of the
algorithms doesn’t’ that mean that the web becomes smaller and smaller. Although
you visit a site and give it the thumbs up doesn’t mean you want that site to
show up in the SERPs every time you search for anything remotely similar?! I’m
sure, at least I hope, the big search engines have already thought of this
possibility, and already have an answer to it. For me the whole point of the
World Wide Web is that you can end up surfing websites that you have never heard
of/thought of visiting. Will social search put an end to that?
Do you feel Search Marketing and
Search Marketers get/have a bad rep, from outsiders of the industry?
They don’t really
have a bad reputation YET in the UK. It’s amazing how few actually
knows about Search Marketing in the UK, it’s growing very rapidly but a lot of
people working in Marketing still have no clue that search marketing is a
separate industry.
Why do you blog?
Because no one at work wants to
listen to me ranting about SEO. No seriously, I only started blogging about 5
months ago. And although I don’t post every day I have found blogging very
useful in a lot of ways. A few times I have had a SEO problem or questions and I
have posted it to my blog and within a few hours I’ve had someone giving me a
few pointers to what the problem could be. The SEO industry is very closely
knit, people help each other out, and I love that.
What’s a typical day like for you at
your company?
I
work for an Integrated Marketing Agency within the Interactive team, where I
head up the SEO & Web Analytics section. We are three in my team, one Web
Analytics specialist and a Junior SEO. It gets very busy as we do monthly
reports for each client including web analytics, PPC stats and SEO analysis. I
usually do all search engine optimisation on my own and my team report on stats
and progress on a monthly basis afterwards. I’m going to be recruiting another
Junior SEO in April, which I’m really excited about.
First thing I do when I get in is to
go through my emails, then I read SEOmoz and a few other blogs. Then I might
have a quick update with my team and sort out workload before I start the days
tasks. We run quiet comprehensive PPC campaigns for quiet a few large clients
(Saab & BBT being the largest), this takes a lot of managing. I also have an
average of 1 new website to fully search engine optmise every month (this month
I had 3 which was very hectic). One thing I always try to do though is take an
hour lunch break, go for a walk or more likely to the café and have a liter of
coffee and far too many cigarettes. (trying to quit smoking
now..)
Who’s your favorite blogger to read?
I
really like SEOmoz and Rand Fishkin's posts, he is a SEO genius. I also read the
14th Colony Scout blog.
Right now, how many women bloggers
do you read?
I
always laugh at Rebecca’s posts on SEOmoz.
Who do you feel is a leader in this
industry and why?
Again Rand Fishkin deserves a
mention here, he has grown his business in record speed and he’s incredibly
knowledgeable and well known in the industry already. Half of the time I
disagree with Rand on his theories but I still
admire him and basically thinks he rocks! Obviously you still have the SEO
veterans (not referring to age!) such as Danny Sullivan, which I also really
admire.
And now it's Lisa's turn to have little fun with the Q&A:
Do all the blackhats really come
from the UK?
No not at all, not sure why everyone
keeps on saying that. In fact I don’t know of any blackhat SEOs. If they do come
from the UK they hide pretty well.
If you were stranded on a desert
island, which 2 SEO Guys would you like to be stranded
with?
Rand
Fishkin if I could choose anyone. And if he had to be from the UK, I would choose Ammon
Johns.
You also do photography, what are
some of your favorite pictures you’ve taken?
Yeah I studied photography part time
last year (City & Guilds), it was quiet hectic though as being a single mum
in full time work whilst also studying took some serious dedication. But I loved
the course, photography is my creative outlet. I do take a lot of pictures of my
daughter, Lily, my favorite photograph I’ve taken is a black and white
photograph of her holding a ball.
Thank you to both Lisa and Marie for their patience in dealing with me and my time difference till I got over here to the UK!
Susan (from Bruce Clay), could you please make sure Ms. Lisa is not totally shocked because of how early I posted this, I really wanted to shock her :)
As always, visit our Women of Internet Marketing category to read all about the prior features we've had here at SMG! Next week, we'll have week 11 and two more great women.
Finally have all the pictures uploaded! There's close to 100 of them from the event. I've got another 20 or so of my trip into the city and with my wonderful tour guide Mike Grehan (Mike's just awesome!). I even managed to live up to the wonderful expectation of us Americans in that I knew very little about that guy who defeated Napoleon. 
Then I got to introduce myself to Greg Boser, "Hi, I'm that Hat Chick" I said with a chuckle. It was all in great fun, both Greg and his wife are wonderful people who are really fun to hang around with. Greg even tolerated me taking pictures and even wore some beads too.
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