Interviewing Corina Burri

Welcome to a new Weekly Interviews edition where we interview brilliant women in our industry and share their stories with the world! Anyone is welcome to share their story by simply filling this form, we encourage women from all walks of life in our industry to do so.

Introducing Corina Burri! Based in Switzerland, Corina leads Digital Analytics & SEO of Credit Suisse Asset Management and freelances as an SEO Consultant. Since 2016 she's been in SEO and has contributed to publications such as SEOFOMO, Tech SEO Tips, and iPullRank. When not grinding, she enjoys exploring Switzerland with her family.

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

How did you get into SEO?

In 2016, I was travelling and doing some freelance writing gigs to sustain the expenses.
Every now and then, I saw requests for SEOs. And they were paid a bit better. I knew about the basics of SEO from my studies. I listened to a couple of podcast and then took on a SEO writing gig. I thoroughly enjoyed the gig. I loved the combination of the analytical approach when doing keyword research and the creative aspect when writing.
And there the story goes on. A client eventually asked if I’d like to come on board permanently and there I learned also the ropes of technical and off-page SEO

What is your favourite SEO task?

Teaching. I love sharing the 101 of SEO with my clients. I just love the AHA moments I get as reward. I want to start teaching SEO at a university or business school.

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

Ahrefs, hands down. I use it for keyword research, rank tracking and backlink analysis. That being said, I also appreciate SE Ranking. For reporting, I appreciate Looker Studio as you can combine sources. For my SEO dashboard I combine GA4 and Google Search Console Data. I have my own Excel SEO Audit template for tech and content auditing. It gives me structure and comfort when starting a new project.

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

You don’t need to have a DA 60 to rank. If you have good content, matching the user needs, you can also rank with a new or smaller website.

What is your proudest industry achievement?

• Being featured in SEOFOMO newsletter
• Hitting my yearly traffic goal on my personal blog already in month 3
• Holding SEO training sessions for 40+ stakeholders right after starting a new role

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

1. Build your own website. It is a good way to put skills into practice, test new concepts + you will own the data.
2. Build a network. If you’re on this website, chances are that you are already interested in building a SEO network. I wish I had started sooner. It is just awesome to know that you are not alone.
3. Take on freelance work. Getting your hands dirty a different type of sites and different SEO tasks will boost your learning curve. Additionally, you will be communicating to clients and have to explain the work and the value of your work. Automatically you will embrace an expert role - that is empowering.

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

One? I can’t. Let me pick a few:

• Juliana Turnbull for sharing her freelance advice freely.
• Shouting out to Isaline Mülhauser and Sara Moccand-Sayegh for promoting SEO in Switzerland and for being so inclusive and welcoming.
• Anett Pohl for investing time to host a monthly friendly WTS chat.
• Yolanda Benito for sharing her career progress so openly.
• MJ Cachón for creating helpful content in Spanish and for being supportive to new SEOs.
• Sabrina Wirz for role modelling on how to excel in your career and be a wonderful parent. She’s a star.

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

• The support of my family and my partner - it takes a village.
• Constantly investing time in myself. For education or mental health.
• Working with smart and brilliant minds - asking them for feedback to detect my blind spots.
• The mindset of “I can learn it all”. In SEO, the knowledge is available in the web. It’s on me to prioritize, to ask questions and to learn.

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Thanks Corina for a truly insightful interview! You can connect with Corina on her website, 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! 🙌🏽