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 Henna Patel! Based in Birmingham, UK, Henna is an experienced SEO professional working in the industry for just over 5 years. She has extensive all-around knowledge and loves working with keywords and content. In 2021, she joined a PR agency to lead the SEO team, working with new and existing clients to leverage their SEO services. A graduate in web development, Henna previously worked for an automotive software company. She thrives in a dynamic environment and loves how SEO is always evolving.
We asked her everything from how she first got into SEO to what empowers her to be the brilliant woman she is 💪🏽
I studied web development at university and SEO was a small part of it. I started an internship for a jewelry company whilst writing a personal blog and then applied for a junior SEO position at an automotive software company. I wrote a blog post on not giving up on finding a job and this was one of the things that made me stand out in the interview, I explained what my struggles were and how I had overcome them. So, if you're thinking of creating your own personal website, showing off some really good results from a project you've done, or creating a blog, do it! It really does help.
An SEO competitor analysis! I love to give insight into why competitors are outranking you and what to do about it! I also love keywords, the process of finding all the possible search queries really exhilarates me and forces me to learn and understand what searchers are really searching for.
Google Search Console - I love how much data you can pull from it and it's free! Semrush is great too, an all-rounder tool but I'm always learning new things every day.
When I created some blog ideas for a client and the rankings went up and traffic came through, something a client never expected so it was great to show the importance of them!
This year I became a mentor as part of the WTSMentorship Program for the first time and it really is so thrilling to be able to make a huge impact on someone’s life in a such short space of time. I would recommend it if you're thinking about it!
Don't be scared to take risks, I've spent many years not putting myself out there thinking I don't know enough, but you'll grow and learn more by speaking to others, taking part in events, and helping other people grow too.
There's always so much going on in SEO and it may seem a bit daunting especially when you're new to the industry, but SEO isn't a race it's a marathon. Nobody in this industry knows everything they learn with experience and lots of it, so try and set yourself some long and short-term goals and it will help you to stay focused and remind you that nothing is impossible. The LearningSEO roadmap that Aleyda Solis created is truly a brilliant starting point and something that I refer to all the time.
Whenever you have completed a task I would always ask for feedback, constructive feedback is the best, it will really improve your learner's confidence and motivation to learn even more!
Twitter is a great platform to connect with some brilliant SEO professionals. I learned so much by following people and eventually met some of them at BrightonSEO too. If anyone presents at BrightonSEO or any other conferences and you think they've done a great job, tell them. They deserve the amazing feedback and will really appreciate it. Motivating other people will bring you all the positivity you need and help you to move forward in your career.
There are so many women in this industry that help answer questions and provide their daily insights every day. I was always scared to ask a question but one of our community rules is "There's no such thing as a stupid question" which is so true, everyone is there to help support one another. It's really helped me cut down on my mental stress so I'd like to give a big shout-out to Areej AbuAli for creating this community and making this happen.
My family and boyfriend, particularly my dad, who always told me to do whatever makes me happy and that's why I'm still here.
There are also so many podcasts that I listen to including The SEO Mindset, WorkinSEO, and THE SEO SAS Podcast, the hosts and guests are absolutely brilliant and when I'm suffering from imposter syndrome, I can just listen to an episode, and it really empowers me as a person.
More than anything, it's the people in the Women in Tech SEO community, the valuable time they give to help you has made me the person I am today, they truly are phenomenal.
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Thanks to Henna for a truly insightful interview. You can connect with her via 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! 🙌🏽