Interviewing Rachel Hernandez

Welcome to a new WTSInterview edition, where we interview brilliant SEOs in our industry and share their stories with the world! WTS members are welcome to share their story by simply filling out this form; we encourage folks from all walks of life in our industry to do so.

Introducing Rachel Hernandez! Based in St. Petersburg, USA, Rachel is The Director of Marketing for The HOTH, where she oversees all content marketing and SEO efforts. She got her start in SEO in 2016 as an SEO product developer, creating The HOTH's first content product and leading teams of 700+ freelancers to produce 20,000 pieces of optimized content per month.

How did you get into SEO?

My passion for writing. I went to school to be a writer, and studied fiction and creative nonfiction. This was back in 2003-- digital marketing wasn't really a "thing," then.

I did a lot of restaurant work, and then decided to just try and get an entry-level job at a marketing company in 2014 (I did tech support at first), so I could try and work my way up and do something creative, and preferably with content.

Yes, I do think there is a lot of creativity in SEO, even beyond the content side! And now I do SEO for an SEO company, which is a fun, meta-filled challenge.

What is your favourite SEO task?

People tend to think that content that's optimized for SERPs is inherently robotic and inauthentic, but when you do it right, that's not true. I've been able to triple The HOTH's organic traffic, primarily through growing our onsite educational content, and while we do optimize for topics and keywords, and there's a strategy behind it, the reason we get backlinks, shares, etc., is because the content is fun and engaging to read. And I get to show our users that they can have humorous, authentic content that ranks.

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

I'm going to name two books-- Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, and Ann Handley's Everybody Writes.

I make everyone on my team (well, strongly suggest!) they read Ann Handley's book, so they can see that copywriting isn't about selling, but about connecting. That goes for SEO content as well. Especially in this new age of AI content, those who actually write to connect are going to stand out-- especially in the SERPs.

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

It's really easy to get caught up in some vanity metrics, especially when leadership wants quick-wins, or just to see surface-level KPIs like organic traffic or keyword rankings.

The deeper way to look at it is to view what you're doing for your users and ideal clients, and what kind of traffic you're driving to the site, and where it fits into your funnel.

Sometimes it can be hard to push back on a campaign or piece of content that may boost KPIs but may be bad for the site, or amount to limited ROI longterm.

What is your proudest industry achievement?

I started at The HOTH by building our first content product, HOTH Blogger.

It's wild to say that in 2016, people didn't really see content as a valuable part of an SEO strategy, but we fought hard to be a trailblazer as an agency selling that element.

I was able to build the product, and also build a team of 700+ freelance writers. We created about 20,000 pieces of optimized content a month.

For me, who had come up as a struggling writer, and thought I would never "make it," it was a full-circle moment. The thrill of being paid to write for the first time is real. Giving so many the opportunity to experience that is probably not just my proudest industry achievement, but my all-time proudest achievement.

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

SEO is about the user experience more than anything else. Those who get caught up in algorithm updates or trying to please any one more than your user can get easily lost. Keep that as your North Star, and you'll be fine.

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

Lidia Infante. We met a few years ago. She represents women in this industry in a way that truly resonates. Her expertise is off-the-charts, but she also acknowledges how we can be overlooked, and uses her platform to raise others up.

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

I'm always myself. I think as women in a male-dominated industry we can be tempted into trying to adapt into what we think people want to see. When I realized that it was okay to show up as me, talk like me, and not shrink, I became more powerful.

----

Thanks, Rachel, for a truly insightful interview! You can connect with Rachel via LinkedIn.

Check out our Interviews page for more interviews. If you've enjoyed reading this, 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! 🙌🏽