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 Schuyler Sonnega! Based in St. Paul, USA, Schuyler got her start in SEO and digital marketing while interning for a startup in 2020. At Uproer, she pioneered the SEO Analyst + Copywriter position and is the company’s first internal copywriter. After transitioning to a more SEO-focused position, she is passionate about finding ways to improve the way Uproer approaches content production. When she's not search marketing, she's shredding the ski slopes, planning her next camping trip, or carefully constructing a Spotify playlist masterpiece.
We asked her everything from how she first got into SEO to what empowers her to be the brilliant woman she is 💪🏽
I first learned about SEO in a content marketing internship during my senior year of college. I was doing quite a bit of copywriting at the time and started to read up on the basics. A couple months later, I found Uproer, my current agency, through an alumni connection. I started picking up some freelance copywriting work for Uproer, signed on as an intern after a couple months, and eventually joined full time – the rest is history!
Recently I've found competitor and content gap analyses extremely satisfying. We have a few different methods for assessing keyword gaps at Uproer so it's been fun to develop my own style and learn what works best.
Controversial but recently I've been loving the custom report builds in GA4... don't come for me! Also, the GA extension for sheets is a tool my boss showed me that I started using with several clients, I'm excited to try out the new GA4 extension. On the AI side of things, I've been having fun testing the WebPilot extension for ChatGPT. There's a lot you can do especially for competitor analysis. Thanks to a few of the MozCon talks for this tip!
The moment I realized that there isn't one "end all be all" formula or answer to approaching SEO. Every website is different, every client is different, but it's easy to get caught up in how to do something *right.* Leaning into being flexible and creative with each new client has turned into one of my favorite parts of my job.
I did my first speaking engagement last year and it was the first time I realized that I actually know what I'm talking about! I've had the opportunity to grow quickly in my SEO career, and I'm no stranger to imposter syndrome. That was one of the first times I've had people outside of my network affirming my work and asking me great questions that I was confidently able to answer. It felt like a big level up in my personal and professional growth.
I'm also proud of the work I've done on some clients I've had since I started at Uproer. Through some strategy pivots on a few different Ecommerce clients I've seen double to triple Y/Y traffic growth. The results are great to see, but it's also been gratifying to build that trust with clients over time. I always think about how my start in SEO was only a few years ago, it's amazing to look back at how far I've come, I don't do it enough!
In your first year, say yes to everything. Say yes to things that make you uncomfortable, like leading that client call when you don't feel ready, or signing up to participate on a panel. Once you've casted your net, start to hone in on the things that interest you most. Dive into those and make yourself an expert in whatever it is you're passionate about.
And, know that when you feel like you aren't doing enough, that's a sign you're probably right on track! Don't let the amount of information about a subject overwhelm you from diving in to learn more about it.
There are so many, but I'll shout out some personal connections. Abby Gleason (Reimer) was my first connection to the SEO industry and Uproer. I highly recommend anyone working in SEO follow her. She helped build my confidence in my work by pushing me outside of my comfort zone, while also giving guidance and advice whenever I needed it.
I also want to shoutout the group of women I work with at Uproer: Jess Girardi, Kavi Kardos, Sofie Walz, Maren Stibbe, Brenna Miles, Alyssa Broussard, Kay Mumin, and Tatiana Hasbargen. Every day I feel lucky to work with such bright and driven female coworkers!
My recent mantra has been "everything, with time." I love manifesting and dreaming big, but can get discouraged by the amount of steps to get there. Reminding myself that all good things come in time has helped me work hard to get to where I want to be, every day.
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Thanks Schuyler for a truly insightful interview! You can connect with Schuyler on LinkedIn.
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! 🙌🏽