In response to a student’s questions, I’d like to share my journey from working in SEO at various companies to launching my own digital marketing consulting business. This transition was motivated by both necessity and opportunity, driven by my desire to support my family’s import business while attaining financial stability. Learning of the potential benefits of independent consulting, I founded my SEO consulting practice. In the following responses, I’ll highlight pivotal career moments, challenges, and my approach to staying updated in the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape.
If you’d like to watch the accompanying video, I’ve included it below.
Question 1:
What prompted you to transition from working for other companies in SEO to starting your own consulting business?
The goal of moving towards entrepreneurship was born out of necessity and good timing.
My parents started a family business about 30 years ago, centered around importing goods from Ecuador and Peru. During the summer of 2021, I wanted to find a way to help support my family business but also continue earning a sufficient level of income.
I’ve heard people who made the jump to independent consulting were able to command a higher hourly rate and experience lucrative salaries.
I founded my own SEO consulting practice to help with my life’s circumstances and standard of living; it’s by design.
Question 2:
Can you tell me more about your journey from being an intern to founding your own digital marketing consulting company? What were the key milestones and challenges you encountered along the way?
For those that may not know, I started my SEO career interning at various agencies. I ended up landing a job at Covario, which is now iProspect.
From there, I moved to Digitas and then ended up at LYONSCG, an e-commerce consulting company, which was acquired by Capgemini. It was at Cap that I decided to start my own SEO consulting practice.
As far as key milestones, the most impactful are typically tied to challenges. That’s how growth happens.
I’ve had to come to terms that I don’t know all the answers as an SEOer, this is probably best represented by the relationship with one of my first managers. We butted heads as I wanted to take on more work but I, in all honesty, wasn’t ready. SEO was still so new to me. So she dropped me on the deep end, she had me take responsibility for my research, pushed the boundaries on quality deliverables, and had me lead client calls. I would say this relationship is probably one of the experiences I value most in my career as it molded me into a better consultant.
Question 3:
Any “aha” moments that made things click and either made you pivot or accelerate your career?
The moment I knew I had a knack for one of my specializations, website migrations, was when I was pulled into a meeting with VPs and executives.
At that point, the teams were discussing declining organic performance after a migration and needed to consult an expert.
My director pulled me into the convo and I was a resource to help diagnose the issues, which was tied to an IP redirect that was put in place and forced Googlebot to redirect; a big issue for SEO.
As I stepped out, I was pretty shook up by what just happened.
VPs and executives asked for my input and a path forward.
That’s when it hit me, I know what I’m talking about.
Question 4:
How did you know you wanted to focus on website migration and SEO aspects of marketing? How did you become well versed in this area?
I fell into website migrations as a niche within SEO.
It came about during my time at LYONSCG, where a week in, I was asked to launch a website on an e-commerce platform, Salesforce Commerce Cloud.
I began migrating one site after another, giving me an opportunity to refine my process, and it sort of culminated into my specialization.
As far as SEO, as a whole, it was similar in that, I didn’t intend to get into SEO. It sort of just happened.
It goes back to my family business. They needed a site makeover, I took on the project and learned pieces of what was considered SEO best practice and it led to a career.
Question 5:
How did you stay updated with trends and changes in best practices?
I primarily keep up with SEO trends and best practices through LinkedIn; I follow a number of industry experts, including…
- Nick LeRoy
- Chris Long
- Lily Ray
- Aleyda Solis
- Glenn Gabe
Additionally, I began to follow several industry newsletters that keep me in the know with what’s happening in SEO. Some newsletters include,
- Aleyda Solis’s SEOFOMO
- Nick LeRoy’s #SEOForLunch
- Marie Haynes’s Newsletter
- Kevin Indig’s Growth Memo
- Search Engine Round Table
- Search Engine Land
Question 6:
What does a day/week look like for you?
I spent half of my day at the family business and the other half on my practices.
Stretched across 2 careers, my day does vary but I attempt to keep it as structured as I can.
Regarding the family business, I help tackle areas that continue to grow or sustain the business. This varies, especially because the business is driven by retail and wholesale. This includes building and testing processes, communicating with team members, and performing tasks that keep the business going.
When I’m dedicating time to my SEO practice, I’m typically engaged in client work. I found that I can only take on 1 ongoing client with 1 side project. Any more of either would have me stretched thin.
When I have down time, I begin to look at news or engage on LinkedIn or work towards growing my brand as an SEOer (including video, blog posts, and newsletters).
What happens after work is just as significant given my career dynamic…
After work, it’s family time, no exceptions. I spend time with my toddler and wife, cooking, playing, going for walks. Quality time.
As the day wraps up, I do a few stretches to target the tense areas, probably brought on by the day. I wrap all this up at night by doing some bedside reading, preferably non-fiction.
Summary
I hope these responses have provided valuable insights into my journey and experiences in the world of digital marketing and SEO. As I continue to navigate this dynamic, I’m reminded of the importance of seizing opportunities, embracing challenges, and staying up-to-date with industry trends. Whether you’re a fellow student, aspiring professional, or simply curious about this industry, I encourage you to pursue your passions and carve your own path.
Thank you for taking the time to explore my story, and I wish you every success on your own journey.
