Hi! 👋 We’re so glad to feature you on SEOjobs.com. Please introduce yourself to our site’s readers.
Hi, my name’s Blake Hughes, and I’m currently a Web/Content Specialist at SEOJobs.com and a freelance Digital Marketer. Each week, I have the opportunity to work with Nick LeRoy and SEOJobs.com by sourcing fresh job listings for readers in the community! My background includes 2 years’ experience as an SEO Analyst for Lowe’s Home Improvement and 4 years as an SEO Content Outreach Specialist based in Charlotte, NC.
I can highly relate to the readers of SEOJobs.com and the site’s mission to serve highly relevant opportunities to jobseekers. No matter the market, SEOJobs.com will always strive to serve as a comprehensive bank of relevant SEO roles.
How did you start to learn SEO?
I started developing an SEO knowledge base during my SEO Content Outreach role at Red Ventures starting in 2018. For about 4 years, I worked tangentially with SEO teams across Banking, Loans, Credit Cards, and Health verticals to create targeted content designed for shareability with niche audiences, while focusing on medium-tail keyword opportunities during content creation.
Any early introduction from me would have sounded a lot like this:
“I wanted to applaud you for your growing Financial resources collection!
To further support your readers, the team and I recently published a study combining hundreds of survey results from industry experts and responders. The infographics we’ve created to go along with the content tell an incredible story about changing credit card holder sentiment!
Would you consider adding our resource to your page?”
To anyone I may have heckled, thank you for your grace and for (hopefully) loving the content and appreciating any proprietary data I might have been able to share.
Working with various teams and gaining indirect exposure through business reviews and one-on-ones with SEO Analysts, Sr. Analysts and Directors gave me a growing source of SEO inputs to chew on. I began to see the immense value in this marketing channel and learned to appreciate SEO for its data-driven insights.
These days, I further my SEO skills and knowledge base using SEO forums (they’re FREE and offer fresh dialogue) and signing up for every newsletter available! Although I’m not actively working for an agency or enterprise, I constantly ask myself what I’d do in X, Y, and Z scenarios given recent algo updates, new SERP features, and shifting dynamics in all marketing channels.
If you’d like to stay in-the-know regarding the latest SEO news, please consider signing up for Nick’s SEO for Lunch Newsletter 🙂
Did you hit any stumbling blocks while getting into SEO?
Well, like many who find paths leading to SEO, it’s a long story!
As I may have mentioned earlier, I was exposed the SEO Content Outreach squad at Red Ventures in Charlotte, NC. During my time there, the technical, data-driven nature of SEO enthralled me while seeing the data SEO teams used to prioritize their decisions. Around 2020, I decided to accept a vertical move into an SEO Analyst position on a young SEO team at Red Ventures. The exposure was a blessing, but the reality is that the team was being managed by someone with no prior SEO experience and a lot to prove. I participated in site migrations, keyword research, daily reporting, and learned like a sponge.
I tested the experience for 30 days, and although I had a growing passion for SEO, I realized there was no circumstance I could thrive under the team’s management. I’ve always had discernment for my environment, and that became the one professional moment in my career where SEO wasn’t worth it. The internal notion for me became, “SEO, but not right now.”
I used my reputation to transfer and create an entirely new Outreach team for Red Ventures, Puerto Rico, supporting businesses with no previous outreach presence. I helped replicate successful processes from my original team (FinServ Outreach was objectively the most successful/authoritative Outreach Team at Red Ventures representing brands like Bankrate, CreditCards.com, The Points Guy, The Simple Dollar, etc.). It was a wonderful final pitstop in Content Marketing/Outreach before taking the opportunity to join Lowe’s Home Improvement as an SEO Analyst in 2021. The team and management were exactly what I’d hoped for!
So – yes, my journey into SEO was met with a list of challenges. The SEO Analyst role with Lowe’s Home Improvement gave me 2 fulfilling years of growth prior to a widespread corporate layoff in the Marketing Department. Challenges will always exist, but I’m grateful for the experience and self-efficacy that has come from SEO work and experience.
Can you share what factors are most important to you in an SEO career and why? When do you know it’s time for a new job?
Especially early in one’s career, I believe the most important thing is to take advantage of new opportunities – whether they’re within your current organization or external. Bring your ideas to leadership and be vocal about innovative/thoughtful ways you can execute a project. If you’re enjoying aspects of your current SEO role but feel like something’s missing or you want to escape your silo, take the chance of looking for new roles that might offer that to you. There may be a role that gives you the professional experience you’re looking for within your current company. I believe shifting roles is healthy for your marketability in a job environment that’s always becoming increasingly competitive.
Only you can decide when it’s time to seek another role, but you’ll likely know it’s time for a new job if you’re struggling for work-life balance, you’re not enjoying the fit you felt early on in your position, or you seem capped on growth opportunities.
How have you adapted to a changing SEO industry since you started?
While being involved in SEO, I’ve seen “AMP” become outdated, technical and NLP content strategies beat on-page keyword optimization, the implementation of AI into Google’s SERP, and countless algo updates impacting the way visibility is gifted in the organic search arena. Over time, providing high-quality content, site structure, and overall site health remain some of the largest factors but are more granularly scored.
I’d say I’ve adapted/am adapting to this by leaning into the technical aspects of SEO. To better pace myself with all of this change, I’ve weighed my focus on things like technical on-page markups, the value of automation and freshness. SEO is a place where you’re always evolving a book of best practices and challenging the previously held status quo. What provided yesterday’s results may not provide today’s results, as it were. It’s a challenge finetuning SEO strategies as search algo updates and new technology force them to adapt, but it’s also what makes SEO awesome!
Have you worked with international teams or agencies? How do you ensure seamless collaboration across geographical boundaries?
Yes – some of my most rewarding professional opportunities and relationships involved collaborating with international teams in various capacities. At Red Ventures, I worked lightly with international Upworkers supporting email validation projects, and at Lowe’s, I oversaw weekly deliverables of a team of SEO Analysts in Bangalore, India. To ensure seamless collaboration, it was important to prioritize any high-level communication for the early AM when working hours for both teams overlapped. In addition, it was important to exercise timely feedback/guidance on daily projects so that overseas Analysts could begin working on them following night (from a stateside or US-based perspective).
What is an achievement you’re particularly proud of from your time in SEO, and how does it showcase your ability to add value to an organization?
So far in my career, I’m proud I’ve gotten to help with efficiency on all of my teams! At Lowe’s in particular, I had the opportunity to build out teamwide operating procedures that simplified special initiatives or standard processes. For example, I created templates, project management tickets, and a procedural document to preemptively identify, outline, and submit 300 FAQs prior to Q4 2023’s Helpful Content Update. In connection with these efforts and an automated FAQ module, FAQ SERP features nearly doubled for Lowe’s year over year.
What advice would you give to novice-intermediate SEO professionals navigating their early careers?
- You may not see it, but your future is like a quilt being woven with every relationship you build. Considering that’s the case, it’s important to cherish everyone’s value and intentionally seek the likest of minds along the way.
- Have a strong sense of adaptability. I appreciate the fact that SEO and technical marketing experience are valuable skills. You can always find work and continue your career if you know where to look! Be open to exploring what’s out there.
- Stay in touch with your friends and coworkers. At the very least, you can celebrate each other’s wins, share success strategies, and problem-solve any professional or personal challenges. On the other hand, your friendships may pave the way for a great partnership down the line!
