After an 8-year hiatus Daizy has recently returned to the land of organic search. Hear first-hand what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and what’s in store for Daizy at MP Digital.
SEO has changed a lot over the years. I started my career in the days when keyword stuffing, hidden text on white backgrounds and other black hat tactics were the norm. There was no “technical SEO” pillar – it was all on-page or off-page, and the Google algorithm was far less sophisticated.
My first role was as an SEO specialist for V-Angelz Technologies in India. SEO was an emerging field. There were no experts – we were all just trying to figure out what worked and what didn’t work. It was a race to impress – both Google and our stakeholders. With a Bachelor in IT, I was excited to dig deeper into the SEO space, but it was important to be able to showcase the benefits of what we were doing, otherwise our resources may have been redirected elsewhere.
Algorithm updates
After four years at V-Angelz, I moved to London, a city well-known for its marketing talent – and took on a role as a Digital Marketing Expert in a consultancy for the next three years. This is where things got interesting.
We were hit with algorithm updates that even those not experienced in SEO are familiar with: Penguin and Panda.
For those who don’t know, Google wasn’t always as trusted as it is today. There were a lot of headlines around content farms and the failing quality of Google’s search engine. Penguin and Panda were launched to combat this. Many of our clients were hit hard. Rankings dropped multiple positions overnight.
After studying the changes, we quickly realised that keyword stuffing was a thing of the past. Helpful content was the future (yes, a whole decade ago!).
Becoming a parent
It was around the time of Hummingbird that I went on maternity leave, pregnant with my first child. As my old colleagues spent time figuring out this new algorithm update, I was figuring out how to be a parent. A new chapter of my life had begun, and it was not easy.
Parenting is full of emotions – depression, anxiety, fear, excitement, joy, love – the whole spectrum. There were a lot of sleepless nights and endless crying. And just when I had this whole parenting thing figured out, we got a surprise – our second baby came along and life got even more interesting.
(It was just like the Google algorithm updates. Just when we thought we had things figured out, we had to learn all over again!)
Returning to work
There’s a saying I really like: Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind. After spending almost a decade raising kids, I recently felt like it was time to return to my first love: SEO.
I knew things had changed over the past eight years, but I was confident I could get back into the swing of things quickly.
Thankfully, MP Digital did too, and last week I joined the team as an SEO specialist.
The first week has been nerve-wracking, but critical. I’ve had to move out of my comfort zone and discover new tools and new ways of doing things. SEO has changed a lot since I was last in this space. Despite my wealth of knowledge and experience, I’m anxious I'll face challenges in this constantly evolving space.
But, as I mentioned above, the main goal of Google has been the same for a decade: providing helpful content. While there might be new SEO pillars, new tools, new algorithm updates and new forms of measurement, the end goal is still to provide a good user experience.
As long as we’re providing a good experience, I’m confident I’ll help clients achieve SEO success.