Ahmad Abusamak, SEO Manager at Bank of America joins me on this episode of the SEO Leadership Podcast.

Ahmad and I are good friends and I had the pleasure of working with him in the past. I had a blast sitting down with him and picking his brain on how he thinks about leadership in the context of SEO!

Our conversation covered everything from how to manage SEO agencies as an in-house SEO Manager, how to find your passion in your career, and how to get buy-in from stakeholders in a massive enterprise.

One of my favorite quotes from Ahmad in this episode: "The biggest part of moving from an Analyst role into a leadership role is to take a step back from the tactics and try to build up the people around you. Whether that’s a stakeholder, or your fellow teammates."

Another AWESOME quote from Ahmad: "A bad leader says 'do, do, do' whereas a strong leader focuses on 'build, grow expand'....It's our role as leaders to instill confidence into our mentees."

The SEO industry has a lot of great podcasts, books, and articles about how to grow in better SEO tactics, but surprisingly little material around how to grow as a leader. In this podcast series, we dive deep into what it means to be a strong leader so that we can all become better SEO’s together.

#seo #business #leadership #podcast

Edwin Romero is an independent SEO consultant, specializing in huge website migrations to/from Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Edwin joins me on the SEO Leadership Podcast to discuss how to be a more effective SEO leader.

Edwin is one of the most transparent folks that I've met, and his authenticity stands out to me as one of the greatest qualities of his leadership. You'll hear that ring true in this episode, and I hope you're as inspired by his gift of honesty and trustworthiness in his work as I am.

In our time together we were able to cover a lot of ground - from whether you need to lead in a niche to be successful in SEO, to how to deal with the challenges as you lead into the unknown as an independent consultant.

The SEO industry has a lot of great podcasts, books, and articles about how to grow in better SEO tactics, but surprisingly little material around how to grow as a leader. In this podcast series, we dive deep into what it means to be a strong leader so that we can all become better SEO's together.

Check out Edwin's website here: https://www.edwindanromero.com/ 

Subscribe to Edwin's "#PragmaticSEO" newsletter here: https://www.edwindanromero.com/newsletter/

You can find Edwin's new podcast on Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/edwin-romeros-out-of-office-chat/id1666749986

And you can find Edwin's podcast on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3L5nbZellUm99lDeaveGNr?si=675e8d6dafd94451

Books that Edwin references in this amazing podcast that you will DEFINITELY want to check out:
- Start With Why (my personal favorite business book!): https://amzn.to/3jmbiRR
- The Lean Startup: https://amzn.to/3RrASkU
- The Science of Growth: https://amzn.to/3DtSCq3
- A Company of One: https://amzn.to/3jhk2sJ
- 12 Week Year: https://amzn.to/3HPX999
- Product-Led SEO: https://amzn.to/3WX4sQv
- The Compound Effect: https://amzn.to/3HOji7z

#seo #marketing #digitalmarketing #leadership #business #seopodcast

Ash Nallawalla joins me on the SEO Leadership Podcast to discuss how to be a more effective SEO leader.

Ash recently wrote a book called “The Accidental SEO Manager”, and we spend a good amount of time discussing some of the key points of this excellent read. If you’re in the SEO industry and are interested in a leadership role (whether in-house or external), I highly recommend picking up a copy of this book. You can find it here: https://amzn.to/3dZmqkW

In this episode, we talk about everything you need to be successful in an SEO leadership role. Some of my favorite topics include how to define OKRs, how to create a CENTER of SEO excellence versus an ISLAND of SEO excellence, and how SEO ignorance is incredibly costly these days. I highly recommend checking out this episode!

The SEO industry has a lot of great podcasts, books, and articles about how to grow in better SEO tactics, but surprisingly little material around how to grow as a leader. In this podcast series, we dive deep into what it means to be a strong leader so that we can all become better SEO's together.

You can connect with Ash here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashnallawalla/ 

#seo #marketing #digitalmarketing #leadership #business #seopodcast

Chris Long is VP of Marketing at Go Fish Digital. In this episode, Chris talks about what it means to be a high-achieving leader in the SEO industry, and how you can apply better management techniques to grow as a better leader along the way. We also dive into the power of empathy and innovation as good qualities in a leader.

Check out some of the books that were referenced in this podcast:

• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie: https://amzn.to/3phrYJR
• HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership: https://amzn.to/3A3Ouee
• Lost & Founder by Rand Fishkin: https://amzn.to/3Prjpqa

Rand Fishkin's blog posts available here: https://sparktoro.com/blog/ here: https://medium.com/@randfish and here: https://moz.com/community/q/user/randfish

"The Splash" newsletter run by Chris is available here: https://gofishdigital.com/newsletter/

You can connect with Chris Long here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-long-marketing/

The SEO industry has a lot of great podcasts, books, and articles about how to grow in better SEO tactics, but surprisingly little material around how to grow as a leader. In this podcast series, we dive deep into what it means to be a strong leader so that we can all become better SEO's together. 

Thanks for listening! 

#seo #marketing #digitalmarketing #leadership #business

Sara Taher is SEO Lead at Flywheel Digital, and SEO Consultant at her consultancy SEO Up Close. If you've been around the SEO industry for more than a few days, you have probably come across some of Sara's work. She has been featured in Search Engine Journal and has spoken at numerous SEO conferences and panels.

In this episode, Sara talks about what leadership in the SEO industry means to her. We cover a wide range of topics including how to best communicate the value of SEO to stakeholders, how to be transparent as a leader in the SEO world, and how she hopes to inspire the next generation of SEO's.

You don't want to miss Sara's awesome LinkedIn posts about SEO. You can connect with Sara on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-seo-specialist/

The SEO industry has a lot of great podcasts, books, and articles about how to grow in better SEO tactics, but surprisingly little material around how to grow as a leader. In this podcast series, we dive deep into what it means to be a strong leader so that we can all become better SEO's together.

Thanks for listening!

#seo #marketing #digitalmarketing #leadership #business

Celia Coughlin-Surridge is CEO and Sr. Marketing Alchemist at her consulting agency, Celia Rose Creative Consulting. In this episode, we dive into how you can differentiate yourself in the SEO industry to make the greatest impact as a leader, Celia's "why" and passion surrounding helping women-owned businesses, and she also shares some of her favorite books that have helped her develop into the leader she is:

• Purple Cow by Seth Godin: https://amzn.to/3AHMASu
• Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller: https://amzn.to/3OYrWll

You won't want to miss this episode. You can find Celia on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celiacoughlin/

Chris Dickey is the Founder and CEO of Visably. In this episode, Chris digs in to what it means to be a leader in the SEO and PR industries. Through his wide experience as Owner/Principal of Purple Orange LLC, as well as his current position as CEO of Visably, Chris has been a classic example of what leadership is all about: Trusting others expertise, understanding how to look around corners to see what's coming next, and solving problems creatively. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Chris as much as I did.

Book recommendation from Chris: Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard -  https://amzn.to/3q1JQqE

The SEO industry is full of good advice on effective SEO tactics - our goal through this podcast is to become better SEO leaders. In the SEO Leadership Podcast, we dive into the minds of some of the top performers in the SEO industry and beyond. Explore the strategies, disciplines, and decision making frameworks that shape leaders through in-depth interviews. Join us as we embark on this journey of becoming better SEO leaders together. 

View our show notes at: https://www.seoleadership.fm/episodes
Follow Graham Bargeron on Twitter at: @grahambargeron

Steve Valenza (@steve_valenza) is Product Manager of technical SEO at REI. In this episode, Steve walks through how unlocking your true potential as a leader often looks like helping everyone around you recognize their own potential. Steve has been in the SEO industry for around 7 years, falling into SEO almost by accident. Through agency work after his college graduation, Steve found himself gravitating towards SEO considering it to be an intriguing and deep puzzle to solve - a puzzle that would ultimately lead him to REI. Steve always dreamed of connecting his passion for the outdoors with his work, and has found an incredible overlap between his recreational passions and how he has been able to grow as a leader through his role at REI. In this episode, Steve drives home the need to be empathetic, always trying to get the smartest person in the room (and by association never being the smartest person in the room), and being 100% transparent with those who you lead. This transparency should cover both successes and failures. I thoroughly enjoyed speaking with Steve and hope that you learn as much as I did from his leadership style.

The SEO industry is full of good advice on effective SEO tactics - our goal through this podcast is to become better SEO leaders. In the SEO Leadership Podcast, we dive into the minds of some of the top performers in the SEO industry and beyond. Explore the strategies, disciplines, and decision making frameworks that shape leaders through in-depth interviews. Join us as we embark on this journey of becoming better SEO leaders together. 

View our show notes at: https://www.seoleadership.fm/episodes 
Follow Graham Bargeron on Twitter at: @grahambargeron

Stephanie Barbaran (@StephSBarbaran) is Managing Editor at the Los Angeles Business Journal. In this episode, Stephanie helps unpack her perspective of leadership in the SEO industry and why it's important to be purpose-first, driven to collaborate with your team, and always staying agile.

The SEO industry is full of good advice on effective SEO tactics - our goal through this podcast is to become better SEO leaders. In the SEO Leadership Podcast, we dive into the minds of some of the top performers in the SEO industry and beyond. Explore the strategies, disciplines, and mental models that shape leaders through in-depth interviews. Join us as we embark on this journey of becoming better SEO leaders together. 

View our show notes at: https://www.seoleadership.fm/episodes 
Follow Graham Bargeron on Twitter at: @grahambargeron

Join us as we embark on this journey to become better SEO leaders together. Subscribe to ensure you see interviews of SEO leaders as soon as they're published.