Ladies of SEO, here’s an excellent success story for you. Gentlemen, you’ll enjoy it too, of course. With a UK focus, my first guest whooshing up to the 65th floor of the Empire State Building for a chat is my friend, Lisa Paasche. She’s genuinely one of the first lady SEOs, not just in the UK but in the industry generally. Listen as she tells the story of how, when she returned to the agency she worked at in London after maternity leave, she found her old job belonged to someone else. Consequently, she was given a desk in the corner and became the newly responsible person for something called “search engine optimization.”

SEO was such a new thing back when that happened, even after accepting the role, she had to go home and Google SEO to find out what it was! She rolled up her sleeves, took charge and it wasn’t too long before she had a team and some prime clients including UK Saab dealerships. The department started to grow but not quick enough for her, so eventually she decided to take the plunge and start her own agency. Her hard work and determination paid off and in 2017 she sold her agency to Global Holding Company, Omnicom.

My second guest is not just having his first visit to the Empire State Building, not even his first to New York, it’s his first visit to the US indeed! And I’m so glad he was travelling with his mentor and business guide, yes, Lisa. He himself runs a successful SEO agency in the UK up north in Manchester. And as I’m originally from up north in the UK I was so looking forward to our chat. Charlie Whitworth not only owns and runs his own agency though; he is also founder of the now bustling SEO conference HIVE MCR. As their promo goes: The Conference that Thinks it’s a Festival!

Jump in and enjoy a friendly, informative and fun conversation. And don’t miss the part at the end of my conversation with Lisa where she gets me a tad emotional and a hug becomes an essential requirement.