Eyes Closed, Pondering SEO
The image of me, originally captured by the incredibly talented Tamara Wilson (creative genius) and augmented by the equally brilliant Kate Kuilman (paid media genius), is a masterpiece. When Kate, who isn’t a designer, titled her creation “my greatest masterpiece ever,” I couldn’t agree more.
What she didn’t know is that this image perfectly depicts how I feel when I work. Eyes closed, travelling through space and time, pondering what Google is cooking up. The cat on my shoulder adopted me during COVID. I have named him Dog, and now I am teaching him SEO also.
The SEO & Google Story: It’s Complicated
The relationship between SEOs and Google has always been complicated. In the early 2000s, we “gamed” the system with Gray Hat SEO, and Google responded with an onslaught of algorithm updates.
In 2012, everything changed. Penguin (backlinks), Panda (on-site), and Hummingbird (content) set the SEO world on fire, de-indexing websites and leaving no agency unscathed. As a community, we realised we could no longer outsmart Google. Our entire way of working had to change. For me, that’s the real poetry of SEO: it’s a constantly evolving art, and your ability to adapt quickly is your greatest asset.
Bridging the Gap: My Career & The New World of AI
My career has been a series of pivots driven by a simple truth: humans search, and search engines answer. From the dawn of online tourism to today’s AI-driven search, that fundamental principle holds true.
The early days of using live chat questions to optimise pages for tourists taught me a core lesson: SEO is about serving the user. My three incredible mentors guided me through my career, and my skills were forged by the talented teams I was fortunate enough to lead. I still learn from them every time we catch up.
The Journey: From C-Suite to Coach
- The Genesis of SEO: SEO chose me. In the late 90s, I saw how online tourism was taking over. I was managing overland safaris and discovered that if we had a webpage with the answer, we would get the booking. I was building information architectures and bringing order to chaos before SEO even had a name.
- The Professional Pivot: Over the next decade, I travelled and worked across South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana, always handling SEO and website builds on the side. When a Dutch tour operator asked me to bring a series of country-specific websites online, I knew it was time to pivot. I became a Mar-Tech (Marketing Technologist).
- Mastering Agency & Corporate SEO: I spent years in the agency world, where I led large teams and worked with enterprise clients. My three mentors trained me in on-site, technical, and off-site SEO. I mastered my skills in what felt like a warzone, navigating the complexities of agencies and C-suite management.
- The Final Pivot: The SEO Coach: I knew my purpose was to teach. I stepped away from my C-suite career to focus on hands-on production and mentorship. I watched the world’s urgent need to come online during the pandemic, and my phone lit up with requests for corporate SEO training. I realised I could be of greater service as a teacher.
- My Career is My Proof: My journey has allowed me to master multiple methodologies, from Agile to Prince2 and even the “Carla, it’s on fire!” method.
The SEO Coach: This Is Where I Was Meant to Be
Today, I am the SEO Coach. My purpose is to teach my favourite thing to spend time on—SEO and everything it impacts. I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m deeply passionate about my craft. My drive is to take the individual, the small business, and the corporation on a journey through search, space, and time. I am here to fulfil my purpose.
My Stats (Just for Fun)
- 20+ years digital production professional – full stack, full service, full-on.
- 7 career pivots in building my own career.
- Multi-industry and country SEO experience.
- 125+ direct reports across my career.
- Proficient in Agile, Waterfall, Prince2, and “Carla, it’s on fire!” methodologies.
Media & Hobbies
- Media Interests: The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine (the Stanford paper that started Google), Cosmos by Carl Sagan, and all things Marvels and dinosaurs.
- Hobbies: Astronomy, cosmology, palaeontology, chess, puzzling, crosswords (good for the SEO brain), walking, hiking, running, gardening, and woodwork.
