Leeds SEO

Welcome one and all to another regular (hopefully) and SPECTACULAR (definitely) feature on LeedsSEO – SEO.BIO.

SEO.BIO will be a beautiful blend of SEO and Biography from figures Stephen and I know, like or merely pick at random from Twitter.

To kick off this killer feature  I tracked down and harassed the lovely Lisa Ditlefsen.

Despite not knowing me from any other internet stalker she kindly agreed to be the subject of scrutiny for the SEO.BIO #1.

So, without further ado….

I am going to take a wild completely uninformed guess that you are originally from Trondheim, Norway. What drew you to the UK?

Actually I’m originally from Bronnoysund in Northern Norway (spt – damn, so close) but moved to Trondheim when I was 9. In fact the place I grew up was in the middle of nowhere and just at the bottom of this mountain called Torghatten (The Trolls Hat).

In Norway, like in the UK there is a big difference between people in north and people in the south. I guess I’m the Norwegian equivalent of a Geordie, which means no one takes me seriously when I speak Norwegian, it just sound funny. Anyway, dear god do I ramble on, how did I end up in the UK?

I was studying at University in Trondheim when I had the idea of going away for a gap year as I was really tired of studying. I got a job in London as an Au Pair (I know cliché eh?), packed my bags and before I knew it I was standing in the middle of London with three suitcases thinking “oh bugger what now”. After a few weeks it was clear this was where I was meant to be, I just loved it. 10 years later and my mum is still expecting me home from my “gap year”.

For the uninitiated – give us a resume in brief your life in SEO.

I haven’t been in SEO that long, well I suppose in “SEO” it’s reasonably long, 4 years last month. It was all by chance really, I was working for Base One as a Project Manager when I fell pregnant, coming back from maternity they couldn’t offer me the same job back but since I was coming back part time to begin with they offered me a position doing this new “thing” called “search engine marketing”.

I was hooked, read everything I could; blogs, forums, articles and so on. I have always been quite technical minded and felt I really “got it” early on, I went to my first conference at SES 2007 met loads of like minded people which spurred me on even more.

In June 2007 I founded SEO-Chicks with Julie and Anita and launched at the first ever SMX Advanced in Seattle. We got some lime green t-shirts with SEO Chick on them, that was our launch plan lol, and it worked.

SEO-Chicks went down a treat, it also helped me grow confident of my knowledge. All the chicks are really good friends, in fact Julie Joyce is going to be my bridesmaid this summer (not wearing an SEO chick tshirt).

Within a year and a half of starting off I had grown the search department to a potentially big future part of the agency I worked for (Base One). At the end of the second year I had 2 employees and growing fast. At the end of 2007 my agency entered me into the B2B Marketing Awards in the Newcomer of the Year category and I won! I wasn’t really sure how as I didn’t think I had done much at all except from being very excited and passionate about my job.

The same month as I won the award I was a speaker for the first time at a Search Conference (SMX), only 9 months after I attended my first conference. Which was awesome, especially as I had been told it was unlikely I would get the chance to speak for years yet from some stuck up SEO I met at a networking event.

I continued working at Base One, now as Head of Search for another 2 years (until February this year), won another award (Blackberry Woman & Technology award), spoke at more industry events (SMX and SES) until eventually it was time to move on.

I started my own company, Verve Search, a Search Consultancy this year (literally just 2 months ago) and it has been very well received. In fact I have not done any new business whatsoever yet and I have just signed up my 4^th client this week. It’s just been fantastic, I have had so much support from my network, in terms of leads, links, you name it. And I have got a great mix of clients and sectors as well, really excited about the work ahead. Bring it on!

Was there was one defining moment when you decided ‘I want to be an SEO’?

As mentioned in essay style above, lol, it wasn’t really a decision as such I pretty much just landed in SEO by chance, faith, serendipity, whichever you like to call it. But there was a moments when I realised I was and still am a SEO geek:

• When I told my first SEO joke and realised no one was laughing but me.
• When I got so excited about moving up the SERPs, it literally made my day!
• When I started high-fiving my team for getting a link from a university.
• When I received a Wi-Fi detecting T-shirt as a birthday present from my team and was genuinely excited
• When I decided it would be really funny to make a movie called SEO Wars
• When I get really pissed off when someone is rude about Obi One Kenobi
• And lastly that I am actually considering naming the tables at my wedding after search engines (obviously the bride and groom will be on the Google table). Ha!

What is the one item every SEO needs?

Item? A computer I would say is essential

What are the three best things about having your own agency?

Jeese, I really struggled answering this one actually:

• I am my own boss. I don’t need to report to anyone and I can be me (agh sounds like a Frank Sinatra song lol)
• I can come and go as I like
• I can say no (if I don’t want to take on a job I don’t have to.)
• I can do it my way…ha ha couldn’t help that one.

If you were a Ghostbuster, which one would you be?

Ghostbusters? Heck I was born in the 70s (shhh) I was never in to Ghostbusters. But I used to love Big Trouble in Little China, where I would obviously be “Gracie Law”. I was (and still am) a big Star Wars fan (spt – the original trilogy I hope…), where I would be Princess Leah, of course, although slightly fatter and blonde. Hmm…

What’s the first thing you do when you get to work?

I drink my cappuccino, read emails and check out Twitter.

Have there been any figures in the digital industry who have been instrumental to your success?

Yes for sure, when I first started out I was a regular over at SEOmoz, I lived on SEOmoz and was a royal pain in the butt asking questions. Rand Fishkin is one of those people that are truly great because he makes you feel that you can be great too. He’s a great guy and I think his enthusiasm rubbed off on me and all the other readers.

I also think Rob Kerry (Evilgreenmonkey) helped me a lot by simply introducing me to people and taking me under his wing when I first started out on the conference circuit. I also used to bug the hell out of Rob with technical questions, Rob also still hosts SEO-Chicks =) ha! Bless his evilgreen monkey face.

And in the last year my fiancé, Jon Myers, have had a big impact on my success. I don’t think I wouldn’t have dared going at it on my own if it wasn’t for Jon encouraging me. It’s something really reassuring about having a partner in the same industry as you as you really feel they understand where you are coming from but who can also challenge you. Me and Jon talk about Search way too much.

Coffee or tea? (There are no other drinks)

Coffee hands down. Although I do quite like a cup of Earl Grey in the morning with my cereal (oh ja, I live in Surrey darling so it’s ok)

Have you been caught up in the Twitter craze?

Yeah definitely. Twitter is a great networking and marketing tool, although I twitter less about me personally now. I don’t get how people decide to follow you though, as when I have been tweeting all week about very relevant search stuff people unfollow but then I tweet something like “I can hear a pigeon on crack” and suddenly I get loads of followers. Lol.

But mostly I use twitter for networking and staying in touch, I was never a fan of instant messenger, it’s too intrusive, people just bug you all the time. Even when you say you are “busy”. With twitter you can reply whenever you like and people won’t get offended. Or at least I think they don’t.

You can follow all the Lisa D action in realtime on Twitter.

Thanks Lisa, and may the force be with you.