Women Who Rock SEO: The Second Wave
Following up on last week’s post featuring the first generation of SEO Women who made the profession great, today we focus on the second wave of women who have joined in the work of building and shaping the SEO and search industry (and rocking it!)
So meet this second generation of fantastic women championing SEO and search, these movers-and-shakers who continue to make the industry great with their dedication to its highest standards, as well as their leadership, mentorship, and professional contributions that go far and beyond mere content.
As with the first wave of SEO women, they too have much to share and teach you. Get to know them and follow them on Twitter.
Jennifer Evans Cario
Past founder and President of SugarSpun Marketing, Inc., Jennifer has been submerged in SEO since 2001. Her impressive client list includes Verizon, American Greetings, the State of South Dakota, and Highlights for Children. Jennifer serves as an Adjunct Professor at Rutgers University Mini-MBA program, and since 2004 she has been Editor-in-Chief and joint owner of Search Engine Guide. She has authored two books, including the free e-book Zero Dollars, a Little Talent and Thirty Days, in which she shares her experience in starting an online business from scratch. Follow Jennifer @JenniferCario.
Donna Fontenot
Donna Fontenot (That’s FONT-KNOW) is an e-Business coach, HubSpot-certified inbound marketing consultant, Web developer, and SEO diva. Her motto is, “You’ll never shine if you don’t grow.” Donna’s vast work experience includes gigs as a ColdFusion Web developer and I.T. department head. Her blog, Making a Living Online, combines her technical background with her inspiring vision for success, and is geared toward home-based entrepreneurs. Follow Donna @DonnaFontenot.
Kalena Jordan
Owner and Editor of ASK Kalena, Kalena specializes in everything search engine, and her blog offerings have recently expanded to include PPC analytics, social media and product launches on Google. As the Co-Founder and Director of Studies at Search Engine College, an online training institution, Kalena tutors SEO and PPC courses and is the main contact for students. Her LinkedIn profile list her specialties as “Bionic, fibulous conglomeration of random search algorithms resulting in superior ascensionic ranking and visitation abilities. In other words, search is my life.” Follow Kalena @kalena.
Anne F. Kennedy
With over 35 years in marketing and public relations, plus 10 years in SEO and search marketing, Anne is currently International Search Strategist with Beyond Ink. An accomplished speaker, her recent appearances include SMX Sydney Australia, SES Toronto, and RIMC in Iceland. She’s also a CEO coach and founder of Outlines Venture Group. Follow Anne @AnneKennedy.
Dana Lookadoo
We lost Dana a few years ago, but she still deserves a shout-out for everything she’s done for the industry. Dana was the owner of Yo! Yo! SEO and used to call herself a “search geek who prefers people over search engines but optimizes for both.” Her specialty was in coupling audience engagement and social media with SEO. Donna began a career in computing/PC training in 1984, then moved into website development and online marketing. As a business trainer, Donna developed classes for Sun Microsystems Open Gateway Programs, Monterey Institute of International Studies, U.C. Santa Cruz Extension, and WallMart’s MEM Technology Conference Series.
Elisabeth Osmeloski
As the past Executive Features Editor of Search Engine Land, Elisabeth managed all the editorial content and daily articles from industry experts. A veteran in the search engine marketing industry, Elisabeth has worked as an SEO consultant and search marketing analyst since 1999. Last year she became Founding Board Member and President at SLC Utah Professional Search Marketing Association. Follow Elisabeth @elisabethos.
Pamela Parker
As Executive Features Editor of Third Door Media’s Marketing Land, Pamela is an accomplished journalist, editor, and writer. In her diverse background, Pamela has worked for ClickZ, and covers media, marketing, advertising, and technology. Aside from her editing duties at Marketing Land, Pamela writes at her personal blog, The River, and has covered such diverse topics as The Future of Display and How Mad Men and Women Get Introduced to the Digital Ad Age in Google Trade at Marketing Land’s sister site, Search Engine Land. Follow Pamela @pamelaparker.
Gabriella Sannino
As CEO of Level343, an organic SEO and copy-writing company based in San Francisco, Gabriella operates on the core belief that “conversation is the new currency.” She is fluent in five languages, and as an international content strategist, she handles everything under the SEO and SEM umbrella from content development to usability testing and data analysis. The Level343 blog covers a wide range of topics including How to Create Content Without Bombarding Your Readers to Buyer Psychology and The Effects of Influence. She states, “Great writers are everywhere but SEO is all about creativity and strong knowledge of search engine marketing.” Follow Gabriella @SEOcopy.
Catherine (Cat) Seda
Catherine is a 20-year internet marketing veteran and the author of How to Win Sales & Influence Spiders and Search Engine Advertising. Presently, she is the digital content strategist for Moonlight Bridal, and an internet marketing consultant, speaker & writer. Catherine wrote the “Net Sales” column for Entrepreneur Magazine and has contributed to eBay magazine, Leader Magazine, and Yahoo! Small Business Insights. Catherine served as Dean of Internet Marketing at LA College International, and is a sought-after speaker on the conference circuit. Connect with Catherine at LinkedIn.
Lyena Solomon
Director of Service Now, Lyena began her career as a webmaster in 1995, then transitioned into web development and consulting. Lyena specializes in helping small to medium sized businesses with analytics, social media, and web development. In 2011, she was voted by Level 343 as one of the Top SEO Women. Highly educated, she is fluent in Russian and holds Masters Degrees from Vladimir Pedagogical University and Illinois State University. Follow lyena @lyena.
Diane Vigil
As owner of the DianV. Web Design Studio, Diane oversees offices in Austin and Los Angeles. She discovered the web in 1996, and within months she was, “…convinced that I could do it because I’d seen <b> tags [and thought] how hard can it be?” She quickly fell in love with designing websites and started her Web design studio in 1997. Known around the Web as “DianeV”, she was an early moderator and administrator at VirtualPromote/JimWorld, a popular discussion forum for web designers and Internet promotion industries. Her diversified site design portfolio includes music, arts, internet marketing, business, and more, with her client list including the (late) singer Davy Jones, Cal Earth Institute, and KLR Motorcycle Parts. Follow Diane @dianevigil.
Our gratitude to all the women who rock the SEO world, both the first and second wave – and those who have yet to make their splash! :)
The lists of women honored here and in last week’s tribute were not intended to be exhaustive, by any means. Do you know a fantastic woman in SEO you’d like to add? We’d love it if you would tell us in the comments below, and it’d be great if you could include a link to her website or social profile! Thanks!
Photo thanks to Mike Baird
Wow, honored and humbled to be included in this list of kick@ss rockin’ women! Can’t wait to see what the 3rd, 4th, and later waves of women SEOs (if that even still exists by then) bring to the table.
Ha! “If that even still exists by then” :) The honor is ours, Donna. Thank you for all you do to support and guide the future waves of SEO women!
Woot! It will be interesting to see how SEO changes and morphs. Just think of all the women in high school right now who will be rocking the “new SEO” in just a few years. Exciting! :)
Nice, Heather! You’ve definitely got some real movers and shakers listed there!
I consider myself very fortunate to be able call half of them friends already. Now I think I need to get to know the other half.
Yes, most definitely! They are super-smart women!
Thanks, Doc!
For part 3, I submit Kristine Schachinger and Cindy Krum!
Hi, David!
YES! I second that nomination! :) Thank you!