We have another edition of Between the Brackets! You've already met Carly, Marketing Technologist, and Matt, Front-end Developer - if you haven't, check out their posts! Today we're featuring our SEO Analyst, Brady Werkheiser. Brady has been dying to sit down with us to tell us more about his role at Webstacks. Let's dive in 🚀
You didn’t ask, but if I had to summarize myself in one word, I’d probably say, “seeker.” From finding ways clients can improve their Google rankings as a Search Engine Optimization Analyst to researching the next big crypto investment, I’ve always found success embracing curiosity.
More specifically, I grew up in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, which is an hour north of Philadelphia, with my parents, younger brother Ben, and sister Haley. I earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry from St. Joseph’s University and quickly transitioned to a career in marketing after graduation.
I’ll do you one better. How about we play “Two Truths and a Lie,” and our readers can ponder which one of these isn’t true?
1,000: number of consecutive days I’ve eaten oatmeal for breakfast
950: number of consecutive days I haven’t had caffeine
900: number of consecutive days I’ve meditated for 90 minutes/day
I’ll reveal the answer in the comments when this gets shared on LinkedIn.
Wow! You’re really putting me on the spot! Both coasts have their merits, but for this stage in my life, the West Coast is where I need to be. The consistent weather, laid-back culture, and work opportunities make San Diego and Los Angeles an incredible place for young professionals to develop their skills. That said, I miss so much about the East Coast: my family, friends, soft pretzels, Wawa, 76ers games that start at 7 pm instead of 4 pm, and the slower pace of life.
The SEO Analyst role is an important piece of the web development and growth marketing stack. As an analyst, my role is two-fold:
Understand how search engines like Google are crawling, indexing, and ranking our client’s websites to improve their organic search traffic.
Identify opportunities to improve the user experience by improving page speed, site architecture, navigation, links, content, and much more.
At the end of the day, we want to attract our ideal customers to the website by creating valuable content, ensuring our website is discoverable in search, and that when users land on our page they get all their questions resolved.
I appreciate that, but my days are no busier than anyone else’s on the team. Everyone has an important role to play, and they all work so hard. I’m honored to be part of such an incredible team. I typically start the day by acknowledging Slack messages and clearing out my inbox of 5-10 emails from SEO newsletters, Google Alerts, and HARO digests. This usually leads to ~30 minutes of SEO research to stay current on algorithm changes, new case studies, or reading the documentation for a tool I’m trying to learn. Next, I tune into Asana and start working on tasks for the week’s sprint. Besides the actual SEO work, I’ll attend daily scrum standup meetings with our clients, participate in some internal marketing and SEO meetings, and share memes in the Webstacks #crypto Slack channel.
One thing? You’re killing me smalls! I think the one thing I enjoy the most about being an SEO Analyst is the constant learning required to be good at this job.
I’m forced, by the nature of the work, to stay up-to-date on algorithm updates, web development best practices, keyword research tools, new competitors, content strategies, backlinking campaigns, Javascript SEO, automation with Python, and so many other SEO disciplines. Fortunately, this demand for learning aligns well with my natural curiosity and desire to go deep, tinker, and experiment.
I think my favorite memory was meeting the team for the first time when we all went to the San Diego Padres game. One of our strengths is how well we work together as a remote-first agency, however, there is no substitute for working (and celebrating) in person. Besides the awesome office views from the 27th floor, the team Lunch & Learn on Github, and the office playlist (RIP Juice WRLD), I think the best part was the feeling of normalcy returning to the workplace.
Definitely! First off, congrats to those pursuing a career in SEO. The entire world relies on search engines to access information, and we need people committed to filling content gaps and improving web experiences. Here are my top three pieces of advice for new SEOs:
Let your enthusiasm for SEO shine during your interviews
Figure out your niche within SEO that you want to refine
Identify an industry you’re passionate about
We’re looking for candidates who are excited to tackle technical SEO challenges, who daydream about designing winning content marketing strategies for industries they’re passionate about and are always striving to do their client’s best work. We want to work with experts that know what they want. As SEOs, we can’t be an expert in every SEO discipline and certainly not every industry. If you interview at Webstacks, tell us the areas and verticals you’re interested in. The more aligned you are with our clients, the more value you’ll be able to provide.
My top three favorite slack channels are:
#crypto
#kudos
#pups
I think the first one is pretty obvious since I’m obsessed with crypto.
I love #kudos because I get to share in celebrating the accomplishments of my teammates, and #pups. After all, the team has so many good doggos, especially Franklin!
Let’s get deep: If you could snap your fingers and solve one global problem, what would it be and why
Editor's note: Webstacks is a full-stack marketing agency founded in 2020 that helps businesses accelerate growth by offering creative, marketing, development, and other services at scale. Webstacks is based in San Diego, California, with 30+ employees across the states. For business inquiries, please email hello@webstacks.com.