Last week, Lauren and I had the pleasure of attending the Women in Tech SEO Fest in Philadelphia—a much-needed break from the daily grind of SEO projects, audits, and client calls. While we didn’t necessarily uncover any groundbreaking revelations, events like these always manage to reignite that passion for SEO, providing fresh perspectives, refocus, and a renewed sense of motivation.
Here are some of my key takeaways from the event and why they matter to our work at Trebletree:
1. EEAT Focus with Bianca Anderson: Actionable and Scalable Strategies
One of the standout sessions was Bianca Anderson’s talk on EEAT (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). I loved the concept of creating an EEAT Playbook, something we can use internally to align our team and clients with Google’s recommendations. It’s one thing to understand the guidelines, but making them actionable for content writers is a game-changer.
Bianca emphasized that foundational content strategies—content pruning, topic clusters, and content flow optimization—are essential to any EEAT efforts. And while achieving perfection isn’t the goal, continuous improvement is key. I appreciated the reminder that even a “content cleanse” doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s about steady, thoughtful progress.
We also talked about the importance of centralizing internal data. This hit home for me as it’s something we’ve been focusing on—gathering insights to better inform our SEO strategies and help us take advantage of local SEO opportunities for our multi-location clients.
2. Holiday E-commerce SEO with Jamie D’Alessandro: Preparing for Year-Round Success
One of the practical takeaways was from Jamie D’Alessandro’s session on e-commerce SEO, especially as we gear up for the holiday season. Her advice to keep seasonal pages live year-round with an option for early notifications was a great reminder that even pages built for a specific promotion or offering should be included in our ongoing strategy. Something as simple as adding a form for early engagement can keep customers connected. It’s a great way to turn seasonal traffic into loyal visitors.
3. Local Search Evolution with Krystal Taing: It’s Not Just About Google
Krystal Taing’s session got me thinking about how quickly local search is evolving. Platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Amazon are turning into search engines of their own. For businesses that rely on local traffic, it’s essential to not only focus on traditional SEO but to consider how people are using these other platforms to find information. Clean, accurate data and full optimization of Google Business Profiles (GBP) are still crucial, especially for large businesses like QSRs.
One interesting takeaway was how local businesses can even set up their locations a year in advance to avoid duplicate listings during construction phases. The insights from QSR (Quick Service Restaurants) were also eye-opening—things like the suggestion of adding neighborhood names to business listings (a somewhat controversial suggestion since this goes against Google’s published guidelines) or optimizing extra hours can affect rankings based on whether you’re open or closed.
4. AI & Our Appetite for Truth with Kavi Kardos: Innovation with Responsibility
Kavi Kardos’s session on AI emphasized something that’s been on my mind for a while: our responsibility as marketers to balance AI innovation with ethical practices. We can’t ignore AI’s role in the SEO industry, but it’s crucial to ensure human oversight remains at the forefront. In-house AI governance and proof of performance are going to be major focus areas for us as we integrate AI into more of our processes. As much as I’ve grown to love using AI to speed up workflows, we always want human eyes on our work. What I said over a year ago about AI and Content Writing (way back when we were still talking about Bard) still stands. You still need a human!
An interesting note as I was using ChatGPT to help organize my notes and outline this article, it assumed that Jamie D’Alessandro was a man using “he” and “his” pronouns. It just highlights the need for us humans to be diligent about reviewing AI generated work. Even though I’m clearly writing about a women’s conference and share all the conference details and speaker bios, when push came to shove, ChatGPT decided that Jamie was more likely a man. Things that make you go hmmm.
5. Making Content Inclusive with Purna Virji
Purna’s session focused on inclusivity, reminding us that when we build content with accessibility in mind, we’re not just following best practices—we’re actively improving user experience. It’s about making sure our assumptions don’t exclude anyone, whether through language, color choices, or content layout. It’s a powerful reminder that small details can have a huge impact.
6. SEO Testing Framework with Celeste Gonzalez: Practical Optimization
Celeste Gonzalez delivered a very practical framework for SEO testing, covering essential areas like title tags, structured data, internal links, and metadata. While we’ve always focused on testing, her approach to continuously optimizing and refining SEO strategies was inspiring.
7. Integrating PPC and SEO with Navah Hopkins: Cross-Channel Collaboration
Navah Hopkins’s session on integrating PPC and SEO campaigns was a great reminder that these channels work best together, not in isolation. One of her key points was using PPC to test SEO content ideas, which is something I’m excited to try more of in the coming months.
She also highlighted how platforms beyond Google—like Amazon and Microsoft—offer rich opportunities to connect with local audiences. Collaborating with our PPC partners is going to be essential as we look for new ways to expand our strategies.
8. Big Query for Data Analysis with Sam Torres: For the Data Geeks
Okay, this session was more in Lauren’s wheelhouse. As our co-founder, she’s definitely the technical brain behind the operation, so while she was deep into the possibilities of GA4SQL queries and limitless data processing, I had a simpler takeaway: make sure to set budget alerts before diving into Big Query! Still, it was an excellent session that reinforced the importance of efficient data management and making sure we’re being smart about costs. For more on Lauren’s takeaways on BigQuery, be sure to check out her WTSFest SEO Takeaways.
9. Building a Strong SEO Industry with Natasha Burtenshaw-deVries: Let’s Train the Next Generation
Natasha led an inspiring session on why we need to teach the next generation of SEOs how to think SEO instead of just doing SEO. We’re all constantly learning and evolving in this industry, and their message resonated: SEOs need to be data analysts and stay curious.
In a time when ChatGPT can answer all your questions, it’s even more essential to teach our team how to think, question and push beyond the easy answer.
At Trebletree, we’re embracing this mindset by incorporating micro-coaching into our day-to-day processes. We want our team to not only focus on rankings and traffic but to engage with the data that truly matters.
10. Unleashing Our Authentic Selves with Heather Hamilton
Heather closed the day with an inspirational talk that ended the day in with smiles and confidence to go out and do amazing things as women in SEO.
Final Thoughts: Renewed Energy for What’s Next
Attending the Women in SEO Tech Fest was a great reminder of why I love what I do. Sure, we didn’t learn anything drastically new. In fact, the sessions reaffirmed our core SEO beliefs and strategic direction. But stepping out of the routine and hearing fresh perspectives helped me refocus and reinvigorate my approach to SEO. It’s easy to get lost in the daily tasks, but events like these remind us to step back, think strategically, and tackle our work with renewed energy.
