This is part of the say something nice about an SEO/SEM series - feel free to nominate someone over here.
Melanie Mitchell has been in the SEM, SEO and marketing space for over 17 years and most of that time was spent working for enterprise level companies such as Microsoft, Network Solutions, AOL and Publicis Groupe and others. Even though she has been in an enterprise setting all those years, she still blocks out a large chunk of her time to help the industry by speaking, writing and sharing.
She has been an advisory member of PubCon, the industry conference, for over a 11 years now. She has spoken at many conferences including AdTech, Pubcon, PRSA, Business Wire, Search Insider Summit and SMX. Melanie has acted as a role model, mentor and friend to so many individuals in our space, it is something we should all try to emulate.
Laura Lippay nominated her and shared this absolutely wonderful message:
What do you do when you suddenly find yourself working for one of the biggest tech companies in the world, hired as the expert in a field that's still rapidly evolving, and has very few established leaders to learn from? If you're lucky like I was many years ago, you find someone like Melanie Mitchell who was blazing trails in the enterprise SEO space, probably before the term "enterprise SEO" was even a thing. This is back in the days when AOL was still kind of a big deal, and Melanie was there laying down the SEO/SEM law. She was creating internal dashboards because the stuff we needed simply didnt exist yet, and getting buy-in to get cross-functional teams motivated to act in the SEO space. She was growing traffic *and* her teams loved her (find an SEO who can say *that*). At the time I was new to Yahoo, trying to figure out how I was going to do the same thing. Finding Melanie and getting to know her and learn from her was encouraging (we *can* do this!) and inspiring (enterprise SEO *can* be fun). I sought her out and asked her *all the questions*, and I'm so thankful for all the times since then that Melanie has given me great advice and steered me on the right path to a successful career. Love love love!
Melanie Mitchell Bio: Melanie Mitchell is a seasoned digital marketing strategist and currently the Director of Acquisition Marketing and SEO at Chewy, which is one of the fasted growing online retailers. She has the unique experience of working on the client side, agency side and platform side in leadership roles working for companies such as Microsoft, Network Solutions, AOL and Publicis Groupe.
Melanie is also a global keynote and panel speaker at leading digital marketing conferences such as AdTech, Pubcon, PRSA, Business Wire, Search Insider Summit and SMX, as well as sitting on the advisory boards for Pubcon and Emergent Digital. Additionally, she has been named one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Digital Marketing for the past two years and has published several books on SEO/PPC through Pearson.
Favorite thing about the SEO community? I have loved SEO and digital marketing from the start of my career because I love data and the space is constantly changing so it is an ongoing challenge. However, my favorite thing is the people in the SEO community. They are always willing to help out by sharing an experience, lending an ear, offering an opportunity or something else. Yes, there is competition as we are all trying to grow our businesses, but the sense of camaraderie and friendship vastly outweighs it.
One piece of advice to the SEOs out there? One of the best things is also one of the most challenging things about SEO, which is that the work never sleeps. My best piece of advice is to not be afraid to ask for help. We all have something to contribute based on experiences during various points in our careers whether we were wrestling with the algorithm or trying to figure out how to grow a business. Asking for help will save you so much time in the long run and you are likely to make a new friend in the process. Make the time to get to know your fellow SEOs and contribute to the conversation.
Favorite things in general? My favorite color is purple (I'm also a big Prince fan!) and have always said that if I was to be stranded on a desert island with one thing to eat for the rest of my life it would be pizza.
When I'm not working, I enjoy exploring my current surroundings and traveling around the world. I have been interested in history most of my life and am interested in traveling to places to get to know the culture, know more about the history, see the art and architecture, taste the food, and meet people. Every time I travel I am inspired to do more and learn more.
What you want to be known for in the SEO space? I'd like to be known for someone who isn't afraid to share experiences and genuinely likes to help people. I grew up in digital and originally started speaking at conferences years ago as I wanted to share my experiences of what went well, what didn't go well, and what I learned from it, to try to help people. The topics could range from technical challenges to getting resources/budget to figuring out career paths. I have had a few strong mentors along the way, which had a lasting impact on me that also drove me to want to help others.
You can learn more about Melanie on LinkedIn or follow her on Twitter.
This is part of the say something nice about an SEO/SEM series - feel free to nominate someone over here.
