We are very excited to welcome you to the launch episode of the Women In Tech SEO Podcast!

During this WTS Podcast episode, your hosts, Areej AbuAli (founder of Women In Tech SEO & SEO Consultant) & Sarah McDowell (podcaster and SEO content executive at Holland & Barrett) discuss why they are launching the podcast and the rebrand of SEO SAS, what they are hoping to achieve and the importance of not reinventing the wheel.

We also get to know the hosts with a quickfire round of questions and a feature, explain how you can get involved with the podcast and the importance of learning.

Hope you enjoy!

Where to find WTS Podcast:

Twitter: @techseowomenpod

Website: https://www.womenintechseo.com/podcast/

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Transcript

Sarah: Hello, and a very warm welcome to the Women in Tech SEO podcast and very excitedly, this is our very first launch episode. So welcome along! Your hosts are myself, Sarah McDowell, podcaster, self-confessed SEO geek, who works at Holland and Barrett as a SEO content executive.

Areej: And I'm here as well. I'm Areej AbuAli, I'm the founder of Women in Tech SEO, which is a support network and community for women in the tech SEO field and I'm an SEO consultant. Excited to be kicking this off with you, Sarah!

Sarah: Do you want to know a little secret?

Areej: Yeah, go for it.

Sarah: I was like a little kid yesterday and I couldn't sleep because of today.

Areej: Honestly. I'm so excited to be doing this. I knew this has been on my to do list for like over a year, so I cannot believe we're finally recording the launch episode.

Sarah: I know it's crazy. It's crazy. And I think you have seamlessly led us in to sort of talking about why we're launching this podcast.

Areej: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think from my end, like this is, it feels like the podcast for all things, SEO, guest starring women in our industry. Every week, we will invite brilliant women to come on board. We're going to delve into specific topics and learn from their stories, knowledge, and experience. But you know, with all awesome things from your end SEO SAS, I think it would be amazing for everyone to hear more about the story of why we're doing this together from you.

Sarah: Yes, right. Well, should I get my best storytelling, voice? Yes, so some people might recognise my voice or my name because I previously hosted the SEO SAS Podcast. Basically that podcast was going on for two years, so quite a long time and my cohost Hannah stepped down. She had too much on her plate. And when she stepped down, it got me thinking because SEO SAS was always like a me and Hannah thing. And I had to do some thinking about "What's my next step?" And it just so happened that during this thinking time you reached out to me and the rest is sort of history, wasn't it? Because like you said, you've always wanted to do a podcast. And I think you saw the message about Hannah stepping down, sort of prompted you to ask me and reach out because obviously you were on a previous SEO SAS podcast episode and that's how we first met. And yeah, I had a massive smile on my face and it was quite funny actually, because being really honest, you were a bit nervous weren't you like asking, but it's crazy, isn't it? Because as soon as you asked me, I was like straight to my sister. I was like, Oh my God, this has happened! So, yes, I think this is it explained or do I need to go into more detail there?

Areej: No, I was a guest on SEO SAS, and it was one of my very first podcasts to be on. And you and Hannah were just awesome. It was really, really, really fun to be on it. And so for me, when I thought about "Okay, I'd love to do a WTSPodcast", I always thought about you and Hannah, and the way you hosted your podcast and how inclusive it was and how accessible it was for everyone and how you made everyone feel really, really welcome. So when I saw the message that you were thinking about what you want to do next, if you are potentially thinking about having another co-host, I was like, "Oh my God, this is my opportunity, I need to reach out and make sure that we partner up!" I have a lot of strengths when it comes to actually organising different initiatives and projects and so forth. But I don't know the first thing about podcasts or all the different software and tools that need to be put together. And there's a lot of learning that needs to take place. There's really no purpose of trying to reinvent the wheel with things like that. You're already someone who's brilliant at all this stuff, and you have tons of experience in it. So it's one of those things where I get the chance to partner up and learn a lot and have a lot of fun with a brilliant women who already knows how to do the in and out. Rather than, you know, trying to reinvent the wheel and do one from scratch myself.

Sarah: Yeah. And I think that's really important, isn't it? Because I think we've spoken about this, that when people are thinking about starting new projects or wanting to do new things. I think some people, they sort of think about reaching out and partner up with people because like you say, everyone has their strengths and you can lean on each other and you can support one another. And it just so happens that I feel that Women in Tech SEO and SEO SAS had the same sort of vibe and feeling because the whole point SEO SAS existed was when me and Hannah first got into SEO, obviously it's a lot better now, but when I first got into it, it was quite male orientated. And at the time there wasn't a female lead, or I didn't come across that many female led SEO podcasts. So we wanted a platform to women doing awesome things. So it just felt like an awesome opportunity for us to, to join forces in the space. Isn't it?

Areej: Definitely. And I think until this day, unfortunately you do come across a lot of podcasts where other than the fact that they are hosted by men, but also they're very, very male dominated when it comes to their guests. And that's something I've always loved about SEO SAS because you're a member of our community, and you're always jumping in there and asking people and encouraging a lot of women to be on your podcast. And that's what I'm really looking forward to doing with you, which is encouraging a lot of women to put themselves forward and share their stories and experiences. And it doesn't matter if they've been on podcasts before, or this is the first time for them to do any form of public speaking. That's something I'm definitely really excited about doing.

Sarah: I think we should probably like get to know ourselves a bit better. So obviously we know what that we know, what we do as a career and what we work as but how do you feel about a quick fire round of questions?

Areej: Sure, let's go for it.

Sarah: Okie dokie. Do you want me to go first with questions for you?

Areej: Yeah, definitely. You can go for some questions.

Sarah: Right. First question. The best sandwich filling?

Areej: Cheese and crisps.

Sarah: What flavour?

Areej: Cheese and onion

Sarah: Oh, that's double cheese there. Love it. Finish this sentence. When I was younger, I wanted to be...

Areej: An astronaut. I'm literally, I am scared of everything. I'm even scared of getting on an airplane now.

Sarah: So I was thinking back then that was like five year old me when you, you get fearless. I'm not what I wanted to be when I was younger. It doesn't even make sense. It's not even a job. But like there's a picture, my mom still has it and it basically said that I wanted to be a butterfly lady when I was older. No idea what that is. Would you rather be able to stop time or turn invisible?

Areej: I'll stop time. When we stop time, then I can actually get a lot of stuff done.

Sarah: If you could choose to live anywhere in the world, where would that be?

Areej: That's a difficult one. I think definitely somewhere really warm. I can't think of a specific country in mind, I think I'd pick Turkey and I know it's still not that warm, but I just love it so much. And I love the food there and it's way warmer than here. So maybe like a specific part of Turkey that has beautiful beaches and really good food and really good weather.

Sarah: Ah, nice. And then the last quick fire round question, last film that you watched?

Areej: Okay. Last night I rewatched Almost Famous, I love that movie. I watched it so many times as a kid. And I'm currently going through a phase where I'm trying to rewatch things that made me happy when I was a kid.

Sarah: So you're sort of reminiscing.

Areej: Yeah, serious dose of nostalgia, like all the time.

Sarah: Well, you survived my quick fire round!

Areej: Yep. Let's go for some with you then. Are you ready?

Sarah: Born ready? I'm always ready.

Areej: What did you last have to eat?

Sarah: Granny Smith apple.

Areej: Okay. Is that your favourite type of apple?

Sarah: It's the only apple I like, I know that's controversial because it's quite bitter and sharp compared to the other apples. But yeah, I have to have it chopped up as well. I'm a princess.

Areej: What sports would you choose to compete if you're at the Olympics?

Sarah: Right. Can I make up a sport? Well, no, it's not making up a sport. Can I say a sport that's not currently in the Olympics?

Areej: Yeah. Go for it. You make the rules.

Sarah: Roller Derby.

Areej: Someone was just talking to me about Roller Derby the other day. That's the first time I learned about it.

Sarah: I used to pre-COVID, I used to play Roller Derby.

Areej: Okay. So tell everyone what Roller Derby is in case someone doesn't know.

Sarah: So when my dad came to watch it, he was like, Sarah, you're doing Sumo wrestling on skates. It's dangerous. Yeah, so basically, like a quick description is, so you skate indoors on a flat track. And you score points by passing opposition players. So each person is a point. So basically you've got to get past your opposition players, skate, round the track, get points. So it can get a bit, I don't want to say aggressive, because it's not an aggressive sport because yes, it gets a bit physical, but everyone's so bloody lovely. Do you know what I mean? And people used to say to me that I was quite unnerving because I smile too much and there's nothing more nerving when you've got someone just smiling at you ready to come charging that. Maybe someday it's going to be part of the Olympics. Hopefully.

Areej: Okay. Let's go. We've got three more to go. Favorite smell?

Sarah: Oh, can I have two?

Areej: Okay. Go for it.

Sarah: Okay. Freshly baked bread.

Areej: Oh yes. That's a good one. I love that.

Sarah: And also I love freshly cooked grass.

Areej: Oh, interesting.

Sarah: Yeah. I can see why, I don't know if people like that as well, if you could bottle those smells up for me every age, that would be useful.

Areej: Yeah. Okay. We'll do it. We'll do it in our one year podcast anniversary. And what was the last thing that you splashed out on?

Sarah: Oh, what was the last thing I splashed out on? Some wheels for my skates actually, because obviously because of COVID, you can't really skate indoors at the moment.So I wanted to get back into skating outdoors. So I needed some outdoor wheels. Now I got myself some fancy wheels on my skate.

Areej: I feel like it's been so long that I actually haven't splashed out or anything anymore. Like this whole year. It's been, so one of the very good things that came out of COVID was actually saving money. It's just, there's no purpose of buying anything new anymore when you're just home all the time.

Sarah: Do you think? So when things get back to normal and I did see a tweet and it said some like I'm saying when COVID is over, it feels like, say when I win the lottery. Do you feel that when you'll be splashing out on maybe like events or going places?

Areej: Yeah, I think so. At dining out, I really, really miss eating out. I really enjoy doing that. It's definitely been because, you know, initially there's a bit like, oh yeah, it's nice. Let's get it delivered. Let's get this. And then you just get so bored with it. So yeah, I think budget has definitely been super minimal. We've got a last quick fire round question. What would the alternative for SEO possibly stand for?

Sarah: Okay, right. What can I think of? Okay. Sassy, exhausting, oranges.

Areej: Oranges. Yeah. Sassy, exhausting oranges. Yeah.

Sarah: Does it make any sense?

Areej: Nope, that works. It makes more sense than what SEO currently is. So it's all good.

Sarah: I feel that I know you a lot better now! Awesome. All right. Okay, so I'm going to move on this sort of topic. So I've talked about, the importance of learning because I think that's important to sort of say like with this podcast, isn't it? So, one thing that I didn't sort of think about when I first started SEO SAS was that I'm going to be having conversations with people and I'm going to be hosting a podcast, but I learned so much. And it was awesome. And I do think that like, you always have to learn don't you and especially in SEO, because it's forever changing, the landscape is changing. What is important is, it’s changing all the time. Isn't it? So, it is important to carry on learning. And I think you run the risk. What do you think on this?

Areej: Yeah, I think there's a lot of different platforms to learn as well. And I do feel like it probably gets a little bit overwhelming where it's like, “Oh, there's all these articles coming out and you know, all these conferences and where do I catch up?” And, and so, you know, I feel like getting self knowledge to things like podcasts makes it really helpful because that's something you can always tune in the background as well. And that's something that, you know, it's, there's a little bit of fun and engagement as, as a part of it. And so even if you end up taking one thing out of an episode, that's still one new thing that you didn't know half an hour ago, right? So it's all about, you know, how you can learn, in a format and in a way that makes it easy for you to absorb that knowledge.

Sarah: Definitely definitely. And I do think podcasts are very accessible aren't they? Because, you can tune into an episode, wherever you are basically. And a little plug. So when you tune into the Women in Tech SEO podcast, we will be putting out new episodes on a weekly basis. So there'll always be episodes that you can tap into and you can expect them to be ready to be listened to every Tuesday. You'll have something to learn on a weekly basis.

Areej: Yup and in terms of, you know, how to get involved and how to be a part of it. I think with everything Women in Tech SEO beast, this is not exclusive in any way. We're not going to be, you know, there no application process where “Oh, you might potentially be on the podcast and you might not be on the podcast.” Anyone who is interested, any brilliant woman who is interested in taking part and being a guest on our podcast, all you have to do is you just need to fill the form that's on our website specifically for our podcasts. We'll be sharing links with this as well and that way you can, you can just let us know that you want to be in, and then it's on us to just make sure that we get everyone scheduled in. We have a very similar process when it comes to our interviews and our speaker hub and so forth. Anyone who wants to be a part of it. And we definitely encourage, you know, first time speakers, people who haven't done public speaking before. Anyone who just wants to kind of come in and have a chat with both me and Sarah. Just fill that form and we'll reach out and we'll get you scheduled. And in terms of sponsors, if you want to support us, and I know we've had some sponsors previously for different Women in Tech SEO projects and initiatives, we have a form for this as well. And we can get back to you with more details about sponsoring, whether it's specific episodes or a chunk of episodes or so forth, but anything that you want to do, to support us would be really helpful.

Sarah: Right. Areej, there's only one last thing to do, and that is a feature. Are you ready?

Areej: Let's go for it.

Sarah: Okay. So I thought what would be fun in the idea getting to know us. And so people can like, listen and get to know us more. I thought a fun little game would be a lie game. So. There's basically, we've got to tell Two facts and one lie, and basically we have to pick out each other’s lie. Does that make sense?

Areej: Yeah. Okay.

Sarah: Yep. Okay.

Areej: Did you want to go first with your facts?

Sarah: Okay. Okie dokie. Right? So my three facts for you, and you've got to pick out which one you think I am lying. My first one is I've driven a tractor a couple of times. I am really good at whistling. I used to play the clarinet at school.

Areej: Oh, okay. A tractor. I have no idea why, but I can definitely, it's just, it's one of those things where I definitely feel like you've done it. So it's between the clarinet and the whistling. For some reason, I feel like you're really bad at whistling. I have no idea why I have a feeling that you really, really struggled with it. So I would say that's the lie.

Sarah: You were too good to me. That is so weird. That is so weird that you knew that like you've got me.

Areej: It's just one of those things where it's like, I have, I had a feeling that. You're probably so bad, that's it? That you always use it in this game to make yourself feel better? I mean, I can whistle, but I can't do like the proper, like full-on whistling. If that makes you feel any better.

Sarah: Yes, it does. Okay. Okay. I mean, not being able to whistle hasn't really stopped me in that.

Areej: Okay. Let's see. I'm so glad that I won because that's something I can brag about. Let's see how you do. Okay. So here's mine. So I spent a year attending a Japanese language course, that was when I was in university, it was an external course. I wanted to be a doctor when I was a kid because both my parents are doctors. And I lived in Saudi Arabia for 10 years.

Sarah: Oh, can you repeat your first?

Areej: I spent a year attending a Japanese language course.

Sarah: Oh my gosh. I mean, this one's tricky. And what was your last one?

Areej: I lived in Saudi Arabia for 10 years and I wanted to be a doctor when I was a kid.

Sarah: See, what do I think? These are hard.

Areej: It's because you gave me like 10 minutes to think about it before, when you were calling.

Sarah: Okay. Ma right. I think your lie is. And I'm basing this on an answer that you gave me earlier when we were doing a quick fire round, but the doctor. Yeah, I don't think you wanted to be a doctor.

Areej: After I said that, I was like, Oh no, you already asked me earlier what I want it to be. But yes, the lie is being a doctor that I was so against that, so in Egypt, basically I'm Egyptian and it usually is if your parents are doctors, then you end up being a doctor. And I hated biology. I was so against it , so I was really into math and I ended up studying engineering. So I'm like the failure in the family in a way, my older sister did end up being a doctor. So at least they had one of us. But yeah, I never ever wanted to be a doctor.

Sarah: Definitely not to failure on any level. Can you, can you speak Japanese then? How good?

Areej: So I lived there for four months after...