About Grace Frohlich
Today we have Grace Frohlich on the show, a digital marketing veteran with almost 10 years of SEO experience. As the senior SEO manager at BrainLabs, Grace has made a name for herself in the industry with her forward thinking and leadership skills. She’s known for building and managing full marketing programs from the ground up and delivering results. She’s been published in major marketing blogs and has appeared on Moz’s Whiteboard Friday. She’s always looking to learn and share with others which is why she’s a leader in the digital marketing space.
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Who is Grace Frohlich?
From Fashion Marketing to SEO
Grace’s journey into SEO is a unique one. Born and raised in San Diego, California she spent her youth and college years in the sunny coastal city. But her career path took an unexpected turn when she moved to New York City to pursue fashion marketing.
“I started my career in fashion marketing in New York,” Grace says. “I spent about 10 years there working in fashion marketing, mostly product development. It was very different from what I do now.”
After 10 years in the fashion industry Grace decided it was time for a change. She took several months to research different digital roles and was drawn to the digital space because of its growth and career opportunities.
The Switch to Digital Marketing
Grace’s switch to digital marketing wasn’t immediate or easy. She spent time researching, applying for internships and talking to people already in the field. Her hard work paid off when she landed an SEO internship over the summer.
“I interned at Amsive, a digital agency in New York,” Grace says. “They have a great summer internship program. They teach all their interns a lot about not just SEO but the overall digital space, paid search, social, etc.”
It was during this internship that Grace found her love for SEO. Even a few weeks in she was doing extra research and reading everything she could on the topics they were covering.
Why Excel in SEO
When asked what drives her to keep learning and exceling in SEO Grace says:
“SEO is always changing. Always. You have to keep up. Essentially Google makes the rules whether you like it or not. So whenever they have a core algorithm update or make a press release about a certain function or best practice for SEO we have to keep up with it to better service our website or our clients.”
That’s what she loves most about SEO. Never boring and always something new to learn.
Current Projects that Excite Grace
Researching Google’s Search Generative Engine (SGE)
One of the most exciting projects Grace has worked on recently involved researching Google’s Search Generative Engine (SGE), now called AI Overviews. This project, conducted about 7-8 months ago, aimed to determine the potential impact of AI on a client’s site and core keywords once it rolled out.
“It was really interesting because I got to set the framework for how that project went,” Grace explains. “It had never been done at BrainLabs, my agency. So I kind of set up that project, looked at what we’re measuring, and how we approach this project.”
The project involved analyzing the top 150 keywords that the client cared about, looking at how prevalent they were in SGE, what kind of links appeared, and how many brand mentions they got within the results.
Key Findings from the SGE Research
One of the most interesting patterns Grace and her team observed was related to the ranking of results:
“If the client was ranking in the top ten results organically, then they largely were not showing up in SGE. And vice versa. So if the client was not showing in the top ten, they would show up in SGE.”
Grace hypothesizes that this could be Google’s attempt to diversify their results, ensuring that users don’t see the same website multiple times in different sections of the search results page.
This research not only provided valuable insights for the client but also aligned with what other SEOs in the industry were observing, validating their findings.
Tactical and Strategic SEO Advice from Grace
Understanding SEO Maturity Audits
A significant part of Grace’s work involves conducting SEO maturity audits. But what exactly is an SEO maturity audit, and why is it important?
“The maturity audit is a framework,” Grace explains. “The aim of it is to determine how developed your website is, and thus your business, within your industry.”
An SEO maturity audit involves assessing various aspects of a website to determine its level of development and effectiveness in terms of search engine optimization. This assessment helps businesses understand where they stand in their industry and identifies areas for improvement.
The Seven Pillars of SEO Maturity
Grace’s framework for SEO maturity audits consists of seven key pillars:
- Technical compliance of the site
- Site speed and user experience (UX)
- Competitors in your vertical
- On-site content
- Link profile or backlink profile
- Search opportunity for your industry
- Tracking or measuring performance (optional)
Each of these pillars is evaluated and scored based on specific criteria. The scores help determine which areas of a website need the most attention and improvement.
Conducting an SEO Maturity Audit
When conducting an SEO maturity audit, Grace recommends using tools like Screaming Frog to analyze various aspects of a website. For example, to check for duplicate content on an e-commerce site:
- Use Screaming Frog to crawl the site
- Navigate to the page duplication reports
- Download and investigate the data
Grace emphasizes that the goal of a maturity audit is not to go into extreme detail initially, but to get a high-level view of potential issues. She suggests using a 1 to 5 scale to score each section, with 1 indicating a significant issue and 5 representing a perfect website.
The Importance of Content in SEO
One area that Grace finds often overlooked in SEO strategies is content, especially informational content:
“Something that maybe people overlook is content on their site, especially like informational type content. At least in my experience, it can be challenging to get a buy-in on a lot of non-branded content on the site, even though from an organic perspective, it’s very beneficial for your site and can really boost your performance.”
Grace points out that while creating quality content takes time and doesn’t show immediate results like paid ads, it’s crucial for long-term organic growth.
Dealing with Content Decay
For websites that have been around for a long time, content decay can be a significant issue. Grace recommends looking at factors such as:
- The publish date of the content
- Whether the content still gets traffic or conversions
- How the traffic has changed over time
Based on these factors, you can decide whether to update, redirect, or remove old content.
The Role of AI in Content Creation
While AI can be a useful tool in content creation, Grace emphasizes the importance of human involvement:
“AI is definitely a good tool. We use it, we kind of incorporate it into the content process, definitely, because it can help speed up the process and do it better at scale. But of course, we always inject that human element to it, such as checking content briefs, checking it over, or even having freelance copywriters actually write the content instead of having AI generate the content.”
The Importance of Tracking and Measurement
Grace highlights the importance of tracking and measuring SEO efforts:
“Whether or not you’re doing a maturity audit, you should definitely still make sure that you’re tracking your work on the site. Any kind of work that you do or implement on the site, even if it’s not actively working on something SEO-related, it definitely helps to track what you’re doing.”
She recommends setting up custom tracking in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to monitor specific metrics relevant to your SEO efforts.
Where Does Grace See the Future of SEO Going?
While the transcript doesn’t explicitly cover Grace’s views on the future of SEO, we can infer some trends based on her insights:
- Increasing Importance of AI: As AI continues to evolve, it’s likely to play a larger role in both SEO strategies and search engine algorithms. However, human expertise will remain crucial for creating high-quality, valuable content.
- Focus on User Experience: With Google’s increasing emphasis on user experience factors like site speed and Core Web Vitals, SEO professionals will need to work closely with development teams to ensure websites meet these standards.
- Content Quality Over Quantity: As search engines become more sophisticated in understanding content, the focus will shift even more towards creating high-quality, informative content rather than just producing a large volume of content.
- Adaptability to Algorithm Changes: With frequent updates to search algorithms, SEO professionals will need to stay agile and continuously adapt their strategies.
- Integration with Other Digital Marketing Channels: SEO is likely to become more integrated with other digital marketing efforts, requiring a more holistic approach to digital strategy.
How to Get in Contact with Grace
While the transcript doesn’t provide direct contact information for Grace, interested individuals can likely connect with her through the following channels:
- LinkedIn: Search for Grace Frohlich on LinkedIn to connect professionally.
- BrainLabs: As the senior SEO manager at BrainLabs, you may be able to reach out to Grace through the company’s official channels.
- Marketing Blogs: Look for Grace’s contributions to prominent marketing blogs.
- Moz’s Whiteboard Friday: Check out Grace’s appearances on Moz’s Whiteboard Friday for more of her insights.
- Conference Presentations: Keep an eye out for Grace’s presentations at SEO conferences, such as Brighton SEO.
If You Could Go Back to Your Younger Self and Give Advice, What Would That Be?
While the transcript doesn’t provide a direct answer to this question from Grace, we can infer some potential advice based on her career journey:
- Be open to career changes: Grace’s transition from fashion marketing to SEO shows the value of being open to new career paths, even if they’re different from your initial trajectory.
- Continuous learning is key: Given Grace’s emphasis on the ever-changing nature of SEO, she might advise her younger self to cultivate a habit of continuous learning and staying updated with industry trends.
- Don’t be afraid to start over: Grace’s willingness to intern in a new field in her thirties demonstrates the importance of not being afraid to start from scratch in pursuit of a fulfilling career.
- Follow your interests: Grace’s excitement about SEO was evident even during her internship. She might advise her younger self to pay attention to what truly interests and excites her professionally.
- Embrace change: Given the dynamic nature of digital marketing, embracing change and being adaptable would likely be key advice from Grace to her younger self.
What Books, Podcasts, and/or Leaders Currently Inspire You?
The transcript doesn’t provide specific information about books, podcasts, or leaders that currently inspire Grace. However, we can infer some potential sources of inspiration based on her professional interests:
- Industry blogs and publications: Given Grace’s involvement in writing for marketing blogs, she likely finds inspiration in various industry publications and thought leaders’ blogs.
- Moz’s Whiteboard Friday: As Grace has participated in Moz’s Whiteboard Friday, this series likely serves as a source of inspiration and learning for her.
- SEO conference presentations: Grace mentions speaking at conferences like Brighton SEO, suggesting that she finds inspiration from other speakers and presentations at such events.
- Google’s official communications: Given the importance of Google’s updates in the SEO world, Grace likely stays inspired and informed by following Google’s official blogs and announcements.
- Digital marketing thought leaders: While no specific names are mentioned, Grace likely follows and draws inspiration from various thought leaders in the SEO and digital marketing space.
It’s important to note that these are inferences based on Grace’s professional background and interests as described in the transcript. For accurate, up-to-date information on Grace’s current inspirations, it would be best to reach out to her directly through her professional channels.
Conclusion
Grace Frohlich’s journey from fashion marketing to becoming a respected SEO expert showcases the dynamic nature of the digital marketing field. Her insights into SEO maturity audits provide valuable guidance for businesses looking to improve their online presence and search engine rankings.
Key takeaways from our conversation with Grace include:
- The importance of regular SEO maturity audits to assess and improve website performance
- The need for a holistic approach to SEO, considering factors like technical compliance, content quality, and user experience
- The value of tracking and measuring SEO efforts to demonstrate impact and guide strategy
- The role of AI in content creation, while emphasizing the continued importance of human expertise
- The ever-evolving nature of SEO and the need for continuous learning and adaptation
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, professionals like Grace Frohlich play a crucial role in helping businesses navigate the complexities of SEO and achieve success in the online world. By following her advice and staying informed about the latest trends and best practices in SEO, businesses can work towards improving their online visibility and achieving their digital marketing goals.
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