{"id":9662,"date":"2024-04-08T16:08:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T16:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seobuddy.com\/blog\/?p=9662"},"modified":"2025-11-07T12:23:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T12:23:01","slug":"my-seo-journey-redfin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seobuddy.com\/blog\/my-seo-journey-redfin\/","title":{"rendered":"My SEO Journey: Maggie McCombs from redfin.com \u2013 There\u2019s no substitute for hard work & thoughtful communication"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My SEO Journey is a series where entrepreneurs and Indie makers share their honest SEO Journey filled with failure and success, and most importantly, proven results.<\/em> Episode #151 features Maggie McCombs from Redfin<\/a>.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Maggie<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Hi, my name is Maggie McCombs, and I\u2019m the managing editor at Redfin, leading up content for brands like ApartmentGuide<\/a>, Rent<\/a>. and also the flagship brand, Redfin<\/a>. I also have a freelance job where I rebuild resumes and Linkedin profiles, though I haven\u2019t expanded much beyond working with friends yet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I\u2019m not working, I\u2019m traveling with my husband, Anthony or hanging around the house with our three wonderful pets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We live in Lexington, Kentucky, which many people know as bourbon country (though I personally prefer vodka.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stumbling into marketing through content<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I reached my dream career through multiple lucky accidents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To start,  I studied linguistics in college and had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my degree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first happy accident came after two years of miserable work in call centers, where the sales department at my job opened a position. Though I was (and am) far too introverted for a sales role, I applied to see what was out there in terms of internal promotions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sales VP cut the interview after what seemed like only three minutes and told me about a marketing department opening at that company and encouraged me to apply. That copywriting role became my first content marketing job and the start of my career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I admit I was always drawn to communication as an art and a science, first and foremost, not as a practical skill that could be applied to marketing. I learned with that first content marketing job that I needed to know SEO, though, if I wanted to make a meaningful career. I watched course after course and earned SEO certifications<\/a> to get that necessary start. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leadership and link-building<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After having a couple of entry-level content marketing jobs under my belt, I switched to freelance journalism for a while to sustain myself during a particularly stressful period of my life<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another accident happened while I was looking for part-time jobs to supplement my freelance income: I applied to a full-time job by accident. My ADHD mind must have overlooked that important detail, and here I was applying to a full-time position, the antithesis of my career goals then. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once I realized my error, I gamified the process just to see how far I could get and eventually I accepted the job. Only nine months later, I moved into a leadership role at that company — a first for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have served in leadership roles since then in other companies. My next big break was an expected integration that positioned me to head a new link-building<\/a> team. Reflecting on it now, link-building is the culmination of many of my other professional competencies, from written communication to content marketing and PR. I can now take my love for writing and meld it with the skills I\u2019ve developed in SEO, relationship-building and leadership over the past several years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I\u2019ve learned in my SEO journey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve learned that there\u2019s no substitute for hard work, thoughtful communication and asking humans to do some things and not just AI\/robots. To be clear, I\u2019m not afraid of AI and I do use it when I get stuck. But there\u2019s an element of relationship-development, diplomacy and understanding of human psychology that we can\u2019t find an easy hack for. Or at least, not yet. <\/p>\n\n\n

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There\u2019s more\u2026<\/div>\r\n

Now it\u2019s time to discover the other 102 steps that will get more organic traffic flowing to your website. Get the SEO Checklist here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Want to get a sneak peek of what it looks like?<\/strong>
\nEnter your email and get a free demo version of the SEO Checklist.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n

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