Welcome to our spotlight series Top SEO Women of 2013. We are thrilled to introduce you to Meet Ann Smarty. A distinguished figure in the world of search engine optimization.
With a deep understanding of SEO dynamics and a knack for innovative strategies, Ann has carved out a niche as an influencer and thought leader. This week, we delve into her journey, exploring the insights and techniques that have made her a go-to resource in the industry. Join us as we uncover the secrets behind her success and the impact she has had on the digital marketing landscape.
1. What’s your personal elevator pitch? What should we know about who you are and what you do?
“Being busy means being happy” or “You can never be busy enough” 🙂
Honestly I have always had a problem of having too much on my plate: In school I was writing a book, getting ready for the university and being a top student (I know I sound like a nerd by the way), in high school I was busy studying and working part-time, at my first job I was doing pretty much everything…
Right now I am a mom of a four-year-old, founder of MyBlogGuest, co-founder of ViralContentBuzz (which also has labs we develop), co-founder of Smart Photo Stock, owner of TekSocial, and many, many more other links…
Yet, I thought that was not enough, so I moved to the US (with my family) to work as a Brand and Community manager for Internet Marketing Ninjas…
I don’t manage to do always well; but I can tell you that I feel happy every day because every day I manage to keep up!
On the downside of being very busy, I don’t have time for things like this (which is a shame!). I think, if I could allow the time, I wouldn’t miss a single challenge there…
2. Which area of SEO or online marketing in general do you focus on primarily, and which is the most exciting or most boring to you? Or is there an area that you’d love to pe into more?
I am heavily into guest blogging in particular and content marketing in general. Both make me very excited because I produce so much content and have the ability to track so much feedback that I am quickly becoming an expert.
I enjoy brainstorming (and I am good at that). Doing any sorts of research. Playing with various search operators, and I love the fact that I have access to loads of information which I adore organizing…
Enjoy all things about community management (even if users are not really happy which happens a lot: You can never please everyone and unhappy members are always louder).
What I don’t enjoy SEO reporting any more (I think I get bored very fast). I don’t enjoy blogger outreach (I enjoy delegating it though). I am bad at analytics because I have no time for that (you need to really focus to dig deep and that’s when I realize I have only 24 hours a day).
3. We’d love to know more about the personal you. What area of the world do you live in, or want to live in; what are some of your quirks; what fuels your fire?
I spent my whole life in Ukraine where I was born when it was still the Soviet Union (we still think it’s one country by the way). I came to the United States 4 months ago and it still feels weird to be at the other side of the curtain… Not that we were taught to hate the US (which may be the case), but that it had always felt like a different planet we didn’t want to be friends with, so imagine we working with aliens now. 🙂
On the serious note, I don’t yet know where exactly I want to live (I come to understand there’s no place like home), but I like the busy lifestyle of the Americans, so I feel good here.
As for my “fire”, that’s just stubborn desire to work which my parents couldn’t quite get even when I was a kid… I don’t honestly know what it’s fueled by. Sometimes I feel tired, overwhelmed and devastated and sometimes I feel I want to quit everything and run to the islands… Then we go to a vacation on Jamaica and all I can think about is getting my laptop to read mail and do my work! 🙂
4 Responses
I finally had a chance to read this… thank you so much for giving us a peek into who you are. I too love brainstorming, I’m the first one to gather the team when we have a multinational campaign running, or we need to create a strategy for any given project. Good to see, another woman who’s always willing to listen and share.
From everyone at Level343 and our readers, you my dear lady ROCK!
Thanks for the kind words, Gabriella! It’s awesome to watch you succeed btw!
No matter how busy you may be, if you love what you are doing and that you feel a different kind of fulfillment everytime you finish your day productively, you will never get tired of what you are doing.
Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I’m going to read this profile again. Ann Smarty’s career path and her evolution as a business woman makes me smile. I love that she’s come to focus more on what she loves and found ways to delegate those things that keep her from playing full time in her “genius spot.” Bravo and thanks for the great profile.