Born from a desire for representation and meaningful connection, Women in Tech SEO has evolved into a powerful global network. Here, its founder reflects on the lessons, challenges, and inspirations behind building communities that drive both personal and professional transformation.
 

Your Career

You’ve built an incredible reputation as both a marketer and a community builder. What first inspired you to launch Women in Tech SEO, and what gap were you hoping to fill when you started?
 

Honestly, I started Women in Tech SEO for pretty selfish reasons. I didn’t feel represented in the industry, and I was craving a sense of belonging. I wanted to meet other women interested in technical SEO who understood the challenges I was facing.

There wasn’t a space like that, so I created one. It started small, just a way for us to connect and support each other, and it turned out that a lot of other people were looking for the same thing.
 

You’ve grown the Women in Tech SEO community into a global network. What have been some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned about leadership and community building along the way?
 

One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that you don’t need to have everything figured out to lead a community. When I started WTS, I definitely didn’t. I focused on listening, really listening, to what people needed.

I also learned that community building isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room; it’s about creating space for other voices. The more I stepped back and let members shape the community, the stronger it became.

And honestly? Consistency beats perfection. Showing up, being transparent, and admitting when you don’t know something goes a long way. People don’t want a flawless leader; they want a real one.
 

Before founding your own community, you worked extensively in SEO and digital marketing. How has that background shaped the way you approach building and scaling a brand?
 

My background in SEO has shaped how I think about building a brand, largely because SEO requires patience, practicality, and an audience-first approach. You learn quickly that nothing grows overnight and that people won’t care about what you’re doing unless it genuinely solves a problem for them.

It also taught me to test things, scrap what doesn’t work, and never assume I know best. That mindset helped a lot with WTS; instead of trying to force a big ‘brand vision,’ I focused on what the community actually needed and let it grow naturally from there.

In a way, it’s the same as good SEO: listen to your audience, create real value, and stay consistent. The rest follows.
 

Many people in marketing dream of turning a passion project into something that truly makes an impact, what advice would you give to someone hoping to do the same?
 

My biggest advice is to just start, even if it feels messy or small. WTS began as a tiny passion project, and I had no grand plan for what it would become. I cared enough to show up consistently.

Also, don’t wait for things to be perfect. They never will be. Focus on solving a real problem for real people, and let your community guide you as you grow.

And finally, protect your energy. Passion projects only make an impact if you still love them a year later. Set boundaries early, get help where you can, and keep checking in with yourself about why you’re doing it. That “why” is what keeps everything going.
 

What’s been your proudest moment so far in your journey with Women in Tech SEO?
 

My proudest moments are always the small ones, like when someone messages me to say the community helped them land a job, speak at their first conference, or feel confident in a room they once found intimidating. Those moments remind me why WTS exists.

But if I had to pick one big moment, it’s probably our first in-person conference. Seeing hundreds of members in one room, learning from each other and lifting each other up, it felt like proof that the little idea I started out of wanting to belong had become something real and bigger than me.
 

Building Powerful B2B Communities

Your TFM session explored how strategic communities can drive real business value. What do you think separates a truly thriving B2B community from one that’s just “active”?
 

A community can be active without actually thriving. People might be talking, but that doesn’t mean they feel connected or supported. A thriving B2B community is one where members derive value from one another, not just from the brand that runs it.

To me, the difference is intention. Thriving communities have purpose, trust, and a sense of belonging. People show up because it helps them grow, not because they feel they should. And the brand knows when to step back and let members lead the conversation.

If people feel seen, supported, and safe enough to share openly — that’s when you know a community is truly thriving.

Engagement can be one of the hardest things to maintain. What tactics or principles have you found most effective for encouraging genuine participation?
 

I’ve learned that you can’t force engagement; you can only create the right environment for it. Keeping things low-pressure and human is key. People engage when they don’t feel marketed to.

Working on a variety of initiatives also helps significantly. Not everyone connects with the same format, so having options such as meetups, newsletters, Slack discussions, mentoring, spotlight features, events, and learning sessions ensures there’s always something that resonates with someone. Variety keeps the community feeling fresh and gives people different entry points to participate.

Clear, specific prompts help too; broad questions get silence, but simple, direct ones get answers. And celebrating member wins always sparks more conversation because it feels real and personal.

But honestly, consistency is what ties it all together. When people see genuine conversations happening regularly in different ways, they naturally want to join in. Engagement grows from trust, not tactics.
 

You’ve spoken about aligning community goals with business objectives,  how can brands strike the right balance between authenticity and commercial outcomes?
 

I think the balance comes from being really clear about what your community is for and what it’s not. Brands get into trouble when they try to pretend a community is purely altruistic while secretly chasing KPIs. People can feel that instantly.

The sweet spot is when you’re upfront about your goals while still prioritising the community’s needs. If the community is genuinely getting value, trust is high, and people feel seen and supported, the commercial outcomes usually follow naturally.

A community isn’t a marketing channel; it’s a space for people to connect with each other. The more authentic and member-led it feels, the easier it is to align it with business goals without compromising trust.
 

Can AI help you in community building? If so, how? 
 

AI can help with community building as long as it supports humans, not replaces them. It can be used for some of the behind-the-scenes stuff: summarising conversations, drafting content, spotting patterns in what people are asking for, all the bits that save time and keep things running smoothly.

It’s also really handy for automation. Things like onboarding flows, scheduling, FAQ responses, tagging conversations, building out resource hubs, all the repetitive tasks that take a long time when you’re doing them manually. AI makes that part much easier.

But the heart of community building, the empathy, the trust, the sense of belonging, that still has to come from real people. AI can help with the operations, but only humans can create connections.
 

Measurement and ROI are hot topics in marketing. What metrics do you believe best capture the success of a professional community?
 

I think a lot of people jump straight to vanity metrics such as number of members, number of posts, but those don’t tell you if a community is actually working. For me, the best indicators are the ones that reflect real value and real connection.

Things like how many members are consistently engaging, how many connections and opportunities are happening, and how safe and supported people feel.

And then there’s the long-term stuff: Are members sticking around? Are they recommending the community to others? Are they stepping up to lead or support different initiatives?

Those are the metrics that actually show whether a professional community is thriving, not just growing.
 

Looking ahead, how do you see the role of communities evolving within the broader B2B marketing landscape?
 

I think communities will play an even bigger role in B2B marketing. People are tired of being sold to. They want real conversations and real recommendations from people they actually trust. And trust is really just a byproduct of visibility, when you see the same people showing up, sharing openly, helping others, you naturally start to value their voice more than any polished brand message.

Communities become trusted spaces where learning, support, and genuine connection occur. Smart brands will invest in that, not as a marketing channel, but as an ecosystem.

I also think communities will become more integrated across the whole customer journey: from awareness to onboarding to advocacy. Community teams will have more space to focus on the human side, where the real impact occurs.
 

Quick-fire Questions

Favourite community platform or tool? Slack - it’s what we’ve always used for WTS
Coffee order of choice? Oat vanilla latte
A B2B brand you think is doing community building really well? Buffer
The most used emoji in your messages right now? Blue heart
Most underrated skill for community leaders? To not take things personally
Dark mode or light mode, what’s your stance? Light mode
One book, podcast, or resource you recommend to anyone in marketing? Please read my book: Community Building for Marketers.
How many browser tabs do you have open right now? Hardly any - I close them up fairly quickly
If you weren’t running Women in Tech SEO, what do you think you’d be doing? I don’t know what the job is called, but it’s the folks who decide on the soundtrack for a film/TV show and choose which music to feature.