For Cara Mattox, Local SEO Specialist at Market My Market, showing up in the right place at the right time is more than a figure of speech; it’s a big part of the job. As search constantly evolves, Cara brings a curious, thoughtful approach to her role, which requires strategy, attention to detail, experimentation, and a willingness to keep learning as the digital landscape changes.
That adaptability has shaped Cara’s career from the beginning. Along the way, there have been changes in roles, evolving technology, plenty of lessons about what actually moves the needle in local search, and some exciting ideas about where the Local SEO team can go next.
What’s Your Background?
I went to James Madison University and graduated in 2020 with a communications degree. After graduating, I started in sales for another digital marketing company. Then, I switched to the marketing side, and I’ve been doing local SEO since 2021. I then switched over to a client manager role, but I was still doing backend work on Google Business Profile and sharing those reports and numbers with clients. I did that for about five years, and then I came to Market My Market last November!
Describe Your Role as a Local SEO Specialist
Google Business Profile is the bread and butter of my position. Ideally, when someone is searching Google for dentists near them and those three map listings show up, we want our clients to appear in those top three spots.
I make sure our clients’ Google Business Profiles look good because they are like a first impression and act as a visual storefront. I want to make sure our clients are not only showing up in searches but also standing out with fully optimized profiles that have photos and reviews. This also involves our clients’ websites, citation building, NAP consistency, and so many other elements. My day-to-day is making sure everything in our clients’ profiles is accurate, optimized, and matches their website to build trust with Google and display our clients in those top spots.
What’s Been the Most Rewarding and Challenging Parts of Your Role?
We have clients who start with us that aren’t showing up in maps at all. They don’t have an address, a building, or any patients. To watch a client go from not existing in Google and having no patients to getting people in the door because of our SEO efforts is the most rewarding part.
Recently, AI has been a bit challenging in how quickly it’s changed our processes. When I started working in SEO in 2021, we didn’t have all these tools, and everything was done manually, so there’s definitely a learning curve of figuring out how it works and how it can help us. So that’s been challenging but also rewarding because once you get AI working for you, it can make your job so much easier, and I can do so much more with my day.
What Are You Looking Forward to in the Future of Your Career at MMM?
The biggest goal for me is optimizing the tools we have to be as efficient and effective as possible. We’re also a growing company, so I’d love to grow the local SEO team since I’m currently the only one in this role, and we work with so many clients. Everyone on the SEO team is so smart, and they have great ideas, but when we need to move up in rankings, it’s just me and my strategy. Having another brain to bounce off of would be awesome!
Is There Anything About Local SEO That May Be Surprising?
While I think everyone understands the importance of reviews, it’s not quite enough to just say you want 500 reviews and a five-star rating. It’s more about recency and consistency. For example, if a business gets 500 reviews in its first year but then gets few or none after that, while a competitor gets new reviews every week, that could hurt the business’s rankings.
So reviews are crucial for the Google algorithm, not just prospective clients. Even if a business is getting one review a week, it moves the needle, but if a business is getting no new reviews, they’ll have a harder time showing up in searches.
What Do You Do When You’re Not Working?
I love being outside! I go for walks, hike, kayak, and canoe. I also have a great group of friends and love spending as much time with them as possible. I love to travel, see new places, and try new food, too. I think my favorite places I’ve been to are Italy, London, and Cape Cod.
What’s Your Advice for Young Professionals Who Want to Go into SEO?
Shoot your shot. You probably know a lot more about SEO and marketing than you realize. We interact with it every day. We search on Google and see how it works all the time.
A lot goes into SEO, but once you get a grasp on it, everything makes sense. Give it time and do some research because there are so many brilliant people with different ideas that can help you form your own strategy.