How Mariah Went from a Web Designer to an Award-Winning SEO Consultant
This is an interview with Mariah Magazine of mariahmagazine.com
Hey, Mariah. Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.
Hiya, I’m Mariah! I’m an award-winning SEO Consultant & Educator and YouTube Content Creator. Born & currently living in Buffalo, NY where we shovel 8 feet of snow for fun. Just kidding. (sometimes).
Unfortunately “Magazine” isn’t my real last name (although I did pitch the idea to my husband before we got married LOL) – Mariah Magazine was my MySpace name when I was 14, and it became a nickname for me even into early adulthood so when it came time to find a name for my business when I started it, this was the obvious choice 😜
In a nutshell, I believe that getting more eyeballs on your business doesn’t have to be as difficult and overwhelming as everyone makes it. Which kinda flips the whole SEO industry on its head.
I specialize in bite-size, actionable, and practical, results-driven SEO advice & strategies that anyone willing to roll up their sleeves & try, can implement. I don’t have an SEO agency, and I don’t believe in gatekeeping industry “secrets” but I do deeply, truly, and honestly want you to get found in a way that feels good for you.
Since 2015, I’ve guided hundreds of clients and students to achieve page-one search results through actionable and practical strategies, ultimately inspiring them to take SEO into their own hands.
How did your online business journey begin?
I got into the industry as a web designer & developer, building amazing websites, and feeling my clients’ disappointment alongside them when nobody was finding them online after our launch.
So I started tinkering with SEO….
And to be honest, I hated it.
The only information I found about SEO was from agencies using complicated technical terms that made me feel frustrated af. It was overwhelming just to read a blog post on the topic, let alone implement what the blog post said to *actually* DO…
Even being able to scratch the surface of this rabbit hole seemed TRULY never-ending. But for some reason, I didn’t want to stop learning about SEO. I (reluctantly) became FASCINATED by it. So I decided to let my annoyance fuel my own curiosity & started experimenting. Little by little, testing and tweaking strategies I pieced together from random internet sources.
After finding the threads that pulled it all together, I started seeing incredible results for my own blog at the time…like getting hundreds of new email subscribers a MONTH from ONE blog post, that ended up staying on page #1 of search results for over 6+ years.
I was hooked.
What made you decide to focus on SEO as your main business, not just a skill?
Once I saw the results for my own website, and then tested my strategies on client’s websites and THEY were getting incredible results, I couldn’t go back.
SEO sunk its teeth into me & hasn’t let me go since. I’m STILL, years later, fascinated by it. It’s SO empowering, to be able to help clients & students get THEIR businesses & brands in front of people already looking for them???? HOW COOL.
And it naturally supports how I see the internet.
The research, the strategy, the connection to websites & user experience. I love all of it.
So although I didn’t set out to be an SEO consultant, it’s the perfect fit for me.
Layer that on top of the fact that SEO is a sustainable way to market, and I don’t have to create short form videos every day? Say less.
What helped you go from small clients to recognizable names like Semrush?
Honestly, Semrush Academy reached out to me from my YouTube videos. They slid into my email inbox and pitched me to collaborate with them, internally.
The biggest reason was that I came across authentic, relatable, and I broke down complex topics into easy to understand pieces.
And that’s what I think people really like about me; my relatable, but no-bs approach & my willingness to bring people BTS in a TRULY transparent way, which isn’t that common in the SEO industry.
How do you personally optimize your website to attract SEO clients?
I feel like this is a trick question LOL but the answer is…SEO optimization.
Every best practice I teach my students and clients is something I’ve played around with myself. At its core SEO is about KNOWING who your audience is, finding the topics/keywords that support it, being the solution, and getting found for the problem.
There’s also a shit ton of confusion around SEO, which means there’s a lot of people searching for keywords like “diy seo course” which has really helped my website and business get found.
What pages or content matter most?
Since my primary audience are business owners, I’m ALWAYS telling clients & students how IMPORTANT their homepage is.
It’s THE jumping off point for your entire website. And it’s usually the most visited and authoritative page on your site. It’s THE first impression for people that don’t know you. So if you haven’t yet optimized it, please, please, please at least get a keyword or 2 for your business/brand on there.
It’ll ALSO help search/AI bots get clarity about what you do.
So even if you’re not consistently focused on SEO, your rankings, clarity & authority can slowly build in the background, while you’re off frolicking with other marketing strategies.
What social media platform works best for you and why?
If we’re considering YouTube a social media platform, I have to say YouTube.
It’s hands down THE platform that’s worked best for me in my business long-term.
People typically find a video of mine through search (ayyeee SEO!), and then get pulled down the Mariah Magazine rabbit hole, watching a few more. So, by the time they’re done, I’ve taught them something (for free), AND they’ve gotten a feel for my teaching & personality.
This usually leads them to checking out my website, following me on Instagram, and/or signing up for my newsletter to stay connected. So when they’re ready for SEO support, either consulting or a paid product, I’m the FIRST one that comes to mind.
Plus, in the age of AI, I really think YouTube is only going to get more impactful. People are going to continue to CRAVE real human content via video because it’s harder to AI-generate.
What are your top tips for growing your presence on it?
YouTube is *technically* considered a social media platform, but it’s really a search engine.
Most of my growth has come from people actively searching for something specific, not from trying to create Mr. Beast style videos to go viral.
I mainly create tutorial videos because they feel EASY to me (vs. vlog/entertainment style videos. Those are not my jam). So that’s the first tip; create content that feels FUN & aligned for you. If you don’t, you’re gonna burn out REAL quick.
When you treat YouTube like a search engine though, it’s SUPER important to focus on creating videos that clearly answer real questions your audience is already typing into YouTube. Clear titles, clear topics, and actually delivering on what you promise in the video goes a LONG way.
You’re ALSO gonna want to get intentional about keywords if you want to be found via search.
TubeBuddy has been my go-to YouTube SEO tool since day one on my channel. It helps me figure out what people are *actually* searching for, so I can optimize my videos accordingly (which helps my videos get found via YouTube search, Google search, annnnnd AI is starting to recommend them on the regular too, which we LOVE LOVE LOVE).
What are your favorite SEO tools?
Semrush is my ride or die go-to SEO tool; for keyword research, audits, insights, etc.
Next, I’d have to say I’m a big fan of Keysearch. They’ve created an awesome SEO keyword research tool with lots of in-depth data, at a budget-friendly price. This is the one I’m always recommending to clients & students that wanna DIY things.
And then RightBlogger is a tool I use & recommend on the regular. It’s SUPER helpful in almost all aspects of content creation, which plays a big role in SEO rankings. Annnnnd the team behind RightBlogger are bloggers themselves so they’ve done a great job at bridging the gap between SEO-friendly blogging practices & AI tools.
If we’re talking YouTube SEO, it’s Tubebuddy allllll day.
With all the Google updates lately, what should bloggers and website owners stop obsessing over?
My main audience are business owners that also have a blog that supports their brand & sells their products/services. Because of that, it’s REALLY about the QUALITY of blog posts they create, including what they’re saying, how they’re tying it back to their business goals, and if that correlates to they’re topical authority(ie: what they’re an expert in).
One really solid, helpful post that answers a legit question that their audience has will always beat 5 posts that are kind of “meh” or churned out using AI.
Focus on creating content that adds value, proves your expertise, and naturally connects to the other things you’re teaching or offering. When you do that, your audience notices and so does Google & AI tools.
How has AI changed SEO, both positively and negatively?
AI has changed SEO in some pretty wild ways, both good and…not-so-good.
On the plus side, from a learning perspective, it helps people get started and fills in gaps of their knowledge, DIY-style. It helps them create content faster and feel way less stuck when tackling SEO by themselves.
But it also gives some totally AWFUL advice sometimes that can be harmful. I taught an SEO workshop recently, and an attendee told me that they’d added “hidden text” to their homepage.
Ya know, text that only search engines can see via code, but normal visitors can’t…
The hidden text was stuffed with keywords they hoped the page would rank for.
This is straight-up SEO manipulation, what we call a black hat tactic. Your site can get penalized or removed from search results for it. AND CHATGPT HAD TOLD HIM TO DO IT 🫠🫠🫠🫠
Honestly, I’m just very glad I was able to kindly explain this all to him before his site got royally SCREWED, lol.
The moral of the story? AI can be a huge help, but some of its info is outdated and just really wrong.
What SEO strategies will still work in 2026 and beyond?
Honestly, doing the foundations REALLY REALLY well.
I know it’s not a sexy answer, but I believe that understanding your audience, their pain points, what solutions they want, AND focusing on user intent more than anything else is really what’s going to drive the needle forward, sustainably. It’s less about empty data, and more about the RIGHT signals.
And then taking the information & strategy, and infusing it into the assets of business that aren’t directly ON the website; brand signals, optimized social profiles, media mentions & PR, youtube videos, etc.
SEO isn’t dying. It’s expanding. And it’s cool to see everything work together across the web vs. feeling so siloed like it used to be.
In 2026 & beyond, I want people to start seeing their website & online presence as THE training manual about their brand/business for search engines and AI tools.
(I also just published an expert roundup about SEO in 2026 – lots of good advice in here!)
Biggest SEO mistake you see bloggers and business owners make?
Keywords.
The biggest mistakes I see are usually related to keywords.
Either people don’t understand keywords at all OR they think they have the right ones but they don’t.
There’s a LOT of nuance when it comes to keywords, and most people miss it. You have to REALLY understand your audience, their search intent, AND the intent behind the keyword.
It’s way more than just choosing a word based on search volume and keyword difficulty.
I have a “Perfect SEO Keyword” workshop available in my shop for this reason. And it’s my best selling workshop thus far.
What’s next for you and your business?
I’m so excited about Search Club, my SEO membership for business owners who are done feeling confused and overwhelmed by SEO. Basically, it’s like having your own personal SEO teacher, accountability buddy, and strategy partner all rolled into one. I’m creating a place where I get to nerd out about SEO with people who actually want to learn and experiment.
We’re in the beta round right now, and I’ll be opening the doors in Q1 of 2026 for more people to build long-term SEO skills AND confidence.
