Taryn has been an integral part of the AZoNetwork team in the finance department since joining in June 2021. Her previous role within an e-commerce company had sparked an interest in SEO, CRO, and UX, but without formal qualifications in the area, Taryn felt she could not pursue the career path.
Enter: AZoNetwork, opening a clear training path and an opportunity to upskill Taryn to start a new role and long-term career path, 14 months later, within CRO.
When you started AZoNetwork, what qualifications and experience did you have?
I was qualified to degree level in International Hospitality Management, but I feel my value comes from my experience. Before working at AZoNetwork, I had varied roles in hospitality, construction, and hospital care, before being hired as PA to the CEO of an e-commerce company.
My previous roles were about looking after people, administration, and finance. The PA position quickly moved from bookkeeping to facilities manager, then continued growing, so I soon learned a lot. The new skills came from me adapting and shaping to what the business needed at the time.
I was very fortunate to enjoy a position in e-commerce. I found it exciting to see how they could take a broken functionality or an unpopular page and find ways to improve and fix them.
What upskilling and training has AZoNetwork provided?
In November last year, the company needed to improve all of the SOWs (Statement of Work) this task largely fell on my desk. I felt I didn’t have a perfect understanding of our main product line, SEO, so I purchased a course on UDEMY. The idea was I would gain a better understanding of the products that AZoNetwork offer so that when I was re-working the legal documents, they were as precise as possible.
I really took to SEO and enjoyed learning about the different technical aspects, this was the start of a new path for me that AZoNetwork has supported. Following the SEO course, I picked web development up again. Then I completed further courses in HTML, CSS and I’m now learning JavaScript. Another course I enjoyed on UX audits really helped me to understand the importance of CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization).
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AZoNetwork offers an annual training budget to all employees, which has been incredibly helpful when looking at courses and upskilling. The SEO team has also found time to talk to me about what they are doing and show me how programs like SEMRush work and how I can utilize them. It felt like a training program designed just for me, and it has been mutually beneficial for the SEO team as I have now joined them.
Where do you want to continue training and moving with the company?
I have an interest in further training in User Experience and UX audits. I enjoy the methodology and theory of why a design works, the reason behind people’s behavior online and what they are looking for, and how you can deliver that through a website.
I’d like to provide UX-driven designs and plans to our clients and continue my learning around UX audits and web accessibility as these complement SEO. The traffic may be coming to your website; if the functionalities of your site aren’t working, or the site doesn’t inspire action in your user, that traffic won’t convert to sales.
Why do you feel the CRO role is the right fit for you?
Having had so much support and training from the SEO team, especially regarding CRO, when I saw the job description, it felt like the CRO role was made for me. AZoNetwork has made it comfortable to move to another division within the company. The new role is both a promotion and a better fit for my interests and career progression!
I’m excited to get started, talk to my new clients, and make a difference in their marketing strategies. My new SEO team members have simplified the onboarding process, with further training starting far before the successful transition into my new role.
