Hi, I’m Safa and I’m here to share my experience attending Women in Tech SEO Fest (WTSFest) as a placement Software Developer at Majestic. My background lies in studying Computer Science, with Majestic being my first exposure to the SEO industry. Nonetheless, I had a very enriching experience at WTSFest from the industry knowledge and networking.
I wanted to share my experience of attending WTSFest London. It’s hard to put into words how enriching and wholesome the event was. I have to admit to being a little nervous about attending. WTSFest is a huge event on the SEO calendar, and to add to the challenge – I’m not even an SEO. I’m on an industry placement between year two and three of a Computer Science degree.
So what were my worries? Beside not wanting to let my colleagues down, I have to admit to being a little fearful that I wouldn’t understand the content. I had been invited to join the team on the Majestic stand, which was also a little bit stressful. While my Computer Science degree does give me the opportunity to present, representing my employer at a significant event was next level!
Fortunately, I was well briefed. “Honesty, honesty, honesty,” was the mantra. I was told to be myself, ask questions and learn. What I couldn’t have prepared for was how friendly and welcoming everyone was. WTSFest London was an amazing and supportive environment, with informative, inspiring and fun content.
Incredible Speakers
Crystal Carter’s talk on “When Agents Meet Websites: How to Get Up to Speed for 2026” introduced us to the idea of an “Agentic Web”, an alternative world wide web dedicated to AI agents. Crystal highlighted the importance of ensuring sites are prepared for this new era by implementing new AI security protocols (e.g. MCP, A3A). She ended off with a strong message that “Agents do stuff but you can too”. This contextualised my university studies on the makeup of AI with how the agentic web opens up distribution channels and customers. I’ve heard a lot of negativity about AI’s integration into society with recent environmental, ethical and legal concerns; this talk has helped me explore a new opportunity for both SEO and wider Tech as a whole.
Another key learning for me was Tina Reis’s “How to Use Data to Get Buy-In for SEO: Real-World Strategies”. Tina proposed that success depends on people with data, and storytelling being used to target their intellectual and emotional reasoning. Our aim is to, “show the conclusion, not the journey”. With data we must reduce the cognitive load on stakeholders: clear steps catered to their concerns, clean graphs and data with colours and descriptions. For storytelling, requests should have a beginning, middle, end, and an ask, with the stakeholder as the hero. At university, I’ve practiced using data to create an overarching narrative in many essays. The thought of doing the same in the workplace is a novel idea to me. As a Junior Software Developer, I often have to communicate new ideas, opportunities, and challenges to different stakeholders to support projects. This new mindset of structuring our asks to strategically communicate with stakeholders is something I’m excited to implement in my day-to-day.
Finally, the last two talks I attended were Mo Kanjilal Williams’ “Edges to Centre: Turning What Makes You Different Into Your Superpower” and Poorna Bell’s “Fireside Chat: Redefining Strength, Authenticity, & Wanting More”. Both of these women shared their experiences of growing up “different”. Mo in particular highlighted how her “differences became her definition” and how she grew unapologetic about being herself. This resonates with me deeply as a Muslim woman of colour starting a career in technology. I’ve often felt out of place and disassociated from my peers and the industry. It’s therefore so inspiring to see and hear from women who were once in my situation who’ve become success stories.
Poorna also shared her experiences with her “worm self”, its difference to imposter syndrome, and how she built up her self-confidence via exercise. “If someone takes you down in judo, you just get back up”- Poorna likened this to life, where we may face failure but we keep getting up. Poorna also emphasised the importance of learning to fall safely. She pulled on the experiences of 60-year-old Andrew who continues to fearlessly partake in martial arts because he knows how to fall safely. Rejection, self-doubt and imposter syndrome can affect people of all stages of their careers, so I believe this is a particularly strong message to end on. Picking yourself up after a setback is hard, and separating your self-worth from failure is something we should all keep in mind.
It’s therefore important to remember- if Andrew can, you can too!
I learned so much
Attending WTSFest was a privilege. I learnt so much about SEO and the SEO industry in talks and conversations. It really gave a new perspective on the work I do at Majestic, and the tools we develop and maintain. The time on the stand was also a hugely valuable experience.
Immediately following WTSFest, I had volunteered to represent Majestic with a couple of developer colleagues at AstonHack – a student run 24-hour software development challenge. Majestic has been a leading sponsor since it began over ten years ago. WTSFest gave me the confidence to engage with attendees and represent the company in a completely different environment.
What I’d love to share is how welcoming and inclusive WTSFest was. If you are considering attending and slightly nervous as to whether you’ll enjoy it, then based on my experience, I’d say go for it. I got so much out of my first SEO conference, and hope you can too!
About Women in Tech SEO
WTS is a community centered people of marginalised genders in marketing and tech. WTS run conferences across the globe, and operate a number of initiatives to boost inclusion and representation. They work towards a future where all people can feel a true sense of belonging in our industry.
You can learn more about Women in Tech SEO via the WTS Website. or via social channels on TikTok, LinkedIn, Instagram, or Bluesky.
WTSFest London will return in March 2027.
- Reflections on WTSFest:London 2026 - May 25, 2026