We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Karin Cederskoog. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Karin below.

Karin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I worked in video game development for over a decade, mostly as a designer & quest writer for large, AAA games & smaller, independent games.

With the video game industry in a state of turmoil (facing record layoffs in recent years), there’s more security in being a business owner. Instead of working at a single company, I can diversify my work (as I do for my investments). When my client pipeline ebbs and flows, I don’t automatically lose my primary source of income as I would as an employee.

I used to think that acquiring experience and credentials (an MBA & CAPM – certificate of project management) would provide a safety net, but that hasn’t been the case for me. My safety net is my ability to pivot rapidly, diversify and form partnerships.

While I enjoyed the creativity of working on a large team to bring a fictional world to life, I found it profoundly empowering to start my own SEO company and use my business & writing skills again. It sometimes feels like magic – shaping the direction of my business as I see fit and forging client relationships “out of thin air.”

Of course, what feels like magic is actually a product of my own design.

I get to decide who my ideal clients are, which industries and people I work with. I decide on a keyword strategy and write the content that drives my ideal clients directly to my site. I create my price points and packages.

Life as an SEO business owner combines my diverse skill sets and allows me the opportunity to practice other skills (public speaking, sales). I love using my skills in SEO, design, copywriting, blog post writing, business & marketing strategy. I love working with people across different industries & experiencing greater gender balance than I did in tech.

I’m truly amazed at the incredible women entrepreneurs I met in just a couple months in the relatively small town of Maple Valley. I love that so many of my small business needs are being taken care of by local women and I am fortunate to now have groups of friends I can go to dinner with. (I moved to WA four years ago, during Covid and mostly lived life behind a computer as a game designer.)

So yes – I am thrilled to be a business owner!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I worked in digital marketing & search engine optimization (SEO) off and on for 5+ years. Throughout my MBA program, I was drawn to courses in entrepreneurship, working in a video game angle whenever possible.

When I completed my MBA, I met David Lakritz of LAI Technical Translation Solutions at my school’s career fair (www.lai-techtr.com – previously a video game localization company, now a technical translation company). I started working in digital marketing at LAI and was fortunate to attend an SEO-training course from Bruce Clay, who is considered “the father” of SEO (https://www.bruceclay.com/).

I was talking with video game developers & publishers regularly and eventually, I was drawn to the question “how do you make games anyway?”

My curiosity led me on a whirlwind career path as a producer and game designer – in San Francisco, Sweden, across Southeast Asia and finally to Washington.

There was a period of time where I worked on independent games (as a designer and scripter) while I continued digital marketing & SEO work as a consultant.

After I lost my job in early 2024, I (naively?) assumed that I would get a job later that year. I underestimated the intense competition following the many studio closures and waves of layoffs. By the end of 2024, I started marketing & SEO consulting work again (to include LAI!).

At the beginning of 2025, I was still applying to full time video game design & producer positions, although I also branched out after earning a certification in project management, applying also to project management positions. The last interview I had for full time work was for a company where I loved the game and had worked with many of the team members previously but again, they were interviewing a lot of people for that role.

At that point, I was tired of all the hoops I had to jump through, having completed multiple work tests for various studios, about 20-30 hours each of unpaid work. In fact, I lost money on these work tests because I had to pay for babysitters. Many of these tests required making a full level and design document and, in some cases, even a fully-functioning level. There comes a point where it’s hard to keep justifying the interview process.

In Spring 2025, I started attending networking groups around Maple Valley, WA, though it took me a while (a surprisingly long while!) to realize I could turn my consulting services into my own business.

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At KC SEO Consulting Services (www.kcseoconsultingservices.com), I help small to large businesses reach the top of Google for their ideal customer (not just any customer). I enjoy working with businesses that connect people, entertain or better our world.

This includes wedding & event venues, wellness & retreat centers, family farms, outdoor brands, wineries, interior design, landscaping companies and nonprofits. I frequently work with small businesses, family-run businesses and woman-owned businesses.

For example, for an interior design business, I might optimize their presence on Google for a range of product lines and services.

– A young, eco-friendly Seattleite might search for “sustainable, reclaimed cabinetry”
– A high-rise building owner: “high-end, luxury kitchen build”
– An elderly couple: “Aging-in-place kitchen remodel”

Of course, I wouldn’t pick just any keyword related to “sustainable cabinetry” or “interior design.” Broad, generic keywords would just waste my client time and money.

I often see interior design blog posts (unintentionally) target the DIY crowd – not the company’s ideal customer. It’s the difference between writing a blog post called “10 Ways to Make Your Bedroom a Tranquil Retreat” vs. “How to Hire a Good Interior Designer?”

If you really want to target higher-value clients, you might add in “How to Hire a Good Interior Designer for my Kitchen Remodel?”

I avoid “DIY vs. high-value” customer trap by digging as deeply as I can into a business’ strategy:

– Who are your direct competitors and what can we learn about their keyword strategy, website strategy, product line, messaging, etc.?
– What are your differentiators?
– What are common customer pain points?

I take this information and embed it into an SEO strategy.

– I use keyword tools to identify the best keywords for my client.
— For example, customers frequently search Google for pain points (“how do I know if my mechanic is good?”)…or differentiators (“woman-owned wellness retreat” or “unique winery events family-friendly”).
– I rework or implement menu items (developing a website structure that appeals to Google).
– I write website copy (the actual words on the website) & blog posts, optimizing for keywords and implementing “SEO magic” (meta descriptions, image alt text, schema markup, etc.).
– I assess client analytics to identify quick wins.
– I perform technical SEO audits and fix any issues.

Why KC SEO Consulting Services?

It isn’t always about who has the most stars or followers. It’s often the brand itself, the storytelling that you connect with.

That’s probably why a lot of woman-owned businesses choose to work with me (even though I haven’t optimized my content for woman-owned keywords yet).

I prefer to work with SEO because it yields the best ROI. Google Ads and social media posts stop working when you stop pouring money in or posting.

The effects of SEO compound over time. My goal is to provide the highest value service I can…and that means I currently choose not to offer the broader range of services that other marketing agencies do.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Genuine caring – I don’t nickel and dime for consultations. I always offer one free hour of consultation, which includes an audit of the prospective client’s site and a quick snapshot into how they’re ranking against competitors, taking a quick look at competitor sites and identifying quick wins (such as tips for optimizing their Google Business Profile account or adjusting their website structure).

I always offer the opportunity to follow up with another complimentary meeting. Typically what happens is that a prospective client has implemented a few of my suggestions or simply thought over my service offerings and by this point, they’re ready to commit.

I’m open and transparent and do what I feel is in the client’s best interest. This leads to increased trust and excellent word-of-mouth and growing Google reviews.

I also go above and beyond to ensure the highest quality for my clients. I don’t take it lightly that they have entrusted me with developing their business and marketing strategy or SEO implementation.

I’m sure it helps that I have immense gratitude that I can design my own future. I see entrepreneurship as a wonderful gift, one I wish that I had embraced long ago.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I get about half of my leads from SEO and half from networking (I attend roughly 5 events a month).

I find that although Instagram takes more of my time than I’d like, it’s a great way to maintain relationships and build connections. It’s fast to comment on a reel or shoot over a casual message to let someone know you’re thinking of them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kcseoconsultingservices.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kcseoconsultingservices/
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kc.seo.consulting.services
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kc-seo-consulting-services/
• Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/74OvD63mwb_uXBPjSmRoOQ/
• Other: Google Business Profile: https://g.co/kgs/1xV6ZZw