Ryan Sponheim: How I Became A SUSOnian

Author: Ryan Sponheim, Partner Growth Manager

Tell Us A Bit About Yourself?

Hey, everyone. I’m Ryan, partner growth manager here at SUSO. 

I’m originally from Southern California, but I’ve been living in Poland since I got married back in 2017. 

I’ve got experience in a number of different roles and industries including hospitality, photography, teaching, and sales and marketing. I originally joined the team as a Junior Sales Rep, but was quickly promoted after proving that I could handle more.

What First Attracted You to Joining SUSO?

I first heard about SUSO from someone in my network on LinkedIn. After checking out the website, I was thoroughly impressed. And after speaking with Will, our CEO, I knew it was a place that I’d like to work. 

What Does A Typical Day at SUSO Look Like For You?

A typical day for me starts off by checking my calendar and setting at least 2 alarms for each meeting, so there’s no way I can forget. I operate multiple email accounts and sales pipelines, so I spend a lot of time replying to emails and new enquiries. 

I’ll first check for any important new messages, reply to anything I didn’t get to the day before, and then complete the followup tasks I’ve assigned for myself in PipeDrive. Depending on the day, I might have some internal training, new partnership calls, or collaboration meetings with other team members. 

What Made You Want to Work in SEO?

When I first learned about SEO, I didn’t know that’s what it was. I knew it as affiliate marketing. It was exciting to me because of the potential to create a somewhat passive income stream as well as be time and location independent. 

What’s Your Favourite Part About Your Role?

I’m not good with picking favourites, so I’ll share a few things I really like about my role: working remotely, networking and helping agencies with SEO, and travelling internationally for conferences. 

Working remotely is great because I save a lot of time commuting and it’s nice being able to do things like give my son a hug when he comes home from school. But as much as I like working remotely, I still enjoy socialising and meeting new people. 

That’s why attending virtual networking events and actually travelling for conferences is so great- it’s a breath of fresh air and an opportunity to help agencies understand SEO and help their clients find even more success.

How Would You Describe The Culture at SUSO?

I’d describe SUSO’s culture as open. Although there are SOPs, SUSO is open to new ideas, ways of doing things, and constantly looking for ways to improve. 

For example, I gained a lot of experience doing outbound lead gen on LinkedIn at my previous company, and was able to share a lot of those insights at SUSO and actually put them into practice.

What’s One SEO Tool That You Can’t Live Without?

Ahrefs is my go-to SEO tool. It’s super comprehensive and powerful so this is the tool I would choose if I could only have one. 

What’s Been Your Proudest Moment / Fondest Memory at SUSO to Date?

It might sound a bit strange, but my favourite moments at SUSO are whenever I find out that I’m going to travel for a conference. I get a huge rush of excitement and adrenaline- like when a kid finds out they’re going to Disneyland. 

The last event I went to was Future-Proofing Your Agency, hosted by The Agency Collective. I flew from Krakow to London for the day and got to meet and connect with many like-minded people, along with getting to experience a different culture and enjoy a variety of English accents.

The next conference will be in Thailand, and I’ll even be taking extra time off to travel while I’m there. So it’s safe to say I’m enjoying my time as a SUSOnian.