Category Archives: search industry

Fast Five in Search – Week 11, 2013

Posted on by

fast-fiveThis week’s Fast Five contains some fascinating insights into Google as well as some great advice about compelling content and keyword research. Enjoy!

1) Liveblogging: Walk A Mile In Google’s Shoes With Matt Cutts by John Rampton         This is a fascinating live blog post from this week’s SMX at San Jose. Matt Cutts shares everyday moral dilemmas faced by Google when it comes to providing accurate yet questionable or unsavoury content. A must read!

2) How to Deal With Challenging Clients by Craig Bradford                                            Craig is right when he says that as consultants, a large part of our time is taken up managing other people’s attitudes and behaviours – particularly if they are unsatisfied for some reason. Craig’s helpful 7 strategies on maintaining excellent client-consultant relations are good solid advice. Make sure you read his 4 handy tips at the bottom – to rectify things if they do go wrong.

3) 5 Unexpected Keyword Research Sources by Sujan Patel                                     Finding it hard to think outside the box when it comes to keywords? There are many helpful tools regarding keyword generation and analysis, but this post will ensure you enter any client or management meeting with the kind of creative thinking that is sure to be noticed.

4) 7 Content Archetypes That Generate Natural Links by Brian Dean                      Everyone wants to know the secret of getting natural backlinks and answer is of course quality content. But what if your creative energy isn’t flowing? Well, Brian’s list of 7 Archetypes is a handy one to refer back to for inspiration. You’ll probably notice his Archetypes being used throughout the blogosphere after you’ve read this.

and finally…

5) How Is Your Search Engine Handling Synonyms? By Lenin Nair                                 This is an interesting article, particularly for keyword researchers. Apparently Google recognises some synonyms but not others. This interesting post outlines several reasons why this is the case. The one that particularly caught my eye was the fact that keyword targeting by SEOs is helping Google to identify synonyms. The circle is complete!

Happy reading!

*Image courtesy of Threadless

Share this post with others

Search Industry Job of the Week – SEO Manager

Posted on by

Job Title: SEO Manager – The Solid Cactus SEO Team
Job Reference: Unknown
Position Type: FLSA Exempt
Name of employer: web.com
Location: Jacksonville FL
Date Posted: 1 March 2013
Position description:

The Solid Cactus SEO Team utilizes SEO best practices to develop a custom SEO strategy for the client, fully implement the SEO strategy, and work to assist the client in understanding the results of the SEO campaign. The SEO Manager will be the main point of contact for a portfolio of SEO accounts, communicating regularly with the client and showcasing their SEO expertise to the client.

The manager will utilize their SEO talent and expertise to craft creative deliverables based on the client’s SEO strategy and intended audience, and is responsible for ensuring all monthly client deliverables are met in an interesting matter in tune with SEO best practices. The SEO Manager is fully responsible for the creative direction of the SEO campaign, having a direct impact on revenue generated from the client.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

  • The Solid Cactus SEO manager will fully manage every aspect of the client’s SEO campaign. Upon receiving the signed contract, the SEO Manager will contact the client, set up an introductory phone call, and discuss the client’s business and SEO goals and objectives. After mutually agreeing on an SEO campaign direction, the SEO Manager will develop a comprehensive SEO strategy for the duration of the client’s campaign, and revise the strategy where necessary.
  • The SEO Manager will then research appropriate keyword phrases to focus on during the client’s campaign, based upon the SEO Manager’s analysis of the client’s industry, competitors, keyword research tools, and areas of SEO opportunity, and present both the keyword research and SEO strategy to the client for review. The project will commence once all parties are in mutual agreement.
  • The SEO Manager will be responsible for completing monthly deliverables, as outlined in the client’s contract, potentially requiring the SEO Manager to complete the following for the client:
  • Writing creative SEO copy intended to attract the attention of search engines, propelling them to rank the client’s website higher, as well as interesting and useful for the client’s demographic and intended audience. The SEO Manager must be able to vary their writing style to meet the tone of the intended audience, as well as appropriately research the subject matter involved. The SEO Manager will upload the copy and meta tags to the client’s website.
  • Analyzing the client’s industry and formulating a link building strategy that can result in maximum success for the client. The SEO Manager will then execute this strategy on behalf of the client and is responsible for all required follow-through.
  • Writing and uploading interesting, SEO-friendly blog posts for the client’s blog that can serve as possible “link bait” to encourage more websites to link to the client’s website. The SEO Manager will brainstorm and use their imagination to write on interesting topics, and appropriately research the subject matter.
  • After developing a strategy for the client’s social media campaign, the SEO Manager will build all needed social media campaigns to reflect the client’s brand personality. The manager will then post and interact with other social media users on the client’s behalf.
  • Researching an appropriate press release topic, consulting with the client on the topic, and writing the press release to be both interesting and SEO-friendly. The SEO Manager will then syndicate the press release and report on the press release statistics with the client.
  • Compile the client’s end of month report and send this report to the client. The SEO Manager will include a synopsis of the month’s progress, and based on the campaign’s performance, areas of opportunity, and their expertise, will utilize their decision-making abilities and create a strategy for the upcoming month.
  • Providing unlimited SEO consulting to the client. The SEO Manager will utilize their SEO industry expertise to provide the client with SEO best practices and advise the client on any SEO questions s/he has. The SEO Manager is required to read SEO and social media blogs and attend SEO and social media webinars to stay up-to-date on industry best practices and trends.
  • The SEO Manager is responsible for initiating regular contact with the client, at least weekly, and ensuring the client understands the progress and success of their SEO campaign. Solid Cactus SEO delivers the frame work and crafts the appropriate work within that SEO framework, allowing the SEO Manager to have complete creative control over the account, and is responsible for decision-making and implementation of the client’s SEO strategy. As a result, the SEO Manager’s expertise, strategy creation, originality and talent have a direct impact on the success of the account, and thus the revenue the account brings in to the SEO department.

Special Requirements (if any):

  • The SEO Manager should have strong communication skills, including grammar and spelling, in order to skillfully write creative SEO copy, blog posts, press releases, and craft link building outreach pitches.
  • Effective decision-making skills are also a must, as the SEO Manager must be able to use their expertise and creativity to determine the direction of the account.
  • The manager should also exhibit superior customer skills in order to develop a relationship with the client, understand the client’s needs, craft SEO deliverables based on those needs, and help the client understand the results of their SEO campaign.
  • Strong analytics skills are also needed, as the SEO Manager must analyze the client’s industry and determine appropriate keyword phrases to target, understand web analytics programs that highlight the client’s SEO success, and make strategy decisions based on those results.

Salary range: Unknown
Closing date: Unknown
More info from: http://www.web.com/aboutus/joblistings.aspx#florida
Contact: Send resumes via online form to: https://home.eease.adp.com/recruit2/?id=1698161&t=1

For more search industry jobs, or to post a vacancy, visit Search Engine College Jobs Board.

Share this post with others

Fast Five in Search – Week 10, 2013

Posted on by

fast-fiveHi folks, once again this week’s Fast Five includes a couple of gems worthy of bookmarking for later. Enjoy!

1) 3 Ways to Make Your SERP Listing Stand Out by Sujan Patel                                    Ever wondered why some sites get their internal pages listed in SERPs, or a picture of the site owner with a byline? Sujan explores three effective ways to influence what Google displays when your site listing appears within search results.

2) SEO Friendly WordPress in 12 Steps by Matt Morgan                                   WordPressers will love this one, it’s definitely bookmark worthy. Matt provides great insight into how ‘out-of-the-box’ WordPress themes can be adjusted for SEO, including useful PlugIns and Widgets. From adjusting Permalinks, to Optimizing your Robots.txt file, this is a comprehensive guide to WordPress SEO.

3) SEO Without Borders: A Guide to International SEO by Nick Paterman                     Have you ever wanted to know the specifics on how to market your site internationally through multiple country-specific search engines? From basic SEO best practices to more technical situations, Nick covers every step of the process.

4) Case Study: How Keyword Research Works in the Wild by Beth Hayden                   This well-written post tells the story of a business owner called Sarah who embarks on a keyword research mission to promote her small business. Step-by-step we can learn via Sarah’s process, including links to keyword research tools, how they can be applied and to what effect.

And finally for a bit of fun, ever wondered how to explain exactly how Google works? This is a great post to refer clients to…

5) Google Releases Interactive Infographic “How Search Works” by Danny Sullivan       The process of GoogleBots crawling pages has always been shrouded in mystery – along with their mechanism for returning matches in response to a search query, or identifying spam. Danny discusses Google’s response to these mysteries via the release, last week, of their new scroll-down interactive infographic on “How Search Works”.

Happy reading!

*Image courtesy of Threadless

Share this post with others

Search Industry Job of the Week – Search Engine Optimization Specialist

Posted on by

Job Title: Search Engine Optimization Specialist
Job Reference: unknown
Position Type: full time
Name of employer: VOCAL Technologies, Ltd
Location: Amherst, NY United States
Date Posted: 26 February 2013
Position description:

VOCAL Technologies, Ltd. are looking for self-motivated candidates to be responsible for the optimization of their website content for maximum visibility and ranking the major search engines.

SEO Responsibilities

  • Develop and implement SEO to ensure that traffic and ROI goals are met and exceeded
  • Optimizing site architecture, optimizing URL structures and patterns for maximized indexing and keyword relevancy
  • Link Analysis: including opportunities, broken links, redirects, cross linking
  • Improve inbound linking
  • Conduct competitive analysis in order to learn from competition
  • Monitor day-to-day activity in order to optimize keywords and ads
  • Provide recommendations for landing page updates in order to better integrate with keyword campaigns

The candidate qualifying for this role will possess the following required skills:

  • 3+ years experience in search engine optimization and working on websites
  • Proven success in raising website visibility in the Google search engine
  • Proven track record of ranking and maintaining target keywords on the number one spot in Google
  • Clear understanding of Google Algorithm updates and how they alter the landscape
  • Experience with analytics/reporting tools such as Google Analytics
  • Experience with leading search engine ranking, traffic and analysis software
  • Experience with social media marketing
  • BS Degree in Computer Science, Engineering or Information Technology required
  • Demonstrated ability to manage details, efficient work habits, and overall flexibility
  • Self-starter approach to work, with a desire to consistently meet and exceed objectives and take on more responsibility
  • A self-starter with an ability to work in a fast paced, dynamic environment
  • Should be familiar with HTML and JavaScript
  • A background in online marketing and/or website development is preferred

Salary range: Unknown
Closing date: Unknown
More info from: www.vocal.com
Contact: Send resumes to: hr@vocal.com

For more search industry jobs, or to post a vacancy, visit Search Engine College Jobs Board.

Share this post with others

Fast Five in Search – Week 9, 2013

Posted on by

fast-fiveWARNING: This week’s Fast Five contains links you may want to bookmark!

Looking for ways to enhance your online reputation? Manage multiple client Google accounts? Sharpen your editorial skills? This week’s Fast Five shares some hard-earned professional wisdom…

1) Is Your business Image Suffering Online? By Dave Thomas                                       This is a great common sense article all business owners should read. The rise of social media and mobile apps has changed the way people communicate online. One unhappy customer, or a disgruntled employee, can harm your online reputation if you’re not careful. To prevent this, Dave shares four easy ways to keep on top of your online business profile.

2) Strategies for Administering Client Google Analytics Accounts by Ben Alvord             This is the kind of nuts-and-bolts post I bookmark and refer back to. Ben takes us through his administration process step-by-step and teaches us how to manage multiple Google accounts without compromising client privacy. Even the comments section is helpful with users adding interesting info on their experiences with managing client accounts.

3) Google Authorship and the Fast Track to Better Rankings: A Case Study by Jeff Sauer Many content producers are excited about Google Authorship and Jeff’s post explains why. I love the way Jeff narrates his own experiences with a new site and what happened when he linked it to Google +. Make sure you read to the end to get Jeff’s great tips on making the most of your site/blog in this new era of Authorship.

And finally, some editorial tips from Copyblogger’s Brian Clark…

4) The Art of Writing Great Twitter Headlines by Brian Clark                                             The journalist in me loved this one. Remember the 4 U’s? Or the eight words or less rule? Brian says a bit of editorial flair goes along way on Twitter. Writing attention grabbing headlines is not just for our own content though… we can also use it when we retweet. Brian also includes helpful links to other related articles.

5) SEO Copywriting: The Five Essential Elements to Focus On by Brian Clark                   If a client or friend asks you about the dos and don’ts of SEO Copywriting, this would be a great blog post to recommend. Brian gives a quick run-down on SEO generally, followed by five points to focus on for good SEO copywriting. Make sure you read to the end to download Brian’s free 28 page report, if you want more info. Thanks Brian!

Happy reading!

*Image courtesy of Threadless

Share this post with others