Monthly Archives: May 2008

Q and A: How should I charge for SEO services?

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QuestionDear Kalena…

I’m very excited about finishing the SEO course today and getting my certificate! Thanks for a great course.

One thing I was hoping I’ll find in the bonus lesson and I didn’t, was some information on service pricing. I personally started providing web design services to my clients then wanted to add SEO to my services. How do you recommend I charge for this “extra” service?

Thanks,
Lamees

Dear Lamees

I’m so glad you enjoyed the course and are preparing to launch SEO services to your existing clients.

Regarding SEO pricing, Patrick Altofts recent blog post Peanuts, Monkeys, Tailors and Charging for SEO should help you. Also check my older blog posts about salaries in SEO/SEM.

For anyone interested in starting a career in SEO, I suggest you read my article about the subject.

Best of luck Lamees and please stay in touch.

Search Engine Manager

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Job Title: Search Engine Manager
Job Reference #: 65904
Position Type: full time
Name of employer: Intuit Canada
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 21 May 2008
Position description:

In late summer/early fall 2008, Intuit Canada will be opening their new Canadian corporate headquarters in the GTA – Mississauga to be exact. Be a part of their growth!

Intuit Canada isn’t your average company. With products like QuickBooks® and QuickTax, they’re the #1 developer of retail financial software in Canada. But their employees don’t just make software – they create whole solutions to help revolutionize their customers’ lives. And they’re proud to say that their employees are up to the challenge. Are you? They’re always looking to add smart, motivated people to their team who want to grow with them and become leaders. Intuit Canada is consistently recognized as a top employer because they seek the best. In fact, Report on Business named them #9 on the 50 Best Employers in Canada list for 2008. Their casual work environment, emphasis on work-life balance and competitive rewards help set them apart from the rest.

Support Search Engine Optimization efforts of Sr. Mgr. Web Marketing by:
 

  • Executing on organic Search Optimization tasks including developing meta content, copy optimization, Link building, Link buying, Universal search optimization and Design/ Web Technology improvements.
  • Provide regular updates on Organic search traffic, sales and conversion while working with the Web Business Analyst.
  • Make recommendations on ways to improve organic search rankings, traffic and conversions.

Responsibilities:

  • Manage and optimize successful Organic Search campaigns on major search engines including Google, Yahoo and MSN.
  • Oversee SEO program implementation from pre-launch deliverables (SEO site design & technology recommendations, copy writing and SEO plan) through performance reporting.
  • Research/develop keywords and work with copywriters to Write/ recommend copy for optimizing organic search campaigns.
  • Provide ongoing management of all SEO initiatives including reporting, analysis and optimization recommendations.
  • Document and communicate best practices in Search Engine Optimization.
  • Communicate the benefits for process changes to ensure acceptance and optimize SEO results.
  • Continually monitor the search landscape. Understand any changes in organic listing algorithms of Search Engines and proactively lead changes for adherence to the changes.

Qualifications:

     

  • Bachelor’s degree required.
  • Four to Six years of experience in Search Engine Optimization for large e-commerce websites or companies.
  • Experience in organic search optimization programs including Link Building, Link buying, dynamic (database driven) site optimization, domain structuring, recommending URL redirects, managing Google and Yahoo webmaster tools.
  • Experience working with SEO (SEM director, Ad Goroo, other SEO reporting tools) and Web Analytics tools like Omniture etc.
  • Experience presenting on SEO areas to large groups or business units leaders.
  • Proficient in using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
  • Some experience in website design preferred.

Salary range: Unknown
Closing date: Unknown
More info from: http://www.intuit.ca/en/intuit/careers_search_other.jsp
Contact: Send resumes via online form: http://www.intuit.ca/en/intuit/careers_search_other.jsp

For more search industry job vacancies visit Search Engine College Jobs Board.

Confirmed: Google removes hacked sites from index

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Well I’ve long suspected it and now Matt Cutts has confirmed it: sites that get hacked are removed from Google’s index.

Blogger and mountaineer Ryan Stewart (who I’ve long envied not just for his lack of acrophobia but also for his Google PageRank of 9/10) complained that Google had wiped his blog from the index.

Turns out the removal occurred for security reasons shortly after Ryan’s site was hacked. Here’s an extract from Matt’s comment on Ryan’s blog about the situation:

“Sorry to hear that your blog got hacked. I know that it’s disappointing if you don’t show up in Google, but there’s another way to look at it. It looks like your blog was hacked to show “buy pharmacy”-type links, but what if the hackers had hosted malware on your site? Then every user to your site might have gotten infected just by visiting your site. That danger to Google users is one of the reasons that we temporarily remove hacked sites from Google.”

So be warned, if your site is hacked, you might want to keep an eye on your Google Webmaster Tools account and submit a re-inclusion request as soon as things are back to normal.

Blog Marketing, With Chocolate Spread!

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I’ve run out of time for a Q and A today (plus it’s a holiday in the U.S. so I figure I can get away with it!). Instead, I’ll leave you with a link to Jennifer Laycock’s article: What Nutella (and I) Can Teach You About Blog Marketing.

Jen talks about how marketing isn’t just about scoring blog mentions these days but more about conversation. She demonstrates how Twitter has created a conversational environment free of the usual constraints of blogging and ripe for marketing genius. Gotta go now, me want chocolate.

Q and A: Does the canonicalization of my URL impact my search engine rankings?

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QuestionHello Kalena…

I was wondering if you know anything about the www prefix. My hosting company has my site registered with the www and without, as the same for all sites, I believe. Does this affect how the websites are viewed by the search engines? Also, some directories have my site listed without the www even if I have submitted it with. Does this affect how Google for example counts external links to my site? I have asked many people and no one has been able to answer my question.

Mirna

Hi Mirna

Timely question! I was just discussing this issue today on Twitter. Just to clarify, when you talk about your site being listed with and without the www prefix, that’s called the canonicalization of your domain. Basically, it just refers to your preferred URL for a site, whether that’s with the www prefix or without. Matt Cutts goes into more detail about canonicalization in this post.

Search engines can sometimes index both versions of your domain, creating duplicate content headaches for you and also link popularity dilution. For those reasons, I strongly recommend you decide which URL version you are happiest with and implement 301 permanent redirects at the server end to ensure your preferred version is served no matter which version is typed in. You can also set your preferred domain within Google Webmaster Tools.

Loren Baker wrote a post about the canonicalization issue today, so you might find that helpful. I concur with Loren that using the www is a no-brainer.