Fast Five in Search – Week 4, 2013

fast-fiveThis week’s Fast Five selection is mostly about blogging, since 2013 is shaping up to be all about content creation and sharing!

1) Content Marketing Made Easy: 7 Blog Post Formats You Can Copy by Sujan Patel Stumped for blogging ideas? This excellent post by Sujan Patel offers seven tried-and-true blogging formats that are sure to get your creative juices flowing.

2) My Favourite Way to Get Links and Social Shares – Whiteboard Friday by Rand Fishkin When it comes to a list of posts to share I can rarely go past Rand Fishkin’s Whiteboard Friday posts on SEOmoz. Last Friday Rand described his favourite content sharing strategies, which revolve around helping others wherever you can – true online, true in life.

3) The Ultimate Guide to Advanced Guest Blogging by Pratik Dholakiya                        Pratik has put a lot of thought into this post about guest blogging – a hot subject given that 2013 has already been dubbed as the year of the online author. In this post Pratik describes 20 things to look out for when guest blogging and 20 things to avoid.

4) A Guide to Searching and Using Pictures in Your Posts by Chhavi Vatwani            Finding just the right picture for your blog post, website or feature article can be tricky. Chhavi’s post includes plenty of handy links and info on how to find images and use them properly by assigning credit back to the owner.

and finally, for something a little bit different…

5) Designing for SEO by Justin Taylor                                                                             Justin tackles the age-old issue of design versus optimization – by exploring what can happen when designers work closely with optimizers to build visually beautiful, user friendly and uniquely optimized sites. This post is a must for marketing teams, web designers and search professionals alike.

Happy reading!

*Image courtesy of Threadless

 

Search Industry Job of the Week – SEO Strategist

Job Title: SEO Strategist
Job Reference: Unknown
Position Type: full time
Name of employer: Pace Communications
Location: Greensboro, NC, US
Date Posted: 11 January 2012
Position description:

Pace Communications, one of the largest content marketing agencies in North America, is now accepting resumes for a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategist.

Pace is one of the largest and most successful agencies of its type in the world – their people are recognized as leaders in the field and their account list includes some of the North America’s most successful brands – including Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Southwest Airlines, USAirways,Verizon Wireless, Wells Fargo and Walmart.

Position Summary

The SEO Strategist will focus on search strategy, analysis, and day-to-day execution of SEO efforts for content marketing sites and programs on behalf of some of the world’s largest brands. The ideal candidate will have a strong foundation in all aspects of SEO, along with a solid understanding of digital marketing, content marketing, paid media, and analytics.

The position will be visible both internally and externally as Pace’s subject matter expert on all aspects of SEO with additional focus on select digital paid media efforts, and have an opportunity to develop the agency’s processes and practices.

Principal Accountabilities:

SEO Strategy, Execution, Analytics: Create, execute and analyze SEO strategies – from initial research through to content/page optimization, link building, etc. – for client content marketing sites and programs.
Site Analysis: Review Website code, layout and content to ensure SEO best practices are followed. Develop best practices and processes where needed.
Reporting: Setup, run, and report on SEO ranking and competitive reports
Content Strategy: Develop and deliver keyword research plans and processes in conjunction with in-house content/editorial teams.
Paid Media: Manage limited digital paid media efforts for key clients; evaluate, select, and oversee tools and vendors.
Internal Training: Develop and deliver an ongoing internal SEO training program for content creators, account staff, and technical staff.
Industry Knowledge: Stay abreast of industry trends, contribute to the agency blog, and general become our internal/external subject matter expert on SEO.

Job Qualifications:

Education: BS/BA in a relevant discipline.
Experience: 5-7 years SEO/Search Marketing experience. Agency-side experience is a plus.

Skills:

  • Experience working both with clients and inhouse content, marketing, and analytics teams.
  • A high level of understanding of content marketing principles and tactics, social media marketing, and the search/social relationship are critical.
  • Strong analytical skill and mindset, with experience creating and presenting SEO campaign reports to clients
  • Fluency with keyword research/competitive analysis/linkbuilding tools, including some mix of SEOMoz, Wordtracker, or Majestic SEO.
  • Strong understanding of Web analytics tools including Google Analytics (required) and Adobe Omniture/Site Catalyst (bonus)
  • Experience with WordPress and other common CMS platforms
  • Experience in planning and execution of paid media (SEM, social, display) campaigns is a distinct plus.

No phone calls please.
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer m/f/d/v

Salary range: Unknown
Closing date: Unknown
More info from: http://www.paceco.com/careers/seo-strategist-jan-2013/
Contact: Send resumes via online form to: http://www.paceco.com/careers/seo-strategist-jan-2013/

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

Fast Five in Search – Week 3, 2013

fast-five

 

Our relatively new feature Top Five Search Industry Blog Posts of the Week is proving to be a bit of a mouthful to say (and to type!) so we’re shortening it to: Fast Five in Search.

The whole idea behind the post is to provide a quick grab-bag of must read blog posts, articles or presentations that sum up the goings on in the search industry for each week.

We hope you like the new name!

Here’s this week’s Fast Five:

1) How to leverage PPC to discover high-converting keywords for SEO by Nathan Safran. In this post for Search Engine Land, Nathan explains in detail a little keyword research trick that we SEO veterans have used for years: setting up AdWords accounts to measure the impression rate and conversion potential of keywords for SEO purposes.

2) Rapid Fire Link Building Strategies by Wil Reynolds. A client sent me this presentation by Wil. It was actually given at SearchChurch last June, but in light of the Penguin and Panda updates we experienced late last year, it’s well worth a revisit. If you’re stuck for link building ideas, I guarantee this will stimulate you into action!

3) A Manifesto of Content Marketing by Rand Fishkin. This slide deck by Rand is also from last year, but I came across it for the first time this week via a link from the post above. It’s a terrific reminder that traffic from search engines starts and ends with shareable content.

4) The Complete Social Media Community Manager’s Guide by Marty Weintraub and Lauren Litwinker. Ok, so this is a book rather than a post. But one of the authors is my effervescent friend Marty from AimClear who knows more about social media than practically anyone I know. If you’re in a position that involves any type of social media responsibility for a brand or company, you’d be well advised to pre-order this book.

and finally…

5) 101 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Web Site by Matt Schoenherr. If you ever find yourself out of ideas for getting more visitors to your site, you’d best bookmark this one. It’s jam-packed full of fresh inspiration for driving traffic and easy to implement activities using seven different key marketing channels. Whenever I’m feeling particularly uninspired, I start the day here.

Happy reading!

*Image courtesy of Threadless.

24 Hours Left to Use our $100 Discount Coupon

ppcI just realized that there are only 24 hours left before our $100 training coupon for Search Engine College expires, so I thought I’d better throw out a reminder.

In case you missed our last newsletter, we decided to offer all readers a $100 Training Gift Voucher (PDF) towards their next training course at Search Engine College, as an incentive to add tech training to your 2013 New Year resolutions.

If you want to gift the voucher to a colleague or loved one, simply print out the voucher and write the recipient’s name in the appropriate field.

If you want to use it for yourself, simply:

1) Choose your course/s from Search Engine College.

2) Click on the Buy Now button on the course page of your choice.

3) Choose your preferred currency from the top right menu.

4) Enter NEWYEAR2013 into the coupon field in the shopping cart.

5) Click on *Update* to apply your discount.

6) Check that the sub-total has been revised to include your discount & continue to complete your purchase.

If you wish to purchase more than one course, simply press the *continue shopping* button and click on more Buy Now buttons. Your shopping cart should then update to show the additional course/s.

Remember, the coupon expires on the stroke of midnight 14 January, GMT.

Happy New Year!

Search Industry Job of the Week – SEM Specialist

Job Title: SEM Specialist
Job Reference: Unknown
Position Type: full time
Name of employer: Remilon
Location: Mountain View, CA
Date Posted: 21 December 2012
Position description:

Remilon is a web media company on a mission to make education accessible to everyone through technology innovation. They are looking for an SEM Specialist with a knack for improving overall user experience while increasing site conversion.

They began their journey in 2002 as a self-funded start-up and have been profitable every year since their inception. As a small, independent company their employees have a direct impact on company direction and results. They are located in the heart of downtown Mountain View, just a few steps from the CalTrain Station. They only hire top talent, so those who join their team will find themselves a part of one of the brightest and most innovative companies in Silicon Valley.

They have a strong culture of social responsibility. As they post record profits, they give back by funding scholarship programs and helping charitable organizations provide open access to information and education.

Join them on their mission and make a difference.

Responsibilities:

  • Generate new, creative ideas for web pages to increase lead generation and sales
  • Work closely with their graphic design team to implement your vision and take the pages live
  • Lead highly creative brainstorming sessions
  • Continually plan, implement and analyze conversion and usability tests.
  • Manage multivariate, A/B/n and other testing projects from concept creation to result analysis
  • Design electronic/paper mock-ups and wireframes
  • Create and proofread creative web copy
  • Manage all conversion projects and prepare a regular companywide meeting to report progress, findings and new ideas
  • Detailed analysis of web analytics with their business intelligence team
  • Develop an understanding of the psychology of their websites’ visitors using surveys, usability studies and user feedback
  • Use their billions of data/response points for data driven site optimization

Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
  • 2+ years experience with website/web conversion optimization
  • Mastery of multivariant, A/B and usability testing software
  • Experience with web analytics systems (preferably Urchin or GA)
  • Comfortable working in Photoshop
  • Advanced Excel knowledge and skills
  • Well organized with experience using project management tools
  • Self motivated and passionate about increasing conversion rates
  • Strong ability to learn and evaluate new software and technologies
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills
  • Energetic with a high attention to detail
  • Experienced working in and leading multidisciplinary teams
  • Experience with the Getting Things Done (GTD) approach to time/project management

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Advanced degree or equivalent experience
  • Experience with SEO and PPC
  • Experience with email newsletter distribution
  • A demonstrated passion for the web and it’s users
  • A demonstrated passion for education

Why work for Remilon?

  • Help make education accessible to people who need it
  • Enjoy a fun, casual and collaborative working environment
  • Join a profitable and financially stable company
  • Help guide company decisions and direction
  • See results of your work in days, not years
  • Have your work impact 4.5+ million web visitors each month
  • Grow professionally with their training and skill development programs
  • Work with other talented and passionate team members

Benefits:

  • Competitive salary and compensation plans
  • 401k retirement plan with employer matching
  • 20 days of flexible paid time off annually (increases to 30 days over 5 years)
  • Additional 10 paid holidays annually
  • Flexible work schedules
  • Comprehensive medical and dental plans (they pay 100% of premiums)
  • Stocked kitchen and beverages provided
  • Company sponsored gym membership
  • Company sponsored Friday happy hour to celebrate weekly accomplishments

Salary range: Unknown
Closing date: Unknown
More info from: http://jobs.remilon.com/apply/qwJjO2/SEM-Specialist.html?source=INDE
Contact: Send resumes via online form to: http://jobs.remilon.com/apply/qwJjO2/SEM-Specialist.html?source=INDE

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