Fast Five in Search – Week 40, 2013

fast-fiveIn response to your questions and comments, we’ve put together a selection of industry opinion about Google’s ever-expanding zoo of updates: Hummingbird and Penguin 2.0. What is the point of all these updates? And what do they mean for the future of SEO?

Hummingbird Unleashed by Gianluca Fiorelli
Gianluca has examined the original press announcement of Google’s Hummingbird by Amit Singhal and the documents created by industry heavyweights in the aftermath (including links) – to help us understand the purpose of this latest change.

What Do The New Google Updates Mean For Content Marketers: Interview With Greg Secrist At #Pubcon 2013 by Murray Newlands
Murray has included video of the interview and some key point takeaways. It looks like engaging, informative content will remain golden – and content marketers will keep their jobs in this new era.

What Does Penguin 2.0 Mean to Your SEO Plan? By Julie Ann Ross
Thin content, recycled product descriptions, paid placements and irrelevant links have all been penalized by Penguin and now Penguin 2.0 is here to finish the job. Julie outlines why rich content production is the key to surviving this, and all updates to come.

Google and the Death of “Do No Evil” by Ben Kemp
“After 16 years of helping other businesses achieve a greater prominence for their websites, the past 2 years of insanity has given me pause to contemplate the future. Clearly, Google is intent on rendering my chosen vocation irrelevant.”
Do you share Ben’s view? Read on…

And finally…

Are You Still Playing Russian Roulette With Google? Demian Farnsworth
As usual Demian gets right down to the point. “Hummingbird is not about the words you use when searching … it’s all about the meaning of those words.” Demian gives us a glimpse into Google’s vision of the future.

Happy reading!

*Image courtesy of Threadless

Search Industry Job of the Week – SEO Sr Account Manager

Job Title: SEO Sr. Account Manager
Job Reference: Unknown
Position Type: full time
Name of employer: Impaqt
Location: Pittsburgh, PA or New York City, NY preferred; Remote work possible from continental US location
Date Posted: 20 October 2013
Position description:

The SEO Sr. Account Manager is accountable for successfully managing Organic Search campaigns for enterprise level clients; delivering thought leading SEO strategy and consulting.  This team member works under the direction of the Account Group Director and in coordination with the assigned Specialist and other cross-departmental resources. The primary responsibilities are to act as the primary go-to resource for our clients, lead the day to day efforts of the Search program, act as the central hub of collaboration and contribute to the mentorship of team members; all the while delivering against client program objectives.

Responsibilities:

  • Responsible for driving strategy, planning and execution of SEO consulting for enterprise level clients with complex and sophisticated SEO needs
  • SEO Campaign Management, ranging from technical consulting (CMS systems, site audits), day to day task oversight (keyword research, competitive analysis, content audits, etc.) to defining and implementing strategic components (integration with application development, SEO reviews, user analysis, segmentation modeling)
  • Be a thought leader by developing innovative and cutting edge SEO strategies and problem solving techniques to maximize client visibility, both on-the-fly and with long-term planning; confident in responding in an on-demand consulting environment
  • Deliver clear, actionable recommendations with a consultative approach, thorough risk/benefit analysis, projecting estimated effects on traffic and return on investment, etc.
  • Achieve client business objectives, helping them understand what is realistic, what obstacles may prevent them from achieving them, and what opportunities exist to expand beyond their goals; Prioritizing efforts based on ROI estimates
  • Aggressively and continuously monitor the client’s competitive landscape
  • Act as the primary point of contact for the client; responsible for all elements of project planning, workflow management, responding to inquiries, and collaboration across internal and client teams

Core Competencies:

  • Technically capable to consult on large-scale SEO programs, including strategic consultation and problem solving in areas of web site architecture, linking strategy, website tracking / analytics, and social media elements, to name a few
  • Deeply integrated within the world of SEO, in tune with industry news, trends, and opinions; active within the “web world”
  • Exhibit passion for learning, knowledge sharing, collaborating with others, and idea generation in the Search marketplace
  • Employ analytical reasoning, data analysis, and problem solving skills to forecast and measure SEO’s impact on the business
  • Display effective project management skills, ensuring adherence to client timelines and business needs; prioritization of efforts across clients and other team members
  • Curiosity, desire to dig into details and go beyond the obvious

Education/Experience Required/Preferred:

  • 5+ years work experience in technical development or SEO marketing, with a minimum of 3 years of complex, enterprise level SEO experience
  • Experience with major web analytics packages, such as Omniture, Webtrends, Coremetrics, etc.
  • Strong knowledge of web development with emphasis on ASP.NET, JavaScript, IIS server technology, CMS packages
  • B.A./B.S. degree required; Marketing, Business, Information Sciences, and Economics preferred
  • Mastery of Excel, including extensive data manipulation, along with tactical execution
  • Complex data analysis and problem solving skills to interpret consumer behavior and performance trends; able to draw conclusions and devise strategic recommendations based on findings

IMPAQT offers the opportunity to work alongside of some of the most creative and experienced Digital minds in the business, as well as the opportunity to engage with clients from some of the world’s largest and most recognizable brands. They offer the ability to develop in an exciting and challenging environment with a clear and focused career path. They offer competitive compensation, a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and 401(k). They strive to bring their employees work life balance with unlimited vacation days, multiple volunteer opportunities – to make an “IMPAQT” in the community, and an onsite gym.

They seek the talented, the experienced and the elite to join their IMPAQT Team. Please forward them your resume and cover letter to careers[at]IMPAQT.com.

IMPAQT is an equal employment opportunity employer.

Salary range: Unknown
Closing date: Unknown
More info from: http://www.impaqt.com/company/impaqt-careers-seosam.cfm
Contact: Send resumes via online form to: [email protected]

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

Fast Five in Search – Week 39, 2013

fast-fiveIf you’re wondering what the latest Google Hummingbird update is all about, or how to get the most out of your analytics data, or how others are forging the social media frontier – this week’s Fast Five is for you!

How Google is Changing Long-Tail Search with Efforts Like Hummingbird – Whiteboard Friday by Rand Fishkin
Over the past few years, as our confidence in Google has grown, long-tail search queries have steadily increased. In an effort to keep pace with this growing trend Google’s latest Hummingbird update has focussed on the text analysis of search queries. Rand Fishkin takes a closer look at what Hummingbird means for SEO.

Study Reports 40% of Top Instagram Videos Were Brand-Created by Kelsey Jones
The latest study by Unruly demonstrates the power of video marketing when it comes to social shares. This post contains some interesting figures and a definite nudge for those who haven’t embraced social video yet.

Why Visitor Analytics Aren’t Enough for Modern Marketers by Rand Fishkin
How can we tell if conversions coming through Pinterest (or some other channel) have a greater long term value than those coming through our email list? Or what data do we need to convince our boss that a channel is worth pursuing in the first place? All these items are addressed by Rand in this great post.

Social Media: How Much Do You Really Need to Invest? By Tina Courtney-Brown
Do you have a niche business? How much should social media marketing be embraced or ignored? And what can we learn from other people’s blunders – like the Funeral Parlour business which promoted a “happy hour” special on Facebook?

And now, for an even broader perspective…

Google Developing Tools to Help Fight For Free Expression by Megan Abraham
Earlier this week Google announced its collaboration on the development of three tools to aid people living in repressive nations. Megan describes how uProxy, Digital Attack Map and Project Shield will change the world (for the better).

Happy reading!

*Image courtesy of Threadless

Students in 60 Countries Taught by Search Engine College

SEC-smiley-150x178Staff at Search Engine College did their own version of the Harlem Shake this week to celebrate reaching students in 60 countries worldwide.

The 60 country milestone was reached when a new student from Columbia took up our $99 subscription this week.

Since its inception in 2004, Search Engine College has set new industry standards for online training in the field of Search Engine Marketing and we are very proud to have produced over 1,500 happy graduates.

Here’s a list of countries / regions where our students to date are located :

USA
Australia
Germany
Finland
Italy
England (UK)
South Africa
Portugal
India
Sri Lanka
Iceland
West Africa
Canada
Jordan
Belgium
France
Philippines
Ireland
Austria
China
New Zealand
Argentina
Netherlands
Russian Federation
Hong Kong (China)
Czech Republic
Singapore
Vietnam
Greece
Barbados
Brazil
Croatia
Trinidad and Tobago
Mauritius
United Arab Emirates
Malta
Turkey
Sweden
Latvia
Kuwait
Norway
Dominican Republic
Montenegro
Spain
The Netherlands
Israel
Romania
Pakistan
Bulgaria
Mexico
Slovenia
Uraguay
Thailand
Scotland
Costa Rica
Cayman Islands (UK)
Syrian Arab Republic (Syria)
Egypt
Cyprus
Slovakia
Columbia

I wonder which country will be next?

——————-

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Fast Five in Search – Week 38, 2013

fast-fiveThis week’s Fast Five mostly concerns social media, but there’s a little fresh content in there too!

Taking Advantage of Google’s Bias Toward Hyper-Fresh Content – Whiteboard Friday by Rand Fishkin
It seems like content which has been published recently, is getting preference in Google’s SERPs. Rand talks about this phenomena and how we can use this to our advantage without breaking any protocols.

What Is SEO Now that Everything Is (Not Provided)? By Ruth Burr
Now that Google has announced keyword referral data is no longer relevant, what is the future of SEO? Ruth reveals that SEO’s still have plenty to do!!

Think AdWords Doesn’t Work? Here’s What You’re Doing Wrong by Larry Kim
If you’re struggling to get better ROI from AdWords, you’re probably making one of the ten mistakes described by Larry in this post.

5 Social Media Analytics Companies You Need To Check Out by Albert Costill
Looking for a new way to serve up social media analytics data? Albert describes (and provides links to) the top five companies.

And finally…

Facebook Posts Differ by Age, Gender by Site Pro News Staff Writers
A Facebook post reveals a lot more than you might think. A recent study of 15.4 million Facebook messages from 75,000 volunteers found some common identifiers of both age and gender in many posts.

Happy reading!

*Image courtesy of Threadless