I wrote a guest post a while back on Culpwrit about my job detour. If you are just joining my blog, my background is in public relations but I now work in online marketing. I took a detour because money was running out and this opportunity presented itself. Boy am I glad I did! My job has evolved into a terrific position and I have spent the last year growing with the company.I have learned a new trade while still using some of my PR skills – growing my skill base – and embracing every minute of it.

Our in-house PR gal wrote a post about how great minds think differently – how marketing and search engine optimization folks think differently than PR folks. It’s true. At the end of the blog, she writes, “We must embrace and celebrate these difference sand learn to work together to cover all bases. So, here’s to our strengths, to our differences and to thorough colleagues!” I couldn’t agree with her statement more! It is because we have different strengths and knowledge bases that we can be a successful interactive marketing agency.

I would like to take this one step further and say that we, as individuals within a company, must embrace our own vast knowledge. More importantly – we must never stop learning. When I started in marketing, I thought I would lose my PR skills. Turns out, I use them more often that I though. Recently a task of mine involved the fine art of pitching. Outside of the PR world, people wouldn’t have a clue what I am talking about and would definitely not know how to go about it. But because I spent time pitching to newspapers and other outlets, I was able to put together a full pitching strategy targeted to the travel niche.

So, while you may work in marketing, or public relations, or advertising, you should never think that skills outside of those industries are not valuable. Show that you are “employee-able” by taking on new tasks and learning new skills. Better yet, learn those new skills and them implement them! You never know who might be impressed.

Life used to be a piece of cake.

Sleep in every morning.

Lie on the beach during the day.

Hit the hay at 3 AM after a night out with friends.

Look forward to those 2 weeks in Panama City on Spring Break and 3 months of summer vacation.

Update your blog any time you want…

Then, your perfect life comes to a halt. Before you know it your younger friends are updating their Facebook status – “Hittin’ da beach for spring break!” and “TG its summer” while you are still in front of your computer plugging away. The college life is over.

Now you have responsibilities.

My one-year work anniversary came and went on September 24, 2009. I have held many jobs before this one but I suppose this is my first “official job” since I only finished school in May 2008.

What did I learn during my first year of 8-5 agency employment? A LOT actually. I entered a field I knew nothing about but have succeeded in learning and growing (or at least I think so). During my year I migrated from just SEO to also work in Social Media and Mobile Marketing.

The most important lesson? I don’t have a spring break, or a winter break, or a summer break. I don’t get holidays (not many anyway). I don’t have  4 months a year to allow my mind and body to rejuvenate. It’s a year-round deal. I have to pace myself. I have to allow myself to take a step back and breath. I have to find time to continue to enjoy the things I love. I have to find time to explore this new state I’m in.

If not…Burn Out.

You’re new at work and you want to make the best impression. DO IT, but don’t sacrifice your physical AND mental well-being.

I work in a pretty laid back office. The dress code is professional but lax and the arrival time is flexible but you are expected to put in your time. When you have an office such as this, it is easy to cross that line without even realizing it. What line you ask? That fine line between what is okay and what is too lax.

I can wear a hoodie every now and then, as long as we don’t have meetings or client visits. However, it is probably not okay to wear a hoodie everyday. You don’t want to come across as not caring, bored, or unhappy. After all, no matter your position, you are representing a company and a brand.

The same goes with time. My situation is unique as I have a pretty small time window since I get dropped off and picked up from work. However, making sure you are in the office for your allotted 40 hours is important. Coming in at 9:00 – taking a lunch – and still leaving at 5:00 is probably not the best idea.

When you have an office like this, crossing that line can creep up when you are not expecting it. Knowing what is acceptable and what is not should be top priority for those new to the office. Don’t push the envelop or assume something will be acceptable. Also, don’t necessary copy the guy that has been there for five years. That guy has clout. That guy has put in his dues. He can get away with wearing shorts and a T-shirt one day. A newbie can’t. You may not realize it but the bosses have their eye on you. Start off your first year with an excellent impression and later down the road, you can think about crossing that line (every once in a while).

Things have been extremely busy lately and I have had very little time between work and sleep. Among the most exciting things I have been up to are the DMA and OMMA mobile conferences held in NYC. I did a recap of both conferences on my company blog: Mobile Marketing. Head over there and read over my recap. I am going to be diving into each topic a little more in depth here, so stay tuned.

Now that we have a basic understanding of what SEO is, let’s discuss some of the tactics behind the act. First, the difference between black hat and white hat SEO. Black hat tactics are highly disapproved of because they “game” the search engines. These tactics are highly frowned upon by Google and can get your site penalized. White hat SEO refers to honest tactics that drive traffic to your site and provide your readers with quality content. These tactics do not try to “game” the system.

Black hat tactics are the reason so many people frown when they hear SEO. In the early days of website optimization, these were the tactics used. SEO has evolved far beyond stuffing and spamming to establish itself as a prominent business tool. Here are just a few black hat tactics to avoid.

Keyword Stuffing – I’m sure you have visited those sites that are crammed with keyword links and I can guess that you immediately left. Keyword stuffing is not user friendly – in most cases you can’t even understand those sites. The white hat technique: Create original, creative, useful content that flows naturally using your keywords sparingly. It is okay to use keywords in your content (actually it is highly recommended) but don’t go overboard.

Hidden links and text – This is a huge black hat tactic that thankfully I don’t really see a lot. This involves adding links with keyword anchor text in the same color as the site background so a user can’t locate them. The upside to this is crawlers find hundreds of links to your site. The downside is that when found, you will feel the wrath of Google. The white hat technique: Use keywords with links where appropriate to the content and that enhance the user experience. Don’t cheat the system.

Cloaking – Cloaking involves providing information to the search engines that is different from what a user would actually see. If you are a creative, technical-savvy person I’m sure you will be able to figure out ways this can be achieved. In short, there are tons. The white hat technique: Don’t do it. Simple as that. Present the exact same information to your users and search engines.

Duplicate Content – Google highly frowns upon duplicate content and now has search engines that are smart enough to eliminate duplicate content from its SERPs. The white hat technique: Create unique, original content often to give crawlers a reason to keep visiting and indexing your site. Updated original content also entices your visitors to keep returning. It is a win-win situation.

Doorway Pages – Doorways pages act as nothing but a means of link juice. Pages are created that offer no real content but act as a way to target keywords and phrases. The white hat technique: Do not build them. Create a valid site that is easy for search engines to crawl and users to navigate. Use keywords in your content only as appropriate and avoid the possibility of being penalized.

These are just a few. I am sure there are old-school black hat SEO’s that can add to this list to make it grow by leaps and bounds.

The last thing I would like to note would be reporting. Individuals have the ability to notify Google of these tactics and Google has the right to penalize any pages by removing them from the SERPs. By using these tactics as a quick fix, you run the risk of losing all quality links you have garnered. Simply put, the risks do not outweigh the benefits.

Most people think of search engine optimization (SEO) as a way to game the Google system and influence search rankings. While you do want to influence search rankings, you want to do so in a manner that provides value to your readers, customer base, or those searching for your services. Since I am new to the field, hopefully I can explain what SEO is in terms that are fairly easy to understand.

According to Wikipedia, “Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results.” SEO consists of optimizing your site so that your business or brand ranks on the first page of the search engine results page (SERP) for top-searched keywords. The process can be long, difficult, but very interesting - and very worth it.

Why Use SEO

I can tell you that SEO consists of optimizing your site to rank higher over and over but knowing the why and how is far more important. There are countless studies that show people rarely make it past the first page of a Google search. I’m sure you are in the majority of people that refine your search if you haven’t found what you are looking for from the first or second page. (If you are not, I am amazed by your patience) Basically, if you are not found in that first page, you will not get traffic and

No Traffic = No Leads

No Leads = No Business

No Business = No Profit

SEO goes beyong usability convienence for your customer base. SEO takes an additional step making your site Google friendly. On-page optimization ensures web crawlers can locate your site, understand and index your content, and present your content in relevant searches. Unless Google, Yahoo, and MSN can understand your content, ensuring it makes the first page of SERPs will be impossible.

Conclusion

SEO ensures your content ranks as high in search results (organically) as possible for popular search terms. First page results in more clicks and more leads and we all know the trickle effect from there. Now that you know the what and why, next, we will talk about the tactics used during SEO (the How) – which is probably the more heated topic for those trying to understand the SEO process.

There is a big elephant in the room and no one seems to have any interest in acknowledging it. That elephant is Search Engine Optimization  (SEO) and regardless of what people want to think, influence by SEO agencies is growing. Most people think of the worst techniques imaginable but in reality, SEO is imperative. Creating a search friendly site will only increase your ROI and leads through organic search.

Those negative impressions that most people have is what we in the SEO business call Black Hat tactics. I began SEO less than six months ago and had absolutely no idea what it was or how it was accomplished. I began my research with blogs such as Search Engine Land, SEO Book, and created an account at Sphinn (my user name is cware so friend away!) to catch hot new tips and techniques. I quickly learned the difference between black hats and white hats.
SEO is such a new industry (much like social media) that I think the problem lies with people not being well informed as to what we actually do. Another issue is that SEO evolves almost as quickly as social media is evolving – new techniques arise with every Google update. As soon as information is relayed to the public about our tactics, new techniques are already being put into place.

I started this blog to focus on public relations as that is the field I am primarily interested in. I hope to get back into that field and take with me all the knowledge of the Internet and marketing I have gained while working in online marketing. In the meantime, I do work in SEO and I want to share with you the techniques I learn along the way, debunk some myths, enlighten the audience, and show how integrated SEO and other fields really are.

So, stay tuned. The first thing I need to work on is explaining what SEO is and the differences between white hat and black hat tactics.

Besides SEO, I work quite a bit with social media. Our company is working very hard to integrate our clients into social media. The process is much more complicated than I thought it would be. Finding the right media to use and figuring out the best possible solutions take a lot of time and effort.

We have a social media task force at work and a couple of times every month we have what has been dubbed, Social Socials. These are brainstorming meetings where we discuss our clients involvement with social media. We also use these meetings as a way to stay on top of the ever-changing social world. Everyone is supposed to bring something new to the table at each meeting for discussion. I think this is a fantastic way to keep on top of the game.

After our last meeting, I came across a post detailing predictions for social media in 2009. I thought this article hit on a lot of importnat trends we are starting to see in social media. It is just amazing at how quick the social world is evolving. My full response to the article and my thoughts on social media in general can be found on the ExpertSEM blog. I thought I would hightlight my two main points here.

• Stringing a company across multiple social media may do more harm than good. Finding a few media that work effectively and that the company understand will be more productive.
• Full blown interaction is going to be crucial. Having a way for people and companies to interaction between different media through one platform is going to create a better user experience and be easier for a company to maintain.

Regardless of where social media heads, one thing is always going to remain the same (in my humble opinon).  People are going to look for that human element.

In terms of SEO, geo-targeting search results can be a daunting task. We have a few clients that require SEO for metro-type pages which are very specific to a particular city. Having the ability to monitor your business and those individual city pages within the major search engines would definitely up the ante in your efforts. While reading over at the Search Engine Roundtable, I came across a new tool – an answer if you will -   created specifically for local search.

From the creative endeavors of  Patrick Sexton and David Mihm, GetListed.org is your solution to finding how your business is listed in the major search engines. From the GetListed site:

GetListed.org was launched on January 20, 2009 as a resource for small business owners to learn more about the way their businesses are listed online. As our Mission Statement says, our goal is “to help small businesses claim and enhance their listings at major search engines.” GetListed.org currently focuses on businesses based in the United States only, but an international version of the site is in development.

I found a great write-up that details the process (complete with screen shots) from SEO Pitfall that you should find very resourceful. I think the best feature of this tool is the ability to see a ‘To-Do’ list complete with tasks that will increase your presence in the major engines. Tasks include claiming your business and adding photos and citations. From their site:

Completing these items will provide people looking for your goods or services a better idea of what you offer, and can also improve rankings in these search engines.

For more information see their Resource Center, About Page, and Blog. Since the site comes from two SEO and Local Search superstars, you will also find a plethera of other information relating to the subject on the site. In the end, it will prove a useful resource regardless of your current needs.

A resume or CV is something that I think is always evolving. It seems like there are always new templates to follow and employment responsibilities are always changing so keeping a resume up-to-date is very important. However, what to leave off a resume is just as important.

Linday Olson put together a great list of top things that should be left off a resume. She lists some things that I have to admit were found on my resume (until I deleted them after reading this post) so reviewing this information if important. At least I hope I am not the only person to have unimportant information listed. Here are the things she specifically mentioned to strike:

• Funny Email Addresses – I thought this was a given but apparently not everyone got the memo when it was sent out years ago.
• An objective – I had one of these on my resume’s for a long time and I always had difficulty putting something useful there. Someone told me to use that space to talk about how I am going to help the company but as a newbie in the field that was always hard to put into words. Lindsay makes it clear that nothing along the lines of “What do you want from the company” should be included.
• Forgetting a phone number. I could not believe it either but she did a little research and the results were jaw-dropping.
• Reasons why you left – My guess is the employer will want to know during an interview, if they want to know at all.
• Photos – I have never even thought to put a photo on a resume but it does happen. As a matter of fact, someone interviewed for a position at my office and included a photo.  I thought it was strange and about a month later I read this post making it clear that photos should not be included.

Along the same lines of what not to put on a resume, there are also things done in an interview that can guarantee you will not get any further than a hand-shake on the way out the door. Career Hub did a great post discussing 10 ways you stop yourself from getting the right job. I am not going to include all 10 things because I think you should venture over their site and take in all their great information. Instead I am going to highlight a few of their statements that I think were particularly enlightening.

• “If you’re not getting rejected, you’re not making progress.” This is mentioned under Fear and I think it hits the nail head on. Failure can be really difficult to grasp but if you are able to embrace that failure then you are more likely to learn from your mistakes. Failing only leads to learning.
• “80% of success in job searching is about successful follow-up.” Being organized is a hard task for me (only at home but that is where my job searches usually take place) so remembering who and when I had contacted a potential employers was a little out of control. I finally put everything into a spreadsheet and life become easier. I was able to keep track of all correspondence and I even set up a time line so that I could identify what days I needed to send things to those employers, and this included follow-up.
• “But relying on one (or two) opportunities is very dangerous in a tight market.” How true is this. I am comfortable in my position right now so I have not worried over this as much as others. However, my Dad and little brother just lost their job after having a ‘guarantee’ from their boss. On the same topic, I would advise that you don’t spread yourself too thin. Don’t take on so many interviews or take on so much at work (in the hope that taking on tasks will guarantee job safety) that you are stressed about everything.

The post in CareerHub discussed quite a bit about having a positive attitude while in a volitile economy. Lindsey Pollak put together 11 new tips on getting a job in a bad economy that I thought were particularly interesting. Lindsey is a terrific writer so definitely check out her blog. In the meantime, among those new tips were

• Move your desk – I live in a cube and our office is under construction so I don’t see this happening.
• Learn sports – I am proud to say that I can hang with the guys when talking football. As a matter of fact, I frequently discuss the topic of football during the daily visit from my co-worker, Jarod. He is like my smoke-break.
• Volunteer – I think this should be done regardless of your current work situation. Make some time and give to others.
• Finish your fluency – Or maybe even begin to learn that second language. You never know when you might need it. Si?

There are several others but again, you should visit her blog to read all of her great tips.

I know I learned a tip or two from reading these blogs. What was the most enlightening point you gathered from these three great posts?