Penguin, Panda, & SEO: When, How and Where Part 1

The Information Age, as it has come to be known, has produced radical shifts in the cultural, social, and commercial landscape of the world’s economy over the past two decades. The internet and social media have introduced many new dimensions to the commercial landscape in particular, including digital marketing staples such as SEO and SEM. Many businesses, large and small, have recognized the value of such concepts and taken appropriate measures to implement them into their overall strategy. SEO is a notably difficult concept to master, as the rules and strategies surrounding SEO have changed many times over the course of the last fifteen years. If one hopes to gain a more masterful understanding of Search Engine Optimization, they must understand where SEO has come from, where it is now, and in what direction it is headed.

SEO’s Beginnings: Where have we come from?

It was approximately fifteen years ago that the team ‘SEO’ was coined and businesses started to recognize the value of Search Engine Optimization. The emergence of Google, Yahoo!, and Ask.com dramatically increased the value of SERP rankings and inspired business owners to pursue the formula for search engine success. Research showed that the earliest algorithms used by top search engines had simple criteria: what’s known as meta data, which provided a rough blueprint of a website’s content, as well as the density of keywords used in regards to the search criteria. This method was easily manipulated, and did not provide contextual information to users.

The next step was an algorithm created by Google called ‘Pagerank’, which took criteria such as meta tags and keywords and ranked websites based on the likelihood that a person who is browsing at random will reach their website. Though a step in the right direction, there were problems with this method as well. Website owners would skew the SERP rankings through the use of link spamming. This created all sorts of problems for search engines, and they recognized that if they were take control of the situation they would need to dramatically increase the complexity of their algorithms.

As early as 2004, it was verified that the top search engines used more then 200 factors in their algorithms. Furthermore, they refused to share these criteria with the public, to decrease the chances that website owners could manipulate their rankings even more. Things took another turn for the worst for these would-be-webmasters a year later, when Google introduced personalized search results that were based on a users previous searches. This made the manipulation of SERP rankings even more difficult, as the rankings would differ from person to person based on previous searches.

Miles Thomas is a marketing intern for KAS Placement sales recruiters a sales and marketing recruiting firm specializing in recruiting executive to mid level employees throughout the United States

Awesome Free Chance to Improve a Marketing Resume

Nearly 80 of entry to mid level marketing jobs want their prospective hires to know copywriting, blogging (wordpress), social media and editing.  Nearly 0% of colleges teach this stuff.

It’s a Hobby to Help

Like I said, it’s a hobby, we don’t charge you.  Rather this is giving back from someone who had to learn marketing all by himself.

This begs the question, do you want a very strong add-on to your marketing or sales resume with not all too much work and amazing exposure? Right now, one of my company’s blogs dedicated to marketing is looking for recent college graduates to write for it.

Each time an article is accepted (350 – 500 words each), it goes out to over 3,000 business contacts of mine in marketing and sales headhunting and marketing recruiting and we’ve already had someone get a position with a strong total compel package within their first post. This shows employees that you know online media, copy-writing, editing and social media as we expect you to promote your articles as well as we will through our network.

On average, over 150 people will read the post as our blogs are popular and we’ll make sure that it’s proofed and looks great. We’ll also include a link to your LinkedIn page so people can network with you.

I did the site personally down to the design, it’s a very reputable, well done domain which I put my name behind http://gradmarketingblog.org and it is completely free to submit articles to me as this is not for our benefit, but rather to help people who really want marketing jobs.

Here is a post that someone recently wrote: http://gradmarketingblog.org/2012/09/24/marketing-terms-employers-want-you-to-know/ The stories I’m looking for are factual pieces about different marketing facets such as search engine optimization, branding, etc.

About

Ken Sundheim is the CEO of KAS Placement and is a known leader in the executive search world. When it comes to sales and marketing recruiting, sources like WSJ, NYTimes, Fox Business News, AOL, MSN, Chicago Tribune, BusinessInsider, About.com, CBS MoneyWatch, MTV, San Francisco Chronicle, Monster.com and many more look to Ken Sundheim for job search advice.  Ken also helps recent college graduates find marketing jobs as a consulting function through KAS.

Ken Sundheim picture taken at MSG Rangers game.

Recommended Articles by Ken

Recruiters Get Any Marketing Job You Want

Why Recent College Graduates Cannot Find a Job

To Apply

Please contact zoe.hunter@kasplacement with the topic: Gradmarketingblog.org.  Busy or not, we will get back to you.

 

Not Getting a Job After College Graduation Video by KAS Placement

FYI – Do nice things for others and you get paid back in spades, if you like the video take the second to hit the thumbs up…we’re working probono, but still really appreciate it!

Marketing Terms Employers Want You to Know

by Miles Thomas

In today’s abysmal job market, there is little room for error. This is especially true for recent college graduates, who are at an immediate disadvantage due to the high saturation of the market. As such, recent grads need to give themselves every advantage possible if they hope to stand out to employers. Here’s 8 online marketing terms that all job-seekers should make themselves familiar with to give them the edge over their competition.

 

1.) Bounce Rate – Simply getting people to visit your page is not enough to help a website rank highly on search engine results pages (SERPs). A Bounce Rate is a measurement, usually presented as a percentage or ratio, of a site’s visitors that either leave soon after or remain idle long enough to assume that they aren’t really viewing the page. A low Bounce Rate means that a websites homepage, or entry page, is effective in making visitors interested in staying and viewing the content, while a high Bounce Rate means that the entry page is not effective in retaining visitors.

 

2.) Anchor Text – The term Anchor Text refers to the part of a hyperlink’s HTML that determines what the link itself says. For example, if a web designer puts a hyperlink on their page with HTML that determines ‘Follow me on Twitter’ as the link’s Anchor Text, then the link will show up as such rather then the actual address. Anchor Text is important in two facets: 1.) It is more aesthetically acceptable for a website in terms of usability, and 2.) it helps not only visitors determine what exactly the link is directing them to, but it is believed that having the proper words in your Anchor Text will produce higher SERP rankings.

 

3.) Search Engine Algorithm – Throughout the years of the internet age, the methods that search engines have used to sort and rank the pages in their results pages have changed in an attempt to counteract websites using underhanded methods to improve their SERP rankings. A Search Engine Algorithm is a complex formula that search engines use to rank the relevance of sites in regards to the search criteria. These formulas are kept secret by the top search engines (Google, Yahoo!, Bing, etc.) and take into account a multitude of factors, including inbound links and keyword density, so as to rank the websites accurately and without outside influence.

 

4.) Backlinks – One of the main factors taken into consideration for the algorithms used by many search engines is the number of Backlinks, or inbound links, that a website has. Put simply, a Backlink is is a hyperlink to a website that is located on another website. They are not counted both ways between the two websites involved, however. For example, if Website A has a backlink that leads to Website B, then Website B would likely have a higher SERP ranking.

 

5.) SEO – The term Search Engine Optimization refers to the overall process of a website attempting to increase its position in SERPs. Some commonly used tactics include cross-linking with other sites to increase backlinks and having a high density of regularly searched words. Search engines have recognized that websites place a high value on a high ranking in their SERPs. and as such have determined what they believe to be acceptable methods of increasing rankings as well as unacceptable methods. These are known as white hat techniques and black hat techniques, respectively.

 

6.) SEM – Whereas SEO is the process of increasing your position in SERPs, Search Engine Marketing, or SEM, is the process of turning that higher position on SERPs into increased website traffic. SEM also refers to gaining more traffic through advertisements on search engines, determined by the search criteria as well as past searches. An increasingly important dimension of SEM also includes social media marketing, where companies use popular social media engines to further increase the value of their product, service, or brand.

 

7.) PPC – Website owners trying to move up in SERPs aren’t the only ones who see money to be made through SEM. Pay Per Click, or PPC, is a type of advertising where the advertiser pays the website that their ad is published on every time it gets clicked. Though not obligatory on websites with algorithms that produce natural results such as Google, having a PPC agreement with a website can be advantageous; the website wants your ad to be clicked so they get paid, increasing the chances it will be put in an ideal and visible location.

 

8.) Digital Marketing – The term Digital Marketing is the most broad of this entire article, encompassing all of the aforementioned terms. Digital Marketing refers to marketing and advertising through the use of any device with the ability to connect to the internet, be it computer, phone, tablet, etc.

 

It is almost comical to think that at one point many business owners considered the internet and e-commerce era to be a fad that would pass. Today, society puts such a high emphasis on the importance of technology that if a business does not take advantage of Digital Marketing in some facet, be it anything from a company website to social media handles, chances are that they are going to be left in the dust for someone more willing to adapt and survive.

 

Miles Thomas is interning at KAS sales and marketing recruiting firm specializing in staffing top marketing job seekers throughout the United States.  CEO Ken Sundheim also does entry-level marketing job consulting.

 

Are you a recent college graduate and want to write for this blog; Please apply through KAS Placement’s corporate LinkedIn page.

 
Reasons why American college graduates can’t find a job –

 

14 Worst Career Mistakes Part 1

1. Thinking It’s About Who You Know – When I attended University of Miami for a few years, there were a lot of students whose parents were accountants, financial planners, attorneys, etc. and I became very jealous of the Range Rovers and the cushy jobs waiting for these classmates after graduation.

 

I was jealous until it eventually hit me that these kids would have to work for your parents. Success isn’t about who you know. It’s about what you bring to the table for these individuals. That I can promise. Have the ability to make somebody money and you could have 2 green heads and they would not care in the least.

 

2. Not Learning to Write a Resume – Writing a resume is simply figuring out how to sell yourself to your target market. If you can’t do that, you have to take some time to learn about who you are, what your interests are and whether you are cut out for corporate.

 

Simply stated, a resume is a piece of paper that describes your skills in a well-written manner; hopefully, utilizing bullet points, but do your research on the web.

 

3. Bouncing From Job to Job – Training employees is one of the most tedious, large drain of financial resources in just about any firm. If the company is going to train you, they want you to stay.

 

Now, even though you are preaching that this is the time; you want this career, unfortunately the only thing the interviewer has to go by is your past behavior. 2 years at a job is average, 3 is good and 4 will get you a very good job following your tenure.

 

4. Not Becoming an Expert At What You Do – If you are going to do a job, don’t be average. Nobody pays for average, plus average work leads to a mediocre life. Now, this is only true if you love what you do, however if nobody wants to hire you, you’re not going to get a job that you love.

 

 

How Entrepreneurship Should Be Taught to Younger Generations

How Entrepreneurship Should Be Taught to Younger Generations

I took one of my interns out to lunch today and during, he preceded to tell me what types of businesses students proposed opening during college and which ones he was impressed by.

As he proceeded to go down the list, the ideas just got wackier and remained as unrealistic as they did immature.

It’s not a huge deal and entrepreneurship is about thinking and weighing business options as well as being fun, but where failure lurks in a business plan, professors need to be more candid that these plans will, ultimately not work (or have significant odds against the business owners).

Who’s fault is it?

It’s about 50 / 50, 1/2 falling on the professors and the other 1/2 the students.

How should entrepreneurship be taught?

Entrepreneurship needs to be taught in a realistic sense based on if the entrepreneur can sell the product, not invent something and hope it goes gangbuster, thus selling itself…

Article Continued: How Entrepreneurship Should Be Taught to Younger Generations

4 Tips to Build Your Business Ken Sundheim KAS Recruiters

Staffing Agency DC Recruiters DC Headhunters

Videos for Interviewers

3.2 Life Events That Drove Me to Entrepreneurship

3.2 Life Events That Drove Me to Entrepreneurship 

I never grew up telling myself that I would own my own business.  As a matter of fact, until my last semester at college, I thought that I was there to chase girls around…until I did meet my wife who cancelled that activity.

I cared less about school.

I did okay – 3.49 I believe was my final GPA from Fordham, but the possibility of entrepreneurship never really dawned on me. What did I know about business?  Also, I didn’t have the confidence in myself to buck the trend.  I needed a job that was open with a stable company.

That is instead of having to create a job that didn’t exist from a company that I would have to start from scratch with real, viable business ideas…

Article Continued: 3.2 Life Events That Drove Me to Entrepreneurship

New York City marketing recruiters, NYC marketing recruitment

Los Angeles Headhunters, Los Angeles Recruiters, Los Angeles Recruiting Firms

New Jersey Headhunters, New Jersey Marketing Headhunters

Video How to Work with Headhunters

How to Best Work with Recruiters Video by Ken Sundheim CEO of KAS Placement

Embed:

Similar Articles by Ken Sundheim to Above Video

How to Write a Resume for the Job Boards

What Sales Careers Pay the Most Ken Sundheim

10 Questions to Ask During a 1st Interview by Ken Sundheim

4 Tips to Look Younger on Your Sales or Marketing Resume

Is It Time to Leave Your Job 4 Reasons to Resign

Opening a Business in a Down Economy

Open a Business in a Bad Economy

As defined by Webster’s Dictionary, a business or stock is cyclical if its value fluctuates heavily with the economy. While there are many economically proof industries, the majority of small businesses can be defined in some way as cyclical or reliant on the general economy.

Therefore, when the economy takes a dive, many small businesses tend go with it.

It might therefore seem like listening to good sense when a poor economy scares away a potential business owner from opening their own company. But appearances can be deceiving: the economy doesn’t have to be scary to every potential small business owner.

I am living proof as the CEO of a recruiting company whose bottom line is very dependent on the hiring fluctuations both in the U.S. and abroad, as well as on the general health of American business.

Due to the cyclical nature of recruiting, running an executive search firm in today’s economy required me to develop a new thought process and approach to business. While other staffing firms have been going under or downsizing immensely, my company is currently hiring and leasing additional office space.

How am I able to do this?

Below, are 4 rarely discussed tips for those aspiring to successfully open any business in today’s economy.

1. Avoid negativity –

As the owner of an executive search firm, you think that I would be glued to the job reports every week. It is quite the opposite.

I don’t have time for bleak news. We have broken internal recruiting records on the same days as horrific job numbers were reported.

I know that as the CEO, if I don’t remain positive, I risk the negativity spreading through my subordinates.

I’ve learned that the key is to stay around positive, upbeat and successful people.

2. Follow your passion regardless of how bad you think the industry may be

When choosing which business to start, you must only consider those industries that truly interest you regardless of how badly they may have suffered.

Many young entrepreneurs make a big mistake by letting the current economy decide what type of business they should open instead of the other way around.

Good economic conditions are always helpful to the success of a business, but a favorable economy pales in comparison to a passionate CEO.

Article Continued How to Start a Business During a Bad Economy Ken Sundheim

San Francisco Staffing Agencies Indianapolis Headhunters

Minneapolis Staffing Agencies

Video Ken Sundheim How to Get a Great Job Offer

Is It Time to Quit Your Job

Regardless of how unhappy they are, people are always afraid to move jobs. Though
the odds of success may be higher at another company, it is the uncertainty that
clouds their judgment.

 

I have seen candidates wait out an impending lay-off just to keep some glimmer
of hope that it may not come.

 

If you work hard enough and become very good at what you do, you should feel
comfortable moving to another company. It’s worth the risk, if you make an educated,
carefully considered decision.

 

Below, you will find some signs that it is time to jump ship and pursue a career
at another company where you can excel.

 

 

 

1. Your Job Focuses On All Of Your Weaknesses

 

There are certain facets of business that some people are not effective at doing
for the sole reason that they don’t like doing those things. For me, it’s numbers.

 

Even though I had a minor in accounting, I can’t stand looking at them nor do
I waste my time with them.

 

Good managers take their team and divide tasks according to each person’s strengths.

 

This is all well and good, but the problem is that there are not many good managers.

 

If your boss is not implementing this sort of strategy and you find yourself
waking up in the morning in agony, then it’s time to leave.

 

 

 

Video: How to Have a Better Career

 

 

 

2. Getting A Promotion Seems Years Away

 

 

 

Personally, I don’t like working with large companies nor did I enjoy my short
stint in the corporate world before I started my business.

 

The minute a company goes public, they have little loyalty for their employees.

 

Most firms could care less about the talent that lies within the company. Sadly,
some firms refer to people as human capital. Large companies have to produce in
90-day clips.

 

They have to increase numbers from the last quarter and many of the executives
are too busy being stressed by this. The outcome is that they don’t care to spend
10 minutes with you.

 

Corporations are not in the business of making you rich.

 

If you have this feeling and don’t see much of a future within the firm, leave.

Continue Is It Time to Leave Your Job

Ken Sundheim runs KAS Placement account management recruiters VP of sales headhunters and financial sales headhunters

How to Get Rich From a Career In Sales

How To Get Rich From a Career In Sales

There are a few variables that mostly determine how much money a sales professional can realistically make at a particular job.

Though, these factors do not live in a vacuum and, most if not all must be present to truly monetize a business development job to its fullest extent:

Base Salary: every sales job comes with what is called a ramp-up period where the sales employee is busy prospecting for new business, but is starting from “0”, thus having no commission from sales coming in. For this, and a few other reasons, when factoring in how much a sales job can be worth to the employee, base salary is always critical. This is something that we preach both to candidates, clients and internal recruiters at KAS Placement.

Product or Service: without a viable product or service, the sales professional is not only bound to not make money, but they are likely to go into an insanity that many sales employees have experienced upon selling a product or service that is not industry competitive.

I will never forget when I was still in college selling SEC / NASD financial compliance solutions that would capture email correspondence of brokerage firms and, right before making my first big sale, the system froze during the client’s demonstration, thus solidifying us as a “B” player and solidifying me as someone who would have to wait for their first big sale.

Marketing: marketing needs to be strong on a few levels for the sales employee to reap the full monetary benefits of working at a particular business development position.

First, there usually is a direct relationship between the number of incoming leads a sales representative gets (as opposed to outbound cold-calling) and the conversion rate of each prospect that the sales rep. comes into contact with. Most sales professionals who hold the more lucrative jobs tend to have incoming leads from marketing initiatives that be in the form of SEO or PPC Google marketing.

Second, there is public perception of the product or service being sold. Trying to turn around negative sentiment is nearly impossible and is definitely a waste of time and effort if the marketing department can’t do its part.

Read the rest of How to Get Rich as a Sales Professional at Ken Sundheim’s Recruiting and Staffing Blog

KAS is a recruiting firm San Jose Recruitment Agencies, San Jose Sales Recruiters staffing all levels of job seekers Financial Sales Recruitment, Marketing Recruitment Finance, Hedge Fund Sales Recruiter ranging from sales recruiting and sales job Sales Resume and Sales Interviewing Articles, Ken Sundheim to the executive recruitment of Minneapolis Recruitment, Minneapolis Marketing Staffing Agencies, Minneapolis Employment Agencies