SEO Beats PPC & Social Media For Generating Leads, New Industry Report Says

SEO Beats PPC & Social Media For Generating Leads, New Industry Report Says
Nov 2, 2011 at 9:05am ET by Matt McGee


SEO is the number one source of leads for both B2C and B2B marketers, beating out both PPC and social media marketing in a recent survey of online marketers. But more of those surveyed say they plan to increase their social media marketing budgets in 2012, ahead of SEO and PPC.

The numbers come from the 2011 State of Digital Marketing Report, which was compiled by Webmarketing123, a California-based online marketing agency. The company surveyed more than 500 U.S. online marketers in August and September; about two-thirds of all respondents identified themselves as B2B marketers.

Whether B2B or B2C, both groups of marketers agree that SEO has the biggest impact on lead generation. 57 percent of B2B marketers credit SEO as their primary source of generating leads, while 41 percent of B2C marketers said the same thing.



Both types of marketers say that website traffic is the primary way they measure the success of online marketing efforts. Brand awareness was at the bottom of the list for measuring success by both B2B and B2C respondents.

The survey asked a number of budget-related questions, including one about which channels get the majority of the marketers’ budgets. On the B2B side, one-third indicated that SEO gets the majority of their budget. But on the B2C side, more than 42 percent say that PPC gets the majority of their budget — about double the number of B2C marketers who said SEO is their top budget allocation.



Overall, 60 percent of respondents said they plan to increase their budget for social media marketing in 2012; 53 percent plan to increase their budget for SEO and 40 percent will increase their PPC budget.

Those increases in social media spending are likely field by another couple statistics from the survey: 68 percent say they’ve generated leads from either Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, while 55 percent have closed deals from social media leads.

The 2011 State of Digital Marketing Report can be downloaded from Webmarketing123′s website. You’ll need to provide name and contact information. There’s also an associated infographic with many statistic, which we’ve posted separately here: Infographic: Digital Marketer Views On SEO, PPC & Social Media.

Internet Marketing, SEM, SEO & Web Analytics - Houston Resume

Larry Williams

Houston, TX

281-455-8300

lwwilliams@suddenlink.net

Summary

A results-oriented professional seeking an opportunity that utilizes his experience with IT sales, online marketing, SEO and web analytics to impact and grow a company’s productivity.

Employment Experience

eVariety Company                                                                                                    1/06-1/11

Online Sales & Marketing

• Sold collectible items through customized e-commerce websites, maintained a 100% positive customer service rating and shipped more than 70% of items within 10 days of posting.
• Utilized search engine optimization (SEO) methods and strategies to improve SERP rankings for multiple websites using tools including Google Webmaster Tools and SEO PowerSuite.
• Created and managed pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns using Google AdWords to generate traffic and grew sales using keyword ads, as well as multiple blog and website placements.
• Increased ROI by adjusting multi-channel advertising budgets based on web analytics reports generated by Google Analytics, Omniture Site Catalyst and Google AdWords.
• Created promotional ads and links using HTML tags, Java widgets and RSS feeds on multiple websites, blogs and social media networks including Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter.
• Extensively researched, tested, trained on and utilized new SEO, PPC, online marketing and analytics tools and techniques.

RSA                                                                                                                            8/05-12/05

Senior Account Manager

• Marketed IT business solutions including project, contract and permanent staffing services.
• Met with prospects and gathered detailed information to determine future technical needs.
• Researched and analyzed prospective businesses using Salesforce CRM and industry web portals to forecast sales opportunities.

Bridgewater Resources                                                                                             8/02-6/05

Business Development Manager

• Sold IT staffing solutions for a start-up business by developing and maintaining lasting relationships with companies seeking technical professionals and services.
• Drove sales production with a $500K/yr. average and a gross profit margin (GPM) exceeding 33%.
• Developed most of the CRM workflow process, website content and multi-channel marketing material to promote and advertise a new company and its services.
• Made presentations to corporate executives and hiring managers, gathered detailed information on job orders and planned search strategies with recruiters to target qualified technical candidates.
• Identified target companies and recruited prospects by attending Trade Shows, Career Fairs and multiple business, marketing and technology association meetings.

IntelliMark                                                                                                                 11/94-6/02

General Manager - Account Executive

• Sold regional B2B IT staffing and project solutions by developing and maintaining lasting relationships with companies seeking technical professionals and services.
• Met with decision makers, gathered information on qualified sales orders and developed multi-channel marketing campaigns using cross-promotions and viral marketing.
• Managed Houston branch operations, including budget, marketing plans, sales forecasting and employee hiring, firing, training and yearly reviews.
• Developed and made corporate presentations and co-hosted a national business conference.
• Managed an internet strategy team project that designed and launched a new company web site that included a new layout and content, job posting and search capability and new marketing material.
• Managed a CRM migration project and created a paperless workflow process.

Sales & Recruiting Manager - Account Executive

• Sold IT services, recruited candidates and managed account executives and recruiters.
• Identified target companies and recruited prospects by attending Trade Shows, Career Fairs and multiple business, marketing and technology association meetings.
• Led in-house training sessions and created internet training presentations, videos and documentation for sales and recruiting teams.

Technical Recruiter

• Recruited, interviewed and prepared qualified technical candidates for interviews with client companies.
• Received feedback from candidates and clients after interviews and negotiated starting salaries, benefits, start dates, sign-on bonuses and/or relocation packages.

Management Alliance Group, Inc.                                                                           3/94-11/94

Recruiter

·        Sold staffing services to businesses and recruited candidates in multiple industries, including Finance, Medical and Oil/Gas.

Professional Achievements

• Inbound Marketing Certified Professional - HubSpot
• Manager of three (3) Presidential Award recipients
• Manager of one (1) Chairman Award recipient
• Quarter-Million Dollar Producer Award*
• Top Five Producer Award*
• Rookie of the Year Award*
• Member of Top Three Blended Services team*

* Texas Association of Personnel Consultants / Houston Area Association of Personnel Consultants

Education

Bachelor of Arts – Communications - Marketing, 1993

Stephen F. Austin State University – Nacogdoches, Texas

5 Simple Steps To Stop Wasting Budget With Poor Retargeting

	5 Simple Steps To Stop Wasting Budget With Poor Retargeting Dax Hamman
Is this really another article about retargeting? Absolutely, but with very good reason - whilst marketers think retargeting (or remarketing) is an obvious and established practice, many are still failing to get it anywhere near right, and are actually harming their campaigns by doing it badly. Not All Retargeting Is The Same! A few months ago in this column, we explored the idea that search marketers are the future media planners and with very good reason. But sadly, it is search marketers that are the guiltiest at wasting money in retargeting. In this article, we will explore the right way to do retargeting, often using skills that search marketers already have. The term 'retargeting' to most people means 'site retargeting', the concept of placing display ads in front of people who have visited a website. But let's think about that process for moment - a site visit takes place, a cookie is dropped and when that person appears again, you buy an ad impression to try and bring them back to the site. BUT – you aren't actually targeting a person - you are targeting nothing more than a cookie with a value that says 'this person has previously visited Site A'. (Just like Neo in The Matrix when he sees the World in code for the first time, you need to start seeing retargeting as cookies, not people!) It may sound clinical, but it opens up endless possibilities. So now that we are thinking in the right way, there are many other events that can occur where you can drop a cookie and retarget to your advantage. In the infographic below, the 7 effective types of retargeting, we can see a number of events that can be cookied, both on the site and off the site. Infographic courtesy of Chango: the 7 effective types of retargeting On Site: Segmenting A Site Retargeting Campaign In your SEM programs you are used to the idea of optimization, matching keyword to ad copy to landing page and you do this because you know it works, and you know that constant modification will keep your program fresh and your results high. Site retargeting should be no different; just as a generic piece of ad copy and a link to the homepage won't work in SEM neither will dropping the same cookie on all your site's pages and serving one display ad for your media campaign, yet this is the most common scenario we see. By using multiple pixels, divide the site into 'actions', or 'areas of intent', such as homepage (browsing), product page (researching), shopping cart (buying) and conversion page (customer). Now instead of one generic audience, you have four distinct audiences to target and your SEM strategies can be mimicked more easily. Whereas a 'researcher' may need encouragement about the site's benefits or a financial incentive, a 'customer' can be targeted with upsell opportunities and other offerings. Tip: My golden rule for making a difference is 80/20 - you will get 80% of the benefit from 20% of the effort - you could pixel every page, invest heavily in dynamic creative and spend months testing, but the incremental return is often little in comparison to a simple segmentation strategy like this. The Dirty Secret Of Site Retargeting Before you rush out to create new pixels, you must understand why you are doing retargeting at all. When you first activate the campaign the results will look incredible, probably outpacing any other display technique on the media plan, and you probably look awesome! The problem is that you are only talking to your existing site visitors, people you have already paid to bring to the site. Whilst few will say it to their client, site retargeting is not a direct response technique; it is actually an onsite conversion optimization tool, like dynamic landing pages or customized content. With high CTRs and low CPAs does it really matter? It does if you don't understand how to measure it. Time and time again, I see agencies and brands setup their display campaigns in a tool like DoubleClick or Atlas and add their site retargeting placements into the mix. The 'problem' with ad servers is they try and de-dupe the results they see in order to avoid your revenue adding up to more than 100% of what the site sees. Consider this: you use some behaviorally targeted display placements to drive a visitor to your site, they browse around, leave to continue researching, get served a site retargeting ad, return and convert. DoubleClick will show that your site retargeting program came through again, and that your original display placement did nothing. You are now getting a false view of your marketing efforts, and your decisions about where to invest will be incorrect. Simply put, consider measuring your site retargeting program as a cost, and stop it from de-duping the placements that are bringing in the traffic. (Learn more options in our previous article about 3 simple alternatives to attribution modeling for the search marketer.) When Retargeting IS Direct Response The infographic also shows a number of ways in which 'retargeting' can be a direct response or acquisition tool, and primarily that is retargeting events that have taken place away from the site. The primary such technique is search retargeting. If we think back to our new way of seeing the world (cookies) we know we are looking for events that show someone is interested in what we have to say, what better event is there than someone searching for a word or phrase? Search retargeting allows you to drop cookies on individuals when they have searched for a relevant term on Google, Yahoo, Bing and beyond, and then retarget that cookie with a display ad later. And just as with our segmentation example earlier, targeting the message to the event will drive up performance, in this case at the keyword level. In addition, in our new world, we should be looking at all the places it makes sense to drop cookies - on syndicated content, from shared videos and even from our email programs - all can be added to the cookie pool for retargeting with their own message. It's Never Cool To Be A Stalker Within display we have the ability to set a frequency cap, a control mechanism that says 'after x number of impressions, stop targeting cookie x with my ads. Please use it! Look at your own site, product or service and analyze the buying cycle in order to calculate how long you should be retargeting a cookie for. In nearly all cases it will be less than 7 days, giving you a good metric with which to program the length of your retargeting program. Targeting for longer is simply wasting impressions, and therefore dollars, and is highly irritating for the consumer! Equally, saturating their browsing experience within that 7 days is also irritating, and so cap the number of impressions to be served each day. You should be able to see a report from a tool like DoubleClick that will show CTR at each impression frequency, giving you a clear indication of what to set this too (very often around 7). But, if you are using a good vendor to run the program, you should also set some padding into your program - the minimum time in between each ad impression to one cookie, ignore this setting and you could serve all 7 impressions in just a few seconds. The Simple Steps To Getting Retargeting Right Understand that retargeting is so much more than 'site retargeting' Use the same type of segmentation from your SEM program in your site retargeting program Be brave and look at new ways to measure the performance of site retargeting Retarget events that have taken place away from the site, like search retargeting Cap your campaigns to avoid irritating the very people you are trying to attract Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.
	Dax Hamman is the Chief Revenue Officer at Chango, a leading company in Search Retargeting, and is based in Chicago and Toronto. You can follow him on Twitter @DaxHamman. See more articles by Dax Hamman

Houston SEO, PPC & Web Analytics Resume

Larry Williams

Houston, TX

281-455-8300

lwwilliams@suddenlink.net

Summary

A results-oriented professional seeking an opportunity that utilizes his experience with IT sales, online marketing, SEO and web analytics to impact and grow a company’s productivity.

Employment Experience

eVariety Company                                                                                                    1/06-1/11

Online Sales & Marketing

• Sold collectible items through customized e-commerce websites, maintained a 100% positive customer service rating and shipped more than 70% of items within 10 days of posting.
• Utilized search engine optimization (SEO) methods and strategies to improve SERP rankings for multiple websites using tools including Google Webmaster Tools and SEO PowerSuite.
• Created and managed pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns using Google AdWords to generate traffic and grew sales using keyword ads, as well as multiple blog and website placements.
• Increased ROI by adjusting multi-channel advertising budgets based on web analytics reports generated by Google Analytics, Omniture Site Catalyst and Google AdWords.
• Created promotional ads and links using HTML tags, Java widgets and RSS feeds on multiple websites, blogs and social media networks including Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter.
• Extensively researched, tested, trained on and utilized new SEO, PPC, online marketing and analytics tools and techniques.

RSA                                                                                                                            8/05-12/05

Senior Account Manager

• Marketed IT business solutions including project, contract and permanent staffing services.
• Met with prospects and gathered detailed information to determine future technical needs.
• Researched and analyzed prospective businesses using Salesforce CRM and industry web portals to forecast sales opportunities.

Bridgewater Resources                                                                                             8/02-6/05

Business Development Manager

• Sold IT staffing solutions for a start-up business by developing and maintaining lasting relationships with companies seeking technical professionals and services.
• Drove sales production with a $500K/yr. average and a gross profit margin (GPM) exceeding 33%.
• Developed most of the CRM workflow process, website content and multi-channel marketing material to promote and advertise a new company and its services.
• Made presentations to corporate executives and hiring managers, gathered detailed information on job orders and planned search strategies with recruiters to target qualified technical candidates.
• Identified target companies and recruited prospects by attending Trade Shows, Career Fairs and multiple business, marketing and technology association meetings.

IntelliMark                                                                                                                 11/94-6/02

General Manager - Account Executive

• Sold regional B2B IT staffing and project solutions by developing and maintaining lasting relationships with companies seeking technical professionals and services.
• Met with decision makers, gathered information on qualified sales orders and developed multi-channel marketing campaigns using cross-promotions and viral marketing.
• Managed Houston branch operations, including budget, marketing plans, sales forecasting and employee hiring, firing, training and yearly reviews.
• Developed and made corporate presentations and co-hosted a national business conference.
• Managed an internet strategy team project that designed and launched a new company web site that included a new layout and content, job posting and search capability and new marketing material.
• Managed a CRM migration project and created a paperless workflow process.

Sales & Recruiting Manager - Account Executive

• Sold IT services, recruited candidates and managed account executives and recruiters.
• Identified target companies and recruited prospects by attending Trade Shows, Career Fairs and multiple business, marketing and technology association meetings.
• Led in-house training sessions and created internet training presentations, videos and documentation for sales and recruiting teams.

Technical Recruiter

• Recruited, interviewed and prepared qualified technical candidates for interviews with client companies.
• Received feedback from candidates and clients after interviews and negotiated starting salaries, benefits, start dates, sign-on bonuses and/or relocation packages.

Management Alliance Group, Inc.                                                                           3/94-11/94

Recruiter

·        Sold staffing services to businesses and recruited candidates in multiple industries, including Finance, Medical and Oil/Gas.

Professional Achievements

• Inbound Marketing Certified Professional - HubSpot
• Manager of three (3) Presidential Award recipients
• Manager of one (1) Chairman Award recipient
• Quarter-Million Dollar Producer Award*
• Top Five Producer Award*
• Rookie of the Year Award*
• Member of Top Three Blended Services team*

* Texas Association of Personnel Consultants / Houston Area Association of Personnel Consultants

Education

Stephen F. Austin State University

Bachelor of Arts – Communications / Marketing – 1993

SEO Questions? Why SEO Disgusts Me (An opinion)

Why SEO Disgusts Me

It's getting ugly

Mark Schaefer |

Before my SEO friends get their panties in a wad over today’s headline, let me emphasize that I understand the practical value and wisdom of basic Search Engine Optimization practices. There are many prinicipled people in the field doing good and useful work.

What tactics frustrate you the most? Comment here.

But the competition to out-fox the search engines is getting ugly. Beyond ugly.

I recently had a discussion with the CEO of a leading Midwest search firm who described their common practice of creating fake accounts to pump client links into the comment section of blog posts and forums.

The process goes something like this:

1. The company hires home-bound individuals or low-wage people in developing countries to freelance as professional blog commenters.
2. The blog commenters are trained on how to pose as fake people and comment in a way that does not alert the suspicion of Google or the author of the blog.
3. The freelance commenters are then given assignments, fake personas and email accounts to provide an appearance of legitimacy.  A 50-year-old man in Indianapolis might be posing as a 30-year-old housewife in Pittsburgh, for example.
4. The commenters are compensated by the number of client links they can successfully work into a comment or forum — as many as five in one post.

Reality check.  Isn’t this fraud?

I really don’t pay attention to the SEO shenanigans like this on a day to day basis but now these practices are starting to impact me and my precious time. Here is an example of this practice in a comment that was salted into the {grow} comment section by “John” –

This is good post. This is some good important facts about the corporate blogs. Do you have any information on how to manage comments on the blog.  I think http://www. (web link to consumer electronics retail outlet) might have an idea.  Chech it out.

And of course this linked website did not even have a blog.  So now I am spending my time weeding out fake comments that elude the spam filter … and it happens every day.

I spoke to one of the freelancers hired by this SEO company to provide this faux commenting service. He’s otherwise unemployed and is doing it because he’s desperate for money. He’s good at what he does and rarely gets “outed.”

However as he described his work, he told me he feels guilty when people on the blogs actually want to engage with his fake persona. “I feel terrible about this,” he said. “I have to find some other work.   I’m deceiving people as part of my job. I’m not in a position to engage with them because I’m a fake, which seems wrong.”

While Google fights against this kind of practice, it is very difficult to detect, and the “penalties” are so minor the risk is ignored by the SEO’s. And the volume of fake comments is likely to get worse.  This firm alone has hired 300 fake commenters in the past 12 months and sees rapid expansion as a key competitive advantage.

The CEO of this SEO company does not consider this a “black hat” SEO practice — “it’s gray,” he said, “and we have many companies willing to pay us a lot of money to do it.” He bragged that one client has a monthly SEO bill of $200,000.

I recognize that there are many important business insights and strategies that can come from legitimate SEO professionals like:

• Keyword research + targeting
• Testing + optimizing content for users
• Content strategy direction
• Making sites search-engine friendly
• Leadership for analytics
• Opportunities for alternative search listings
• User experience improvement

… and more.  But I’m concerned when it gets difficult to compete in the industry without engaging in fraudulent behavior.  This is a slippery slope that will lead to regulation.  All it will take is one high-profile case that blows the lid off these practices.  And we will all lose if we have to endure new rules and the cost of compliance.

I want to do business with people who view ethics as black and white, not gray.  I want to work in an industry where we can compete fairly without resorting to SEO fraud to cover up ineffective products, services and marketing plans. How about you?

Let us know in the comments.
Check out BusinessGrow.com for more articles by Mark Schaefer.

The Seven Deadly SEO Sins

The Seven Deadly SEO Sins

A SEO-News Exclusive Article By Nick Stamoulis (c) 2011

When compared to its offline marketing counterparts (things like PR, promotions and advertising), SEO has a pretty negative reputation. Many consumers hear "SEO" and think to themselves "Oh yes, that's when companies flood my inbox with junk mail and pepper my screen in pop-up ads." Others see SEO as an attempt to game the system and spin the search results.

Even though SEO has been around for long time (pretty much as long as there have been search engines), the industry as a whole still has a bad reputation. This is mainly because of the actions of a few SEO spammers and black hat practitioners. They are the ones who are actively trying to manipulate the search engines and they are the ones that send you e-mails in the middle of the night with subject lines like "A weight loss program that lets you eat cheeseburgers and pizza? It's true!"

As a site owner, you never want to have your brand lumped in with these SEO con men, even if you didn't mean to engage in black hat SEO. That is why it is important to avoid the following SEO sins:

1. Low-Quality Content

Unless you've had your head in the sand for the last few months, you know that the Google Panda update cracked down hard on numerous "content farms" that churned out thousands of low-quality, spammy articles. The update also took on regular sites with a lot of duplicate, low-quality content. Content marketing is one of the most important elements of online marketing success. Poor content won't get you anything other than a search engine penalty.

2. Keyword Stuffing

This is one of the cardinal rules of SEO, but many sites are still guilty of stuffing their content with keywords in an attempt to be more appealing to the search engines. Content should be written for the end user, NOT the search engines. Peppering your content with keywords might make it easier for a search spider to index your content, but is that search spider going to be doing business with your company? Not likely. Keyword-heavy content is one of the biggest causes of a high bounce rate.

3. Poor Site Navigation

A good SEO rule of thumb is that it should never be more than 3 clicks from your homepage to any deep internal page. If a user has to click all over your website with no idea where they are or how they got there, they aren't going to waste their time. Your site structure has to lead them down a predetermined path of information. It needs to be a logical progression through the site. If a user can't find what they are looking for the moment they arrive on your site, they won't bother to dig through your pages to find it.

4. Spammy or Duplicate Meta Descriptions

Meta tags are like little advertisements for your website in the search results. Those 150 characters are what convince a searcher that your site is the one they are looking for. They may not be the most important factor for search engines, but they play a huge part in the overall user experience. Each page needs its own Meta description that describes the content of that page! Just like the actual pages themselves, you don't want to stuff the Meta description full of keywords. Would you want to visit a site where the Meta description looked like, "Caribbean cruises, cruise the Caribbean, Caribbean cruise, Caribbean cruise vacation, vacation cruises to the Caribbean..." Are you going to trust that site?

5. Irrelevant Links

Links are important currency in the online market space. The more quality, one-way links a site has pointing towards it, the better trust factor it has with the search engines. But quality is far more important than quantity. 10,000 links that come from spam blogs, "bad" sites like adult or gambling sites, cloaked text and link exchanges actually devalue your website. A link is not worth your online reputation. Too many shoddy links and the search engines will remove your site from the results entirely.

6. Copying the Competition

Each industry is unique and each site has its own set of challenges to deal with. Studying the competition is important because you need to understand the SEO arena you are about to enter, but copying the SEO strategy of your competitor will get you nowhere. Just because it worked for them, that doesn't mean it will work for you. Also, what kind of fight are you really putting up if your company just does everything the competition does? It guarantees that you will always be two steps behind.

7. Going for Immediate Results

SEO is a long-term process that builds momentum over time. You are not going to see overnight success. If that is your goal, to rank on page 1 of Google within the week, you are opening yourself up to a lot of black hat SEO techniques that will artificially inflate your ranking. While success might be sweet for a little while, the search engines are going to catch on sooner or later and you'll fall off the face of the Internet.

These SEO sins and others are the reasons why the SEO industry has a bad reputation. Some black hat SEO practitioners do them intentionally, and sometimes site owners without enough SEO experience accidentally do. The best thing site owners can do is to learn what is and what isn't acceptable for white hat SEO and consider that their line in the sand.

About The Author
Nick Stamoulis is the President of Brick Marketing, a full-service SEO services firm that also offers SEO consulting and SEO site audits. With over 12 years of industry experience, Nick Stamoulis shares his knowledge by posting daily SEO articles to his blog, the Search Engine Optimization Journal. Contact Nick Stamoulis as 781-350-4365 or nick@brickmarketing.com

Website Magazine - Five Search Alternatives

Google is the first choice in search for more than 65 percent of the Web, while the shared efforts of Microsoft and Yahoo have earned Bing the market’s only other significant share. But the most successful Web professionals are those who explore all of their options; and for additional choices in search, look no further than the following list.

Blekko

When Blekko launched back in November 2010, there were plenty of doubters who didn’t expect the startup search engine to last more than a year. While that may not be guaranteed just yet, Blekko is making good on its promise of creating a new and exciting alternative in search.

Blekko’s mission, some three years in the making before its actual launch, was to enlist human editors in an effort to eliminate spam and personalize and socialize the search experience. The team of 25 or so employees includes former Google and Yahoo search engineers and the project has received significant backing from some of the best-known investors in the tech world, including Marc Andreessen and Ron Conway.

The magic behind the Blekko vision was to use programmingrelated slashtags or topic tags to create the most relevant search verticals for users. Those very users would be among the editors curating and maintaining the slashtags, and after three months Blekko reported that it had more than 110,000 human-curated tags.

Blekko clearly could not compete with the size and scope of Google’s or Bing’s indexes, but what it could — and does — do is produce more relevant, more accurate, better search results. Before Google made headlines around the globe with its Farmer Update algorithm changes, Blekko had removed the very same content farms (and many more) from its search index as a matter of standard practice — and to much less fanfare.

But what it may lack in publicity Blekko has made up for in terms of a devoted user base. Its January 2011 numbers indicated an average of 1 million queries per day and between 10 to 15 queries per second. And Google and Bing’s own publicity does them as much harm as good — the controversy over Bing’s “stolen” search results and Google’s paid links scandal with J.C. Penney being just two recent examples.

Perhaps that’s why Blekko and the alternative search options below have become favorites for many SEOs and Web professionals of every kind.

DuckDuckGo

Blekko recently forged a partnership with fellow startup search engine DuckDuckGo (DDG), in which the two companies share technologies and information in the name of improving the quality of search results for users. The partnership is sure to evolve over time, say the CEOs of both companies, but right now DDG receives access to Blekko’s auto-fired slashtags in seven categories (health, colleges, autos, personal finance, lyrics, recipes and hotels) in return for use of DDG’s proprietary feature, zero-click info.

Similar to Google’s Instant Search, zero-click info gives users the most relevant information on websites and search terms without having to click on search results. Local business listings from Yelp, word definitions from The Free Dictionary, Wikipedia entries and content from 13 additional StackExchange sites are some examples of information users can find with zero-click results.

Like Blekko, DuckDuckGo has developed quite a following and averages more than 5 million searches per month.

Greplin

Greplin is a user-authorized search engine that can search and index social services and applications such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Gmail, Google Docs, Evernote, Basecamp, Salesforce and more, and it’s adding more all the time. The startup recently announced the addition of a Chrome extension to its search presence so that users can now search their social data directly from the browser without having to go to Greplin’s website. The creation of a 19-year-old entrepreneur from Israel, Greplin may be the best known of a growing number of services such as CloudMagic that are designed for searching users’ social graphs for personal data and those hard-tofind items that often get lost in the cloud.

Wajam

Wajam is another socially driven search tool, but unlike Greplin it returns its results as part of your experience with Google or Bing. Where Greplin searches only the applications that have been preauthorized by the user, Wajam searches the entire Web but with an emphasis on returning personalized results from Facebook, Twitter and other social sites a user has bookmarked. It is used as a browser extension available for Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer, and injects these social results into the search queries submitted to larger engines.

Quora

Quora is the extremely popular new platform that strives to be the definitive question-and-answer site for just about any topic on the Web. Like Blekko, it is largely human-driven and invites users to ask questions, provide answers and share their knowledge and comments. Questions are organized into different categories that can also be created by users, leading to a wide range and growing index of topical information.

Nobody believes that these solutions will threaten Google’s dominance in the world of search any time soon, least of all the people behind each service. But most of them seem to be much more focused on improving the Web by providing a better way to access information.

Just like Google was when it first launched.

Houston SEO/PPC Marketing Analytics Professional Resume

Larry Williams
Houston, TX
lwwilliams@suddenlink.net
281-455-8300






Summary

A results-driven professional with 15 years experience with an emphasis in online marketing, SEO, SEM and web analytics seeking an opportunity to impact and grow a company’s productivity.

Employment Experience

eVariety Company 1/06 – 1/10
Online Sales & Marketing
• Sold antique and collectible items through multiple eCommerce websites, maintained a 100% positive customer service rating and sold and shipped more than 70% of items within 10 days of posting.
• Created and managed pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns using Google AdWords to generate traffic and grew sales using keyword ads, as well as multiple blog and website placements.
• Utilized search engine optimization (SEO) methods and strategies to improve page rankings for multiple websites using tools including Google Webmaster Tools, SEOQuake and Web CEO.
• Increased ROI by adjusting multi-channel advertising budgets based on web analytics reports generated by Google AdWords, Google Analytics and Omniture Site Catalyst.
• Created promotional links using HTML tags and Java widgets on multiple websites, blogs and social media networks including Facebook, Google Buzz, Twitter and LinkedIn.

RSA 8/05 – 12/05
Senior Account Manager
• Marketed IT business solutions including project, contract and permanent staffing services.
• Met with prospects and conducted needs assessments to determine current and future technical needs.
• Analyzed businesses using online web portals and the Salesforce.com CRM and to forecast profitability.

Bridgewater Resources 8/02 – 6/05
Business Development
• Sold business staffing solutions for a start-up IT division by developing and maintaining lasting relationships with companies seeking technical professionals and services.
• Developed most of the CRM infrastructure, workflow process, website content and multi-channel marketing material to promote and advertise a new company and its services.
• Made presentations to decision makers, gathered detailed information on job orders and planned search strategies with recruiters to target qualified technical candidates.
• Identified target companies and recruited prospects by attending Trade Shows, Career Fairs and multiple business, marketing and technology association meetings.





IntelliMark 11/94 – 6/02 General Manager / Account Executive
• Sold regional B2B IT staffing and project solutions by developing and maintaining lasting relationships with companies seeking technical professionals and services.
• Met with decision makers, gathered information on qualified sales orders and developed multi-channel marketing campaigns using cross-promotions and viral marketing.
• Managed Houston branch operations, including budget, marketing plans, sales forecasting and employee hiring, firing, training and yearly reviews.
• Developed and made corporate presentations and co-hosted a national business conference.
• Managed an internet strategy team project that designed and launched a new company web site that included a new layout and content, job posting and search capability and new marketing material.
• Managed a CRM migration project and created a paperless workflow process.

Sales & Recruiting Manager / Account Executive
• Sold IT services, recruited candidates and managed account executives and recruiters.
• Identified target companies and recruited prospects by attending Trade Shows, Career Fairs and multiple business, marketing and technology association meetings.
• Led in-house training sessions and created internet training presentations, videos and documentation for sales and recruiting teams.

Technical Recruiter
• Recruited, interviewed and prepared qualified technical candidates for interviews with client companies.
• Received feedback from candidates and clients after interviews and negotiated starting salaries, benefits, start dates, sign-on bonuses and/or relocation packages.

Management Alliance Group, Inc. 3/94 – 11/94
Sales / Recruiter
• Sold staffing services and recruited candidates in a broad range of industries, including Finance, Medical, Oil/Gas and Real Estate.

Professional Achievements

 Manager of three (3) Presidential Award recipients – IntelliMark
 Manager of one (1) Chairman Award recipient – IntelliMark
 Quarter-Million Dollar Producer Award*
 Top Five Producer Award*
 Rookie of the Year Award*
 Member of Top Three Blended Services team*
* Texas Association of Personnel Consultants / Houston Area Association of Personnel Consultants

Education

Stephen F. Austin State University
Bachelor of Arts – Communications (Journalism) /Marketing – 1993
 The Pine Log Newspaper – Sales / Advertising Account Manager
 KLSB-TV (NBC) – Sales / Advertising Intern
 East Texas Blood Center – Advertising Intern



Additional Skills Addendum



Optimization / SEO

Determined website and page objectives and ensured each page was search engine-friendly.
Developed site content, researched competitor’s sites and chose the most effective keywords.
Performedsite analysis and review of SERP rankings, page content, layout, links and site speed.
Researched and utilized new SEO tools and techniques and submitted site maps and optimized pages.


Marketing / PPC

Created online advertising campaigns using Google AdWords to generate traffic and increased sales using pay-per-click (PPC) ads, as well as multiple blog and website placements.
Managed ad placements, networks, ad budgets and analyzed CPC, CTR and CPM.
Developed marketing initiatives and strategy involving content, positioning, pricing and promotions.
Improved online ad campaign performance by adjusting content and keywords and set up secure customer payment options using PayPal and Google Checkout.


Analytics

Analyzed detailed traffic reports, Key Performance Indicators (KPI), geo-mapping and CPC using Omniture Site Catalyst, Google AdWords and Google Analytics.
Analyzed and improved SERP rankings, page traffic reports, traffic sources, content drilldowns, landing and exit pages, average time per visit and bounce rates.
Adjusted item prices and descriptions, page content and layout, as well as ad budgets, keywords, locations, networks and scheduling based on analytic reports and market research.


Training

Inbound Marketing Certified Professional - HubSpot, June 2010
Social Media Optimization is the New SEO – HubSpot
SEO Strategies for Corporate Web Sites – Omniture
Marketing and Advertising Using Google – Google
11 Tips to Improve Your SEM Campaigns - Omniture
Business Internet Marketing for Facebook & Twitter – HubSpot
Omniture, Testing and Web Site Optimization – Omniture
SEO Measurement 101 – Omniture


Social Media

LinkedIn
Twitter

ABC’s for 2010 Techies

What is the Emerging Web Technology Stratosphere?

How can I possibly keep up with the most relevant “beta” and “latest releases” to stay on top?

Here is a quick list of the basic ABC’s for 2010 Techies:

• Analytics
• Blogs
• Cloud
• Debug
• ECommerce
• Flash
• Google
• Holistic
• Ipad
• JavaScript
• KPI
• Link bait
• Metrics
• Netbook
• Opensource
• PPC
• Query
• RSS
• Social Networks
• Twitter
• UI
• Viral
• Wiki
• XML
• YouTube
• Zip

Houston's Williams Receives Certification in Inbound Marketing

Williams Receives Certification in Inbound Marketing
Certification Awarded by Inbound Marketing University Training Program

HOUSTON, TX – JUNE 8, 2010 – Inbound Marketing University awards the Inbound Marketing Certification to Larry Williams as part of its comprehensive Internet marketing training program (http://inboundmarketing.com).

This certification acknowledges Williams’s proficiency in inbound marketing principles and best practices. These principles include: blogging, search engine optimization, social media, lead conversion, lead nurturing and closed-loop analysis.

Williams joins an elite group of Inbound Marketing Certified Professionals. In total, 1,300 individuals have successfully passed the IMU program.

To complete the Inbound Marketing Certification, Williams completed 16 in-depth classes covering each facet of inbound marketing and passed a comprehensive certification exam. (View the full list of classes: http://inboundmarketing.com/university/classes)

The courses are taught by a knowledgeable faculty of professors, including New York Times’ best-selling author Chris Brogan, Google’s Analytics Evangelist Avinash Kaushik, Internet celebrity Gary Vaynerchuk, best-selling author and international speaker David Meerman Scott, and more. (View all professors: http://www.inboundmarketing.com/university/professors)

This certification is administered by HubSpot.

About InboundMarketing.com
InboundMarketing.com is an online community and certification program for marketers. The site’s content teaches a new style of marketing that emphasizes business uses of social media, content creation and search engine optimization for marketing. InboundMarketing.com is hosted and moderated by HubSpot, Inc. Register for InboundMarketing.com at http://inboundmarketing.com/user/register.

About HubSpot
HubSpot, Inc. provides Internet marketing software that helps businesses get found online, generate more inbound leads and convert a higher percentage of those leads into paying customers. HubSpot's software platform includes tools that allow professional marketers and business owners to manage search engine optimization, blogging and social media, as well as landing pages, lead intelligence and marketing analytics. Based in Cambridge, MA, HubSpot can be found at http://www.hubspot.com. HubSpot's free marketing tools can be found at http://grader.com.

# # #

Organic Click-Through Rate Rules

Google Analytics has changed the game for SEO's looking to understand their performance with it's new Search Queries report. While ranking position has been the sole measure of SEO success for as long as many can remember, the focus has shifted to "organic click-through" and it provides a more meaningful, although for some slightly terrifying, glimpse into achievement.

It is not uncommon to hear from proud Web professionals that they, after months or years of optimization, have finally achieved a first place ranking. What many ultimately discover to their own befuddled amazement is that oftentimes those keywords that they now rank for simply do not convert.

In today's world of digital media optimization, the quantity of traffic is all but meaningless. What is more important is quality of traffic that you receive. The SEO mavens of our time realize the importance of keyword research but understand that SEO does not stop there (or at a first place ranking). They understand the quality of their traffic as well. They know which terms convert and which they should avoid.

The sole way to determine the quality of traffic should come as no surprise if you are familiar with analytics on any level. Bounce rate is clearly a good indicator but conversion rate metrics (something you should most definitely be tracking through your analytics vendor) indicate performance far better. There is an even more effective way to determine if you've made the right decision and are getting closer to your ultimate goal of total SERP domination - organic click-through rate.

Much in the same way that search advertising services provide an equivalent indication for paid listings (multiplying the number of impressions versus the number of clicks), those responsible for SEO success should consider adopting this same key performance indicator.

While your analytics account will not offer this information, users of Google Webmaster Tools do have access to it through the recently released Search Queries report. For many SEO's it will be considered the ultimate mechanism to determine performance. If you're not using Google Webmaster Tools, stop reading, sign up (for free) and hang on for a wild ride as the information you'll receive will be well worth your time investment (which is minimal at best).



As you can see from the image above, the report in GWT provides data on the total number of impressions, the total number of clicks, the click-through rate/ratio and the average position per keyword. If you think that's valuable information, it gets even better. Not only can you determine your overall organic click-through rate, but you are also able to drill down and obtain information for each keyword including impressions, click and click-through rate for each position and for each entry page. Ready for more - you can even segment by platform and determine search performance for Web, mobile and even images.


The value of tracking organic click-through rate site-wide and per keyword will prove to be your most valuable indicator of performance. For perhaps the first time, SEO’s will be able to identify keywords that are performing well on the SERP's and those that are not. This information could be turned over to our landing page optimization team, copywriters and even business development teams to make enterprise level decisions on optimization, marketing and more. That’s a KPI you can get excited about as it fully involves every aspect of the organization in its ultimate success.
Posted by Peter A. Prestipino

Larry Williams SEO/SEM Resume

Larry Williams
Houston, TX
lwwilliams@suddenlink.net
281-455-8300






Summary

A professional with more than 15 years experience with an emphasis in IT sales, marketing, SEO and web analytics seeking a new opportunity with a successful organization.


Employment Experience

The eVariety Company 1/06 – 12/09
Sales & Marketing
• Sold products worldwide through multiple start-up eCommerce websites; more than 70% of items were sold and shipped within 10 days of posting.
• Achieved and maintained a 100% positive feedback rating, due in large part to success with viral marketing, repeat buyers and a commitment to customer service.
• Managed P/L and increased ROI by adjusting advertising budgets based on web analytics reports generated by Google AdWords, Google Analytics and Omniture Site Catalyst.
• Created advertising campaigns using Google AdWords to generate traffic and grew sales using pay-per-click (PPC) ads, as well as multiple blog and website placements.
• Created multi-channel advertising blitzes, sent direct email updates, distributed multiple data feeds via RSS and used search engine optimization (SEO) and SEM strategies for top page rankings.

RSA 8/05 – 12/05
Senior Account Manager
• Researched staffing prospects using web portals and CRMs to collect data and forecast profitability.
• Marketed technical business services including project, contract and permanent staffing services.
• Set business appointments, met with managers and prospects to collect detailed information.

Bridgewater Resources 8/02 – 6/05
Business Sales Development
• Drove B2B staffing sales production for a start-up IT staffing division with a $500,000/Yr average and a gross profit margin (GPM) exceeding 33%.
• Sold IT Staffing Solutions by developing and maintaining lasting relationships with companies seeking technical professionals and services.
• Met with decision makers, gathered information on qualified job orders and collaborated with recruiters on targeting technical prospects.
• Developed most of the CRM infrastructure, website content and multi-channel marketing material involved in a start-up company.
• Identified target companies and recruited prospects by attending Trade Shows, Career Fairs and multiple business, marketing and technology association meetings.


IntelliMark 11/94 – 6/02 General Manager / Sales (3/00 – 6/02)
• Sold regional B2B IT Staffing Solutions by developing and maintaining lasting relationships with companies seeking technical professionals and services.
• Managed Houston branch, hired, fired, trained and reviewed employees and set productivity goals.
• Met with decision makers, gathered information on qualified sales orders and promoted subsequent marketing efforts through cross-channel and viral marketing.
• Managed re-branding campaign, CRM migration project and cost reduction policies.
• Identified target companies and recruited prospects by attending Trade Shows, Career Fairs and multiple business, marketing and technology association meetings.

Sales & Recruiting Manager (6/97 – 3/00)
• Sold IT services, recruited, hired candidates and managed account executives and recruiters.
• Developed and maintained accounts seeking business professionals and services.
• Created and led an internet strategy team that designed and launched a new company web site that included a new layout and content, job posting, search capability and new marketing material.
• Led in-house training sessions and created training presentations, videos and documentation for sales and recruiting teams.

Technical Recruiter (11/94 – 6/97)
• Recruited, interviewed and prepared qualified technical candidates for interviews with client companies.
• Received feedback from candidates and clients after interviews and negotiated starting salaries, benefits, start dates and sign-on bonuses.

Management Alliance Group, Inc. 3/94 – 11/94
Sales / Recruiter
• Sold B2B staffing services and recruited candidates in a broad range of industries.

Professional Achievements

Training
• Marketing and Advertising Using Google
• 7 Advanced Steps to Effective Search Marketing – Omniture
• D3: Data Driven Decisions - A New Paradigm for Managing SEO Programs
• Turbo Charge Your Search Engine Marketing – Omniture
• Innovations in Search Engine Marketing – Omniture
• 2009 Internet Marketing Conference – Stores Online

Brainbench Certifications
Sales Concepts, Marketing Strategy, Solution Selling, Business Communication, Marketing Concepts, IT Industry Knowledge, Problem Solving, Managing People, Business Writing


Education

Stephen F. Austin State University
Bachelor of Arts - Communications / Marketing – 1993
• The Pine Log Newspaper – Sales / Advertising Account Manager
• KLSB-TV (NBC) – Sales / Advertising Representative (Internship)
• East Texas Blood Center – Advertising Chairman (Internship)


Additional Skills Addendum




MARKETING

Created promotional links using HTML tags and Java widgets on multiple websites, social networks (Facebook, Twitter) and blogs.
Initiated search engine optimization (SEO) methods by updating product and website information on search engine directories (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc).
Created online advertising campaigns with Google AdWords to create more traffic using display ads, PPC, website placements and HTML search keywords
Created product feeds using RSS and used Google Base to publish product information for inclusion in Google search results.


TRACKING / ANALYTICS

Tracked and analyzed sales using Sales Reports Plus for key performance metrics to optimize sales and get item metrics by category and format.
Created custom Omniture and Google web analytic reports to identify critical success metrics for online marketing campaigns.
Analyzed Detailed Seller Ratings, Store Traffic Reports, Key Performance Indicators and CPC using Omniture Site Catalyst, Google AdWords and Google Analytics.


TECHNOLOGY

Microsoft Office, Web CEO, IIS SEO Toolkit, SEOQuake, Google Chrome SEO, Omniture Site Catalyst, Google Analytics, Google/DoubleClick AdPlanner, Google Talk, Google Voice, Google Wave, Google Buzz
Social / Business Networks: Facebook, LinkedIn, Naymz, Twitter


WEBSITES

http://sites.google.com/site/larrywilliamssite/
http://www.linkedin.com/in/larrywilliams4u


ANALYTICS

http://sites.google.com/site/houstonsemppc/web-analytics/google-analytics
http://sites.google.com/site/houstonsemppc/web-analytics/omniture-site-catalyst

Houston SEO/SEM/PPC Marketing Professional

Larry Williams
Houston, TX
lwwilliams@suddenlink.net
281-455-8300




Summary

An experienced professional seeking an opportunity to utilize my skills in IT marketing, sales, SEO/SEM or web analytics to impact and grow a company’s productivity.

Employment Experience

eVariety Company 1/06 – 11/09
Sales & Marketing
• Sold original and collectible items worldwide through multiple customized eCommerce “eVariety Company” WebStores.
• Achieved and maintained a 100% positive customer feedback rating; more than 70% of items were sold and shipped within 10 days of posting.
• Increased sales and product awareness by creating online advertising campaigns with Google AdWords using display ads, Pay Per Click (PPC) ads, website placements and keyword targeted ads.
• Increased ROI on advertising by analyzing detailed web analytics data generated by Omniture Site Catalyst, Google Analytics and Google AdWords.
• Implemented search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to analyze and improve SERP listings, content quality, meta data, keyword density and internal/external links.
• Wrote detailed content and created promotional links using Java and HTML widgets on multiple websites and blogs, as well as social and business networks.

RSA 8/05 – 12/05
Senior Account Manager
• Marketed technical business services including project, contract and permanent staffing.
• Set business appointments, met with managers and prospects to collect detailed information.
• Researched companies using the Salesforce CRM to collect data and forecast profitability.

Bridgewater Resources 8/02 – 6/05
Business Development Manager
• Drove sales production for a start-up IT staffing division with a $500K /Yr average and a gross profit margin (GPM) exceeding 33%.
• Met with decision makers, made presentations, gathered information on qualified job orders and strateg ized with recruiters on targeting technical prospects.
• Developed website content and multi-channel e-business marketing material.
• Identified target companies and recruited candidates by attending trade shows, career fairs and multiple business, marketing and technology associations.
• Negotiated company service agreements and provided RFI’s, RFP’s and RFQ’s.





IntelliMark 11/94 – 6/02 General Manager / Sales
• Sold B2B IT Staffing Solutions by developing and maintaining lasting relationships with companies seeking technical professionals and services.
• Managed Houston branch P/L and budget, as well as hired, fired, trained and reviewed employees and set productivity goals.
• Met with decision makers, made presentations, gathered information on qualified sales orders and promoted marketing efforts through cross-channel and viral marketing.
• Managed re-branding campaign, CRM migration project and cost reduction policies.

Sales & Recruiting Manager
• Sold IT services, recruited, hired candidates and managed account executives and recruiters.
• Developed and maintained accounts seeking business professionals and services.
• Created and led an internet strategy team that designed and launched a new company web site that included a new layout and content, job posting, search capability and new marketing material.
• Led in-house training sessions and created training presentations, videos and documentation for sales and recruiting teams.

Technical Recruiter
• Recruited, interviewed and prepared qualified technical candidates for interviews with client companies.
• Received feedback from candidates and clients after interviews and negotiated starting salaries, benefits, start dates and sign-on bonuses.

Management Alliance Group 3/94 – 11/94
Sales / Recruiter
• Sold B2B staffing services and recruited candidates in a broad range of industries.

Training & Certifications

Training
• Marketing and Advertising Using Google – Google
• Google Analytics Introduction / Custom Reporting - Google
• D3: Data Driven Decisions - A New Paradigm for Managing SEO Programs - Covario
• Business Internet Marketing for Facebook & Twitter - HubSpot
• Advanced SEM Strategies - “Tips for Master Search Marketers” - Omniture
• Turbo Charge Your Search Engine Marketing - Omniture
• SEO Strategies for Corporate Web Sites – Omniture

Brainbench Certifications
Marketing Strategy, Marketing Concepts, Sales Concepts, Solution Selling, Business Communication, Business Writing, IT Industry Knowledge, CRM Concepts

Education

Stephen F. Austin State University
Bachelor of Arts - Communications / Marketing – 1993
• The Pine Log Newspaper – Sales / Advertising Account Manager (employment)
• KLSB-TV (NBC) – Sales / Advertising Representative (Internship)