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.

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

Facebook & Twitter's Huge Impact on Social Media

Facebook's Role in Social Media Marketing

Social media and inbound marketing are increasingly important assets for businesses to get found by and engage with potential buyers on the web. Think about the way you find information about products and services – are you watching TV ads? Going through your junk mail? Or are you going to a search engine or a friend?

People have gotten better and better at ignoring marketing messages with DVRs, caller ID, and spam filters, and instead go to Google and social networks for answers to their questions. The question for you is: will you be there to answer it?

Facebook is not an evil time-waster, a community just for college students, or something scary or irrelevant for marketers – even you B2B folks. Facebook is a tool for connecting people with those around them. And, as with any social media tool, marketers have an opportunity to use Facebook to expand their online footprint and engage with customers directly.

What makes a great Facebook page?

* Product / Service Passion
* Content
* Community
* Fun
* Practical Information
* Engage
* Call to Action


Twitter's Role in Social Media Marketing

Twitter is also referred to as a "micro‐blogging" service, meaning you can post short updates limited to
140 characters or less. Why? Originally, the limitation was created to make Twitter compatible with
mobile phones and text messaging. Now, it’s a useful characteristic that allows users to receive rapidfire,
concise information from many, many people!

Top Twitter Tips

* Make your company’s Twitter usernames easy to find.
* Make your tweets useful resources so people need you.
* Use Twitter to drive people to your company’s website.
* Monitor your brand on Twitter.
* Respond to concerns people tweet about your company or products.
* Be sure to follow back everyone who follows your Company Account.
* Use your company account to update customers with any temporary down‐time.

In conclusion, remember that the Facebook and Twitter communities are dynamic and rapidly
developing spaces. They are constantly changing, adding features, and growing the community, so get active and don’t be afraid to try new things!

Facebook/Twitter Use May Now Mean More for Google/Bing Rankings | WebProNews

Google and Microsoft have both inked deals with Twitter, and Microsoft has also inked one with Facebook to integrate Twitter and Facebook updates into Bing search results. Google will be adding tweets to search results.

Google’s Marissa Mayer says, “We believe that our search results and user experience will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this up-to-the-minute data, and we look forward to having a product that showcases how tweets can make search better in the coming months. That way, the next time you search for something that can be aided by a real-time observation, say, snow conditions at your favorite ski resort, you’ll find tweets from other users who are there and sharing the latest and greatest information.”

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/10/21/facebook-and-twitter-now-more-important-to-search-rankings