With the advent of the Internet, more and more people are
looking for full- or part-time jobs in Internet-related industries. Needless to
say, being able to work at home is ideal for those who can’t find work in
their location but who don’t want to relocate. It’s also ideal for
those who need to work from their homes, such as mothers with small children or
physically challenged individuals.
One such industry that’s ripe with possibilities is search
engine marketing. Before we learn more about this exciting and relatively new
industry, let’s find out what “search engine marketing” is all
about.
Search engine marketing, also known as search engine
optimization or Web positioning, deals with strategies for boosting a
site’s chances at top search engine rankings. In other words, it’s a
specialized area of online marketing that deals with visibility in the major
search engines and directories.
Now, let’s look at why this field is particularly
attractive, especially in these tough economic times.
Virtually endless possibilities for clients
Web sites spring up by the thousands every single day. Each one
of those new Web sites, as well as millions of existing Web sites, want and
need top search engine rankings to insure the success of the site.
Every online business wants traffic from the search engines. But
how do they get that traffic? By learning and applying search engine marketing
strategies.
However, many online businesses don’t have the time or
desire to learn the strategies themselves. That’s why search engine
marketers are in such demand.
But where can you find clients? Targeting niche markets can be a
great way to build a local, small business. Join your Chamber of Commerce and
target local businesses with Web sites, such as realtors, restaurants, bed and
breakfasts, limo services, local hotels, and more.
You can also partner with local Web developers to offer the SEO
piece to them and have them build it into their proposals for new Web sites.
Simply offer a commission to the developer for referral traffic, and
you’re off and running in the local market.
Numerous avenues for employment opportunities
With search engine marketing, you can work for a professional
search engine marketing company, or you can start your own company as we
mentioned above. You can work part time to supplement an existing income or to
bring in additional funds for the family. Or, you can work full time.
Many search engine optimizers work part time in the industry
until they build a strong client base, and then they switch to full-time search
engine marketing work.
Whereas large online businesses may want to employ their own
search engine optimizer or hire a professional SEO provider, smaller businesses
may be interested in hiring part-time individuals to work on their sites.
So, the employment opportunities can vary greatly.
Relocation often isn’t necessary
One major advantage to a search engine marketing job is that you
can often work from your own home in your own location. After all, you can do
almost anything you need to do for a company’s Web site from your home on
your own computer system.
Some search engine optimization companies do require that their
optimizers work in the company’s location, but other companies hire
optimizers that live anywhere in the world.
Large outlay of cash isn’t needed
Unlike many “stay at home” careers, with search engine
marketing, you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars in necessary
equipment or supplies in order to get started. In fact, the largest expense
you’ll have is a computer, and if you’re reading this article,
you’ve probably already met that expense.
Other expenses include software and training:
- HTML or text editor, such as HotMetal Pro, Dreamweaver, or
NotePad Pro. Visit Stroud’s to
download trial versions of many of the popular HTML or text editors. This
software is what you’ll use to make changes to Web pages.
- Ranking software, such as
WebPosition Gold. In fact, WebPosition
Gold is an excellent software that fills quite a number of needs in the search
engine marketing industry. Use the program to submit pages, to check rankings,
to track visitors, and more.
Training is offered online
One of the most effective ways of learning search engine
marketing strategies is through a training course at the
Academy of Web
Specialists.
The Academy offers beginning and advanced courses in a variety
of different formats to fit the needs and pocket books of everyone. Beginning
courses start at $99 for a PDF download, and the advanced courses begin at
$129.
Can you learn search engine marketing strategies without taking
formal training? Yes and no. There are certainly free sites that offer
information on how to position sites in the search engine rankings. However,
the information is often not presented in a basic “how to” fashion.
So, while you may be able to read and understand the concepts, will that
information actually teach you how to do the work yourself?
Plus, it’s crucial to make sure that you learn search
engine marketing strategies through a company that keeps up with the constant
changes in the industry. In other words, if you read a few articles on search
engine marketing that were written a year or two ago, chances are excellent
that the concepts presented in those articles have changed considerably since
written.
You need to learn the latest strategies – what’s
working right now – versus what was effective last year.
How long does the training last? If you take an instructor-led
course with the Academy, you have up to 16 weeks to complete the training.
However, you can work at a faster pace and finish much sooner. The choice is
yours.
After the beginning course, you’ll know the basic
strategies for search engine marketing. By taking the advanced course as well,
you’ll be able to apply those basic strategies and learn more focused
skills that will benefit you greatly in an online career.
Learn SEO strategies by attending an onsite
workshop
Search Engine
Workshops offers a 6-month mentoring program that comes packaged with a
4-day search engine marketing workshop held at various locations across the
globe. Also included with the mentoring program is an impressive resource
package offering some of the best resources for keeping up with the latest
happenings in the search engine industry as well as other resources for
marketing online.
Learn from industry leaders John Alexander, Robin Nobles,
Michael Campbell, and Dave Barry as they teach search engine optimization
strategies and what's working in the industry at this point in time.
Attendance are kept low, so each participant is given
personalized and individualized attention on his or her own Web site. The
hands-on training is an ideal way to learn how to work with the search engines,
and you'll learn strategies at these workshops that will revolutionize the way
you work with the search engines.
The workshops are an excellent way to finetune your SEO skills,
to learn advanced or technical strategies, and to get caught back up with
current strategies.
Visit Search
Engine Workshops to learn more.
Networking possibilities are also available online
By “networking” with others in a particular industry,
you can learn tips from those who have become successful as well as learn about
job opportunities and the latest industry developments. In the search engine
marketing industry, you can network online without leaving your home!
For example, numerous sites offer excellent online forums where
you can meet with others in the industry and learn from their expertise.
Examples of the forums are:
Search Engine
Forums
Spider-Net Forums
Webmaster World
MarketPositionTalk
For the benefit of their students, the Academy of Web
Specialists offers five or six chat sessions every week on a variety of topics.
These sessions are led by experts in the industry, and guest speakers are
frequently invited to lead various discussions. To see the current month’s
chat schedule, click here.
Enjoy a good challenge?
If you enjoy challenging work, search engine marketing is a
perfect career choice for you. It’s a constantly changing and evolving
industry that requires keeping up with the latest developments and a
willingness to change tactics when new strategies come along.
One thing for sure: it’s never boring!
In conclusion
If you’re in the market for a new online career, or even a
career to supplement your existing occupation, consider search engine
marketing. With little expense and some specialized training, you’ll soon
be ready to venture in to this exciting new industry.
Robin Nobles teaches 2-, 3-, and 5-day hands-on search engine marketing workshops in locations across the globe (SearchEngineWorkshops.com) as well as online SEO training courses (OnlineWebTraining.com). They have recently launched localized SEO training centers through SearchEngineAcademy.com, and they have expanded their workshops to Europe with Search Engine Workshops UK. They have also opened the first networking community for SEOs, the Workshop Resource Center (WRC).
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