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| As a former web developer for various 501 (c) non-profit organizations from '02 to '05, I was initially intrigued by search engine organic ranking because such presence did not necessitate any advertising funds unlike its pricey mainstream media counterparts. In the non-profit field, a venue that facilitates awareness-raising at no cost is a much welcomed asset, notably when budget is limited. Little did I know until nearly half a year later that my “guesswork” site tweaking corresponded to what was referred to as search engine optimization, a subset of search engine marketing that focuses on organic placement as an end result. From thereon, I was pleased to find that there existed a thriving industry dedicated to optimizing web content for SERP visibility, and an agora of professionals actively exchanging knowledge and participating in discussions on the latest SE developments. Today, I continue to exercise my passion for SEO as a search strategist for an award-winning SEM agency that specializes in holistic advertising campaign strategies for SMBs. As a Google AdWords Professional and a Yahoo Ambassador, I have also gained high regards for sponsored search thanks to its ability to quickly target a selling proposition and a call to action to the most qualified leads. SEO is available to all. In effect, natural listings enable equal opportunity, regardless of ad spend budget. The ever-changing dynamic nature of SE algorithms furthermore ensures a marketplace “refresh”, once again providing a fair and ongoing leveled ground for all advertisers, where continual SEO competitive intelligence-gathering and strategic choices alone determine the success of a site’s ranking. Non-profit or SMB, all organizational entities deserve equal exposure and a chance to be entered into the information-gathering and comparison shopping arena. Top rank monopolies are not secured by cash strongholds, but rather by sound optimization tactics: this is where I come in. | ||
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