i wanna be found - using seo to enhance job searching
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
I Wanna Be FoundUsing SEO to Enhance Your Job
Search
Goals of Today’s Presentation
• Outline how basic SEO strategies can enhance other job search activities
• Provide insight into how to optimize online presence in social media
• Make job search more productive• Facilitate contact, interviews, and hiring by
potential employers
About This Session
• Based on very basic knowledge of SEO principles
• Platform agnostic – will not focus on specific channels or blogging software
• Results will not happen overnight, but will occur in direct proportion to effort
As A Professional• Over ten years’ experience
in non-profit/social services• Co-organizer for Chicago
Net Tuesday• Work in fundraising, grant
writing, community mobilization
• Strong background in social media strategy & engagement
As A Blogger/Writer• Over fifteen years’
experience online content creation/community management
• Comics/pop culture blogger for six years
• Writer/podcaster for Comic Related
• Occasional contributor – Baker Street Blog, Chicago Now’s Job Stalker
Gordon’s Background
Goal : Optimize presence in search to establish professional expertise and provide relevant
background information to potential recruiters and
employers
Professional Target Keywords
• Non-profit• Community • Engagement• Development• Fundraising• Social Media• Outreach• Strategy• Project OR Program
Personal Interest Keywords• Comics OR Graphic Novels• Popular Culture• Doctor Who• Sherlock Holmes• Television
Ideal Keyword List
Goal: Increase frequency & presence of career/professional keywords while
maintaining personal interest keywords
Optimizing Content - Blogs
• Created & Began Non-Profit Social Media/Civic Engagement Blog (http://www.metroshrink.com)
• Generated & Included Meta Tags for current blogs and other related content
• Modified overall content within both blogs to reflect SEO principles, e.g., Title reflecting contents of entry, inclusion of expertise-related keywords, tags
• Inventoried presence and frequency of use of personal social media channels
• Keywords included in user profile
• User names modified to reflect my own name
• Google Plus – updates will show up in search results
Optimizing Content – Social Media
Professional keywords generated from past activities, job descriptions , and professional/personal interests
• Modified resumes when applying for position to reflect keywords/professional duties in job posting
• Drafted “elevator speech”, branding statement, and other background information to use in professional description
• Tracked status of job applications/interviews/other activities via Excel spreadsheet to determine efficacy
• Researched potential contacts & employers via search engines and Linked In on keyword combinations
Optimizing Content – Resume & Applications
Optimizing online content is not a substitute for regular job search activities
Some Notes About Linked In
• Profile shows up in search results proportional to contacts & visits Profiles with over 500 contacts placed higher
in results• Linked In Skills (currently in beta) provides “tags”
based on skill set and professional interests• Profile should provide framework for resume
and not vice versa• Two resources for Linked In Optimization
Brenda Bernstein – Essay Expert (Madison, WI)
Greig Weils, BeFound Jobs
Communications Hub• Purchased gordondymowski.com as domain
• Chose to establish site on Blogger platform – Integration of widgets, ease of use, and can modify design internally
• Provides one-stop shop for content Social Media (including Friendfeed) Various online mentions (Netsquared) Links to unique content (Comic Related, Baker Street
Blog, Job Stalker)
• Contains Professional/Personal Meta Tags
• Allows for online “portfolio” of online work and overview of online activity
Keyword-rich explanatory text
Contact Information
Social Media/Online Content
Aggregator
Results – Google Search Results
Search for “Gordon Dymowski” on Google on 08/13/11
• Top 23/30 Search Results for “Gordon Dymowski” focus on professional efforts and social media Three – Comic & Pop Culture-related blogging/content Two - Generic Profiles (e.g., MyLife.com) Two – Pre-2000 Content (one in Top 10 results)
• Communications Hub – Consistent Traffic• Boosts SEO through links• Provides Online “Portfolio” for employers
Results – Tag Cloud
Generated using Google with Search Cloudlet Extension for Firefox on 08/13/11
Increased frequency of keywords related to professional efforts; potential to expand professional presence in search
Results – Personal Job Search
• Averaging 1 – 2 job interviews/week
• Increase in engagement with potential freelance opportunities Establishing working
relationship with business development corporation
• Increasing number of contacts via meetings & Linked In
Results – Linked In• September 2010 – Averaged 2 – 3 profile views
in a 15 day period
• August 2011 – Averaging 5 – 7 profile views/week
• Out of seven profile views in one week: Two were by professional recruiters, which
led to one working arrangement Three were seeking contacts in field, and
two professional relationships established Two were “Anonymous Linked In User”
Upcoming Social Media/Small Business Training
• Thursday, September 1st 5:30 – 6:00 pm Networking 6:00 – 7:30 pm Session
• Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton, Room B91• Pricing Information & RSVP
http://nextsteps090111.eventbrite.com
Contact Information
Gordon Dymowskihttp://www.gordondymowski.com
[email protected](773) 809-4473
Twitter: gordondymLinked In:
http://linkd.in/gordondym