Interested in Working at Home?
Consider a New Career as a Search Engine Marketer!
Part 1
By Robin Nobles
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.
In Part 2, we'll continue the article by discussing other
expenses, including software and training, as well as other
aspects of this exciting new career choice.
Robin Nobles is Director of Training for the Academy of Web
Specialists. Robin has taught close to two thousand students in
her online and onsite search engine marketing courses during
the past several years. Her latest books, Web Site Analysis and
Reporting and Streetwise Maximize Web Site Traffic, can be
ordered through Amazon. Visit the Academy's site
(
http://www.academywebspecialists.com/more_info) to learn more
about their search engine ranking courses and software solution.
