Any Advice On Breaking Into The Industry

Posted November 19th, 2008 by Eric Bridges
in

Hi everybody, I am a brand new member to the group and was hoping to get some helpful insight on getting into the industry. I have been working as an account manager for a healthcare consulting company for the past year and realized I wanted to change career direction. I will be receiving my GAP certification at the end of this weekend, and have been studying every website, book, and SEO resource in hopes to get a job within a marketing/SEO company.

So that is my background and my big question is if anybody has advice for a complete rookie, please throw it out there. I have realized it's going to be next to impossible to get on with a company in an SEO position without the job history/background and have started doing some free SEO work outside of my current job (in exchange for some references). If anybody has advice on something to expect, companies to look into for employment, or other certifications to work on, feel free to reply here or email me if you have a longer detailed message. Thanks everybody!

Eric
ebridges45@gmail.com

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Welcome Eric... I can't say

On November 26th, 2008 bdorland says:

Welcome Eric...

I can't say that I have specific advice for you regarding "breaking into the industry" since I was a marketer and a website developer before I became an SEO, but what I can tell you is that being able to show positive results (increased SE traffic stats) from past clients if far more important than a GAP certification.

That being said, I don't think you need to offer your services for free. There's a lot of small businesses in this town that would love/need some inexpensive help. And many of us within this SEO community will probably ask for a larger fee than many of those companies can swallow.

My advice...Start leveraging your network and selling yourself. Throw a question out on Facebook..."anybody need any inexpensive SEO help?" Don't be shy to tell people you are just getting started. Don't charge much in the beginning. Underpromise and overdeliver. Remind them that others in the industry (me) charge $2000/month minimum.

Don't forget to make sure that your clients' websites have analytics installed. Establish benchmarks before you get started. Monitor and record your progress. The more success stories you have under your belt, the more marketable you will be...

Good luck!

Brody Dorland - Something Creative, Inc.