Recruit seo

My name is Ben McKay and I am a search engine marketing consultant for a range of UK and USA companies. (I feel like I am in some sort of AA meeting!!).

My background is in more traditional aspects of marketing, but since 2006, I have worked in a wide variety of online marketing roles, both in-house SEO and as a SEO Consultant, managing a variety of PPC campaigns, blogger for personal and professional sites, and about to move into an agency role. I really have been about it! Hence why I feel like I would like to share something with others to get them moving in the search marketing industry.

It's a career that I love, and I bet you don't hear many people saying that about their jobs! So this site is going to be geared-up to helping those not only just find the right job but also direct the efforts in the right direction once they are in it too!

To start, here's 9 thing's you may not know about my career to date...

My first few jobs

I had the usual paper-round, glass-collector and fruit-picking kind of roles in my spare time, but my first real job was when I was 16/17 whilst I was at college in Sheffield, UK. The Kitchen Manager was fired and I had to take on it's management for a year.

All experience is experience as far as I see it. Throw yourself into every job, regardless of whether it is exactly what you want and it builds a healthy work ethic, great people skills, good stress management and problem solving skills.

My first real marketing job

I first started in marketing (in a direct capacity at least) in 2001 for the largest independent holiday company in the UK. A big chunk of their business, believe it or not, was from coach holidays (I don't know why I have always so surprised by that but just am!).

Most rewarding job

I worked in PR and fund-raising for a street kid project in Saigon, Vietnam for a few months in 2006. We doubled the project's budget that year.

Not since 1994, or 2000, but 2006 – it's not too late!

I have only been in SEO since 2006. Having been in the industry as long as I have though, I can see that there's still so much capacity for newbie SEOs to join the industry. As my entry into the industry is so new, I hope I can pass something on to budding SEO guys and girls that are looking to make the search marketing their future career.

It was one big mistake, I mean accident!

I got back from my travels and without a job, my step-bro said here's some work, it pays well, and off I went, reading Sitepoint's reference pack sat at my computer. So essentially, I fell into my SEO career by accident (doesn't everybody?!)

My favourite part of SEO

I love the analytical elements, the great range of creativity, the holistic nature of the work and of course the results gained.

My least favourite part of SEO

The concern that we SEO's are developing a culture of blackbox artists – doing unknown things, with little transparency and accountability. It's more of a concern for the industry as a whole as opposed to my day-to-day working – I love that side of it! :)

My biggest blunder

Thinking I can take on the world with my SEO skills and at times spreading myself too thinly. In addition to writing, SEOing in-house and on a freelance basis, I also thought I could get into buying/selling domains and affiliate websites. No!! Toooo much!