The goal of Penguin 2.0 is to target and devalue more black hat spam. It will go deeper than the original Penguin and have a much bigger impact. 

Some businesses are going to have a very good – or a very bad – summer ahead of them. 

Here are a few things that will be affected: 

1. Advertorials –specifically not following Google’s guidelines
2. Problematic search terms like “payday loans” that have historically been spammy
3. Devaluing link buying
4. Helping hacked sites
5. Increasing visibility of authority sites
6. Panda additional signals

 You should be worried about Google changes if you have:

1. Hired some person/some company to do SEO for you and you have no insight into their techniques
2. Been hanging out a lot in black hat spammy forums and have implented any ideas tossed around there
3. Been link spamming. Or buying back links on Fiverr
4. Spent sleepless nights tossing and turning thinking about how to quickly rise in the rankings and game the system. And then acted on those aforementioned thoughts.

Matt Cutts of Google Speaks Out About Penguin 2.0

 Here is a good summary if you’d like a little more in-depth info. 

Are you worried? Excited? Indifferent? Share your thoughts below. 

I truly feel for the many well-meaning businesses whose rankings and sales were hit hard once they were penalized and lost rankings. But I’m excited for the businesses who have been doing things right so they can start getting the rankings they deserve for putting out good content and staying on the white-hat side of SEO. 

The post SEO Alert: Google Changes Coming This Summer Courtesy of Penguin 2.0 appeared first on Jenny Munn.

Last month I talked about 3 of the biggest mistakes I see service providers, website owners and marketers making over and over. One of those mistakes is choosing keywords that are wwwaaayyyyy too broad and competitive. Those are called informational keywords. That is, those terms that have little commercial intent. You’re wasting your keywords and traffic on web surfers, instead of targeting people who are in the buying phase. 

Take a look at my examples below showing the broad informational terms, and then the commercial terms that are much, much better:

What exactly does commercial intent mean? It means that the searcher (your prospective customer) is shortlisting providers (you and your competitors) they want to reach out to. It’s not that broad, informational keywords are evil. I love informational keywords – but only when they’re matched with the RIGHT piece of content. Informational keywords reflect the search of someone who is probably in the “research” phase of the buying cycle. Save informational keywords keywords for your educational content (like blog posts and articles). Not your sales pages or homepage.

Craving More Keyword Goodness?

Of course, reach out to me if you ever have any questions about keywords. And if you’d like more in-depth keyword help check out my free keyword research report.

P.S. On a separate but somewhat related note, if you really want to make me cry, you’ll make me watch P.S. I Love You. Or, you’ll tell me you want to rank for the words “weight loss.”

The post Attention Service Providers: Stop Choosing Sucky Keywords (Think Commercial – Not Informational – Intent) appeared first on Jenny Munn.

Jenny’s Note: As my SEO intern, Meghan Stoneburner, prepares to graduate from college and enter the professional world, I asked her to provide a few “lessons learned” from her perspective as an SEO beginner. Meghan has been a quick learner into the world of search engine optimization. She’s also an awesome person and will be missed. Good luck out there, Meghan! 

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Unfortunately Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not taught in most colleges because it’s a fairly “new” practice and is a constantly changing subject. Teaching the subject throughout a whole semester would be difficult. Like most SEO beginners, I researched as much as I could until I got confused. Then I got luckier than most college students and stumbled into an SEO internship. Having very little knowledge of the basics of SEO, diving head first into the subject in an internship was daunting and overwhelming, Lucky for me, I had a great teacher and a massive amount of determination. Jenny Munn, my awesome internship boss, is an SEO trainer and consultant for digital marketing professionals, small business owners, and SEO skeptics. It was seriously a privilege to work with such a kind and knowledgeable woman. She taught me more about SEO than I ever expected and now I want to share.

The Importance of Keywords in SEO:

I never would have thought that the ranking of websites could come down to single words. Using Google Adwords free keyword research tool, anyone can research what Americans and Global audiences are searching for on a daily basis. It’s kind of like spying on the world and seeing what they are secretly searching in their free time. I very quickly went from an SEO newbie to a Google Adwords addict.

Finding the right words to place strategically on your website or blog can boast your rating and put you on the first page of Google. Isn’t that exactly what every site and blog owner wants? Doing some simple keyword research and using those keywords effectively is such an easy way to make a huge difference in the amount of hits your site gets.

There’s quite a difference in what we think people are searching and what they are really searching. Sometimes that difference comes from a single letter. For example, using the word “keyword” and using the word “keywords” is not the same thing. In a quick Google Adwords search, “keyword” is searched 673,000 a month in the United States while “keywords” is only searched 246,000 a month. Plug in the word “keywords” into your next blog post and it won’t generate as many hits as using the word “keyword”. That S makes a huge difference!

Tips for using Google Adwords correctly:

• Signing in makes a difference - Make sure you log in, in the upper right corner because you’ll get a much better list of results if Google can keep track of what you are looking up. 

• Brainstorm - Fill in the word or phrase area with as many keywords/key phrases as possible that relate to your site and what you have to offer.  If you want to be searchable as a “social media expert” than put that in the keyword search.  And “social media professional”, “expert in social media”, “social media strategist”, “social media consultant”, etc. If you want to write a blog post about animal friendly events in Atlanta, put in “ pet events in Atlanta”, “animal friendly events in Atlanta”, “things to do with your pets in Atlanta”, “Atlanta pet spots”, etc.  Brainstorm your little heart out and put whatever keywords and phrases that you think others would be searching.

• Click this, unclick that - For a more accurate result, there are certain spots on Google Adwords to click and unclick. On the left hand column, unclick Broad and click “Phrase” because this will help narrow down the search. Experiment with clicking “Only show ideas closely related to my search terms” in the middle column.  Otherwise, your results won’t be tailored to your keywords and will include every imaginable search loosely related to the words you plug in. If you don’t get enough results, unclick it to try again.

• The results - Once you have your keywords filled out, your clicks clicked and unclicked and you’re signed in, hit search and see what gold you can find. The top part of the search results section shows your exact keywords/phrases but the bottom is where the best information lies. Click on the local monthly searches on the right to list from most results to least.  Local means the United States and Global means the rest of the world. You are looking for the most local searches with the lowest competition. If the keyword is listed as high competition, just know you have your work cut out for you. High search results, low competiton-that’s your keyword!

• One or two keywords per page –  Using only a specific 1-2 keywords per page (or per post) really focuses your efforts and provides the best chance for success. Just like it isn’t logical to try to rank for a highly competitive word right out of the gate, it’s the same illogical effort to try to rank for several keywords on a page or post.  You want to rank for a keyword for your site in general, for each page, and for each post. Focusing your efforts is key in SEO and if you try to rank for everything under the sun, you will end up not ranking for anything.

Where to put your keywords:

Years ago, people would stuff their writing and websites with an overuse of their keywords and Google would rank them pretty high. But the search engine learned from this shady practice and now they don’t reward keyword stuffing.  There are certain areas to include your golden words that will give you the most bang for your buck.

• Title tag
• Content
• Page Title
• URL
• Meta description tag

Put your keywords in those areas and you have a much better chance of ranking for those words. However, keep in mind that writing for your readers is a bigger priority than writing for search engines.

Using these simple SEO keyword tips can increase your site hits and help you come up on the first page of a search results.  I have one warning for you though. There’s a huge chance you might become just as addicted to Google Adwords as I did. You can thank me later. 

The post From SEO Beginner to Keyword Research Addict – Lessons Learned From an SEO Intern (Guest Post) appeared first on Jenny Munn.

When I was making plans to promote one of my live SEO workshops a few months ago, I inevitably thought that running a few PPC ads could be a great way to spread the word and drive some sign ups. One problem: I had never done PPC before and needed to get up and running quickly. Enter Michael Ensor. I hired Mike as my PPC consultant to guide me through this process. It was an interesting experience, and I’m glad I had him to hold my hand and keep me moving forward (not to mention implement and execute the campaign while I worked on billable projects). 

I asked Mike to put together a few tips so other solopreneurs and small business owners can understand what’s involved in a PPC campaign. Enjoy!

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Need a PPC Plan? 5 Tips for Getting Started

If you are an entrepreneur with a website, chances are you have heard of, or used, Google Adwords. Adwords are sponsored ads that anyone can pay to display their “pitch.” This is also referred to as Pay-Per-Click (PPC), or Paid Search Engine Marketing. Learning search engine marketing can be a bit confusing, and helping small business owners utilize Adwords takes understanding and patience. As an Adwords consultant, I’d like to share tips from helping  Jenny set up an Adwords campaign along with the challenges and tips that will enrich the experience.

Adwords, and other paid search marketing platforms are powerful in regards to driving traffic, converting leads, and other essential digital business practices.

Below showcase the ads that appear when searching “SEO Help”

 What a lot of users have a hard time understanding, is that Google Adwords uses “Search” and “Display Networks.” In laymen’s terms, the Display Network is a bundle of the most popular sites that display Google Ads outside of search. Below is an example of Google Ads appearing inside of Gmail:

Try not to get too overwhelmed! This is where the explanation stops, and the tips and tricks begin. There are 5 main components when helping small business owners utilize Adwords:

1. Budget – The amount of money budgeted for paid advertising
   • Tip: don’t forget to budget money for the ad, as well as a small business PPC consultant if you decide to outsource.   
2. Ad Content – The verbiage used for the ads
   • Tip: who will write this? The copy for the ads is super important. You can choose to write this yourself, or hire an SEO copywriter. Your PPC consultant can help guide you along here.
3. Landing Page – The page visitors are sent after clicking an ad.
   • Tip: The copy of this page is very important. It must be relevant to the ads, displaying the ad content somewhere on the page.  An effective contact form with proper CTA (call-to-action) is a must.  NEVER send traffic to your home page.
4. Conversion Tracking – The ability to see the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.
   • Tip: Establish a true pathway of conversion where an actual transaction takes place.  You want to be notified when a customer purchases or a client signs up, not when someone reaches the signup page.  Utilizing Google Adwords and Analytics is essential for the best forms of ad tracking.  This is where cooperating with your admin or web provider is important, as you must communicate the pathways of conversion in order to properly place tracking code.  Without access to the site, properly implemented tracking code, and enabled tracking tools, it will be difficult to calibrate the effectiveness of your advertising efforts.
5. Reporting – Painting a picture of what has happened with traffic, conversions, etc
   • Tip:  The outcome of an Adwords campaign is a lot more important than the squiggly line provided on the graph. Cut the fat and get right to the point:  What is working and what isn’t? Get rid of the trash, and optimize the keepers.  Is a keyword causing a lot of impressions and no clicks?  Is an ad generating clicks with no conversions?  These questions are proposed when metrics are received, and your PPC consultant should be able to provide accurate and comprehensible approaches to your Adwords strategy. 

Thanks, Michael! Your Turn:

Have you run a PPC campaign before? If yes, what “lessons learned” would you share with others? If not, what is holding you back? 

The post 5 PPC Tips for Small Business Owners & Solopreneurs (Guest Post) appeared first on Jenny Munn.

We’d like to help. If YOU are a deserving business owner, or you know someone who is, who can benefit from a complimentary seat at our upcoming SEO Bootcamp on May 2nd in Atlanta/Kennesaw, Ga, (worth $199) please let us know.

Have them email Mickey and Jenny (the Bootcamp Instructors) and tell us who they are, what their business is about (and who they serve), and how they think SEO will help their business.

That’s it!

P.S. Deadline to email us is Wednesday, May 1, 2013. For more details on our full-day Atlanta SEO Training check out the information here: http://jennymunn.com/seo-bootcamp-for-small-business-owners/

The post Know a Deserving Business Owner? 2 Free Seats Available at our SEO Workshop on May 2, 2013 appeared first on Jenny Munn.

Here to shine the spotlight on this matter is local SEO specialist (and might I add all-around good guy) Ben R. Woodard of Wingspan Marketing.

Ben’s graciously agreed to let us inside his head so we can learn a little more about successful local SEO in 2013. There are some GREAT nuggets of info here – enjoy!

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1. Why should small business owners focus on local SEO?

When I started doing SEO in 2007, the SERPs were relatively flat. Meaning, website optimization was the same for any site to get the ranking results you were after. Major changes were expected but at that time I was able to make a few simple changes to the meta data, add some keywords to the content and wait a few weeks. This was true for almost any vertical. I think the natural progression of anyone starting out SEO is to work with as many small local businesses as possible. I was no different.

Fast forward ahead a few years and things have drastically changed for the clients I have built a relationship with. Google now has several different verticals that require us to pay attention to several differing factors when optimizing a site. Local SEO can bring a great ROI but it takes time, just like any marketing effort. The big difference with Local SEO is that time and effort usually increases ROI without having to increase the amount of the budget you are putting in.

2. What are the top mistakes you think people are doing wrong with local SEO?

The biggest mistake I’ve seen is for business owners thinking they have to be just like another business online. The advice of being yourself is true offline and online. Google is searching for distinct relevant content. If one A/C business is doing the same things online as the other A/C businesses in the area, then how is Google to know which is better? Be yourself in your content, design, and methods.

At the core of almost every local business is repeat customers. If you are a local business, you need to be focusing on building relationships with existing customers. Too many times online strategy conversations with local business owners revolve around the idea of getting new business. This isn’t where Google is starting. What is missing from our conversation is “What are you, as a local business, currently doing offline to establish, retain and grow your existing customer base?”

For instance, If you are a resource offline for people to contact about a specific topic, add a blog. Do what comes natural to you as a business and it will be sustainable. When you are able to establish, build and grow relationships online, your results will improve dramatically. You will pick up more reviews, links, and citations by simply being yourself online than any other scheme out there. The hard part is finding ways to implement those tactics in a meaningful and sustainable way.

3. What is the 1 thing you advocate for with SEO, or that you wish people knew about (local) SEO?

SEOs have a bad reputation of assuming the business owner is “doing it all wrong”. They (I’m guilty as well) come in like a storm and try to change the existing business model that works for the community but hasn’t been able to find a foot online. Finding a good SEO is difficult because you need someone who can come alongside your business, not take over your business.

The need for SEO is not to magically push some buttons and show 1000s of visits a month. The need for SEO is to listen to the business model, know what online methods are possible and mix the two. It should just fit. This isn’t easy. My clients are experts in their businesses. My job is to help them relate that online and fit the online marketing methods into their current workflow.

4. What are some misperceptions out there?

A big misperception about SEO is that everyone is the exception. Unrealistic expectations can kill any relationship or project. We all want to be the exception but just because Joe got hit by lightning and lived doesn’t mean you would achieve the same result. Just because a 14 year old is playing in the Masters, doesn’t mean your 14-year-old should be playing there too. The amazing stories that we have become accustom to online have become the rule in our expectations. Everyone wants to have the Facebook story of success.

It’s necessary to have dreams but it shouldn’t be the basis of how we judge the success of an SEO campaign. I mainly hold SEO professionals at fault for this misperception. We want to impress so we tell stories of what worked without sharing what it took to get there or the perfect storm that propelled the success. We never hear about the years of thought, experiences and relationships that were built. We hear about the times when everything finally came together and results finally showed. What Google has done in the last few years is simply make success online more realistic. You have to…dare I say it…do real company stuff online.

5. What success stories have you seen with SEO? (client case studies, personal story, anything you’ve seen out there, etc.)

I don’t have any really crazy stories of success. I’ve had several businesses come to me with little to no presence on the web and within a few short months they are starting to get calls from their website. I think my biggest success stories are the long term relationships I’ve been able to build. Sure, I have several keywords I’ve seen rank well as a direct result of my efforts but I’ve never saved a business from going out of business. Honestly, the ‘success’ I’ve been able to see in my time as an SEO has been because the clients I work with are awesome at what they do.

6. What is important about local SEO in 2013 and what’s no longer relevant?

Just like always, I really think finding a way to add unique content to your website and use some social media in a unique way is going to be critical in 2013. I have a feeling that citations are going to be hit hard just like links were. Don’t get me wrong. Your NAP (Name Address and Phone Number) consistency in the local ecosystem are critical but citation farming is being spammed just like links were. It may not happen in 2013 but playing that citation game will be a waste of time and set you farther behind when Google does make that change.

7. Do you have any good resources where people can learn more about this subject?

I love SEOmoz! They just acquired GetListed.org, David Mihm, late last year and are starting to publish a bunch of great content on Local SEO. There are few others like Mike Blumenthal and Nifty Marketing who are putting out some great content as well but you can find most anyone who is doing great stuff in Local SEO via SEOmoz and its community.

8. Who are you and how did you get into this profession?

I was a youth pastor for a small church in Pensacola, Florida in 2006 when I was asked to help with the website. Things just progressed from there. I think it is mostly a natural progression to go from website edits to Search Engine Optimization but my curiosity really allowed me to dive deeper into SEO. I love looking at raw data and drawing conclusions. I really love seeing a problem and coming up with a solution. That’s what drives me in whatever I do. When I lost my job at the church in 2010 because of the economy, I just began taking on more clients to make ends meet.

As of April 1, I’m the Web Developer for OnlineForLife.org. I’m still doing SEO on the side with several clients and will be managing some aspects of SEO for OnlineForLife.org but my main job description deals with building and maintaining web properties. We’ll be moving to Dallas from Charleston, SC in June. Super excited but have no idea what to expect in Dallas.

9. How can people connect with you?

Pretty much if you search benRwoodard online you will find me. I love hanging out on Twitter (@benrwoodard) and stay connected via email, just like everyone else.

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Great info, right? What questions or insights do you have about Local SEO? Leave them in the comments field below. And join me in wishing Ben much success in Dallas!

The post 9 Things You Should Know About Local SEO for Small Businesses appeared first on Jenny Munn.

I’m proud to announce the next full-day SEO training class is taking place live on May 2, 2013 in North Atlanta (Kennesaw specifically). This time I’m teaming up with WordPress web extraordinaire Mickey Mellen of GreenMellen Media to bring to you a full day of SEO goodness. If you’re an Atlanta-area business owner or marketing service provider, you can find more information at jennymunn.com/seobootcamp.

 
So I know what you’re asking yourself: What’s In It For Me? Well, I’m glad you asked! Just for you especially, I’ve put together the top 5 reasons you should attend our SEO bootcamp:

The Top 5 Reasons You Should Attend Our SEO Bootcamp on May 2, 2013 

1. SEO takes a village: Sure, back in the day, you could successfully SEO your site in a dark basement without ever having to come out or talk to anybody. Thankfully that is no longer the case. To succeed at SEO (and online marketing for that matter) in 2013, you have to know people. At our workshop you’ll be meeting fellow ambitious small business owners and 2 fun-loving instructors who you can bounce ideas off of and collaborate with long after the day is over. It’s really important you have friends, colleagues, referral partners, and collaborators to sustain your SEO efforts. Did you know that I have a group of 3 mastermind colleagues who come to my aid in a flash whenever I need  retweets? Or blog comments? Or facebook likes? Who knows, maybe you’ll meet your “SEO/social media mastermind” group at the workshop.
2. The pricing for this workshop comes down to $179 for early bird and $199 regular: That is the lowest price of any hands-on SEO training Atlanta has to offer (and believe me, I have researched the costs extensively). That is $25 and $28 per hour for 7 hours. Where else can you find that value to learn hands-on SEO? I challenge you to find a full-day SEO training event in Atlanta that offers this competitive price.
3. Your investment will pay for itself: I SEO’d my site back in 2010 and it has brought me leads which turned into clients which turned in to repeat clients which turned in to referrals. In 2012 alone SEO brought me thousands in new client revenue. If you come to our training and get started on a practical, smart SEO strategy your investment will pay for itself ten times over.
4. When is the last time you gave your business a little TLC and online marketing checkup? This is a time for you to work ON your business, not IN your business. If you’ve had a busy Q1, you deserve this time to sit back and think about your online marketing efforts for the rest of the year. If you haven’t been as busy as you like, then you definitely need to come for obvious reasons.
5. You’ll have a good time. Guaranteed. Mickey (my co-instructor) and I are specialists at making SEO non-boring. This is NOT a full-day seminar where you’ll watch the clock and count the minutes waiting for it to be over. If you’ve ever heard me talk on SEO you know that I’m passionate about helping other small business owners on a budget understand SEO. That’s because back in 2009, I was once a new business owner who opened up my doors and waited for clients to flood in. They didn’t. Fighting for onesies and twosies clients was monotonous. Networking was effective but often expensive and time consuming. So I committed myself to learning SEO as a business development tactic and never looked back. SEO is consistently one of my top business development and partner networking tools. I KNOW other small business owners can experience the same.

RSVP today and join us in Kennesaw on May 2, 2013 from 9am-4pm. Reach out to me if you have any questions and get additional details here: jennymunn.com/seobootcamp. Thanks for reading!

The post My Next Atlanta SEO Full-Day Bootcamp Training: May 2, 2013 appeared first on Jenny Munn.

A lot of SEO beginners – and even some professionals – continue to commit the same mistakes when they do try to SEO their site, making it harder for them to get the top results they strive so hard towards.

But all hope is not lost if you’re an SEO newbie. Being forewarned and cognizant about these 3 mistakes will put you ahead of the game to outrank and outperform those people who commit them, even if you are a beginner:

1. SEO Mistake #1: Wrong or irrelevant keywords

Choosing practical, strategic, REALISTIC keywords and keyphrases is the single most important element for SEO success. A lot of people try to use popular or common keywords in order to get people to their sites, regardless if the keywords that they use have any relevance to their site or not.

For example, my best friend’s husband owns a business where he provides group benefits to small and mid-sized businesses. I asked her what she thought an HR Manager (his target prospect) would google to find her husband’s company. She confidently told me, “health insurance.”

That, friends, can possibly be the worst keyword of all time for his business possible. Let me explain:

1. The keyword “health insurance” is extremely competitive. To outrank sites on page 1 for that term – USA.gov, Wikipedia, Aetna, Humana, NY Times – he’s have to have a huge budget for SEO. Like, thousands upon thousands a month.
2. That term is way too broad and does not indicate a commercial intent. How do you know a college student isn’t just doing research on “health insurance” for a paper? Or a retired couple is looking into their options? Or a freelancer, such as myself, wants to know what health insurance changes are coming up that will affect me?
3. He does not want people in the “research” phase. Nor does he want to educate people. He wants a very specific target prospect who understands what he does, knows the title of the service provider and is looking to shortlist group benefit providers.

What is a better keyword? How about “employee benefits consultant Atlanta.” Ahhhh, much better.

Avoid choosing irrelevant keywords, and instead try to focus on using genuine relevant keywords, so you can direct traffic of possible clients to your site, and not just useless web traffic.

2. SEO Mistake #2: Overuse of keywords

Another common mistake that I see all too often involves business owners who optimize the crap out of their website. Like, over-optimize their keywords to the point of ridiculousness by using them 20 times each in a 350-word page of website copy.

These well-meaning individuals believe that by overloading their site’s content with their chosen keywords, they will be able to trick search engines, and improve their site’s page ranking in the process.

Can you believe this approach to SEO copywriting and keywords used to work? Thank goodness, this tactic is out-of-date and no longer effective. But due to bad information still circulating out there people still do it. Overusing your keywords is the fastest way to raise a prospects “Spammer, spammer!” warning in their brain and entice them to click the back button off your site. And, the fastest way to Google slap a penalty on your site.

Search engines today are smart. They’ll be able to detect if you are committing the over-use of keywords, or “spamming.” And if so, your site will pay the ultimate price by getting itself banned from the search engine’s index.

3. SEO Mistake #3: Believing Content is King.

Content is Not King. Well-written, RELEVANT content is king.

People are driven to go to your site with the keywords that you have chosen, but it is your site’s content that they will be looking for. However, in this case quality is more important than quality. Don’t just slap up copy on your site that is poorly written, has no sales focus or persuasiveness nor a call to action. Even worse, rambles on and on without ever getting to the point. You have 2 seconds to get your reader to identify with what you have to say and like and trust you enough to stay on the site and click around.

Another tip: make sure that whatever keywords you have chosen to use on that page, those keywords are relevant and appropriate for the page you have directed them to.

Do take the time to write good and relevant content in order to ensure that your site would continue to do well against others offering the same thing. Remember that the only way that you can get your site to stand out against other sites would be your site’s content.

Keep in mind that if your website is heavy on graphics and light on copy, Google won’t be your friend. Search engines detect text when indexing, analyzing and checking sites, and are not programmed to look for graphics. So if you have a lot of images or videos be prepared to transcribe and get creative.

What SEO Atrocities Have You Seen (or Heard) That Make You Shudder?

Some of the SEO you see out there isn’t pretty. What are some SEO mistakes you’ve seen others do that are a big no-no?

Image source: Alex E. Proimos from Flickr

The post Friends Don’t Let Friends Practice Bad SEO: 3 Common SEO Mistakes to Avoid appeared first on Jenny Munn.

What is your favorite part about being an online business owner?

If you’re like me you find there are too many benefits to enumerate. But one of those that I can readily point to is the ability to change, to evolve as quickly or slowly as you want.

I experienced a major professional evolution recently. For a few months now I’ve had a sweet gig in-house as an SEO consultant with a start-up in Atlanta. I’m charged with running and growing the SEO department until they decide they’re ready to hire someone full time.

Demand for navigating the crazy world of SEO is high. It’s profitable and fun. I have a passion for it and I’m good at it. And because I’m a believer in focusing on core strengths and outsourcing the rest, I’ve made the decision to put copywriting, my first love, on the backburner. And focus solely on SEO consulting and training (workshops, courses, ebooks, etc.).

Hello “SEO Training Atlanta!”

Changing my business means saying goodbye to “Atlanta Copywriter” and hello to “SEO Training Atlanta.”

The painful part is turning away copywriting referrals, repeat business, former clients, and colleagues who knew me as a copywriter. You’re probably one of those people who have been so good to me over the past few years. And that’s really the point of this post.

To thank you for helping me live my dream. If I can ever help you along the path to your dreams, please let me know HOW and WHEN. I’ll be here.

I have really ambitious new plans in the works. Scary new goals. Exciting revelations. And I’d love to share them with you when the time is right. Signing up for my SEO news is probably the best way to stay in touch.

If SEO is a marketing channel you’d like to learn more about, sign up below for actionable, simple SEO news and tips. As you know SEO is an ever-evolving discipline and it’s important to stay in the know whether it’s for your business or your clients’ businesses.

Sign up, stay in touch, and reach out to say hello. Thanks for all your support and I hope to continue a professional relationship.

Has Your Business Changed?

How has your business changed over the last year or so? There are so many exciting opportunities out there - share what’s new or what you have in the works. 

The post Goodbye “Atlanta Copywriter!” appeared first on Jenny Munn.

WordCamp Atlanta sold out early this year. And with such an awesome lineup and WordPress experts and users who will be out in full force, why wouldn’t it? WordPress is comprised of a very giving community, and I’m lucky to be part of it.

Beginner SEO Workshop Session: Using Search Engine Optimization & Social Plugins

My session, “Using Search Engine Optimization and Social Plugins” is designed for beginners and I’ll cover basic SEO and social concepts such as:

• Adding keywords, titles and description tags
• Creating an XML sitemap
• Connecting Google analytics
• Adding social sharing

To learn more about WordCamp visit http://2013.atlanta.wordcamp.org. And of course, you can use the hashtag #WCATL to follow the action.

See you there!

The post This Saturday, March 16 – Attend My “SEO & Social Plugins” Session at WordCamp Atlanta 2013 appeared first on Jenny Munn.