Much like internet marketing in 2006 except with a score of new algorithms of which to keep track. Since I have only approximately 500 days of official experience in this business, I've seen at least one, if not two, major updates to the major search advertising engines -- and even more updates to the marketer's interface.
With this furious pace of change, it is no wonder there are so many internet blogs, newsgroups and email lists with expert advice. I've learned trial by fire on some instances, to use but not abuse my network of friends who are so much smarter than me, and to just try things and see what happens. The catastrophes I've read about with people taking their page rank into the graveyard, or losing all recognition by Google, seem to either be a thing of the past or a thing of the unenlightened, trying to attempt feats far beyond their mortal reach.
It is difficult to tell whether Google and its friends have given us non-profit internet marketers a true advantage in the rankings or just a head start. Clearly certain domains attain higher positions, but I keep coming back to the fact that, on average, they deserve it. It may not be solely an advantage entrusted by the domain extension. If positioning were determined by absolutely nothing other than the amount of high quality content (defined as relevant, useful information) a website offers to its visitors, dot-orgs and dot-gov and dot-edu's probably do beat out the average dot-com. While there are many good dot-coms, they get the recognition they deserve. Large corporate sites and the like always have good positioning; it is the small independents or small-medium sized businesses, it seems, that have a brutal fight for ranking without the benefit of a giant advertising budget.
One of the challenges of being involved with an ambitious marketing organization is keeping information completely accurate while working on new online and offline marketing initiatives simultaneously. My current company is one of few I've worked with that is ambitious enough to try a lot of different things at once, and see what works. While the actual development may sometimes feel slow, it's nonetheless a very entrepreneurial spirit that is rare for a Company that's nearly 25 years old. It helps in part to explain our growth and sucess as a business. Now that I am positioned in a secondary role to work with our business development and affiliations team on marketing planning, it does expand the possibilities for what we can get done, and how quickly.
I have the opportunity now to work with several new strategic alliances and support them in furthering a new marketing strategy, plus providing online communications. The side-effect of good business development is going to be more web content than we've ever had, but it will be naturally segregated in a way that we drive more traffic and inquiry sources into our recruiting and operations divisions. At least, that's my theory on how this will take shape. This is a long-term view.
As a marketer in the evolving internet era, I need to remind myself from time to time that the mechanics and gritty work, while mundane, are a necessary step to move in a good direction. A direction of growth, and a scenario that makes volunteer vacations an opportunity of which everyone is at least aware.
