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Freelance Friday: Spring Cleaning for Freelancers

This blog is part of our Freelance Friday series, where we discuss everything and anything related to freelancing. For more freelance information, tips, and trends, follow us on Twitter.

Spring cleaning is as ubiquitous to this time of year as April showers, May flowers, and allergies. Spring signals revitalization, a chance to refresh yourself and your home. Every year, people around the world pull out the vacuums, dusters, and furniture polish for this annual cleaning spree.

For freelancers who work from home, it can be more than just house cleaning; it is also a great chance provide a much needed therapeutic pause to help rejuvenate your business. In fact, spring cleaning provides the perfect opportunity to clean, organize, update, and refocus your freelancing career.

Here is a comprehensive, three-pronged approach to freelancer spring cleaning:

First things first, clean your home office or workspace—this is still spring cleaning after all.

Declutter Your Desk

Albert Einstein once said, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”

Far be it for me to argue with the one name everyone associates with ‘genius,’ but trying to find something you need amongst the piles of papers, old mail, discarded post-its, empty coffee mugs, and trash is beyond frustrating (and a big waste of time). Rid your desk of the unnecessary, outdated, and anything else that can impede your productivity and creativity.

Deep Clean Your Workspace

While the desk is the heart of productivity, the whole office is your workplace—and hiding in every corner is a pile of clutter filled with distractions. Dust, vacuum, wash the windows, take out the trash—make your office relaxing and inviting so that you can and want to go to work in there.

And don’t just gloss over the surface of things, clean under the chair/sofa, behind cabinets, and on top of bookshelves. Bundle wires and plugs neatly, re-organize the placement of things, and rearrange the furniture for better accessibility. A clean office is a happy (and productive) office—even if your “office” is just a corner of your bedroom or your laptop on the kitchen table.

Decorate for Inspiration

Clearing and cleaning your workspace also affords you the opportunity to add key items in previously underused places, particularly your walls. Bulletin boards, calendars, white boards, and shelves can all add much-needed organization and visibility to your work while optimizing space. If you want to go even further, a fresh paint job or the right artwork can elevate your workspace even higher.

Next, after cleaning your workspace, it is time to tidy up your most valuable piece of equipment as a freelancer—your computer. Just like your desk and office, your computer can accumulate clutter at an alarming rate. Optimizing your computer’s performance can only benefit you in every other aspect of your job.

Declutter Your Desktop

If you have failed to notice the pattern developing here, it is decluttering! Like your physical desktop, your digital desktop is also a magnet for junk—outdated docs, obsolete images, and random folders. Go through them with a fine-toothed comb, combine what is still needed, and purge whatever is now expendable.

There are a few other simple upkeep tasks you can perform, including organizing bookmarks, clearing your cache and history, and making sure your computer, its programs, and your various applications are all fully updated.

Clean Out Your Email

There are two types of people: empty inboxers and crazy people. To each his own, but just because you are one of those people who doesn’t mind seeing your inbox in the thousands, that doesn’t mean you can’t organize your email.

Start by expunging junk and spam, cull your email subscriptions, archive old but important threads, and then delete any no longer relevant mail clogging your inbox (and unnecessarily bogging down your storage capacity). You can also get more organized by setting up filters and creating various folders, tabs, and labels to help you find the right email when you need it.

Back Everything Up

Even if you haven’t personally experienced a computer crash, you’ve likely had a nightmare about it. Though never a good thing, the damage caused can be alleviated by dutifully backing up your files, whether it be with a USB drive, external hard drive, or the cloud. Backups are essential in the digital age.

Virus Scan and Updates

Like backing up your files, running virus/malware scans and updating your computer and apps should be done on a regular basis anyway, but spring cleaning makes for a good reminder. It is crucial for the overall health of your computer to make sure everything is up-to-date to avoid any potential vulnerabilities. You also need to make sure that no malicious files have infiltrated your system via email or websites you have visited.

Now that your workspace and computer are clean, it is time to turn your cleaning attention to your overall freelancing business.

Social Media TLC

Like everything else in your life, your social media profiles need a little TLC occasionally. Make things easier for yourself and attempt to make social media less of a time suck for your freelancing business. Update your profiles; review your Likes/Follows to optimize your feed/timeline; setup lists, groups, circles, etc. to better find what you are looking for; and consider a new photo or bio to go along with any updates you may have about your freelancing career. Also, you may want to look back and delete anything too embarrassing from the past—you never know who is looking.

Freshen up Your Portfolio and Resume

Similar to a resume, your portfolio needs to be regularly updated. Besides updating your personal or contact info, take this time to add in any big projects you have worked on lately, as well as any new services you provide or skills you have acquired. Your portfolio should show the true range of what you have accomplished in the past. Even if you are not looking for additional work at the moment, revising as you go will ensure complete and up-to-date materials for when you do need them.

Reevaluate Your Freelancing Business

Finally, take some time to evaluate your freelance business on a grand scale. Are you satisfied with the work you produce and the money you get paid? Do you want to add more services, styles, or sources? Or drop some? Does communication between you and clients need to improve? Are your taxes and business expenses in order? Are you effectively marketing yourself?

As stated in the beginning, spring signals revitalization, a chance to refresh yourself and your business. Let this inspire to make changes (If necessary) to how you operate. Drop what isn’t working. Seek out new and challenging changes. Make your freelance career work for you, not the other way around.

Images:

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May 12, 2017
Grow Your Business With These 7 Digital Marketing Tactics

Members of the Search Influence team gave their insight on tried and true digital marketing strategies. These strategies apply to every industry, from plastic surgeons to attorneys, and many can be implemented across different channels of marketing. Using a mix of or all of the 7 tactics below is a sure-fire way to optimize your business’ online potential.

1. Mobile

Before updating the aesthetics or adding content to your site, it’s of the utmost importance that you make sure your site is responsive and functions properly on both desktop and mobile. More than half of users say they wouldn’t recommend a business if they encountered a poorly designed mobile site.

“To me, the biggest trend (and this is as much a wish as it is a prediction) is that small businesses begin to take mobile optimization more seriously. I’m still surprised by the number of businesses I see in my day-to-day life that haven’t reacted to the continuous uptick in mobile search by having their site optimized for mobile users.

My main focus, in terms of a trend, is the expansion of mobile search as a primary source of information. The trend will be more companies utilizing tools like Google AMP in order to improve the mobile user experience. Currently, far too many don’t take the number of leads they can get from a mobile-optimized site.” – Cory Agular

Later in this post, I’ll go over AMPs and some more specific mobile moves, but I really want to emphasize that mobile should be incorporated in every aspect of your online marketing campaign. Google has stated that not only are 60% of users unlikely to revisit a mobile site they had difficulty visiting, but also 40% will then go on to visit a competitor’s site. You’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but if you can’t open the book, you’re not even going to try reading it.

2. Schema Markup

Schema markup, coding that can be added to a page on your site, makes information more easily readable to search engines like Google. This code labels pieces of important information on the page. Search engines not only understand the information better but they can also provide richer search results to users.

“As far as I’ve noticed, Schema’s been underutilized… however I’m seeing a lot more talk acknowledging it for its on-site SEO value and correlation with rich snippets and Google’s knowledge graph. And as we’ve seen, Google’s been working to improve its algorithm and knowledge graph to really ‘understand’ content to better predict user trends.” – Kiersten Kampschroeder

“It’s been increasingly popular to integrate schema into your content. I think that providing meta information using schema markup not only helps SEO, but it also aids the programmer and contributes to making better semantic websites. 2017 will be the year where instead of thinking how we can ADD schema to existing sites, we instead shift toward creating websites with schema markup baked into their design and writing content with schema markup in mind. I’d compare thiscoming year with what happened with responsive design 3–4 years ago. That was the shift where everything became mobile first. 2017 will be the year schema is integrated into the general development workflow.” – Member of Web Development Team

A search for “breast augmentation new orleans” shows how review schema implemented on Dr. Kinsley’s site appears in results:

3. GIFs

While 2016 saw a rise in GIFs, an acronym for Graphics Interchange Format, they were first debuted by Steve Wilhite of Compuserve in 1987. They are the epitome of #thirtyflirtyandthriving. These dynamic, digestible pieces of content are easy to create and share and provide a more engaging user experience than a single static image.

“GIFs are important to any brand aesthetic, be it personal or public, because they offer a truncated version of the desktop’s fluid experience (i.e. video).

GIFs are a better option now since they’re more pervasive and different social media platforms accept them or give you a way to use them easily. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Facebook Messenger are all compatible with GIFs now.

Twitter actually integrated, similarly to Facebook, a GIF search within the post tool. [It has] allowed for a closer relationship between Facebook and Twitter, as well. You’ve always been able to link the two accounts, … [but] now, it looks like Twitter, when auto-posted to Facebook, is fully integrated into Facebook’s platform and presents the post as it would be presented on Twitter.” – Member of Graphics Team

There are so many reasons you should incorporate GIFs into your marketing strategy this year. As mentioned, the fluidity of GIFs can make the creation of cross-platform content so much easier. They’re easy to create and even easier to share. Most of all, it’s a fun and unique way to reach your consumers!

So, why not shake things up a bit?

4. Social and Mobile Paid Advertising

In 2016, we saw a rise in mobile advertising, but this year, with more than half of searches on mobile devices, it will be an essential component of an effective and well-rounded search engine marketing campaign. Expanded ads are now easily translatable between desktop and mobile, but it’s almost important to mobile users’ needs when determining the content, location, and timing of your paid ads.

Social advertising like Facebook Paid Ads are showing increased popularity and effectiveness. The level of granularity continues to rise with Facebook audience targeting, and we have seen an increase in conversions even as CPCs remain low.

“With the introduction of ‘new’ campaign objectives, such as lead generation and local awareness, Facebook really does seem to be a place for lots of growth. With Facebook trying to essentially phase out Fan Building campaigns, local awareness campaigns present an interesting opportunity for smaller budget clients who want to focus on a local market.” – London Fougerousse

While Facebook ads are more cost-effective than traditional paid ads, that’s not a reason to rely on them solely. The decision to use Facebook vs. Google Adwords or a mixture of the two is truly dependent on a variety of factors, such as your location, industry, and goals. I recommend hopping on the mobile train sooner rather than later. Forecasters are predicting that by 2019, 72% of digital ad spend will be on mobile advertising!

5. Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, mobile should be a consideration for all of your online marketing efforts. Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs) are a way to take that focus even further. AMPs are not a ranking factor in Google (for now) but they can positively impact impressions, clicks, and user experience.

“Since the rollout of AMPs in mobile SERPs this past spring, pages have typically only been found at the top of the results page in a carousel—which is still prime real estate—however, Google recently announced that AMPs will soon also begin showing in the organic results and supporting more content types. We’ve all heard the mobile-friendliness search stats, and adopting AMPs is another way to bring content to your consumers instantly and on the go.

“Historically, AMPs have been utilized mainly by news publishers, but with the expansion to the organic results, I can see a future for almost every type of industry. Shopify, eBay, and Fandango recently announced their integration of AMPs, so this is a good trend for e-commerce clients especially to be conscious of. And Google also hinted that they will begin supporting more content types like live videos, galleries, etc., which can also open more doors for clients to take advantage of.” – Member of Account Management Team

The increased speed of Accelerated Mobile Pages leads to a better user engagement, and those (potential) customers/clients are more likely to return to your site if it was able to quickly provide them the information they were looking for. A recent study shows that with AMPs, The Washington Post saw a 23% increase in mobile search users who return in 7 days. If you’re a business receiving the majority of your site traffic from mobile devices, AMPs could be a strategic way to boost your online presence above and beyond your competitors.

6. Video

Video is not just for YouTube. It should be incorporated into as many of your online marketing efforts as possible: product/procedure pages on your site, email marketing, display ads, social platforms, and everything in between!

“For online marketing rich content could include native video content and paid video ads on both YouTube and Facebook Video Display ads. Also, I think brands will begin to utilize Facebook Live more for events and branded content to engage their fans.

“I believe these videos will be prominent cross-device! Today, people are constantly moving between devices throughout the day and advertisers need to be innovative and streamline their message to engage users across all devices.

“For Facebook Live, I would recommend this for brands and businesses that have a strong Facebook following. Facebook Live is a tool to engage your audience, not necessarily build an audience. These videos are best for events, conferences, speaking engagements, big company announcements, etc. There are so many options to deliver creative, curated content!” – Sophie Kirk

Rich video content is content that keeps on giving. One video can apply organic, paid, and social campaigns across devices, and can be broken down and repurposed to create a number of assets. Videos are not only attention-grabbing, but are also a great way to establish your brand’s message and have lasting effects in terms of brand recall.

7. Links

Links might not be the most exciting item on this list, but they’re certainly one of the most important. Link building is an essential aspect of a well-rounded SEO strategy! When the search engines crawl pages on your site, links are used to identify how it relates to other internal pages and other sites. Links connecting one site to another can indicate that a particular page/site is the authority on a given topic. But, as you should know, not all links are created equal!

Google first launched its Penguin Update in spring of 2012 and rolled out its final update, Penguin 4.0, this past fall. Penguin is Google’s effort to catch sites that are using “black-hat SEO” techniques like spammy link acquisition to affect search rankings.

“In 2017, ‘link’ will no longer be a dirty 4-letter word. For far too long, bad link building has been lumped in with quality link earning. Everyone got freaked out by Penguin and the industries either shied away from “linkbuilding,” or, if they were doing it, were hush-hush about it.

“Google’s initial differentiator was to focus on links as votes, which is at the core of PageRank. Google has, in the past, described their foundational algorithm by stating: PageRank works by counting the number and quality of links to a page to determine a rough estimate of how important the website is. The underlying assumption is that more important websites are likely to receive more links from other websites.” – Paula French

Google truly is looking for quality over quantity when it comes to link building, but that’s just part of the SEO puzzle. If your site is suffering from technical issues or lacking rich, natural content, links will not save you. Make sure your online marketing strategy includes both on and off-site efforts.

These 7 online marketing tactics are an inexpensive way to boost awareness of your practice and bring in new, revenue-generating patients. With a little strategy and effort, you can have a comprehensive SEO campaign that brings your practice’s website up to speed!

Image Resources:

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May 4, 2017
Three New Team Members Join Search Influence

While New Orleans is busy with festival season, Search Influence has hired three new Influencers. We are excited to welcome Rob Monk, Sierra Kellogg, & KD Minor!

Robert Monk – Junior Software Developer

Born and raised in southern Louisiana, Rob grew up building and taking apart computers and any other electronic he could get his hands on. After advancing his skills through a coding boot camp in Boston, he decided to come back to the city he loves. Rob enjoys poboys, crawfish, and local festivals. In his free time, he can be found riding his bike around the city, enjoying anything and everything it has to offer.

Sierra Kellogg – Junior Graphic Designer

Born & raised in New Orleans, Sierra graduated from Delgado Community College with an Associates Degree in Graphic Design & a Certificate in Photography. Previously, she worked at a newborn photography studio. In her spare time, you can find her doing arts & crafts & watching (highly addictive) makeup tutorials on YouTube.

KD Minor – Sales Executive

A native of Lake Charles, LA, KD got her start in marketing at the InterContinental New Orleans Hotel as their Content Marketing Manager. To stay ahead of the curve, she became a certified Advanced Social Media Strategist and enrolled in Tulane’s School of Professional Advancement where she studied Media Arts. In her free time, KD enjoys spending time with her kitten “Dr. Manhattan,” cooking for friends, and visiting her favorite bartenders for their latest cocktail creations.

Welcome to the Search Influence team, Rob, Sierra, & KD!

May 1, 2017
Meet Amy Cannon, Our Hardest Working Woman in New Orleans Contest Winner!

In celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2017, and in the spirit of last month March being Women’s History Month, Search Influence held a contest to honor the hardest working woman in New Orleans. Local businesses and individuals were encouraged to nominate a woman who either owns her own business or works 40+ hours making a difference with a New Orleans company. The goal of the project was to raise awareness about the importance of equal pay for women and company benefits that allow women to succeed in the workplace without sacrificing the responsibilities of motherhood. After receiving countless nominations, Search Influence selected Amy Cannon as a true example of a hard-working woman who has made a difference and achieved great success.

Amy Cannon is a Corporate Director of Human Resources at Hammerman & Gainer Inc., a Louisiana-based firm that provides a wide range of third-party administrative management services, business process outsourcing, and project management services. Amy works at the New Orleans office where she plans, develops, and implements the firm’s HR functions and performance to build a world-class human resources department.

Outside of her dedication and long hours at work, Amy is committed to her family. She is a single mother to three children—one in college, one in high school, and one in elementary school. It’s no easy feat, but Amy manages to financially and emotionally support her children, as well as work immeasurably hard at her job. Her family, friends, and colleagues who nominated her describe Amy as selfless, amazing, hard working, kind hearted, and genuine.

Search Influence is thrilled to have presented Amy Cannon with a spa day of relaxation for her continued hard work, contributions to her job, family, and community, and for not sacrificing being a wonderful mom.

April 3, 2017
We Are MAD About These Two New Influencers

Search Influence is kicking off March Madness with two new Influencers on our team. We are excited to welcome Alula Amare and Liesbeth Vigil!

Alula Amare – Sales Assistant

Alula was born and raised in Kenner, bruh. He went to NYU and majored in Marketing and Creative Writing. Although he loved the city, he missed New Orleans. So a couple years ago, he moved back on Endymion. In his free time, he’s probably playing soccer, listening to music, or using the Oxford comma.

Liesbeth Vigil – Executive Assistant

Liesbeth joins Search Influence as our new Executive Assistant. She is from the greater New Orleans area, where she graduated from Tulane with a B.A. in Communication and a minor in Spanish. Shortly after college, Liesbeth lived in NYC for 5 years and is happy to have recently returned to her hometown. In her spare time, Liesbeth enjoys morning runs, takes salsa dance classes, loves cooking, and attends sporting events and music shows.

Welcome to the team Liesbeth and Alula!

March 14, 2017
Freelance Friday: Let Stephen King Teach You How to Edit Your Own Writing

This blog is part of our Freelance Friday series, where we discuss everything and anything related to freelancing. Consider following our Freelance Twitter account.

Stephen King once said, “To write is human, to edit is divine.” Writing and editing go hand-in-hand. You cannot have one without the other. Like a novel or short story, every blog post, page of web content, and even social media post must be edited before it is published.

While many writers can (thankfully) depend on outside editors for their work, many freelance writers must rely on themselves for editing—a tricky and sometimes mistake-prone arrangement.

Even for writers who have the benefit of an unaffiliated editor, self-editing is the first line of defense and an important one. Mistakes happen and simple issues are easy to overlook. Improving your competency as a self-editor will only benefit your writing.

Here are 10 easy tips for editing your own writing:

1. Read It Aloud

This is perhaps the most common and easiest tip, nonetheless, an important and proven one. Reading out loud to yourself–or to another person–can highlight glaring errors that you might have missed. When you read silently, your mind will often compensate for the errors, such as missed words, because it knows they should be there. Reading aloud helps expose those oversights. Plus, things always sound better in your head, but your writing is smoother and more colloquial when easily read aloud.

2. Set It Aside, or Better Yet, Sleep on It

After completing an assignment, put it aside and don’t even think about it for a while. Refresh your mind. If possible, sleep on it and let it sit until tomorrow. Return to it when it is not so fresh in your mind and you are not so easily swayed by the post-writing haze. Putting physical distance between it can also put emotional distance between it. A fresh mind will give you a much-needed fresh perspective.

3. Print It Out

Another trick to help you catch those mistakes is to print out your work and edit it by hand rather than on your screen. Getting the chance to review it in another form helps simulate an “outside” editor perspective. Make sure to have your handy red pen ready!

4. Change the Format/Style

This tip works similarly to printing it out, but if you don’t have access to a printer, these changes should work just as well. Change the text to a different font, bigger size, or even a different color. You can also convert regular text into HTML for an altered view. Seeing things in a different format often sheds new light on something you have been working on for a long time.

5. Read It Backward

Though this may seem odd, it actually works! You will be surprised at how many misspellings and typos you will ultimately find. It forces you to read more slowly and carefully, plus, it helps you focus on the actual text rather than getting distracted by the context.

6. Focus on One Thing at a Time

Don’t waste time editing every word and every sentence. Accept the fact that some things, even major chunks, will be cut out in the edit. To avoid wasting time editing something you are just going to remove anyway, do the “big picture” editing first by starting with structure and overall content. Major cuts, additions, and rewrites need to happen before you focus on the individual words and sentences.

7. Know Your Writing Weaknesses

If you are an experienced writer, you should know your own weaknesses—from simple things like words/phrases you overuse, typos you often make, and common spelling errors to more complex issues like active and passive voice. Identifying these beforehand will make them easier to find and fix while editing.

8. Make Time for Multiple Rounds of Edits

As stated previously, time brings all things to light. The more time that passes in between writing and editing, the more detached you are and the better your writing can become. Write, break, edit, repeat. And if the mere thought of editing seems daunting, you can break it up as well. One read-through can be for big picture things, the next for punctuation, another can be dedicated to common errors, and so on.

9. Don’t Over Edit

We have talked a lot about what needs to be edited and how to edit, but is there such a thing as over-editing? The optimal middle ground exists somewhere in between an impossible grasp for perfection and those too negligent to run spell check. In the end, editing is about being efficient and improving the content, not rewriting it.

10. Be Ruthless

Finally, don’t be afraid to edit yourself. It doesn’t make you a bad writer, it makes you a good editor—two sides of the same coin. Ultimately, being a better editor will, in turn, make you a better writer. Keep paragraphs short. Reduce sentences to only their essential parts. Avoid overusing clauses, adverbs, and too many adjectives. When editing, you are no longer looking at it as the writer; instead, you should approach the piece from the POV of the reader.

To end with another famous editing quote—one that has been attributed to many different writers over the years in many different iterations, but perhaps best recapitulated by, again, Stephen King: “Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.”

Be ruthless in your editing. In the end, the writer in you will thank you.

March 10, 2017
Meet Angie Scott, Co-Founder & Chief Operations Officer, Search Influence

This blog is part of a series Search Influence is doing in anticipation of International Women’s Day on March 8th. We love to tout that 70% of our staff members are women and 66% of our senior management team are women, too. Far above the 20% average seen in the technology industry.

As the Chief Operations Officer and co-founder of Search Influence, Angie Scott can’t help but laugh at the idea of a typical day at the office. Each day brings a distinct set of challenges to tackle. Since the company’s founding 11 years ago, Angie has grown quite comfortable with a constantly changing schedule and to-do list.

“The thing I love about my day is that there is no such thing as a typical day,” explained Angie. “[It] could be anything from management of the company and teams in general, to negotiating with partners and vendors to overseeing Accounting and HR.” It’s not uncommon for her work days to extend into the p.m. as she works with her husband and Search Influence co-founder, Will Scott, to hash out new solutions to make the business run more efficiently.

As a working mom, it’s vital to Angie that these solutions include creating a workplace environment where employees don’t have to choose between a career and parenting. As a result, Search Influence offers added flexibility for parents when the inevitable challenges come up. From leaving early to pick up a sick kid from school to having a comfortable and private area to breastfeed for new moms, the culture at Search Influence was built around the realities of parenthood.

“I truly enjoy being a working mom and want the other women that are out there that have the same feelings to be comfortable that they can do it all. We all know that moms are serious, playful, organized, and in charge—isn’t that who you want to be in the workforce with!” said Angie.

A big part of cultivating this environment is Angie’s honest approach to the “balancing act” of juggling motherhood and business. With so many moving parts, she has learned that the best approach to reducing stress is to simply embrace the natural ebb and flow of life rather than focusing too much on the perfect balance.

“You have to wake up each day believing it will all happen, it will be ok, and that you can take on anything, and then, just do it. I blend my balance—work comes home, family comes to work (literally…remember, I co-own this business with my husband), and I don’t cut off either one just because my environment is changed,” explained Angie. “In other words, if my kids have to hear about something I am challenged with or am updating my husband on regarding work, then so be it. I think it will make them a better business person when they grow up!”

Angie credits much of her inspiration and growth to her father. Growing up, she watched him work his way up from climbing poles with the local phone company to becoming the manager at CenturyTel for the entire state of Alabama.

“My dad not only told me to work hard but also showed me what that meant from a very young age,” said Angie. “By that, I don’t mean 12-hour days, seven days a week. What I mean is that he taught me to never give up, never hold back, and to do whatever it takes to succeed—all while having a great attitude, because he held his values very close.”

These values remain a big part of Angie’s driving force, both professionally and personally. Keeping family close, she hopes to pass on these same ideals to her children. With this in mind, she always makes time for quality, uninterrupted family activities, from a bike ride outside to just hanging out at home with a board game.

She offers this same advice to any working woman: “Life brings a lot of changes, but your family doesn’t change, so look to them for help, support, mentorship, and friendship.”

March 6, 2017
Meet Paula Keller French, Director of Sales & Marketing, Search Influence

This blog is part of a series Search Influence is doing in anticipation of International Women’s Day on March 8th. We love to tout that 70% of our staff members are women and 66% of our senior management team are women, too. Far above the 20% average seen in the technology industry.

With a degree in marketing from E. J. Ourso College of Business at Louisiana State University, Paula Keller French has always been big on planning ahead. Now, as the Director of Sales & Marketing with Search Influence and moving into her seventh year with the company, she eagerly stays focused on turning her plans into reality.

“Currently, my priority is creating our sales department from the ground up, including creating processes and training, coaching our new team, and hiring new sales executives,” said Paula. “My team’s goal is to play online marketing matchmaker by identifying the right marketing solutions to match business goals to help companies in almost any industry optimize their potential, with a heavy hand in medical, legal, tourism, manufacturing, and home services.”

Paula plays a key role in this transition. With her leadership, the sales team has experienced steady, strategic growth already this year. In the midst of this major project, she also just returned from speaking at two conferences on the West Coast.

“I love telling others about the great results you can achieve for clients with online marketing,” she explained.

Amidst all of these moving parts in her career, Paula still makes time for the important life moments. Another credit to her ability to plan ahead, she also relies on supportive friends and family to keep the scales balanced.

“When we have an invite on the table, I try to always say yes, even if that means I need to jet from the office at five every once and awhile,” she said. “If I plan ahead on my work, then those days are not usually a problem. I don’t mind doing some work on a free weekend if it means I get to take advantage of midweek fun!”

For Paula, fun usually consists of cooking and cocktails or getting out for a spin class or tennis game. Of course, as a newlywed, she also enjoys spending a free afternoon with her husband, Brent, most likely sipping white wine, eating boiled shrimp, and taking in views of Lake Pontchartrain. Family and friends always stay at the top of Paula’s priority list. In fact, she attributes a lot of her motivation and influence to her two sisters, Antonia and Alison, as well as her mom.

“Most prominently, they taught me to be positive and kind towards loved ones and strangers alike,” she said. “I’ll always remember my mom baking pies for the team at the tire repair shop for Christmas 2005, when she became a way-too-regular customer as a result of all the construction debris in the streets post-K. I was amazed at how much she went out of her way to thank them!”

Paula holds her relationships with her friends nearly as close. With a best friend she’s had since she was five years old, she remains thankful for the influx of supportive women in her life both personally and professionally. In fact, those relationships have had a tremendous impact on her identity today. So what would she tell a younger version of herself looking back?

“Keep up with your friends and don’t let anything come between you. I’ve had some fantastic friends over the years that I’ve lost touch with, from neighborhood buds to schoolmates. I would tell 8-year-old Paula to hold on to them and keep pushing to maintain that relationship.”

March 1, 2017
Meet Alison Zeringue, Director of Account Management, Search Influence

This blog is part of a series Search Influence is doing in anticipation of International Women’s Day on March 8th. We love to tout that 70% of our staff members are women and 66% of our senior management team are women, too. Far above the 20% average seen in the technology industry.

Since her start in 2011, Alison Zeringue has played a key role within the Account Management department at Search Influence. Before her start at Search Influence, she earned her B.A. in Communication from LSU and worked at a nonprofit called Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana, a cause for which she remains a passionate advocate.

Now, as the Director of Account Management, she continues to provide vital support to her team and the growth of the company. Her days at the office start early with some peaceful preparation before she leads the department morning meetings.

“I’m typically at my most productive and creative in the mornings, so I use that uninterrupted time to work on large projects that require big picture thinking, strategic planning, etc.” she said.

Once her workday ends, she is usually dancing, baking, or crafting. She also loves spending time with friends and family, and she credits her dedication and drive to her biggest supporter—her mom.

“The person I admire most is my mom. She is an incredibly strong person who’s been through a lot in her life, but she remains the anchor, holding our family together! She had a successful career as a nurse, is the mother of five children, has demonstrated what a successful marriage looks like, and meanwhile, has been the caretaker for family members in need of care,” she said.

A new mom herself, Alison can see firsthand just how hard her mom worked. Along with her family, she is happy to have great inspiration at Search Influence, watching her co-workers master motherhood and careers.

“I anticipate it being challenging, but judging from the great examples set by my kickass coworkers who are also moms, I believe Search Influence will be supportive of my personal and professional goals—just as they are now!” said Alison.

To balance the work/life routine, while also juggling first-time pregnancy, Alison always tries to make time for some zen when she leaves the office. While she knows that the “perfect balance” isn’t always attainable, she relies on the support of family and co-workers to make it through the give and take.

“I balance work and life by fully unplugging when I can, rather than trying to stay connected 24/7,” she said. “In order to do that, you need a personal productivity method and to understand your own habits and traits, like when you are most productive, so that you can prioritize appropriately. It doesn’t always work out quite that seamlessly, of course, so I have a home office setup, which helps me to get some privacy and focus when I need to put in some extra hours from home.”

Of course, the occasional spa day always helps her unwind, too. Especially as the baby bump makes toe touches pretty much impossible, she’s eager to get one last pedicure in before the big arrival day. As she prepares for the next phase in her life, it’s the perfect time to reflect on her biggest life lessons thus far. So just what would she tell her 8-year-old-self today?

“Keep being yourself, girl! Don’t be afraid to try new things—mayo is really not all that bad and, believe it or not, someday you’ll love brussel sprouts,” Alison reflected with a laugh. “Take risks every once in awhile and get into some more trouble!”

Speaking of spa days, do you know a hardworking woman like Alison that deserves recognition? Search Influence is giving away a day at the spa to the hardest working New Orleans woman. If you know an amazing woman who either owns her own business or works 40+ hours making a difference at a New Orleans business, please click here and nominate her. A winner will be announced on March 8th, International Women’s Day.

February 22, 2017
Top 10 Search Influence Blogs of 2016

The year 2016 was filled with memes, the Olympics, superhero movies, and the election. You can bet, with over 46% of people now online worldwide, there were plenty of changes to online marketing, too. If you haven’t kept up, here are the top 10 blogs of 2016 to make sure your business is poised for the #bestyearever.

1. What Happened to Facebook’s 20% Text Grid Tool?

Our Internet Marketing Team Lead, Michelle Neuhoff Boyd, created this informative blog post that eased the confusion of Facebook’s 20% text grid tool. Find out how this new rule may affect your business.

2. An Update: How to Get Rich (Answers, That Is) with Google

Not rich with money, but with Google. Over the years, Google has changed their algorithm, and our team at Search Influence is making sure to stay on top of every change. Read this post from 2015 to learn more about rich answers.

3. Getting Hands on With the New Google My Business

Having a hard time understanding the new Google My Business? This engaging blog post can clear up any confusion on listings, editing, and more.

4. Three Top Picks for The Big Idea at New Orleans Entrepreneur Week

During New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, The Big Idea picked 10 entrepreneurs’ ideas in front of a large crowd, and everyone got to vote their favorite. See the top three picks that Paula Keller, our director of sales and marketing, enjoyed the most by reading this post.

5. Email Marketing for Small Business: 9 Things Not to Do

Find out how not to email your customers when just starting your business. Originally published in 2010 by a Search Influence Alumni, read all about effective email marketing.

6. A Dentist’s Guide for Choosing Target Audiences on Facebook

Ever wondered how to market your dentistry on Facebook? This guide will help you understand the most successful dental campaigns in the industry. You’ll know what age group and interests to target.

7. Should You Be Using Google’s URL Shortener in Your Social Media Campaigns?

Are you still unsure if you should use Google’s URL shortener? This blog post talks about the benefits of using their shortener, such as the URL analytics, redirects, ease-of-use, and more.

8. Barnacle SEO – Local Search Engine Optimization for the Sam’s Club Crowd

Will Scott, CEO and co-founder at Search Influence, published this post back in 2011. Learn more about the term Barnacle SEO and which sites to trust for small businesses.

9. Nix the Wix SEO Challenge: Tips & Tricks

This post from 2015 helps you make the most out of your Wix website by guiding you on the meta tags updates, sharing your site on social media, making your site visual, and more.

10. 10 SEO Blogs You Should Be Following

Do you want to read reliable SEO blogs? Here’s a list of the most informative SEO blogs that Monica Shariffskul put together. Many of these are on my top list, too.

Be sure to subscribe to our Search Influence blog, and you’ll be the first to know when a new blog has been posted. Also, Happy New Year!

January 3, 2017