One of my favorite things about working in the online marketing space is that you get to meet so many different people and all of them are quite creative and making money in their own different ways. Everyone has something they working on most, whether that be creating web sites, building ad campaigns, focusing on coding or even building out their own SEO companies… in the end it all comes down to what you are best and how you can convert traffic into leads.
Michael Charalambous is a fellow I’ve been working with online for over a year now and he’s had his hands in quite a few different areas as well, while his main focuses are in SEO and building out his own projects. I’ll let Michael continue with his story…
1.) Can you please tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into the online marketing space?
Good question Zac, and thanks for having me.
It’s a cool story actually. I was working part time for on an online games company called StickSports.com whilst at college when I randomly bumped into an old friend on Facebook. We’d always been good friends, but hadn’t spoken too much over the last couple of years. After realizing we were both into the online world, we had a good catch up and he got me an interview at an SEO agency he’d recently joined himself, Greenlight Digital.
Within a week I had an interview, secured the job and started work. I quickly adapted to the SEO world and became a member of the Link Strategy team. From there, it’s really been a case of learning on the go in my spare time, and experimenting with project after project. My philosophy is that failure breed’s success – you learn from your mistakes and ultimately channel your experiences into a successful project. Now, I spend my time directing an online gambling company, , with that same friend and our excellent team.
2.) What are your main traffic sources for driving leads and revenue online?
Well, it’s been predominantly organic search traffic for a very long time. When we launched our a few years ago it was much easier to rank highly for extremely competitive terms like roulette, or live casino.
Though ranking highly is extremely difficult now, it still plays a major role in driving our revenue. However, over the course of the last year it’s been a case of diversifying revenue streams into other areas and so far the most successful have been paid search (PPC) and strengthening our social efforts. As an affiliate, it’s slightly harder to see a good return on display or similar-like paid traffic.
3.) How has pay per click marketing evolved for you over the past few years?
As I said above it’s only come to the fore in the last year or so. But to answer your question, if nothing more it has given us a pillar to stand on when organic search or other traffic drivers fail to deliver.
Other than that, the additional insights you get into keywords, search patterns and user behaviour provide extremely valuable data. This has helped us re-shape website structure, landing pages and drive conversion through better understanding of our audiences.
4.) Do you focus mainly on Google rankings, or do you also use Bing and Yahoo?
It’s a funny one. I’ve never actually met an online marketer who’s ever ‘focused’ on Bing, Yahoo or any other normal search engine for that matter. There simply isn’t enough traffic to warrant dedicating time, money or resources to them directly. However, we still like to keep our eyes open. It’s another scenario whereby monitoring them can help inform other areas of the business, from keywords to user patterns.
5.) What are your thoughts on using other smaller search engines for paid search?
They’re excellent. In fact, Bing and Yahoo are a great place often with much cheaper CPCs for similar keywords and most importantly, the same user intent. The numbers are lower but the value of the traffic is the same if not better at times!
With Google I could pay up to over £100 on a given day for a click on the term ‘roulette’ whereas on Bing and Yahoo that’s substantially lower, yet the player value could be the same.
6.) Any tips for someone new who is looking to get into the PPC or SEO space?
It’s easy. Anyone who is eager to learn and willing to study can come off as a genius in this industry. With the right idea, an intuitive thought process and a little knowledge in SEO and PPC; you can be earning thousands in a matter of months.
There’s an abundance of free guides on both SEO and PPC, so learning is very accessible. I find case studies the most helpful resources as they offer actionable insight. However, it’s the practical experience that will take you to new heights. At the end of the day absorbing information will only get you so far – you need to learn successful implementation and execution through experience.
There’s an element of trial and error, but a dedicated person will reap the financial rewards.
If you’re interested in learning more about Michael or his businesses; fire him a message on any of his social profiles: Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or LinkedIn. If you just wish to follow Michael’s endeavors then check out his personal blog, which he uses to document his life.
