Coming full circle and back on top!

My name is Mark Castro-Garcia, and I'm an integrated freelance artworker. I'd managed to keep my website in the top ten Google ranking all year, if you did a search for freelance artworker. This was from early January, right through to August/September...

Then suddenly, it dropped out of the top ten, and for a period, it was back at number 21. I remembered reading something about a new Google algorithm, that takes mobile phone website optimisation into account. My site was hardly web-optimised, let alone mobile-optimised!

I began to grow weary of my experiment, and started to wonder why I was bothering any more. I'm not a designer or a website coder, and I have never have the free time I need to make my site look and feel the way I'd like. My domain came up for renewal, and for over a week, I contemplated not renewing it...

 However, three things happened today which changed my mind...one: I own and run a business called Yewhew Limited, so it makes sense to own the yewhew.com domain. Two: I googled "free mobile friendly website template" and discovered dudamobile.com. The great thing about their site is that they convert your site, optimise it for mobile, allow you to edit it, and give you a redirect as well – all for free!

Not only is my site now mobile-optimised, it actually looks good on a mobile! It looks designed! It's basic, it's functional, but it's actually aesthetically-pleasing now (for once!)

It not only makes it mobile-friendly, it also optimises it for iPhone, Android, Windows and Blackberry  :)

And the third and final thing that convinced me to keep my domain, was that I checked my "dormant" email address, thefreelanceartworker@gmail.com, which I'd created back in March just to see if it helped the SEO of my site – and lo and behold – I actually had two legitimate offers of work from two complete strangers...and they sought me out via my site (which I don't publicise, other than writing this blog) and via the email address which only ever appears on there!

The great thing about the work is that one of the offers is for an annual report, which I love doing, and the other sounded like it was getting into the integrated/mobile/digital side of artworking, which I am also loving!

Just to top things off, I got the mobile version of my site right first time – dudamobile is so intuative – and the redirect code was also a doddle to drop in and upload. So now, if you access http://yewhew.com/freelance-artworker/ via a mobile, it automatically sends you to http://mobile.dudamobile.com/site/yewhew_2  :)

And I checked "freelance artworker" on Google...I was back on top via Safari and Firefox, and number 2 via Chrome  :)

Maybe my blogging about it will strengthen it even more and push me up to number 1 all round again?!

Use of Linkedin

My name is Mark Castro-Garcia, and I'm an integrated freelance artworker

I've been using Linkedin to build up my network for about 5 years now, but have had very little direct work through it

However, on July 5th, I sent a speculative invite to one contact, and it was accepted. I followed this up on July 9th, asking about potential work for the following week.

They declined, but on July 22nd, they asked if I could could cover July 26th, plus August 1st and 2nd

I couldn't do the 26th, but I am now covering July 30th to August 2nd  :)

Not bad, for the sake of a couple of emails/linkedin messages - and a quick turnaround of less than a month!

http://www.linkedin.com/in/freelanceartworker

Mark Castro-Garcia - freelance artworker - available Monday 15th July

Most of my posts have been about SEO and achieving a top ten search ranking in Google for #freelance #artworker

Now to see if I can actually find a new contract when I need it!

Also; another freelancer contacted me on linkedin, and asked how I find so many contracts, so I took the time to put it all down in an email for them, and I found it quite cathartic...I hope it works for me as well as for them!

Here's the jist of what I told them:

"-->I try (and have tried) lots of different avenues to get work:

1. recruitment agencies
2. linkedin's job search
3. reading my linkedin news feed every day
4. twitter searches for jobs
5. cross-referencing my linkedin contacts for twitter's to follow
6. checking my twitter followers and making sure I follow relevant ones back
7. on my email sign-off - listing my mobile number, linkedin address, twitter, portfolio, etc
8. signing up to job email alerts
9. using buffer/twitter/linkedin to say if and when I might become available, and changing my headline accordingly (this is in the early testing stages for me, as I'm rarely free, and I actually rarely tweet...I'm more of a reader/follower)
10. blogging
11. learning about SEO - making sure all my profiles link to all my other profiles, where possible
12. making sure I connect with past and new colleagues on linkedin
13. I did used to send out my cv out, direct to companies - on and off for about a year - but the amount of time and effort doing so (and in turn, trying to keep track of the replies, and filing them, etc) turned out to not be enough of a reward to make it worth my while (not to say you couldn't though)
14. I've signed up to peopleperhour, freelancer.co.uk, elance, creativepool, and elevate, but have so far had little joy (although I had 1 or 2 people making enquiries about me)
15. portfolio sites like behance, pinterest
16. there is a new facebook equivalent called (talent.me)...it's in the early stages for me trying it

I don't do all of these things all of the time...I do some of these things some of the time :)

I've concentrated my efforts on productive things, rather than facebooking...I never add anyone in one facebook anymore, and haven't for ages...it's all about linkedin for me :)

I don't have an exact method of getting jobs...fear drives me, hard work and perseverance follows, and a pinch of luck...I just keep trying...trying new things, rather than trying one thing over and over, seems to pay off best (and is less boring too)

I don't currently have anything lined up for next week, but I have plenty in the pipeline...sometimes, getting the long contract is about lining up a few possibilities, and then picking the one that seems best.

In the first year, I did all the chasing, all the hard work...the groundwork I laid then has since meant that sometimes people contact me via linkedin, twitter, email, peopleperhour and so on, or colleagues who have moved on but stayed in touch will recommend me

Sometimes I get jobs because a lot of people can't hack certain hours of work, or long commutes, and that's where I differ...I've driven to Peterborough for 6 months and worked 10-12 hour shifts as standard...I've worked afternoons and evenings in London, and not had much of a social life for 5 months a year. I've worked 2 jobs back-to-back, day and evening (on a short-term basis)

Now I'm driving down the M1 and halfway round the M25 to Surrey for 2 weeks' work...I just take what I can, where it takes me (within reason!) and I don't always have as much say in it as I would like!

Hope this helps, even if it is only motivational"

As I thought - it didn't last long before, but I'm back at the top again!

The last time I got myself back on top on Google's search rankings for "freelance artworker", it barely lasted a day or so. However, it's not the staying that matters to me, it's the getting there (having stayed in the top 8 pretty much all year is pretty nice though!)

This time, my idea was to utilise my rather under-utilised Google+ page...I've put more info and more links on my personal page, then I've created a company page as well, and linked it to that (both of which turn up in Google searches).

It makes sense that a Google product will influence your ranking more! Why didn't I think of this sooner?

If you're reading my posts and wondering what the big deal is – I started off this year and set myself a goal to get my name/company into the top ten Google rankings, if you search for freelance artworker – and keep it there. It's mainly an exercise in teaching myself the basics of SEO, but also hopefully I will eventually be approached to do some work, thanks to the exposure...just an experiment really  :)

Back on top!

After languishing at number 20, I got my site to appear back in the top 10, then number 8, 6, and now number 1 again!

I know it won't stay there naturally...I'll have to keep blogging, linking, updating and eventually redesign the site, to include more content

A little slip

I'm a freelance artworker...I'm no expert on SEO, but I know a few basics.

I've managed to keep my site in the top 8 search results on Google, for about 4 months now, and whenever it starts to slip, if I update my blog, the ranking improves again.

I hit upon the idea of  changing my linkedin url to include "freelanceartworker", but I forgot to reflect that in my site! This meant a broken link (as my old url said markcastrogarcia at the end) and my ranking dropped to a low of number 20!

Does this also mean that linkedin can heavily influence a ranking in a positive way? I've updated my site now, to reflect the change, and hopefully we'll see a drastic improvement soon  :)

I wonder if the same will work with facebook...?

What is an artworker?

I've been in the industry since the year 2000, and it seems the majority of people I come across don't fully understand my role (even people I've worked with/for)

An artworker is not a designer or a printer...we do work together, and there are elements of our roles which overlap (you may come across designers and printers who can artwork as well)

Typically, a designer will design 1 page, 1 spread, or one section. Once the client signs off the visuals, they'll be given to an artworker, who will recreate the visual, so that it is print-ready, a style sheet, and technical requirements such as adding bleed, checking swatches and images are CMYK, and so on.

Then they will usually flow in and format the text which is supplied*, which might be 12 pages, or could be 120, or anything – depending on the length of the document...the amount of pages will need to be a multiple of 4, so that the printed document will stitch together properly. This is known as pagination/imposition.

Other jobs which we carry out may include making amends (whether they are design/account management/client/proofreader ones), retouching**, transcreation/localisation/international adaptation, and getting the document ready for printing/repro/online use/interactive use/or even mobiles/tablets.

*this is also known as typesetting, and is sometimes done by a typesetter - our roles also overlap!
**also sometimes done by a retoucher - our roles also overlap!!

I've had another idea...

I don't get many ideas very often, and then when I do, they all come along at once!

In order to build upon my new number 1 ranking, I thought about submitting my blog to some blog search engines/catalogues...I did this a few years ago, so I'm surprised I'd forgotten about it, until now!

The only thing that seems to have changed from 2010 is that there are less free services, and most seem to charge a fee now!

One free one that I came across can be found here, but they have a requirement that you have at least 10 posts (I only had 8, so I'm quickly writing 2 more now)

:)

PS. my site can be found here: freelance artworker

Back on top! Number 1 on Google, out of 2,340,000!

My recent ideas to improve my ranking have shot my page back to the top of the rankings on Google, if you search for "freelance artworker"!

Number 1, out of 2.34 million results!

It's the first time it's been at the top since 9th January 2013  :)  It's been riding high in the top 5-8 spots for 3 months, so I'm happy with that  :)

All I did was keep my blog updated from time to time, strengthen/improve some of the links, so that they contain "freelance artworker", wrote a little bit of content for the site, and a tiny redesign...

What it desperately needs is a proper redesign, but unfortunately, I'm not a designer...I've tried looking at some free templates, but none of them have really won me over yet

PS. my site can be found here: freelance artworker

Keeping the momentum going

While working on my redesign, I also noticed that my ranking had slipped one place to number eight on Google, when you search for "freelance artworker", so I updated my "about me" page to include more relevant links and key words...by the next day, I'd risen to number five  :)

However, it's already gone back to its previous number seven ranking again. So, as well as updating my blog (which might help it rise again), I've also created a new Google account - with more relevant naming - which now gives me a new Gmail address, YouTube username and Google+ account...hopefully a combination of these will add to it?

I also plan on uploading a video to youtube, about what being an artworker entails...hopefully all of this new, relevant content, coupled with stronger keywords, will help boost my ranking further.

Now I just need to finish redesigning my site!

Upping my game

I haven't touched the site, or my blog, for a couple of months* - but it still features in the top 7 spots on Google, when you search for "freelance artworker"...

However, one of my other aims was to improve the look and feel of the site, not just the ranking, and another was to add more content

Well, I figured I could amend my text links to be icons, and that would make my site look more in line with the homepage (yewhew.com), and I've seen a couple of sites I like with a full graphic in the background, so I'd like to try that out - those should help improve the look of the site.

I also read an article about improving your "about me" page, so I also intend to incorporate their advice, in order to improve the content of my site.

* not because I've gone off of it, I've just been busy, and working long hours.

Still riding high!

I haven't touched the blog or the site for nearly 2 weeks, and I still appear in 7th place on Google, if you do a search for "freelance artworker"  :)

Looks like all my groundwork has paid off - although I will try and keep both up-to-date from time-to-time  :)

One thing I noticed, Firefox and Chrome's results now tally up the same, but Safari's is still different (I appear on page 4 there, and my pinterest page features higher up the ranking than my actual website - oh well, at least it's on the radar!)

Top spot on Google! 1 out of 171,000!!!

Only a couple of days later, and my website comes out on top of Google, if you search for "freelance artworker"!

Currently listed as number 1 out of 171,000 results!

Success on Google! Top ten position! Number 4!

On my previous blog, I stated on 28th December, that I wanted to get my website into the top ten on Google, if you searched for "freelance artworker", as I was languishing at position 50-to-60-something...

10 days later, I've done it! My site is in the top ten...riding high at number 4!

I know it won't stay there on it's own...I'll have to keep working on my site, and making sure I keep my blog up-to-date - as content is king!

For some tips and advice on how I did it, please read the previous posts on this blog, and my previous blog

I guess that the only thing I can do, to try and top this - apart from keep it in the top ten - is to improve it's position...and one thing I haven't figured out is why Safari, Firefox and Chrome all have different results? Maybe because Chrome is Google's, it's more up-to-date? Personally, I prefer to use Firefox, so maybe my results are based on the cache...I might need to clear it.

Sitemap

I've set myself a goal, to try and get my test website listed in the top ten results on Google, when you do a search for "freelance artworker"...on thing I noticed is that, although I have a sitemap on there, Google's webmaster tool didn't see it, so I have generated one and pointed Google to it...

Hopefully, this will improve my ranking, and promote me up to the 1st page!