For my first two years in my current role, I did most of my work on a Compaq laptop, which I purchased for the not unreasonable price of about £400 from my local computer shop. At the time, a laptop seemed like the obvious choice, not least because my work promised to include a fair amount of travel.

The first few months were great, and I even managed without a real mouse, and thought nothing of spending hours on end staring at the 15 inch screen. Not long ago however, my laptop started to have some issues - the battery got increasingly worse, it took ages to warm up in the morning, and I even got the dreaded ‘blue screen of death’ every now and again. Apparently two years is about how long a laptop lasts before it breaks down.

It was when the problems became more and more frequent that I decided to trade in my laptop for another model. At first I thought about buying a notebook, the appeal being that it is so light and mobile, and that they have a great battery life. Thankfully, I was talked out of that idea, and I am now fully aware that a notebook is not a substitute for a main computer, and that I could never have spent so long staring at the tiny screen. One day, if I can save up enough money, I may buy one to compliment my machine, but that discussion is for another day.

To be honest, I had never even considered purchasing a desktop. For some reason I thought of them as machines of the past and things that nobody even owned anymore. That was until I went into the shop, and until I saw a 22 inch screen. Hello!

I am now the proud owner of a brand new custom made desktop, that runs like a dream, has Windows 7 installed as standard, has a huge screen, and cost considerably less than a laptop would have done. In addition to this I ordered a new battery for my laptop online for only £30, got one of the resident whizzes here at Matan Media to clean it up, and it now works almost as good as new.

Matan Media is once again growing its team. We are searching for an SEO Account Manager with strong analytical and communication skills, and the ability to show initiative and lead others. The successful candidate should display creativity and the ability to work on his/her own, as well as part of a team. Whilst working to strict deadlines and ongoing client requirements, the successful applicant must be able to hit the ground running.

Job Specifications:

• Engage in all facets of clients’ search media campaigns, including strategy and initial planning, implementation, monitoring, optimization, analysis and reporting
• Complete ownership including vision, strategic direction, and tactical implementation of clients’ marketing campaigns
• Work with superiors to develop initial process documentation, materials and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy
• Monitor the overall performance of both organic and paid search efforts and report key information to senior executives
• Identify performance targets, project milestones, resource needs, KPI’s etc.
• Manage all aspects of client search campaigns, such as generating ranking reports, conducting site audits and handling client concerns
• Maintain and optimize current search engine partnerships
• Ability to analyze and forecast ROI of SEO campaigns

Potential candidates require the following:

• Vast knowledge in SEO techniques and campaign monitoring
• Comprehensive understanding of keyword research
• An interest in online trends
• Understanding of how search engines and websites work
• Analytical skills
• Ability to Account Manage to a high standard
• Good interpersonal skills
• Ability to work to and hit targets
• Organization and orientation to details
• Experience in Social Media Marketing and PPC (advantage)

Please send a CV with cover letter to jobs@matanmedia.com

Whilst Marc and myself have known each other and worked together for many years, Matan Media was only established during Feb/March of 2008. What a year it’s been too! Not for a minute did I think it was going to be this much fun, challenging or rewarding. We’ve grown from just 2 guys to a healthy team of 7 full-time staff and many more freelancers. We’ve grown our client list by over 200% and hopefully in the coming months we’ll continue to build on that.

So what has been our secret? Well for starters, Marc and I have not had a life since it all began (apart from the week when Marc became a father!), I speak to Marc more than I speak to my wife (no bad thing sometimes!) and we are constantly challenging each other to learn, develop and improve. We know full well that clients will only stay with us if they see the benefits and results of our work, whether that be via higher rankings or a better ROI. After a few chops and changes, the staff we now have in place are all fantastic. They work hard and more importantly they work well together.

So, to all our staff, we say thanks very much for making this year so enjoyable. To all our clients, we say, keep demanding and expecting the high working practices we continuously deliver. More importantly though, thanks for the business and we look forward to working with you all throughout our second year.

Please keep reading the blog people, it is our aim to improve it this year, so lots coming up!