At NZIE we’re very well connected to many digital marketing industry experts. For instance, the good people over at Pure SEO. They specialise in Search Engine Marketing and are one of the leading companies in this space. Recently we caught up with SEO & Content Manager, Alfonso Mannella from Pure SEO. We love having a good marketing chat with a solid industry expert!
Below we gathered Alfonso’s thoughts and feedback on the Content Marketing industry. Similarly this overlaps hugely into search engine marketing. As a result we wanted to learn more about Alfonso’s role and responsibilities. In addition to work perks, top tools he uses, as well as advice and juicy industry tips!
Interview with digital marketing industry expert Alfonso from Pure SEO:
Can you describe your role and responsibilities as an SEO & Content Manager? In particular for those new to Digital Marketing, who may not know much about the industry in general.
I lead the SEO and Content team at Pure SEO. My role is very diverse and no two days are the same! I mainly spend my time overseeing my team members and reviewing their work, but I also help them prepare effective strategies for our clients. I also help our Sales and Account Managers for sales pitches and to help with any queries from our clients.
What is your favourite part about your job and working at Pure SEO? Any cool perks?
I like working at Pure SEO because it doesn’t matter how prepared or expert you are, you always learn something new! Here you can breathe and live SEO, I have the fortune to work with very capable and smart people and I like sharing knowledge and skills with each other.
We have a very modern and nice office which is close to beautiful bush walks, sometimes when the sun is shining I like going for a walk during my lunch break.
Digital Marketing Niche: How did you get into Digital Marketing and niche down into Content & SEO?
It’s a long story but to summarise, I helped the company I was working for back in 2008 to build their first ecommerce site. I didn’t have much digital experience then the more I learned the more I liked it, so I decided to make it a career!
I like SEO because it’s always evolving. What you learned a few years ago might be already obsolete as the technology and SERP landscape continues to evolve.
And WHO would you recommend, as a good fit, to work within this niche/industry?
Anyone can be a good fit. But it’s important to understand that SEO it’s not just placing a few keywords on a page and optimising metadata. There is a lot of research involved as search intent is becoming more and more sophisticated. If you have an analytic mindset and you like making data-driven decisions, you have an advantage.
What are your Top 3 tools you use in your everyday job, that make work easier, or more fun? Any highly recommended tools or preferences?
I believe that Screaming Frog is a must-have for any SEO expert but I also like other crawlers such as Sitebulb and SEOlyzer.
Other tools I use are AHREFS and SEMrush, especially to analyse backlinks and keywords.
What is a super juicy SEO tip, secret or strategy you think is really powerful?
You can already have a good idea about search intent by looking at Google auto-suggestions 🙂
What is your best advice for anyone looking into getting into digital marketing and content/SEO?
You need to have passion and must be always willing to learn. What you learn today can no longer be valid or be obsolete next year.
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, related to starting your digital marketing career, what would it be?
Listen to more Senior colleagues or experts. I am very stubborn and in the past I made mistakes because I didn’t listen to others. Lesson learned 🙂
Have you worked with any NZIE interns or graduates? And how do you rate their skills & knowledge? (Would you recommend the NZIE Diploma?)
Yes, one of our most successful Account Managers, Lasma, is a NZIE graduate 🙂 She has a deep knowledge of Digital Marketing and also knows how to manage client’s expectations.
If you want to start your career in Digital Marketing, I definitely recommend the NZIE Diploma!
