Students from the Chernorisetz Hrabar Varna Free University are trained in the field of digital marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This happens as part of the joint educational project of the university and 411 Marketing. The discipline is Assessment and SEO from the Master’s program Digital Marketing and Web Design.
“The opportunity to participate again in the theoretical and practical training of the students is a great honour and recognition for us. 411 Marketing is among the biggest SEO companies in Bulgaria. The high quality of our product – WEB and SEO for small and medium-sized enterprises has ensured our competitiveness on the international markets”, said Milen Sotirov, training manager of the company and a part-time lecturer at the university, who is among the top-ranked lecturers of the Master’s program.
The partnership between the two organizations started in 2017 when the first theoretical and practical classes were held. The positive feedback from the students and the strong practical orientation of the training motivated the two organizations to deepen their cooperation. The university started the summer admission for the Master’s program in digital marketing and web design.
411 Marketing opened its first office in Varna in 2009 with only four employees. 10 years later, the company has two offices and employs over 250 young specialists in digital marketing, web development, and search engine optimization. The company is a part of the international brand 411 Locals, specializing in the development and optimization of websites, for the small and medium-sized enterprises. 411 Locals has been ranked among the top 10 SEO companies in the US.
411 Marketing is getting ready for a new internship program which will start in 2019. The project will be realized by the specialized training unit of the company – 411 Academy.
“In 2018, we prepared 82 interns for working in the field of digital marketing. 38 of them started work for the company with a permanent employment contract, on positions such as tech support, web design, and search engine optimization (SEO),” commented Milen Sotirov, training manager at 411 Marketing.
The internship programs and the subsequent career start are sponsored by the project of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education “Student Internships,” and their duration is 240 hours. The training is conducted in a real business environment. The company works in close cooperation with the Naval Academy – Varna, Varna Free University, the University of Economics in Varna, and Technical University – Varna.
In 2009, 411 Marketing opens its first office in Varna, initially with four employees. 10 years later, the company has two offices and employs over 250 young specialists who have chosen professional realization in the field of digital marketing, web development, and search engine optimization (SEO).
411 Marketing is part of the international company 411 Locals, specializing in web site creation and optimization, for small and medium-sized enterprises. 411 Locals is ranked among the TOP 10 SEO companies in the USA.
For as long as we can remember, philosophers and scientists have been studying the intelligence and reasoning of humans. Our passion for knowledge always leads us to the question: “How can we use what we have learned about ourselves to improve our lives?”
We have returned to this question more recently following the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), which was created to mimic our own intelligence. This technology promises to improve every aspect of human life, especially the business field. The interaction of human and machine-based intelligence is best observed in our human resources (HR) departments where the impact of this new technology can improve daily recruiting, assessment, onboarding and management practices etc.
Is AI technology going to put HR staff out of work? AI promises to transform HR departments, but is it going to be only an extension of technology, offering to revolutionize key HR responsibilities?
Think about the situation in talent acquisition where you end up with a smooth-talking employee that hardly ever lives up to their initial promise. Humans are not immune to making mistakes in these decisions. AI promise to refine this process by relying more on analytical processing of data. AI technology is immune to stereotypes and the impact the applicant’s race, gender or ethnicity can have on the outcome of employee screening. On the other hand AI can not replace the ability of humans to sense the attitude of candidates and evaluate their soft skills, which are just as important as the technical ones.
The most time consuming procedure of HR departments is looking through terabytes of data from candidate’s resumes and social media accounts. Because of this, HR professionals sometimes cut corners in order to get the job done in time, which leads to cracks in the recruiting procedures. This can put the wrong people in the wrong place in the company and can lead to the unnecessary expense of running the hiring process again. This problem may become redundant thanks to the analytical capability of AI that allows it to screen huge amounts of data about several candidates at the same time. As much as AI can shorten the process and can be a great help for humans, hiring managers should still be able to screen the final results, just as if the people were screened by recruiters.
A lot of the time employees have questions that the HR department must answer. This can be time consuming and even exhausting at times, but AI technology can remove this task from our workday. Now, with chatbots companies can record frequently asked questions that employees tend to have. This way, instead of asking HR, people will go to the chatbot and save a lot of time for the people in the department to concentrate on more important duties. AI promises to improve our lives a lot, but will it be able to remove the human aspect? There are situations where human relations are so unique that they can’t be programmed in advance. In those cases only a real person can respond properly to the questions.
The time saved by having AI handle some daily tasks can be measured in days or even months, and HR professionals can use that time for live interviews, shortlisting, performance analysis and many more tasks.
AI can surely make improvements to daily routine processes, but will it ever be able to completely replace humans?
Can you imagine having to buy a newspaper or to search from company to company looking for your next job? Actually, this is how your parents had to do it, not that long ago. In the times before the internet, people had to choose companies that were located close to their homes, and had to go and talk face-to-face with the employer. Resumes and CVs were hand written or machine typed. On the other hand, employers had to advertise their career opportunities in the newspapers, trade journals or the local Labour Office, and had limited access to the quality professionals they were seeking.
With the evolution of the internet all of those processes were improved dramatically. Today, if you want to take next step in your career your new opportunity might be just few clicks away, posted on one of your local job boards. You can even find it while waiting in line in the supermarket browsing from your smartphone.
Applying for a job
Using computer technology the application process has improved and individuals can personalize their applications with the help of virtual portfolios, sharing examples of their professional experience. Nowadays there are plenty of websites where everyone can find a job according to their skills and interests. There is no longer any need to walk miles to apply; you can do it all from the comfort of your sofa.
Greater access to information
Using simple internet searches you can find plenty of information about your potential future employer, allowing you to make an informed decision whether to accept a certain job. In turn this has led companies to take more care of their online presence and online reputation. On the other hand companies can also do research on their applicants very easily by getting in touch with previous employers for example. Thanks to the internet this can be achieved very quickly.
Finding talented employees
If you are looking to recruit new talent, according to this article the recruitment process brings better results thanks to online boards like LinkedIn. These give you access to a world wide variety of professionals in your field. Thanks to online boards companies from Varna can get in touch with talented professionals from Sofia for example and vice-versa, which increases the size of the talent pools available. We have to point also that at the same time this increases the competition between companies since they are not competing on a local level any more.
Communication
With the growth of online messaging services we can now get in touch with people really quickly just by sending a message or giving a call. The potential response time is very quick, and maybe even happen in real time. You don’t have to be in the same city, or even the same continent, to interview someone that may be a valuable addition to your team thanks to the apps that can connect you with people worldwide.
No more file rooms
The tracking of applications for employment has become “as easy as pie” with the development of ATS platforms (applicant tracking system). These also help companies stay in compliance and keep documented records. Some companies are creating their own ATS systems that are designed for their specific corporate needs. In addition, ATS systems allow companies to keep a record of previous applicants, so they can check if anyone suitable is available before advertising for new candidates.
Home based jobs
If you are not an office person you have the choice to earn money from the comfort of your own home as a freelance employee. A lot of employers offer this type of work, and in some cases the employees don’t need to be in the same city or even the same country. A great example of this is how the company Automattic (owner of WordPress.com) employees were given the chance to decide to work from home or from the office. The end result was that they closed their office in San Francisco since most of their employees just weren’t coming to the office anymore.
By simplifying all of those processes, the development of computer technology drastically improved the efficiency and accuracy of job seeking, recruitment, payroll etc. With the development of AI (artificial intelligence) we can only imagine what the future might bring, but for sure it’s going to be very exciting.
When summer weekends come, you will be happy to live in Varna! You will be thinking of all your friends in Plovdiv or Sofia, having to bear the heat of the city, while you will be laying on the sand below a great sunny blue sky and having the sea at your feet. The rest of the year, Varna does not offer anything less than any other large Bulgarian city; and for sure, you’ll always have something to do here including dining at great restaurants. Last, if you think about the pollution; for sure, Varna’s air quality is one of the best among big cities in Bulgaria.
#4 : We’re part of an international group
411 Marketing is the European branch of 411 Locals, a group founded in 2007 in Las Vegas, NV, USA. Being part of an international group means having interactions with people of all over the world, working for foreign customers, and of course, having opportunities to travel among offices according to the position you are joining us for. In our Varna office, we have people coming from Bulgaria, of course, but also from Romania, the UK, France etc.
#3 : The work atmosphere is great
The work atmosphere (office + employees) is absolutely wonderful. We are working in a modern office in the heart of Varna, and the relationship between colleagues is great. We are proud to say that we are one of the first companies in Bulgaria to have nominated a Chief Happiness Officer, and we are organizing many events to keep our staff entertained and generate an esprit de corps. If you have doubts, check out our one of our videos.
#2 : You have real career growth opportunities
Our company hasn’t stopped growing since our CEO, Konstantin, founded it in 2007. We now employ more than 600 people worldwide (in the U.S, in Bulgaria, and in the Philippines), and we keep growing. We plan to open new lines of businesses and new markets very soon, and we will need to hire many more people and grow our talents within the company. So, if you are looking for a highly exciting professional adventure that you will remember all your life, definitely, 411 Marketing is the company to join. Never heard of SEO before? No worries, we will teach and train you. You only need to have the will to learn and the motivation to work.
#1 : The SEO industry is fast growing
The Search Engine Optimization industry is one of the fastest growing in the world. When one sees the number of websites which are created every day, worldwide, that makes sense. If you want your website to pop up on the first page of Google whenever someone is running a search, then you need to have optimized your site for SEO. So, if you are looking to develop yourself in an industry in which you really can have a future, why not join one of the top SEO agencies in the world? 411 Locals is ranked in the top 10 worldwide, so, for sure, you can definitely learn a lot with us.
So, if you feel like 411 Marketing is the company you want to join, please feel free to drop us an email at [email protected], or give us a call at +359 52 637 113. One of our recruiters will be more than happy to answer all your questions and help you with your application.
You also can like our Facebook and Linkedin pages if you want to be updated with the latest news and opportunities in our company.
Young people need good payment and opportunities for career growth so that they don’t leave the country. This is what the representatives of an international company looking for future employees in the universities of Northeastern Bulgaria think.
Vanya Kirilova is the Operations Manager of an international company in the field of Internet marketing. She and her team are looking for future employees in different universities in Northeastern Bulgaria.
The manager pointed out that the ways in which the young people’s emigration from Bulgaria can be stopped are good salaries and work environment.
Apart from payment and work environment, young people are also looking for career development. “We offer such opportunities because we have an internal system ensuring that the people who come to work for us undergo an initial training, start at low positions and then, those who want to grow in their career are given this opportunity,” said Vanya Kirilova. She also pointed out that 90% of the company’s employees have started their careers there at the lowest step of the career ladder.
In her opinion, young people nowadays are sufficiently intelligent.
“This combination of career development, good financial remuneration, and good work environment give the young people a chance to stay in Bulgaria, and this is exactly what we are aiming at,” she said.
411 Locals made an annual breakthrough and was ranked among the Top 10 Local SEO companies in the United States. The recognition was given by the prestigious FindTheBest SEO ranking agency, where rivals are compared by different criteria.
“Being recognized as a TOP 7 Local SEO agency in the United States is а huge honor to us.
This is an acknowledgment of our constant efforts to provide cutting-edge SEO services. It’s also a huge responsibility to keep our position,” says one of the founders, Roumen Todorov.
The award is even more valuable because it was given by independent experts in the field of SEO, who rely on provable criteria, such as on-page SEO score, keyword ranking, quality of backlinks, client list quality, mentions in media, and others.
411 Locals is an Internet advertising agency based in Las Vegas, NV. The company uses mainly SEO tools and strategies developed and designed by its own Research and Developed team.
The company is an Official Google Partner and an Accredited professional business certified by Bing Ads. These high-end partnerships are a result of a service quality policy and continuous team member training in SEO and online advertising.
“We are among the few Internet advertising agencies in the United States that hold an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau,” stated Todorov“.
10 years ago, 411 Locals started up in a single room but now has offices on three continents – North America, Europe, and Asia. More than 400 highly dedicated professionals are working for the company.
411 Locals offers custom website building, search engine optimization, and social media optimization for small and medium-sized businesses. The retention rate is more than 95%.
When the search engines first appeared, ranking in high positions of the search results page was not a particularly hard task. The only thing a site needed then was the use of lots of keywords and many added links. Over the last couple of years, however, lots of changes have taken place. After the latest Google updates, many SEO experts spent numerous sleepless nights trying to outsmart the popular search engine. But what are these updates, and what exactly do they affect?
Panda Update
These updates are among Google’s most common updates. Panda appeared for the first time in February 2011, and since then, some more updates appeared, related to it. The February version gives advantage to sites which have higher quality.
This update thoroughly changed the way in which people create the content of their websites and clearly demonstrated that a higher position in the search results does not only depend on the use of lots of keywords.
Just two months after the first Panda updates, Google released Panda 2.0. It attacked spam content and managed to “hit” even some remarkable sites. The April version showed once again that content has to be quality and relevant in order for the sites to rank better.
The next Panda update happened in September 2011. After the release of Panda 2.5, many sites suffered losses, especially those of mediocre quality.
In May 2014, another version appeared – Panda 4.1, which had the goal of significantly reducing the amount of low-quality content.
Five months after this historic update version, Google made another significant one. It had to do with the additional measures taken against bad content and focused on meaning and exactness. This update version affected over 5% of the overall number of searches. Recently, in July 2014, Google also released Panda 4.2, which gave sites of medium size and high-quality content the opportunity to rank better.
Penguin Update
The first Penguin update appears in April 2012 and has the goal of taking strict measures against black hat SEO practices, such as the overuse of keywords and improper linkbuilding. This update version affected over 3% of the searches. In May 2013, Penguin 2.1 was released, which attacked duplicate content and spam. Measures were taken again black hat SEO methods, for the purpose of fairer optimization.
Colibri Update
In September 2013, Google introduced the Colibri Update. This is a huge step towards the search engine optimization for better user experience, making it useful for each individual. In its core, this update version guarantees that the focus of results is mainly on the words searched as topics, and not as separate phrases. Thanks to this update, the results are predicted based on details such as location, behavior, search history, and other such factors. More attention is paid to more specific queries.
Pigeon Update
This Google update released in July 2014 focused entirely on the local search. It is a step towards ensuring a more specific and relevant search for local queries. This update builds narrower ties between the local search and Google’s first-rate algorithms.
The SEO industry developed fast over the last years, which makes the competition even less predictable. In case you have your own business and want your site to appear on the first page of Google, you should trust the experts in this field, such as the experts from 411 Marketing. Our online marketing agency will help the growth of your business.
Forbes, най-големият бизнес бранд в света, публикува статия за българо – американската компания 411 Locals, позната в България като 411 Marketing. Успехите на компанията, която има над 33 000 клиента, от години имат международно признание.
Една компания може да има най-добрия бизнес модел на света, но това няма да има значение, ако тя не може да бъде открита от потребителите. За тази цел Константин Стоянов създава 411 Locals, Интернет маркетинг компания, която помага на малкия и средния бизнес да бъдат открити онлайн. В България, 411 Locals оперира под бранда 411 Marketing.
Coбствениците на новосъздадени компании знаят, че липсата на стабилно присъствие в мрежата просто не е вариант. Много собственици на традиционен бизнес, които някога са разчитали на реклами във вестниците или на промоции по пощата, сега достигат до същото заключение. Ако даден бизнес не може да бъде открит в мрежата, той губи едно сериозно конкурентно предимство, губи клиенти.
Днес, почти всички предприемачи са наясно с важността на оптимизацията за интернет търсачки или така нареченото SEO (search engine optimization). Това е процес, който дава възможността за оптимизиране на всеки уебсайт, така че той да се озове на висока позиция в класацията на резултатите от интернет търсенето или SERP (Search Engine Results Page).
Въпреки това, съществува един вид SEO, който често е пренебрегван – така нареченото Local SEO, имащо за цел да достигне потребители в сравнително малка географска територия. Това е от особенно значение за малкия или среден бизнес, който не е насочен към потребители от целия свят.
Forbes попита г-н Стоянов за предизвикателствата пред които бизнесът е изправен днес и как неговата компания предлага решения за тях.
Forbes: Какво ви вдъхнови да стартирате 411 Locals?
Стоянов:Аз имах няколко бизнеса преди 411 Locals, като се занимавах с недвижими имоти и инвестиции. Когато онлайн рекламирането на собствените ми начинания започна да става все по сложно открих, че прекарвам твърде голяма част от времето си в проучвания. Събрах екип, който да ми помага с част от задачите и тогава разбрах че много други собственици на малък бизнес са изправени пред същите трудности. По-специално, предприемачите нямат време за да извършват проучвания и да правят тестове. Те също така не разполагат със специалисти, които могат да им помогнат да бъдат откриваеми в мрежата. Беше ясно, че имат нужда от помощ. Затова реших да използвам нашите ресурси и умения, за да подпомагам и на други.
Forbes: Какъв е ключът към постигането на успех за някой малък бизнес в интернет?
Стоянов:Има три ключа за постигането на успех на един бизнес в интернет. Първо, компанията трябва да има ясни и реалистични дългосрочни цели. Това включва подробно планиране относно начина на постигане на тези цели. Това е стратегическа инициатива която ще даде ясен образ за „по-голямата картина“ на пътя, който компанията трябва да извърви за да достигне целта си.
Второ, трябва да съществува способност за приспособимост към промени. Преди всичко, компанията трябва да се адаптира към промените в алгоритъма за класиране на Гугъл. Алгоритъмът, който Гугъл използва, за да класира страници, днес ще бъде почти сигурно различен от този след една година. It is important to us
, бизнесът трябва да реагира на усилията на конкуренцията. Ако един конкурент изведнъж се класира по-нагоре по специфична ключова дума, ще е необходимо проучване, за да се определи какво се случва и как да се реагира с най-подходящия оптимизационен подход. Най-накрая, необходимо е да има отворена връзка между клиента и агенцията.
Forbes: Защо индивидуалният подход към всеки бизнес е от изключителна важност за неговия успех?
Стоянов:Подходът към всеки бизнес трябва да бъде персонализиран. Няма решения тип „един размер пасва на всички“. Всичко зависи от вертикалата, пазарните сили, размерът на целевия град и усилията, които конкуренцията полага, за да създаде видимо онлайн присъствие за себе си.
Forbes: Често използвате думата „иновативно“ в уебсайта на 411 Locals. В какво се изразява иновативността на вашия бизнес? Моля, опитайте да сте конкретни.
Стоянов:Ние създадохме инструмент, който да следи и докладва позициите на ключовите думи на нашите клиенти, както и тези на техните конкуренти. It is important to us
, ние предоставяме доклади относно промените на позициите на тези ключови думи във времето. Още повече, ние анализираме информацията която имаме от всичките си клиенти, за да определим най-ефективните практики. Най- накрая, ние постоянно приспособяваме нашите SEO техники и вътрешни методи за да предоставят по-бързи и по-добри резултати за нашите клиенти. Жизненоважно е за всеки бизнес да поддържа леснонамираемо присъствие в мрежата, в 21-ви век. В противен случай, те са на път да загубят части от пазара в полза на конкурентите си, които таргетират технически компетентна публика. Благодарение на настъпването на така наречените „webrooming” (хора които търсят продукти онлайн преди покупката им от магазин) и „showrooming” (хора които търсят продукти в магазин преди да ги закупят онлайн), потребителите са тренирани да пазаруват и търсят онлайн преди да направят покупките си. Всеки бизнес, който не приема тази реалност ще се бори за да оцеляването си.
Аs most SEO specialists know, Google has announced that by the end of the year, we can expect a new update in the algorithm known as Penguin. Its goal is an even more effective fight against the spam tactics and unnatural linkbuilding. This means that all those who have been “hit” by the last Penguin last December now have the chance to recover, as this update has not renewed automatically.
It is expected that the upcoming Penguin will be much like the last update Panda – it will work in real time. This means that, when Google registers smap links, the sites will be affected immediately. And when these links are removed, the sites could recover just as fast.
No matter how much we wish spam links weren’t such a problem and that SEO agencies used cleaner link strategies, that’s not exactly the way things are. After every algorithm update, there are winners, and there are losers, and the situation won’t be much different after the new Penguin update.
Usually, checking the link profiles is not a particularly high priority, especially if everything else is normal. Despite this, it is never a bad idea to keep a close watch on it, especially now, when we have to prepare for the new Penguin. Spam can happen even if you don’t intend it, and unfortunately, the excuse you didn’t know about it won’t spare you the penalty.
Diversifying the anchor texts
In the past, it was a common practice to use mainly anchor texts with the main keywords, which means that the text totally matched the key phrase. It is a good idea to diversify the anchor texts. They can be the brand name, the key words, non-descriptive expressions, long-tail keywords, and pure domain links.
In general, it is a good idea have a variety of anchor texts because, for Google, it’s unnatural for the all the links to your site to have almost one and the same anchor texts.
Dramatic rises/falls and too many external links leading to your site.
In case someone not related to your site tries to do a negative optimization of your site and cause it to lose positions, they can order spam links to your site. Therefore, if you notice a dramatic rise in the chart for the links and domains leading to your site, somebody is probably trying to negatively influence your positions.
Removal of unwanted links
When it comes to the removal of unwanted links, you could find a lot of controversial information on the topic.
It’s only logical to inform Google that you have nothing to do with the smap links leading to your site. Their removal, however, is not done manually, and if you don’t want them to count, you have to tell this to Google. The risk you will take in this case is that you will direct Google’s attention to spam links it may not have yet found.
Optimizing internal links
The internal links get more attention for a reason, when it comes to the Penguin update. This doesn’t mean that the internal links are to be ignored. Even if they don’t have so much significance for the site’s ranking, they strongly affect how the search engines crawl the site.
These are links, over which you, as owners, have control. You can tell the search engines which pages are more important and which are related to each other by topic.
Internal links can also be subject to pre-optimization, just as the external ones.
Here are some tips on how to keep your internal link profile clean.
Don’t use only matching key expressions, but diversify the anchor text with non-descriptive expressions.
Link to related pages. Always ask yourself the question whether someone who is interested in page A would not be also interested in page B.
Try to observe hierarchy as much as possible.
Tools
It is possible to do it all manually, but there are still some tools which make the process easier. Here is some more information about the two most often used ones.
Ahrefs – for a quick check of the links and anchor texts, Ahrefs can be used. This instrument allows the URL to be tested and is a fast way to check if there is a fast, dramatic, or dangerous rise in the link profile.
Screaming Frog – A good crawling bot is necessary to give you the most accurate and raw data for your site, and this is exactly what Screaming Frog is.
Our experienced optimizers at 411 Marketing know the right SEO tactics. With the help of our online marketing agency, your site will be protected against the new Penguin update and won’t be affected by the penalties.
