James Mechan - SEO consultant, We Are Directioneers

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Work Background

We Are DirectioneersOwner / Lead Strategist

Nov. 2023Leeds, England, United Kingdom · RemoteDirectioneers are highly skilled channel specialists that we plug in to your business to unlock growth. We bring the tools you need to meet your objectives. Nothing more. Nothing less. We don’t insist on PM’s (Project Managers) or hire inexperienced assistants to deliver boilerplate marketing strategies. You get direct access to our collective of growth experts. We’re a group of freelance digital specialists who have spent years in the marketing industry honing our knowledge and expertise (and learning which standard agency practices to avoid!). Our Directioneers can plug directly into your existing marketing team and provide advice or training to help you grow profit.

FreelanceSenior Freelance SEO Consultant

Nov. 2021Remote · RemoteMy services cover all elements of Search Marketing from setting the strategic direction of the channel through to implementing specific tactics in order to achieve our goals. My agency experience allows me to offer services not just direct to clients but also to agencies who either need client support or need direction on developing their SEO service. I'm able to offer this full breadth of service as I've held roles throughout the SEO spectrum, starting at exec level right through to leading teams, setting and executing on a channel direction. My passion lies with identifying and understanding the specific SEO opportunity for each client and designing a strategy to allow us to realise that opportunity. With each strategy being unique to the client situation, this means I'm constantly challenged (in a good way) to find the right tactics to meet joint objectives and goals. This challenge is what drives me and ensures my work is always of the highest quality. Experience over the last 12 years has taught me that not every strategy will succeed and there will be times when we have to change and adapt. Knowing this before we even begin a journey helps us plan as best we can for these alterations. It has also taught me that no matter how well you prepare a strategy for success, there will be times when it will fail, which is something I am not afraid to communicate to my clients when it is needed. I believe this brutal honesty is vital in communicating progress and vital in any freelancer/client arrangement as I don't think you can build a successful relationship without being completely open about performance, regardless of whether it is good, bad or great. Anyway, that is enough on my experience and beliefs as an SEO Consultant, if you want to know more about me and my services, please just reach out, I'd love to chat.

The Home AgencySenior Strategic Search Consultant

Mar. 2020 - Sep. 2021Remote

The Home AgencyHead of SEO (Interim)

Aug. 2019 - Mar. 2020Leeds, United Kingdom

The Home AgencySenior AIO Analyst

Sep. 2018 - Aug. 2019Leeds, United Kingdom

The Home AgencyAIO Analyst

Aug. 2017 - Sep. 2018Leeds, United KingdomWe’re Home and we're an integrated marketing agency. Everything we do is aimed at making people feel good about brands. Because when people feel good about brands, they engage more, they trust more and they buy more. We have offices in Leeds, London and Gibraltar, with specialists in everything from branding, advertising and media, to search-driven digital marketing, all working together to do great things. We’re RAR accredited, DADI award winning and a Google Premier Partner too. We’ve been lucky enough to have been named the UK’s No 1 Independent Agency (100+ staff) and most recently, we claimed the top spot in Campaign’s Top 30 Regional Agencies.

iProspectAccount Manager

Jan. 2017 - Aug. 2017Leeds, United Kingdom

SilverbeanSenior Search Marketing Consultant

Mar. 2015 - Jan. 2017Newcastle upon Tyne, United KingdomAfter gaining promotions to this role, I have a number of key responsibilities within the search team and across the wider agency; • Developing & overseeing search strategies, consistently monitoring campaign performance in line with objectives • Leading a team of consultants and executives • Developing the wider team through training, mentoring and guidance • Having difficult & senior conversations with clients, key stakeholders and team members • Contributing to the development and implementation of the overall Search team vision in line with the agency vision and senior team • Lead Search team pitch document creation & delivery alongside the new business team • Multi-service collaboration with other heads of service, improving the service offering and team work flows • Project leadership and management for key clients • Consistently review and recommend improvements to the Search service with the Head of Search & Digital Performance Director • Manage client content needs and content creation for the Silverbean blog Above all of this, I love my role and responsibilities on my shoulders

SilverbeanSearch Marketing Consultant

Jul. 2013 - Mar. 2015Newcastle upon Tyne, United KingdomI am responsible for delivering the day to day SEO service which involves; - Delivering search marketing strategies which perform against clients' business and marketing objectives - Providing regular, actionable recommendations to maximise search marketing performance - Presenting recommendations and ideas to ensure the team continue to deliver an effective search marketing service I also have responsibility to aid in the development of the Search Marketing Service including; - Present ideas to help drive innovation - Support and develop junior members of my team - Solve problems effectively in a timely fashion My performance is measured against a number of KPIs including; - Accountability for the performance of my clients' search marketing campaigns - Ability to meet internal client retention targets - Demonstrate personal development and progression - Client satisfaction survey results

SilverbeanSearch Marketing Executive

May. 2012 - Jul. 2013Newcastle upon Tyne, United KingdomAs a member of the Search Engine Marketing team, my role is to support the delivery of the search engine optimisation and paid search services on a day-to-day basis and involves: • providing key phrase research and competitor analysis for new business development pitches; • helping to create search marketing strategies which deliver against clients’ business and marketing objectives; • conducting onsite optimisation reviews of websites to ensure maximum search engine visibility; • researching and identifying link building opportunities for client campaigns; • executing link building campaigns; and • compiling statistical content for client reports.

AV Works LtdSales & Marketing Assistant

Jun. 2010 - Dec. 2010Assist in all the Marketing and Sales responsibilities. I create marketing strategies, design content to market specific products, visit existing and potential clients, produce viability reports to the MD, analyse and sort database information.

SMG EuropeSenior Host/ Fire Steward

Sep. 2009 - Jul. 2010Fire safety response, Customer enquieries, Emergency evacuation checks and procedures

Simpsons MaltGrain Sample Co-ordinator

Jun. 2008 - Sep. 2008My main duties were to handle all grain samples for MS&P; this involved informing clients of their results by phone, e-mail or fax and sorting movement cards to allow the haulage department to move the correct tonnages from our clients. My other duties involved amending client details using Sage systems and BMS, a system used by MS&P to process all harvest applications. I thoroughly enjoyed having the large amount of responsibility in this position and feel I gained many skills that are transferrable into other office or shop environments.