VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Neil K. Hess · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 1:29 pm Post subject: Googling for talent

I'm just curious for those of you who have experience casting talent or know the minds of producers: how often do people who regularly use VO talent google for new talent? I'm just curious to see how much sense it would make to focus on seo and the like.
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Philip Banks · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 1:56 pm Post subject:

I know producers who've done it and have taken to strong drink as a result!

Frank F · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 2:30 pm Post subject:

Well, when one does as suggested the results are staggering. Just 19,300,000 hits are available.

Thinking one site every :60 seconds means one would spend 13,402 days or about 37 years just to look at all of the websites available. What are your odds of getting work based on this information?

Neil, find what your best selling proposition is going to be. Promote that concept as your brand and sell that to YOUR customers. That is how to get noticed.

Frank F
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Scott Pollak · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 3:33 pm Post subject:

I can only speak from my own results of having BEEN Googled.

I am fortunate in that my website and metatags have been online for more than a decade, so if you Google: "Professional Narration", I come up on the top of page ONE of Google.* And thus I've been found a number of times by clients who did, in fact, hire me. The most recent was a self-published motivational author in NY who hired me to voice several of his books. He found me by googling. Another is an e-learning company in Lousiana who found me around February by Googling and has been sending me video narrations ever since at the rate of roughly 1 per week. And there have been others.

So IF you can manage to come up high on the 'hit list', then yeah, there ARE clients out there looking.

*ditto for: "e-learning narration" and "commercial voicework".... all page 1 of Google.
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Deirdre · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 9:39 pm Post subject:

If you Google "American Female Voice Talent" you get me in the top 3 pretty consistently. I've gotten queries, but nothing fabulous.
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heyguido · Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 11:24 pm Post subject:

These days, there aren't many shortcuts to SEO magic. Can you game it? Not without a dedicated team of pros.... And even if you do, it won't last long.... The algorithms are too good to allow it, for the most part.

Those that do rank well do so not because they gamed the rankings, but because they have been there for a while, and have maintained a consistent presence, a consistent identity, and a consistent message. They are active, involved, and respected in the community in which they are known. They are not poseurs, posturers, or phoneys.... They are the real deal.

Deebs, Scott, Doug, Bob, and Bob all rank highly because they've identified their respective specialties, stuck to their marketing, and have shared their skills and knowledge with others.... And received recognition and respect among their peers, their clients, and those they know and interact with.

Keywords and tags, and an advanced knowledge of SEO are a tool, but not only secondary, but more likely tertiary to real success. Inoccent

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Don Brookshire
"Wait.... They wanna PAY me for this?"

Jen Gosnell · Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 1:18 am Post subject:

Good points, Don - thanks for that post.
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Mike Harrison · Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 5:40 am Post subject:

Wow... what Jen said. Great, Don, thanks.

To Neil and any newbies reading this thread: one thing to avoid is the claim from anyone that they can guarantee a #1 – or any high rank position on Google (or other search engines). Google has been wise to all the methods to game the system for years, and if they detect attempted trickery, site rankings usually go in the other direction or the site in question is dropped from the index completely.

The only way to guarantee being seen at or near the top of search result pages is to buy a paid listing.

All that being said, the keywords male narrator isdn and american male narrator (among several others) have been very kind to my rankings. Inoccent

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Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.

Scott Pollak · Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 7:12 am Post subject:

Dang, Mike. At the very top of the first page! Awesome, dood!
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Scott R. Pollak
Clients include Pandora, NPR Atlanta, Wells Fargo, Cisco, Humana, Publix, UPS, AT&T, HP, Xerox and more.

www.voicebyscott.com

vkuehn · Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 8:29 am Post subject:

Wow, Mike, I am impressed.

Now. How do we get buyers to do the Google search using our exact favorite words?

I've got to dig through my library and find the book I own that tells me how to pull up the site that tells how many searches have been launched using various terminology.

ChrisMezzolesta · Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 8:47 am Post subject:

A local eLearning producer once Googled voice talent Wilmington, and there I was. I may have even used some of you on their projects. This has split into 4 different clients over the last couple years. It can happen.
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Bish · Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 9:35 am Post subject:

Any method of gaining exposure can be a good thing... as long as you have a product that people want to buy. The SEO game is over (in my opinion)... Google are pretty much on top of the different ways to game the system. Don speaks words of wisdom... and even if you do manage to finagle your way to the top, it will be short-lived.

Game-play can be so time consuming. People say they have obtained work via all forms of social media... but how many hours have been wasted sat in front of a screen flooding Twitter with posts to get a single job. Social media is good... but take it for what it is, social.

I have been approached by a number of SEO companies over the years. While they try their pitch, I Google "SEO companies"... I have always been able to say "If you're so good at this stuff, why aren't you on the front page?"

Yeah.... I can be that guy sometimes Wink

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agettig · Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 9:39 am Post subject:

What an enlightening post. I am currently overhauling all things web in the background here.

Mike, you are absolutely right about people that can guarantee a #1 ranking in Google. I still do a little consulting and warn folks to run from anyone that makes that claim.

Unfortunately, if you Google "Michigan voice talent" the top result is a site that claims to be the only professional voiceover site in the state. I've reached out to the owner of the domain and she only lists people that train with her. (Read: PAY her.) However, if you search for Kalamazoo voice talent, our local meetup group is usually #1. We're revamping that site too as we prepare for a new year of exciting stuff.

Bish · Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 9:57 am Post subject:

There's something that surprises me here... both Chris and Anthony have mentioned Google searches for people specific to a certain location (Wilmington/Michigan). Were these people looking for local talent to work in-studio? It seems counter-intuitive nowadays that these people would be looking for someone based on geographical location (except for in-studio or specific accent work). Do we have a natural preference for working with local people even if it's irrelevant? It's not a bad thing I guess... but seems a little antiquated.
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Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
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agettig · Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 9:59 am Post subject:

That's actually one of the focuses of our local meetup group...to bring awareness to the area production companies of local talent so they will hire us and keep the dollars in our local economy. It appears to be working too. Smile