TexasDesign

by Dan Sturdivant

Below is an excerpt on from an article on SEO Back to basics found at Content Marketing Expert

The History of “Keywords”
Though many may not recall, the first use of “keywords” began in the early days of databasing software, particularly relational databases. Databases are information sources that contain information on sales, contacts, vendors, addresses, medical diagnoses, employee personnel data and any data that required tracking of specific types of information. The first databases had no relational aspect to them. Thus, they were akin to lists without a way to sort information adequately or to focus on a specific type of information contained in the data stored in databases.

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First, the cliché: Creatives are restless. On good days, they have the attention span of a caffeinated finch.
Now, the problem: For too many people who hire creatives, the above rings true.
Ask anyone faced with building a team of terrific, committed creatives, and you’ll hear the same theme played back:

Attracting top talent is hard enough. But keeping it? Next to impossible. The siren song of higher profiles, newer challenges, and greater opportunities will have today’s star hire following her muse out the door tomorrow.
And yet, through decades of building a thriving agency, an amazing client roster, and several dozen feet of trophy shelving, what makes me proudest about The Richards Group is our unheard-of staff loyalty. The creative tenure here sets industry records; our 24 group heads have been here an average of 16 years. Better still? We’ve several young teams with growing profiles who have yet to be poached. And it isn’t for lack of trying.
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Continuing the theme of sustainable creative businesses, what does it mean to build and then lead a staff? Few of us received any formal training for it, so we often model our own style on the examples we’ve had in other bosses (and parents). Too bad, really, because learning to do this ought to be a lot less accidental.

If you stop and think about it, there are two big “finding” tasks that occupy much of your mind as a principal or manager. The first is finding great clients and the second is finding great employees. To find great clients, you need a compelling positioning and a strong marketing plan. Come to think of it, you probably want the same two things to find great employees, too! So start by crafting a place where people want to work, and then employ a mix of referrals and active marketing. Read more

After owning a marketing firm for six years and then advising other principals for nearly fifteen, one of the unsolved mysteries that still makes me scratch my head is why the vast majority of people in this field fade away from it in their late forties and early fifties. Not only is that unique in the professional services sector, but it’s also a darn waste because these people are smart, hardworking, and capable of having a significant impact on their employees, their clients, and even the world.

So why is that? Is there something inherently unsustainable in the way creative people are working that causes them to have only so many years of contribution before they move on? I still don’t have definitive answers, but here are seven suggestions if you want to beat the odds (particularly if you are the principal of a firm or the manager of an in-house department). Read more

In this podcast, we’ll define a downturn, explain what you can and cannot control, the ten causes of a downturn (in three categories), the four biggest dangers to avoid as you react to one, the leadership you’ll want to exhibit inside your firm, and the eventual benefits that a downturn might provide. This 50-minute podcast is “enhanced” in the sense that screenshots of an accompanying presentation outline are displayed alongside the audio content.

The majority of firms still seems to be holding their own, but there’s a combined nervousness and hesitation about what’s around the corner. Regardless of what the immediate future holds in the short term, you’re better off armed with good information, and that’s what we try to provide in this episode.

Click here to download the podcast directly.