I’ve been at ireckon over four and a half years and thought now is the time to reflect on what I’ve learnt over this time.

It can be summed up in a couple of words (thought have removed expletives to keep the blog clean)…  So B……. Much!

I started at ireckon one day a week as I thought it time to get back into the work force after having a couple of  kids and was nearly finished my uni degree.  I was officially employed as sales coordinator / administrator – I still have the original (and only) job description I was ever given.  What did this entail?  Lots of accounts work, cleaning up a database system and sending out a sales pitch to newbies.  But of course it evolved to encompass so much more – marketing in all its interesting facets (read Marketing is more than an idea for what I do).

I had used the internet previously – predominantly for uni work as I’d been out of the work force for a good while.  My knowledge of its use (and that of computers) was ok – but definitely not at an expert level.  I’d like to think though that over the past four and half years, though still not able to call myself an ‘expert’, I could call myself an ‘advanced intermediate’!

So what have I learnt?

• I’ve learnt that sometimes words are spelt online for a particular reason and changing them to the ‘correct’ spelling can affect your rankings online.
• I’ve learnt that there can be a system for everything and to improve processes and productivity having the right system in place is a must.
• I’ve learnt that blogs really aren’t that scary to write, and you can learn some interesting things about people from what they write.
• I’ve learnt that content is king!  Search engines love good quality content (no, not the spammy stuff used to try and improve rankings).  There’s nothing more satisfying than writing content that within a week gets listed on page 1 of Google for relevant search terms.
• I’ve learnt that public speaking, though still scary, can actually be quite satisfying.
• I’ve learnt that Social Media and Networking is all about communicating and it won’t kill you to put yourself out there and start talking to others.
• I’ve learnt all about domain names, hosting, and email marketing.  I know what open rates are, conversions and click throughs and that improving these are a high priority.
• I've learnt that being on page 1 of Google does matter and does make a difference.
• I've learnt  that programmers can do some wonderful things with code (and I have no idea how!)
• I've learnt web designers have an amazing knack of interpreting concepts and bringing them to life beautifully.
• I've learnt that Content Management Systems are very easy to use!
  
• I’ve learnt that you can find an amazing amount of information out about your website online – how pages are found, how the site is viewed, what is looked at and how people end up contacting you – and I can understand it!
• I've learnt that there is nothing more satisfying (within reason!) than to see a website you put together, from initial conception, through to writing all the content and to helping with design ideas, go live, get found, and get results!
  
• I’ve also learnt that, if required, I have the knowledge to answer new inquiries intelligently because after four and a half years “I get it”.

So what else is there to learn?  I think the better question would be what’s NOT to learn?  There is so much going on around us at the moment, both online and offline.  I couldn’t possibly believe I can learn everything, but hope with time will expand my learning and understanding and continue to evolve.