10 years ago, if you asked me about creating/optimizing websites or marketing, I would have responded with something like “Forget that. What do I look like, a nerd?” 

Fast-forward 10 years and guess what? I’m a nerd (a successful nerd, might I add). 

Flat out, I had absolutely no interest in getting into the website world.  Nothing excited me and I really felt like there was no future in website design and development.  That was until my father knocked some sense into me.

My dad has always had a knack for predicting the future; he’s no psychic or anything, but he’s a damn good businessman.  In 1985, my father predicted that the real estate education industry was growing and in order to be successful, we would have to shut down our convenience store and get on board – and he was right.  For the last 30 years, we have run a very successful real estate education business and we provide training to thousands of real estate professionals every year.

So, how did my success start?  Quite frankly, I was thrown to the wolves.  Almost against my will, my dad had signed me up for an Internet Marketing seminar on optimizing websites --- I attended, reluctantly, and left that meeting with so much valuable information on the industry that I surprisingly was hooked.

From that point on, I dove in and learned anything and everything that came my way when it came to SEO (See: What is SEO? A Guide for Beginners)  and Marketing. I learned how to build a website, optimize the pages, and market them to potential customers.  I even went as far as learning as much as I could about Google Adwords and knew I finally had enough information and training to make a career out of it.

I was approached by an Interior Design company in Michigan who was on page 16 of Google search results and within 3-5 months of optimizing their website, they are currently ranked #2 on the Google search results.  Following that success, I gathered several more clients and now run a business building, optimizing, and promoting businesses on the Internet.

Flat out:

• THERE’S A LOT OF MONEY TO BE MADE IN THIS FIELD.
• THERE ARE TREMENDOUS CAREER OPPORTUNITIES!  
• There are businesses literally begging for my services.  

And I’m at a point where I could literally name my price and they’ll pay.  I don’t mean to sound cocky, but it’s the truth.  This is a growing industry and people need to be ranked on the first page of Google search results to even make it these days.

According to recent information gathered by Google Webmaster Tools, 71.33% of searches resulted in a page one Google organic click. Page two and three get only 5.59% of the clicks.  On the first page alone, the first 5 results account for 67.60% of all the clicks and the results from 6 to 10 account for only 3.73% -- Do you catch my drift?

This industry is growing and will continuously provide a constant stream of business for those willing to get involved. There are millions of businesses in the world and tons of opportunity to help others --- and honestly, it’s really fun!

I’m happy I got into this field and I strongly recommend you do as I did and dive in! It may seem overwhelming at first.  But, just like anything else in life, it takes hard work and dedication.  Once you optimize your first website and see results, you’ll be hooked just like I was.

 Learn more about website design and development by investigating ISM 7994 (ISM 5994 for undergraduate students).  Put all this together by investigating how Inbound Information Technology can help your organization.