Terrence Gordon is 20 year entrepreneur in the digital marketing world. He specializes in finding new ways to improve and optimize digital media for the benefit of his clients and has a proven track record of success in delivering solutions to companies in need. With a degree in Communications from the University of Arizona, Terrence headed out to Los Angeles where his quick-lived entertainment career turned into a life-long passion for digital marketing.
His second job selling digital ads for a local publication in Los Angeles quickly led to the launch of his first SEO agency, which evolved into a full-service digital marketing agency catering to large clients such as StubHub. His decision to turn his agency vertical for the automotive industry became a well-known SEO source for top dealers, and eventually an acquisition by Cox Automotive. Since then, Terrence has gone back to his digital agency roots, which is now known as 214 Interactive – offering full service solutions to local businesses and with a strong base in the restaurant industry with 214EATS.
Please introduce yourself and where you work.
How do you think SEO has changed over the last 10 years?
It’s been interesting watch SEO evolve. I remember in the dial-up AOL days, it was as simple as stuffing the keywords in the same color background of the site. The game of SEO vs. Algorithm has evolved exponentially, but in the end there is one goal from Google’s perspective – to display the most relevant results possible. So from the days rebuilding the entire code of a site, exchanging reciprocal links and only focusing on Google’s “Page Rank” up until now where everything has become more localized, the same fundamentals are still true today. Authoritativeness of the domain itself combined with the basic SEO site elements (page titles, META data, etc.) and proper relevant page content are still what moves the needle.
How did you get introduced to digital marketing, more specifically SEO?
I sold digital advertising for a local newspaper in Los Angeles in 1999. From there I became a digital ad broker selling across multiple networks. I then went on to
Business.com selling CPC listings on a B2B level. I then went on to sell SEO for a company called Search Engine Optimization, Inc. who was the #1 ranking for “SEO”, after-which I decided to start my own SEO firm in 2004 providing performance-based SEO services (you pay only when it works). I then merged that into a full-service digital marketing agency, and started selling SEO directly to car dealers. I moved back to Dallas and merged that agency with an automotive software company, which then sold. We started 214 Interactive in 2014, and I can proudly say that we don’t touch an SEO project unless we are building the website.
What are the services you provide to your clients?
We are a full-service digital agency, and prefer to own the entire process from Website to SEO to Social to Reputation Management and Digital Media Buys.
What strategy according to you will prevail in 2018 for SEO?
With so many indicators pointing to what makes a company “successful” in the eyes of a consumer, I believe keeping the SEO fundamentals strong while focusing on improving your online reputation and maintaining social engagement will be prevalent to the results. Who wants to see a bad company rank at the top anyways?
What would your advice be to people who are looking to take up digital marketing as a career choice?
It’s become extremely competitive. Especially in a local market. Every newspaper, radio station and TV channel now has a “digital marketing team”. Try to focus on a vertical, and be the best you can in that space.
