Michelle Gonzales is a passionate, creative, versatile, and accomplished marketing professional who thoroughly enjoys speaking about herself in the third person. She specializes in search engine optimization (SEO), marketing communication, blogging, copywriting, conceptualizing ideas, and social media. She is the owner and founder of Chelness.com, a food, travel and life blog. Michelle is currently an SEO Specialist Level II at LexisNexis-Martindale Hubbell – the world’s largest collection of public records, unpublished opinions, forms, legal, news, and business information – to work with SEO campaigns for clients of Lawyers.com where she is responsible for achieving #1 search engine rankings in Google, Yahoo, & Bing for law firm client websites. She is also responsible for monitoring & generating traffic, conversions, keyword rankings &r eports and manages an average of 40 clients, which amounts to more than half a million dollars, throughout their 1 year campaigns. Michelle is also the Marketing Manager of Talkbiznow.com, a new business networking platform designed to enable all business professionals to expand their network and manage their online business life using everyday productivity services. She is responsible for leading the digital marketing activity across the United States. She also leads the US activity in PR, corporate communications, direct membership marketing and social media. Before Talkbiznow, Michelle was the Marketing Consultant for Octagon Entertainment where she provided marketing, advertising, and creative services to a series of gaming events in 15 cities across the United States. She also volunteered as a Marketing Coordinator for Gooddogz.org and did freelance writing for WiredNJ.com. Prior to this, Michelle held several marketing roles for small businesses in New Jersey, and completed a marketing internship at the corporate headquarters of Donna Karan International in New York City. Michelle is an animal lover and advocate, member of the American Cancer Society and a strong supporter of Stand Up to Cancer.
Objective:
Passionate, creative, versatile, and accomplished Search Engine Optimization (SEO) & marketing communication professional, and independent writer/blogger & social media strategist seeking to utilize and enhance skills through a position in an established & growing company with an opportunity for creativity, challenge, and personal growth.
Education:
Kean University
B.S. Marketing, May 2009, cum laude
Deans List, Mu Kappa Tau Marketing Honor Society, Lambda Alpha Sigma Honor Society at Kean University
Union County College
A.A. Business, May 2007
Honors List at Union County College
Specialties:
Search Engine Optimization • Internet Marketing • Social Media • Marketing Communications • Advertising • Copywriting • Creative Concepts • Blog Development • Writing • Photographic Artistry
Career Summary:
SEO Specialist Level II / Team Manager
LexisNexis-Martindale Hubbell, New Providence, NJ
September 2009 – present
- Manages an average of 40 Lawyers.com clients (worth $2M+) throughout their 1 to 2 years SEO and Web Visibility campaigns
- Managed 2 to 3 in-house SEO Specialists & Analysts who work as lead project fulfillment managers and direct point of contact for each SEO campaign
- Responsible for achieving #1 search engine rankings in Google, Yahoo, & Bing for law firm client websites
- Title & Meta tagging, HTML reading/editing, copy development, press releases, link building, and working with different content management systems such as LexisNexis proprietary CRM Tools such as Site9 CMS and PD4 CM
- Responsible for monitoring & generating traffic, conversions, keyword rankings and reports using technologies such as Bruce Clay SEO Tools, Web Trends, ZoomRank, Google Webmaster Tools, Siebel, etc. Part of the Social Media Team in the research & development of reputation monitoring and management products
- Promoted from SEO Analyst in February 2010 to SEO Specialist; Promoted from SEO Specialist in May 2010 to SEO Specialist Level II/Team Manager
Marketing Manager
Aberson Narotzky & White, Westfield, NJ
August 2009 – September 2009
- Responsible for leading the marketing/promotional activities for clients such as Mercedes-Benz & Coca-Cola
- Coordinated with the marketing manager for the implementation of the promotional plans and procedures and have developed promotional materials and PowerPoint presentations for clients
- Responsible for PR, marketing and social media activities and creating buzz with the use of alternative media and social media networking websites
Marketing Manager
Talkbiznow, Ltd., San Francisco, CA
May 2009 – June 2009
- Responsible for leading the digital marketing and advertising activity across the United States
- Leads the US activity in PR, corporate communications, and direct membership marketing and social media
- Responsible for creating buzz with the use of alternative media, search engine optimization, and social media networking websites
Marketing Coordinator/Creative Consultant
Octagon Entertainment, Sterling, VA
April – June 2009
- Responsible for the scheduling and production of all the marketing, advertising, and creative materials for a series of gaming events in 15 cities across the US
- Responsible for the development and management of the marketing plans and strategies and coordinated with the marketing manager and event coordinator for the implementation and supervision of the marketing plans and procedures
- Conceptualized and designed numerous promotional flyers/banners and wrote and distributed multiple press releases
Marketing Coordinator / Copy Editor
Gooddogz.org, Reston, VA
January 2009 – December 2010
- Provides volunteer support for animal welfare, dog rescue organizations, and dog owners and adopters
- Responsible for overseeing and updating the organization’s blog, writing at least one update per month
- Coordinates with the company director regarding other marketing tasks and activities
- Promotes upcoming events by sending e-mails, creating flyers, and writing blog entries online
Copywriter/Columnist
Wirednj.com, Linden, NJ
September 2008 – December 2010
- Responsible for updating the company’s blog and writes monthly features, articles, and event coverage
- Coordinates with the web developers and photographers to ensure timely updates on the site
- Creates flyers and moderates/facilitates the company’s forum and message boards
Marketing Director
Pasalubong LLC, Roselle, NJ
January 2007 – May 2008
- Established a business branch and managed all the marketing aspects of business with the owner
- Responsible for the marketing operations in the tri-state area, resulting in an increase in clients by 50%
- Created the website and designed the flyers & merchandise for marketing and advertising purposes
Marketing Intern (Co-op/Internship)
Donna Karan International, New York, NY
May 2002 – August 2002
- Assisted supervisor in developing written, website-based promotional materials that were approved for use
- Coordinated with the head of the Marketing department for the department’s daily marketing tasks at hand
- Provided effective clerical support including filing, organizing, and occasional trips to other offices
- Responsible for the development of the package program for new products.
- Worked with the advertiser to increase the sales of the products
- Updated the database by feeding the reports of the activities
- Designed presentations and demonstrated the product on campaign promotions
Accomplishments:
- Made the Dean’s List/Honor’s List in both colleges attended. Graduated with honors (cum laude)
- Elected Member of Mu Kappa Tau National Marketing Honor Society at Kean University
- Elected Member of Lambda Alpha Sigma Kean University Honor Society
- Developed and led an award-winning advertising campaign to promote The Liberty Hall Museum in Union, NJ
- Signed up 1000+ members within two months at Talkbiznow.com, a professional networking platform, through “buzz” marketing and the use of alternative media, SEO, and social media strategies
- Owner and founder of Chelness.com, a food & travel blog with over 15,000 unique visitors per month
Skills & Qualifications:
- Highly organized, reliable, and efficient, with extensive background in the Internet/Web Industry, Business, Marketing, Advertising, and Communication
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Blog development, and an expert Social Media Strategist, and some basic knowledge of SEM & PPC
- Over 5 years of experience in Marketing Communications, with strong visual sense, excellent writing skills, and the ability to translate marketing ideas and design concepts across all organizational levels
- Confident and concise communicator; able to deliver enthusiastic presentations with clarity to any audience
- Proficient in numerous forms of writing (articles, feature stories, essays, editorial columns, advertising/creative copywriting)
- Performance of complex information technology duties and technologies such as Bruce Clay SEO Tools, WebTrends, Google Webmaster Tools, Siebel, Site9 CMS, PD4 CMS, Windows XP, Microsoft Office – Outlook, Word, Excel, & PowerPoint
- Basic techniques in WordPress, Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Web design
- Fluent in English, with strong terminology & spelling skills
Interests:
art, interior decorating, web design & development (learning), zen habits, yoga, music, fashion, food, travel, photography, dogs
Associations:
Past Clients:
LexisNexis-Martindale Hubbell
Talkbiznow
Coca-Cola
Mercedes-Benz
Converse
Rolling Stone
Gooddogz.Org
WiiTournii
Movado
Lord & Taylor
Victoria’s Secret
Donna Karan New York International
Pasalubong