Michael Ramsey

Senior Digital Marketing Professional

ramsey.web@gmail.com | 226.504.1005
London, Ontario, Canada

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Profile

Over the last 14 years I have had the pleasure to work across the full range of digital marketing related positions. I have worked freelance, in a small start-up with friends, in-house client side, and in several different agencies. In this time, I have worked with businesses ranging from sole proprietorships to large international enterprises and everything in between.

I am dedicated, driven and passionate; able to quickly and easily pick up new skills and understand new systems. I have a passion for efficiency and I can’t help coming up with ways to simplify, systematize, and automate wherever possible.

I love what I do. It’s more than just a career and I am eager to work with people who feel the same way. So, if your company has a vibrant culture, is eager to constantly improve upon itself, is dedicated to success, and most of all, you genuinely love what you do, then I will be an indispensable asset.

Skills

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Digital Marketing

Technical SEO (On-Site)

5/5

Link Building (Off-Site SEO)

5/5

Local SEO

5/5

Google/Bing Search Ads

5/5

Competitor Analysis

5/5

Social Media Marketing

4/5

Social Media Management

4/5

E-Mail Marketing

5/5

International SEO

5/5

B2B vs. B2C

5/5

Programmatic Advertising

4/5

Video Advertising

4/5

Technical SEO (On-Site)

5/5

Years of hands-on experience and constant research have helped me develop and maintain top-notch optimization skills for maximum search engine visibility.

Link Building (Off-Site SEO)

5/5

Having built many thousands of links and surviving years of Google updates I have become intimately familiar with many different strategies to gain valuable links and address bad link penalties.

Local SEO

5/5

I have worked with many local businesses, from single locations to nation-wide chains. I can deliver strong results in improved local search rankings for business listings.

Google/Bing Search Ads

5/5

I have handled campaigns directly from conception, through ongoing management, and conversion rate optimization on-site. I have also worked on account and MCC level custom scripting solutions to implement advanced automation and tactics.

Competitor Analysis

5/5

Thanks to my broad technical expertise I can quickly analyze competing websites, assessing their marketing and SEO strategy to bring these learnings to my clients’ campaigns.

Social Media Marketing

4/5

I have executed many successful social media campaigns across platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. I could benefit from more hands-on experience with recent interface changes to these systems.

Social Media Management

4/5

I have worked on successful organic social campaigns to build and engage followings for brands. More experience hands-on in these platforms and third-party tools would be useful.

E-Mail Marketing

5/5

I have worked with campaigns such as automated drips, newsletters, and blasts, performing robust testing and tracking to provide steady incremental improvements to email marketing initiatives.

International SEO

5/5

For large multi-national sites internationalization implementation is essential. I have successfully led projects for internationalization tag deployment on major enterprise websites.

B2B vs. B2C

5/5

Working with many different companies over the years I have successfully handled the unique challenges presented by both B2B and B2C industries.

Programmatic Advertising

4/5

I have worked with several different DSPs to run display, native, and video advertising campaigns delivering strong results via carefully tailored targeting and creative.

Video Advertising

4/5

I have run successful video campaigns on YouTube and other networks achieving a low CPV and high completion rates.

Management

Team Management

5/5

Hiring

4/5

Project Management

4/5

Scheduling and Coordination

4/5

Multitasking

5/5

Strategic Thinking

5/5

Team Management

5/5

I have extensive experience overseeing teams, assigning work, keeping track of task lists, quality checking, process development, fostering professional development, and maintaining morale among other managerial duties.

Hiring

4/5

I have handled creating job postings, assessing candidates, conducting interviews, and making final hiring decisions for both on-site, off-site and outsourced team members.

Project Management

4/5

My experience with managing projects varies. I have handled many marketing, SEO, and CRO related projects while design and development I have less experience with.

Scheduling and Coordination

4/5

I can handle scheduling, coordination and prioritization of resources across multiple projects to ensure deadlines are met.

Multitasking

5/5

Working on many different responsibilities throughout the day or week comes naturally to me after years of agency experience.

Strategic Thinking

5/5

Seeing problems from a high level and developing unique solutions is an important skill that I enjoy bringing to leadership challenges.

Web Design, Analytics & CRO

UI/UX Design Analysis

4/5

Google Analytics

5/5

Conversion Rate Optimization

5/5

Google Tag Manager

5/5

Usability Testing

5/5

Adobe Analytics

3/5

Adobe Creative Suite

2/5

UI/UX Design

4/5

I have a lot of experience analyzing, critiquing, modifying, and working on site designs with a team. Where I lack experience is starting from scratch.

Google Analytics

5/5

Having worked with Google Analytics since the early days of the service I know it inside and out. I am familiar with leveraging the GA API for automated reporting, and advanced tracking using features such as events, custom dimensions, and custom metrics.

Google Tag Manager

5/5

I am very familiar with setting up Google Tag Manager and deploying a various tracking scripts. I can use custom HTML, variables, and the dataLayer to implement virtually any tracking requirements.

Conversion Rate Optimization

5/5

I have had the opportunity to work with multiple platforms and tools to implement advanced tracking and split/multivariate tests. Thanks to my efforts my clients have seen massive shifts in the performance of their digital platforms and campaigns.

Usability Testing

5/5

Through working closely with design teams and performing many tests in-person and through online services I have gained extremely valuable insights for improving user experience.

Adobe Analytics

3/5

I have worked with a couple clients that relied on Adobe Analytics (previously Omniture) and know my way around the platform at a high level.

Adobe Creative Suite

2/5

I have some experience working in Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. I have mostly worked to modify and update existing creative content.

Web Development

HTML / CSS

4/5

JavaScript

4/5

PHP

3/5

MySQL

2/5

Hosting & Server Administration

3/5

HTML / CSS

4/5

Overall, my experience is less than that of a dedicated front-end developer but I have a solid foundation and hands-on experience with building webpages.

JavaScript

4/5

Much like HTML and CSS, I have a good understanding of JS and popular libraries like jQuery. In particular, I have a lot of experience using JS in Google’s scripting engine.

PHP

3/5

I have the knowledge and experience to work with PHP based systems, particularly when related to technical SEO challenges.

MySQL

2/5

I have enough knowledge to handle working with MySQL databases, taking on updates, maintenance, and basic performance issues.

Hosting & Server Administration

3/5

I’m quite capable of setting up a LAMP or LEMP server and doing basic ongoing maintenance and administration. I can effectively troubleshoot basic issues and handle tasks like managing redirects and HTTP header settings.

Other Skills

Excel / Google Sheets

5/5

PowerPoint / Keynote

3/5

Project Management Software

4/5

Windows

5/5

OSX

4/5

Linux

2/5

Editing

3/5

Copywriting

3/5

Excel / Google Sheets

5/5

I have an excellent understanding of advanced formulae and features. I have spent a significant amount of time building complex macros in Google Sheets and leveraging plugins like Analytics Edge in Excel.

PowerPoint / Keynote

3/5

I have a decent amount of experience building decks that are eye catching and engaging without overloading them with information.

Windows

5/5

Windows is the main OS that I am familiar with and my preference for day-to-day use.

OSX

4/5

I have worked on a Mac for several years, and am compfortable using it on a day-to-day basis.

Linux

2/5

I can get around in the *nix terminal and have some experience using various Linux GUI environments.

Editing

3/5

My written English is excellent which is useful when editing or proofing marketing material.

Copywriting

3/5

Outside of the needs of digital campaigns, my general copywriting skills are decent. My main challenge is keeping text concise and focusing on using simple language.

Experience

RedRhino
Position:
Digital Director
Period:
January 2019 - Present

At RedRhino I handle a wide variety of responsibilities from high level strategy and management, to hands-on technical execution.

  • Team leadership.
  • Search engine optimization.
  • Digital advertising.
  • Conversion rate optimization.
  • Analytics.
  • Marketing automation.
  • Email marketing.
  • Vendor management.
  • Staff training.

TBD.

tbk Creative
Position:
VP Digital
Period:
September 2016 - November 2018

During my time with tbk Creative I led the digital team and delivered high value internal projects, handling tasks and responsibilities such as:

  • Team leadership introducing and refining processes, conducting training, reviewing work, and providing direct team support.
  • Search engine optimization delivering consistent growth to client websites.
  • Digital advertising driving strong results via channels such as search, email, display, programmatic, and social media.
  • Conversion rate optimization using split testing for incremental improvements.
  • Analytics setup and reporting including advanced event, dimension and metric tracking solutions.
  • Automation for routine tasks such as ad budget pacing and reporting.
  • Software solutions introduced such as SEMRush, call tracking, Google Tag Manager, and Google Data Studio.
  • Sales support assisting in quoting projects and services, creating statements of work, and attending sales meetings.
  • Vendor management for services such as programmatic advertising, email marketing, and call tracking.
  • Staff performance analysis tools built and managed.
  • Revenue and profitability analysis built to analyze all projects and services.
  • Invoice management including review and approval of all invoices.

During my time with tbk Creative I led the digital team in handling tasks such as search engine optimization, digital advertising, conversion rate optimization, analytics, task automation, and many others.

I brought many new technologies and approaches to tbk. I introduced programmatic advertising, working with multiple vendors to find the best fit for tbk Creative’s clients. I introduced the company to new tools such as Moz, Majestic, Ahrefs, and SEMRush, improving SEO and advertising reporting and analysis for both existing clients and new leads. I brought call tracking technology on-board that allowed for lead generation focused clients to track which channels are most effective. I was also responsible for introducing Google Tag Manager and advanced events tracking of user engagement in Google Analytics. Automated always-on reporting was also handled by me via Google Data Studio. I also launched conversion rate optimization services via split/multivariate testing and related software.

Numerous automation and tracking projects I undertook saved the company thousands of hours in manual effort per year and delivered key business insights never before available to senior leadership. I was responsible for automating monthly client reporting, bid management and tracking in Google Ads, invoice review and management, company revenue and profitability reporting, all-staff total/billable time utilization trending and projections, developer burndown tracking and analysis, managed service and website quote building calculators, sales lead tracking and analysis, and other similar projects.

I was also very involved in sales efforts. I helped create proposals, built and reviewed quotes, participated in sales meetings, and provided strategic insights into which programs and campaigns would be most effective for new prospects.

Reprise Media
Positions:
Associate Director, SEO
SEO Manager
Period:
May 2014 - August 2016

Working with Reprise Media gave me the opportunity to bring my skills to enterprise clients such as major automotive brands, large telecoms, international beauty brands, and pharmaceutical companies. During my time with Reprise I took on:

  • Team leadership including professional development, project management, weekly scrums, work review, and training.
  • Technical SEO delivering advanced solutions for complex enterprise CMS’.
  • Content SEO both tailored for small regional sites and scaled for massive international needs.
  • Link building via unique activations tailored to particular client needs to attract valuable organic links.
  • Paid search team support for advanced scripting automation solutions.
  • Analytics setup and reporting including advanced event, dimension and metric tracking solutions.
  • Sales support assisting in quoting services, creating presentations, and attending sales meetings.
  • Reporting automation using Analytics Edge to build advanced API driven Excel macros.
  • Cross-channel collaboration with sister agencies to align search activities with social, programmatic, and traditional media.

Working with Reprise Media gave me the opportunity to bring my skills to enterprise clients such as major automotive brands, large telecoms, international beauty brands, and pharmaceutical companies.

My responsibilities at Reprise included managing a team in-house. I delegated tasks, managed workflow, reviewed work, evaluated the team’s effectiveness, and of course training, training, training.

The most difficult technical SEO challenges were my area of particular expertise. I had to deal with clients and their development agencies to see SEO changes implemented across massive and complex sites, providing detailed and specific directions.

I have also worked with the paid search side of Reprise, particularly in helping with AdWords scripts and other automation. We also worked together to deliver cross-channel reporting that told a complete story about how people were getting to and engaging with a client’s site and the role search played.

In my role I met directly with various client stakeholders to present findings, provide direction, and contribute my technical expertise.

TechWyse
Position:
SEO Manager
Site:
Period:
September 2012 - May 2014

TechWyse provided a wealth of experience from the wide array of clients I had an opportunity to work with. Each had unique challenges and strengths within their respective industries. Hundreds of different clients spanned the gamut from sole proprietor small businesses to major international corporations. My role included working on:

  • Team leadership of dozens of off-shore workers in India including both in-person and virtual training and management.
  • Technical SEO at scale for hundreds of websites across numerous different CMS’.
  • Content SEO that needed to maintain high quality English from outsourced workers.
  • Link building streamlined using a system I oversaw the building of to manage and track efforts at scale.
  • Analytics setup and reporting including advanced integrations with third-party systems.
  • Client & sales support when SEO needs were discussed.
  • Conversion rate optimization work on high value sites to drive consistent growth.
  • Content creation including blogs and videos to educate and promote TechWyse’s online community.

TechWyse provided a wealth of experience from the wide array of clients I had an opportunity to work with. Each had unique challenges and strengths within their respective industries. Hundreds of different clients spanned the gamut from sole proprietor small businesses to major international corporations. These clients were from diverse industries such as:

  • Education
  • Healthcare
    • Dentists
    • Cosmetic surgeons
    • Hospitals
    • Chiropractors
    • Sports medicine
  • Financial services
  • Law
  • Appliance repair
  • IT services
  • Self storage
  • Home improvement
  • Interior design
  • Pest control
  • Non-profits and NGOs
  • Home cleaning services
  • Child care
  • E-commerce

I worked closely with a tight-knit team in Canada and managed several teams in TechWyse’s Indian office who were involved with different aspects of the setup and recurring processes for SEO services. I did substantial work towards updating and expanding SEO processes to scale easily and take advantage of current best practices while also easily tailored towards the unique challenges posed by different clients. This included on-page content optimization, website technical optimization, and off-page link and citation building.

My work did not only revolve around SEO. I provided valuable contributions towards the development of internal software and TechWyse’s publicly offered AdLuge system. I led efforts regarding the analysis of website engagement and conversion rate optimization. My skills related to development (PHP, JS, MySQL, etc.) made me the primary Canadian resource when a client website had technical issues that needed to be addressed before the Indian team would be available.

The Successful Investor
Position:
Webmaster / Digital Marketing
Period:
October 2010 - September 2012

While working at TSI I was involved in many different aspects of the development, maintenance and marketing of the business online. I smoothly transitioned between a variety of different responsibilities as needed, including those noted below:

  • Technical SEO to help drive consistent improvements in organic search traffic.
  • Link building promotion efforts to naturally build the authority of the website.
  • Analytics implementation updates and reporting.
  • Usability testing to collect feedback directly from users and distill this information into actionable insights to guide future updates.
  • Website development work to support theme and site content updates as needed.
  • Email marketing including the setup of numerous weekly emails sent to tens-of-thousands of subscribers.
  • Content SEO direction for the free articles posted on a regular basis.
  • Conversion rate optimization through consistent split testing in emails, on-site, and in paid campaigns.
  • Social media marketing & management working to schedule posts and monitor engagement.

While working at TSI I was involved in many different aspects of the development, maintenance and marketing of the business online. I smoothly transitioned between a variety of different responsibilities as needed. Changes in staff and strategy made my diverse skill set invaluable, ensuring the website continued to improve.

Changes from my initial on-site SEO audit saw organic search traffic triple in a few months. The website then maintained a year over year improvement to visits from organic search under my watch.

I managed paid search campaigns to promote both paid products and free subscriptions. The free report campaign I built was responsible for shifting the free subscriber list from a slow decline to significant subscriber gains each month.

I took over some of the ongoing development for the theme and plug-ins for the WordPress site working closely with TSI’s the external agency. I frequently built specialized landing pages for paid campaigns that had excellent performance.

The conversion rate optimization work I did for the landing pages, online advertising, and emails produced strong results, significantly improving campaign performance.

I also handled responsibilities such as posting to the site, sending e-mail campaigns, miscellaneous reporting, community management, creating and implementing new marketing ideas, social media marketing and optimization, dealing with subscribers’ technical issues, affiliate marketing and many other ad hoc tasks.

KaizenSEO
Position:
Lead Analyst
Period:
April 2009 - September 2010

KaizenSEO was the natural extension of the work I did hiring an overseas team for Greentea Design’s needs. Our close-knit team in Toronto gradually expanded to undertake additional projects thanks to our growing company. We started taking on various short-term client work and eagerly expanded our knowledge of different industries.

Among our projects were an online hobby store, a real estate agent website, a blog and info site for a minor celebrity, and a local cinema. We also worked on various internal projects, notably a social mapping platform.

Greentea Design
Position:
SEO / Digital Marketing
Period:
Jan 2005 - September 2010

Working with Greentea Design offered the opportunity to get my start in digital marketing, conversion rate optimization, and various other areas of internet technology and business. I handled many responsibilities including:

  • Technical SEO to help drive consistent improvements in organic search traffic.
  • Link building via both black and white hat tactics that worked well in the early days of Google.
  • Analytics reporting and analysis using ClickTracks and later Google Analytics.
  • Usability testing to collect feedback directly from users and distill this information into actionable insights to guide future updates.
  • Outsourcing to the Philippines, conducting interviews, testing applicants, and hiring.
  • 3D Modeling of furniture for custom client orders via SketchUp.
  • Team management of the outsourced team in the Philippines including work review, task management and training.
  • Email marketing to drive engaged users back to the site on a regular basis.
  • Content SEO that was fine tuned to achieve rankings across a broad set of terms in the US and Canada.
  • Conversion rate optimization through split testing on-site.
  • Digital marketing working with the very early versions of many of the systems that are ubiquitous today.

During my time working with Greentea Design I gained and maintained organic search rankings for many competitive terms through aggressive and creative link building as well as cutting edge on-site optimization. I was able to see U.S. business grow from a small side-line to the company’s main source of revenue.

I started doing CRO, website traffic and engagement analysis using ClickTracks, an enterprise class analytics and conversion rate optimization software package that predated Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer.

In the pursuit of maximizing efficiency and improving return on investment, I worked to outsource many low-level responsibilities to workers in the Philippines. Starting from a single contact, I worked to hire, train and manage a team that would eventually handle many tasks related to general site upkeep, online marketing, web development and design.

I fulfilled numerous responsibilities while there, including but not limited to link building, on-page SEO, content creation, outsourcing, Google Sketchup to create custom furniture models, usability testing, handling customers, training, split testing, and many different online marketing efforts such as AdWords search campaigns.

Education

York University

Bachelor of Arts

Major: Philosophy — Minor: East Asian Studies

Graduated with Honours, Spring 2008

About Michael…

Biography

I am an outgoing and gregarious person who loves to discuss new ideas. I tend to seek common ground rather than belabour my arguments. I’m quick to discover how to relate to new people and build a good rapport.

I grew up in Toronto, attending York University for a major that interested me while studying tech topics in my free time.

My wife and I moved to Londona few years ago to pursue new career opportunities and a more affordable cost of living.

If you’re interested in whether I would be a good fit for your company culture, this section is for you. I am an outgoing and gregarious person who loves to discuss new ideas. I tend to seek common ground rather than belabour my arguments. I’m quick to discover how to relate to new people and build a good rapport.

I grew up in Toronto, attending a tech focused magnet high school followed by York University for Philosophy and minoring in East Asian Studies. My major was chosen out of pure personal interest while I worked on the side to expand my knowledge of tech and internet marketing.

During frosh week at York I met Emily, the woman I would go on to marry. We’ve been married for 16 years and couldn’t be happier together. We have three cats named Sortex, Ella and Nina that are wondeful little balls of fluff. The latter two are kittens we only recently adopted from a local rescue.

Before I got into working on internet related stuff I did a variety of other jobs. Among the most interesting was my time as an 1812 British soldier at Fort York in Toronto during my summer breaks from school. I’ve also worked as a bartender at the Air Canada Center, a tour guide on Grayline Tours’ open-top double decker busses, concession and sales at a local repertory cinema, and temped as a receptionist and switchboard operator for the corporate head office of a global company.

Emily and I moved to London a few years ago to pursue new job opportunities and a more affordable cost of living. Emily lined up a great job working in beer brewing with Forked River Brewing, while I accepted the opportunity to work with tbk Creative.

Interests & Hobbies

  • Reading Fiction & Non-Fiction
  • Bicycling
  • Computer Hardware
  • Video Gaming
  • Boardgames
  • Dungeons & Dragons
  • Craft Beer & Tea
  • World News & Politics

Reading

I’m fond of both fiction and non-fiction. In the case of the former I particularly like Haruki Murakami but also read a lot of classics and genre fiction. For the latter, I read a mix of books on politics, philosophy, and topics relevant to my career.

Bicycling

One of my biggest disappointments with moving to London is the lack of good bike infrastructure. I love commuting to work by bike whenever weather permits and going for rides with my wife on the weekend.

Computer Hardware

If I had my druthers, I would build computers frequently. It is so much fun selecting parts to hit a sweet spot for price vs. performance, building the computer, and then overclocking it.

Gaming

At one time I was a serious gamer. I worked hard to play competitively in both 1v1 and group based competitive games such as RTS, MMOs, and MOBAs. Today I have a casual approach to gaming, focusing more on story driven RPGs as well as playing tabletop boardgames with friends.

Dungeons & Dragons

Playing D&D is one of my big commitments in terms of hobbies right now. My wife and I play regularly with several groups of friends both online and here in London.

Craft Beer & Tea

If I had to give up one, it’s hard to say which I’d choose. Both are beverages I’m quite knowledgable about, actively seeking out new variations to try.

World News & Politics

I follow news and politics globally to varying degrees based on the pressing matters of the day. Unfortunately, this has meant that US politics has dominated in recent years.

Contact Michael Ramsey

mike@michaelramsey.ca | ramsey.web@gmail.com | 226.504.1005

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