Teaching English abroad is one of the most rewarding summer or post-college jobs. No other job is as in demand than the teacher of English worldwide, and few pay better for recent grads looking to move around from place to place every few weeks or month. In these tough economic times, it indeed seems practical to pay for any kind of prolonged travel with the income from a job taken while abroad – and TEFL fits that bill: practical.
TEFL certification is recognized worldwide as a stamp of credibility for teachers of English to speakers of other languages. No other certification is more comprehensive, so those who hold the distinction are respected and highly desired to fill jobs as English teachers in schools and in private homes. But getting the TEFL certification has been a hassle recently. It required partaking in several hours of classroom work at great expense to the student – the cost of food, transportation, and work missed in addition to the cost of the course itself. Thanks to advancements in internet and internet education technology, Online TEFL courses are available now at a fraction of the price of their classroom counterparts. Since there is no physical meeting place for the class and since software materials are infinitely scalable, institutes that offer TEFL certification are able to offer the online courses at a lower price than a physical course – a win-win for both the instructional company and the student, who gets to save money and learn at their own convenience.
For student still in college who are planning to travel after graduation, and especially for those with a bad case of senioritis, getting a TEFL certification online is ideal not only because it guarantees income that will support any globetrotting endeavors but also because – since class is at the students’ convenience – it ensures that the student is attentive and focused when he or she actually chooses to receive instruction, whereas in a physical class with a set schedule, the student is often not mentally tuned in to what is going on.
In all, it’s safe to say that the advent of online TEFL certification is a good thing for would-be travelers, would-be learners of English abroad, and the institutes that offer the certification. What remains to be seen is what other kind of certification can be offered online in the future that will make learning more convenient for those looking to acquire specialized credentials like a TEFL accreditation.
With search engine queries, link baiting, viral marketing and social media networks, curious surfers have a million and one ways to search or be found online.
Titles and tagging are the new SEO, and keeping it short, sweet & relevant not only ensures that the right people find your content, but also they search engines rank it accordingly.
Over the past 8 years, search engine marketing companies have been the gate keeper holding the keys to determine is businesses make it or break it as far as exposure, click through rates and sales are concerned, but for how long?
Since the advent of web 2.0 using folksonomy (collaborative tagging from a community) to organize and offer content, the face of SEO as we knew it is facing a major upgrade. Instead of thinking from a one dimensional perspective and trying to pigeonhole every keyword under the sun on one page, there is something to be said about compartmentalization, structure and website authority.
Conversion arguably (by definition) can be seen as when someone takes action as a result of finding a link during a search, a PPC or sponsored advertisement or finds your website.
Regardless of the medium, conversion is about engaging the viewer holistically and as a result they take action and provide you with information or statistics that allow you to hone your content and successfully replicate the process, over and over again.
This process (at least for human visitors) starts with curiosity and based on the relevance of the title, tags and content gives the signal to trust, engage or take action.
In some instances, it may be signing up for an RSS feed, signing up for a special offer, just reading a blog or making a purchase, conversion means different things to everyone, but the gist is to produce the appropriate reaction.
Since chronology is involved, if you fail to impress or fail to create relevance through your titles or tags, how can you possibly expect to see the fruits of your labors. Remember, unless you are selling something as specific as makes and model numbers, then you should incorporate as many of the keywords tactfully in your tags or titles.
In Word Press for example, the ability to rank in the top 10 for the long tail of search for your content is nothing less than phenomenal. Your post and title may by the gist (in your eyes), but after each of the tags creates a spin off page for example, you see unique combinations for your categories, website name and the tags appearing which can be beneficial with some foresight into this process.
Tags are a way to collectively emphasize an implement exposure for your content. The importance of relevance can not be stressed enough. The take away here is, write great content, tag it well and it will attract links on its own merit.
