About SaktoSEO
My name is Dave Erickson Fuentes, and I’m a SEO Analyst / Consultant currently working for Nurture3, an online marketing firm based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Welcome to SaktoSEO.Com! This is my share board of knowledge acquired, developed skills, experiments, and experiences and just about anything related to my work in being an SEO in Dubai and in related fields to online marketing including search engine marketing (PPC), online reputation management, and conversion optimization.
But let us first learn…
What does “Sakto” Mean?
In my native country of the Philippines, Sakto is a way of saying “just about right.” When something is Sakto, it means that it fits just right. In other words, when things work very well together–just like clockwork–it’s Sakto.
When you buy a sandwich from McDonald’s, and you’ve got the exact amount in your pockets, that’s Sakto.
When you looking for a way to fix your backyard fence, and a carpenter friend of yours drops by and gives you a hand, that’s Sakto.
When you need to get a stronger, more stable presence on the worldwide web, well–we’re Sakto.
Yeah yeah we get it now.
I believe that each business has their own structure and challenges. Ever since I began working in SEO back in 2004, I’ve worked mostly (if not all) with small businesses as an In-House SEO.
I began to love working with companies who have just started their web development processes which means that organic SEO is well integrated right from the planning stage and is properly executed and monitored all throughout.
Working with small to medium sized businesses has its own challenges ranging from marketing budget, developmental capacity, and even human capital. But this is where the challenge is – implementing an effective and successful online marketing strategy with what you can and what you have.
This is where SaktoSEO comes in. My aim to is to provide small to medium sized businesses with actual search engine marketing conditions, based on day to day activities of a full time In-House Analyst, vis-à-vis practicable yet effective steps in successfully executing an online marketing campaign particularly Organic SEO.
When you know that you’re getting the right results at the right time and at the right place, in your head you just think that… or you might you might just guessed it… Sakto!
Before SaktoSEO…
I started as an SEO Content Writer in one of the first and largest SEO companies in the Philippines, HarvestSEO.Com. This is when I learned the basics of meta descriptions, meta keywords (which was significant back then), keyword density and the basics of link building.
I left HarvestSEO in September 2005 to concentrate on my law degree but was working still as a freelance SEO writer for MedicinalRemedies.Com websites network.
In March 2006, StickyMediaSolutions Inc. (SMSI), a new web development startup and sister company to HarvestSEO, invited me to join their team as an SEO Team Leader for one of their major clients, Buckworks Projects.
Elisabeth Archambault, owner of Buckworks Projects, taught me the the fundamentals of organic SEO starting from keyword research, creating link descriptions, competitor analysis, to directory submissions and email link campaigns. We also did very early social media optimization involving del.icio.us and StumbleUpon which were the famous social bookmarking sites at that time.
In the same year, I was also invited by another project (Advibe Media) within SMSI, to be a Web Media Buyer for another huge client MatrixMT Solutions. This was my first experience in SEM involving web media buys specifically text link ads. I was responsible for sourcing potential site partners for link buys, negotiations with site owners / webmasters, and closing the deal for the media buys.
I handled these 2 simultaneous roles until I got invited by a relative to find greener pastures in Dubai. So I had to leave SMSI by December 2007 and flew to Dubai on January 2008.
Lucky enough, I was able to land a job as an SEO Analyst for H2O New Media, previously a web development company but now focusing on social media solutions, but only for a temporary position. Back then, there weren’t any search / online marketing positions available.
In March 2009, I joined Nurture3, an online marketing company, as an SEO Analyst. I have been with Nurture3 for almost 2 years and have been blessed with challenges and opportunities in growing my expertise in search. I’m also heavily involved in:
- Conversion Rate Optimization
- Online Reputation Management
- Social Media
- Email Marketing
- Search Engine Marketing (Display Advertising)
Currently, I’m working with Sukar.com, the first online private shopping club in the Middle East, as an Assistant Digital Marketing Manager. This is my biggest challenge so far leading the search marketing (SEM & SEO) for the company as well as initiating conversion optimization efforts and other online advertising activities.