Q&A with Tim Eschenauer
SEO/SEM Strategist
Did you always want to be a designer?
Well, in college I wanted to get into the magazine publishing world. I spent the majority of my time writing and designing full magazine layouts and comps, so I was actively using all the design programs I use today. My first job out of school was at Time magazine – but it was in their Marketing department, working in Creative Services. It was at this time I moved towards marketing and advertising, and also Interactive. This is probably where I transitioned towards designing marketing materials and the world of advertising.
You’ve become the Agency’s SEO expert. How important is this for our client’s websites?
That's a loaded question. SEO and search as a whole, is something I became intrigued by shortly before I joined Austin & Williams. Like anything else, it has moved from a hobby to more of a passion. SEO is arguably one of the most important aspects of marketing a website – in large part because of Google has made people love to search simply by fulfilling their need to access information.
SEO is about more than just keywords… it is also about usability, and having a seamless design along with good content. Not to mention analytics – which gives you an idea of how users respond to your site, what’s working and what’s not. In any interactive marketing strategy, I know Social Media is much “cooler’ than SEO or analytics – but, SEO and analytics are arguably the most important interactive marketing practices you could do for any website… not to mention they (arguably) give your website the best return on your investment.
If you could do work for any company out there, who would it be?
It would be pretty awesome to do work for some of my favorite brands, such as Apple, the Yankees, and even U2. Apple has the coolest products, and they come in pretty amazing packages: it’s hard to throw them away. As for the Yankees, doing any work for them would be fun. And I’ve always been a fan of U2’s music – and their artwork. There is something to be said for a band that brings their music to life visually – and is probably one of the reasons I have been listening to them since I was about 4.
Who is your favorite Yankee?
I will root for any player who wears pinstripes and usually I would say Don Mattingly, but Mark Teixeira is probably the best addition to this team in a long time (not to mention, he made last year's company Christmas party about 10 times better – that was the day he signed with the Yanks). What a great year this was – new ballpark, another World Series… it was easy to smile watching the Yanks this season.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
It doesn’t get much better than watching a Yankee game or any sporting event, but I also love to play golf and softball. I played sports growing up, so I like any sort of a competitive activity. I recently got married, so it's great just to relax with my wife. The two of us have also become pretty good entertainers, so we love having friends over, barbecuing, cooking and having plenty of laughs.
What kind of music do you like?
As I mentioned, my favorite band has always been U2. I would say their best two albums are The Unforgettable Fire and Achtung Baby. And there really isn't a better concert to go to. Aside from them, I like anything that rocks, but my iPod (which is filled with about 40GB of music) is usually playing bands such as Wilco, Coldplay and lately Kings of Leon. And who doesn’t love the Beatles? Just don't ask A&W’s Ron Dylnicki that question.
