IAB & DMA Launched UK’s First Search Marketing Best Practices Charter

Aug 16, 2007 at 8:43am ET by Barry Schwartz

The IAB UK and DMA UK have released the UK’s first code of conduct for search marketing firms.

Companies that want to earn the IAB UK’s accreditation must comply with 4 specific criteria.

At least two employees dedicated to search marketing
They must have search engine accreditation from Google or Microsoft and have proof of official SEO training
The company must have been trading for 6 months
The company must be a member of either IAB UK, IAB Europe, DMA or Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organisation (SEMPO) or the Association of Business to Business Agencies (ABBA).

Guy Phillipson, chief executive of the Internet Advertising Bureau said:

This charter represents an important first step in the establishment of search marketing best practice in the UK.

Those IAB members who comply with the criteria will be able to post this logo on their site.

There are several private companies that have been offering forms of best practices, including Bruce Clay. But IAB is credited with being the first non-profit organization in the UK to offer this.

Postscript From Danny: At first read, I find the guidelines not really designed to actually reassure any potential client of anything. As I said in a discussion at our Sphinn site:

Kind of underwhelming. I mean it’s good conduct to have two full time search marketing employees, to have been in business for six months and join some organization (like the IAB or SEMPO) that will admit anyone? The only requirement going to skills is getting Google accreditation. So big whoop — you get a logo that ultimately proves you understand Google help files. Yeah, I’d say these need to grow a lot to have real teeth to them.

Add your thoughts to either of our two Sphinn discussions: UK IAB, DMA Charter - What’s A Search Engine Marketing Company? and IAB’s Search Marketing Code of Conduct.

Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here.

See more articles by Barry Schwartz >

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