SEM Industry > SEM Industry: Outsourcing
Apr. 30, 2008 at 8:56am by Jessica Bowman
Outsourcing To Increase SEO Throughput
Even with budgets getting tightened, your SEO program may be kicking, but the head count you requested to keep the program moving upward may not get approved. When this happens, it's time to look at a Plan B for increasing throughput without adding staff. Many people I talk to...
See Related Stories In: In House, SEM Industry: Outsourcing
Apr. 17, 2008 at 11:44am by Stephan Spencer
SEO Is Not Free Traffic
One of the first jobs I have to do as a consultant going into an SEO engagement is to debunk the myth that SEO is "free." SEO has never been, nor will it ever be, free traffic. It takes work, and that comes at a cost. You need to...
See Related Stories In: 100% Organic, SEM Industry: General, SEM Industry: Outsourcing, SEO: General
Mar. 31, 2008 at 8:58am by Barry Schwartz
SEO Company, Fathom Online, Acquired By Geary Interactive
Geary Interactive has announced acquiring Fathom Online, an SEO company. Fathom was formed in 2002 and is based in San Francisco. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Geary is a full service digital marketing agency based in San Diego. Some of Fathom's employees are now working out of...
See Related Stories In: Business Issues: Acquisitions & Investments, SEM Industry: Outsourcing
Mar. 27, 2008 at 8:00am by Jill Whalen
We Don't Need SEO Standards!
Last month I attended the SMX West session in Santa Clara entitled Is it Time for Search Marketing Standards? It was an interesting session, but I wasn't really sure where I stood on the issue at the time. Now that I've had a few weeks to think about it,...
See Related Stories In: 100% Organic, SEM Industry: Community, SEM Industry: Organizations, SEM Industry: Outsourcing, SEO: Spamming
Feb. 21, 2008 at 8:04am by Stephan Spencer
How to Write a Killer RFP (Request for Proposal) For Hiring An SEO Firm
Over the years I've seen quite a few Requests for Proposal from companies seeking to buy SEO services. If your RFP is not written well, it hinders the SEO firm's ability to understand and define your needs and to scope and price your project. This in turn leads to...
See Related Stories In: 100% Organic, SEM Industry: Outsourcing
Feb. 5, 2008 at 8:45am by Danny Sullivan
A Bad Month For SEO's Reputation
We seem to be going through another wave of "SEOs are scumbags" incidents, and I find myself with little energy to push back against them with yet another defense of the industry. It's not that SEO doesn't deserve better treatment. It's just that I feel anything I could say, I've...
See Related Stories In: SEM Industry: General, SEM Industry: Organizations, SEM Industry: Outsourcing, SEO: General
Jan. 16, 2008 at 12:23pm by Paul Bruemmer
Why You Should Reveal SEO Secrets To Clients
When you buy search services, some agencies merely provide a general overview of their SEO methodology without revealing any details. They claim this relieves the client from being bogged down in the minutiae of implementation. In reality though, these firms are simply trying to keep their intellectual property under...
See Related Stories In: In House, SEM Industry: Outsourcing
Jan. 3, 2008 at 8:10am by Barry Schwartz
Traffic Power's CEO Jailed Over Alleged Foreclosure Scams
SEO Company CEO Arrested, Jailed: Accused of Foreclosure Scam from Search Engine Watch reports Traffic Power's CEO, Matt Marlon, was jailed for allegedly committing foreclosure fraud. The news comes from Las Vegas's News 3 station, which reports Matt Marlon was arrested for allegedly conning homeowners faced with foreclosure to give...
See Related Stories In: SEM Industry: Community, SEM Industry: Outsourcing
Dec. 27, 2007 at 7:43am by Barry Schwartz
Coming Soon To Walmart: Off The Shelf SEM Services?
Next time you're doing the aisles at Walmart-owned Sam's Club, perhaps you'll see a package for SEM services on the shelf next to 40 packs of razor blades and 12 cans of tuna. Karl points out that Sam's Club is now pitching "SEM" online, at least what seems to be...
See Related Stories In: SEM Industry: Outsourcing
Oct. 9, 2007 at 9:06am by Greg Sterling
SEM Firm ReachLocal Closes Massive Funding Round
ReachLocal, an SEM firm offering simplified Internet and local search services directly and indirectly to the small business market, has closed a massive $55 million round of funding. This adds to previous rounds raised by the company. Reach is building out sales offices in cities across the U.S. and a...
See Related Stories In: Business Issues: Acquisitions & Investments, SEM Industry: Outsourcing, Search Marketing: Local Search Marketing
Sep. 19, 2007 at 4:41pm by Duane Forrester
Vetting An Agency: Protecting The Family Jewels
One of the biggest realizations that hit many in-house search marketers is the simple fact that they cannot do it all themselves. Despite the best of intentions and the strongest work ethics, the fact remains—you are but one person and there are only so many hours in a day....
See Related Stories In: In House, SEM Industry: In House, SEM Industry: Outsourcing
Aug. 22, 2007 at 8:37am by Simon Heseltine
When In House Should Work With Search Engine Marketing Agencies
While the ideal for in-house search marketing is to perform all tasks related to search marketing internally, the reality is that there are times when help is needed from outside sources. There are several reasons for this, but when it does happen, the prime motivator should be that the...
See Related Stories In: In House, SEM Industry: In House, SEM Industry: Outsourcing
Jul. 27, 2007 at 9:11am by Searcharazzi
Searcharazzi: False Starts; iCrossing's $62M
It was about to be one spicy Friday, as Searcharazzi received a call on Thursday from a recruiter looking to replace a top editor in the search space. The conversation went something like this: Recruiter: “Our client is looking to replace the top spot at [name of publication].” Searcharazzi:...
See Related Stories In: Business Issues: Acquisitions & Investments, Business Issues: General, SEM Industry: Acquisitions, SEM Industry: General, SEM Industry: Outsourcing, Searcharazzi
Jul. 12, 2007 at 9:41am by Stoney deGeyter
Can Small Businesses Really Afford SEO?
Lately, around the Pole Position Marketing office, we've been discussing the cost involved in providing top quality search engine optimization. All too often we find value added services or strategic improvements that require more time than initially anticipated. How much additional value can we provide without increasing fees? While...
See Related Stories In: SEM Industry: Outsourcing, Small Is Beautiful
Jun. 13, 2007 at 3:58pm by Simon Heseltine
When To Bring Search Marketing In-House
As with many other areas of the business, the decision to 'make or buy' applies to the search engine marketing function. Whether you decide to go with an outside agency, or develop and train a dedicated in-house team depends on whether search is considered a core component of your...
See Related Stories In: In House, SEM Industry: Outsourcing
May. 1, 2007 at 10:01am by Danny Sullivan
Microsoft After 24/7; Another Search Engine To Own SEM Firm?
Yahoo said it would acquire an ad network yesterday, in reaction to Google's plans to expand its own ad network by acquiring DoubleClick. Now in One Giant Leap, the New York Post reports rumors that Microsoft might want to buy ad management company 24/7 Real Media. What's wrong with this...
See Related Stories In: Google: Acquisitions, Google: Critics, Google: SEO, Microsoft: Business Issues, Microsoft: Live Search, SEM Industry: General, SEM Industry: Outsourcing
Apr. 24, 2007 at 1:25pm by Patricia Hursh
Ad Agencies Partnering with Search Marketing Firms (or Not)
At the recent Search Engine Strategies Conference in New York, agency executives spoke candidly about their experiences working with search engine marketing (SEM) firms. What's working? What's not? And most importantly, how can agencies and search marketers work together to better serve clients? Here's a re-cap of "Outsourcing Anonymous: Why...
See Related Stories In: SEM Industry: Conferences, SEM Industry: In House, SEM Industry: Outsourcing
Apr. 24, 2007 at 7:39am by Alan Rimm-Kaufman
Search Marketing Agency Pricing Models
Pricing structures and rates aren’t secret in established service industries. Real estate agents get 3% to 6% of the house’s price; recruiters get 1/3 of total first year comp; trial lawyers take 33% of the settlement; list brokers charge 20%. While specifics vary, each industry has conventional pricing arrangements....
See Related Stories In: Paid Search, SEM Industry: General, SEM Industry: Outsourcing, Search Ads: General
Apr. 23, 2007 at 9:40am by Barry Schwartz
Performics: "Business As Usual," Despite Google's Planned Purchase
Many have wondered if it's a conflict for Google to keep the search marketing-focused Performics division of DoubleClick as part of Google's planned DoubleClick acquisition, since it would seem odd for Google to own a firm with an interest in helping people rank well on Google. Kris Jones of Pepperjam...
See Related Stories In: Google: Acquisitions, Google: Critics, SEM Industry: Acquisitions, SEM Industry: Outsourcing
Apr. 19, 2007 at 7:10am by Stoney deGeyter
Fifty Questions You Need Answered Before Starting Your SEO Campaign
An online business owner basically has two choices when it comes to their website marketing efforts. They can outsource it or they can do it in-house. Both of these options bring a number of secondary options to choose from and its up to the business owner to do what...
See Related Stories In: SEM Industry: In House, SEM Industry: Outsourcing, Small Is Beautiful
Mar. 14, 2007 at 8:56am by Jon Miller
The 5 Secrets PPC Agencies Don't Want You to Know
Nearly three-fourths of companies that outsource their pay-per-click search marketing to agencies are dissatisfied with their results, and only 21 percent are completely satisfied, according to a Jupiter Research published late last year. What causes this dissatisfaction, especially for B2B marketers? There are five factors at work:...
