This is a unique opportunity to meet with a top search engine and see how things work behind the scenes.

Microsoft Search Marketing Trends and Tools
As a part of SEMPO AZ’s Quarterly Education Series, Kelly Thomas and Jorie Waterman from Microsoft's adCenter in Seattle will be flying down to speak about the tools and technology being developed by Microsoft to help search engine marketers during all stages of their advertising campaigns. They will cover ways to use the unique research prototypes available on adLabs and the adCenter Add-in for Excel – all tools enabling advanced keyword research needed to hone campaigns in both paid and natural search. After walking through the data and tools available, Waterman and Thomas will discuss how they see search engine marketers utilizing this data across the lifecycle of a marketing campaign.

Attendees will learn and experience:
o What is available on adCenter, and a glimpse into the roadmap for the future
o A deep dive into Demo Targeting and Bid Boosting
o Research prototypes available for review on adLabs
o How the industry could use this data in their strategic planning and optimization processes

SEMPO AZ (sempoaz.org) is a working group of SEMPO (The Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization). The purpose of this group is to provide education, awareness and a better understanding of search engine marketing. We support the mission of SEMPO (www.sempo.org) and aim to serve the marketing professionals engaged in search in the Arizona market.

The event will be held on Thursday, May 1 from 6:00-8:00 PM at airMarketing located at: 3419 East University Drive in Phoenix.

Admission will be $20 for SEMPO members and $30 for non-members.

To register for this event, please click on the link below:

http://www.register123.com/event/profile/form/index.cfm?PKformID=0x565574202a

The detailed online survey by Radar Research was completed by 867 search engine advertisers and SEM Agencies and administered via IntelliSurvey, Inc.

Here are key findings:

• The North American SEM industry grew from $9.4 billion in 2006 to $12.2 billion in 2007, exceeding earlier projections of $11.5 billion for 2007.
• North American SEM spending is now projected to grow to $25.2 billion in 2011, up significantly from the $18.6 billion forecast a year ago.
• Marketers are finding more search dollars by poaching budget from print magazine spending, website development, direct mail and other marketing programs.
• Paid placement captures 87.4% of 2007 spending; organic SEO, 10.5%; paid inclusion, .07%, and technology investment, 1.4%.

“The spending statistics show search engine marketing continues to prove its worth in the larger marketing arena. However, in light of the concerns about the overall economy, it's important to note some of this spending is the result of shifting marketing dollars from other offline and online marketing endeavors,” says Jeffrey Pruitt, SEMPO president and executive vice president, corporate partnerships, iCrossing.

SPENDING DRIVERS

The 2007 survey showed a significant increase in North American SEM spending projections from $18.6 billion to $25.2 billion. According to respondents, the drivers behind this higher estimate are advertiser demand, rising costs of keywords and pay-per-click campaigns, an increase in the number of small-to-midsized businesses using search engine marketing, greater consumer participation in search and increased interest in targeting, such as behavioral and demographic targeting of searchers.

Fewer advertiser respondents in 2007 reported an increase in paid placement prices than the previous year – two-thirds compared to almost three-quarters in 2006.  However, a key finding is that as with last year, approximately 75% said they could tolerate further rises in paid placement prices, and as last year within that 75% the respondents are approaching a spending ceiling – more than half want those expected price increases to be 30% or less.

“While CPC price inflation has slowed, marketers are finally beginning to recognize the value of search, and we expect search prices will hold and may even continue to move upward based on survey data,” says Gordon Hotchkiss, SEMPO chairman and president, Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc.

I tried pasting all the people who attended from the Meetup page - most did come and we had a pretty packed room over at Yahoo Headquarters. Plenty of food, wine and good company - I was there for over 2 hours.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=yfTxu61JXbsPxjA2QavzXA_3d_3d

This survey is designed for:

*People who work at an agency that offers search engine marketing in its mix of services
*People who work at an agency with a search engine marketing branch or division
*People who work at an agency devoted solely to search engine marketing.

If you are one of our in-house search engine marketing members, we encourage you to forward this email to your agency friends and colleagues. This survey is not limited to SEMPO members.

Take the survey today - it is less than 30 questions from start to finish, so it should take around 12 minutes to complete.

Remember...this survey is for people working at agencies participating in search engine marketing or agencies totally dedicated to search engine marketing only.

Pedro Paulo Pereira Pinto, pequeno pintor português, pintava portas,paredes, Portais. Porém, pediu para parar porque preferiu pintar panfletos. Partindo para Piracicaba, pintou prateleiras para poder progredir. Posteriormente, partiu para Pirapora. Pernoitando, prosseguiu para Paranavaí, pois pretendia praticar pinturas para pessoas pobres. Porém, pouco praticou, porque Padre Paulo pediu para pintar panelas, porém, posteriormente pintou pratos para poder pagar promessas. Pálido, porém personalizado, preferiu partir para Portugal para pedir permissão para papai para permanecer praticando pinturas, preferindo, portanto, Paris. Partindo para Paris, passou pelos Pirineus, pois pretendia pintá-los. Pareciam plácidos, porém, pesaroso, percebeu penhascos pedregosos, preferindo pintá-los parcialmente, pois perigosas pedras pareciam precipitar-se principalmente pelo Pico, porque pastores passavam pelas picadas para pedirem pousada, provocando provavelmente pequenas perfurações, pois, pelo passo percorriam, permanentemente, possantes potrancas. Pisando Paris, pediu permissão para pintar palácios pomposos, procurando pontos pitorescos, pois, para pintar pobreza, precisaria percorrer pontos perigosos, pestilentos, perniciosos, preferindo Pedro Paulo precaver-se. Profundas privações passou Pedro Paulo. Pensava poder prosseguir pintando, porém, pretas previsões passavam pelo pensamento, provocando profundos pesares, principalmente por pretender partir prontamente para Portugal. Povo previdente! Pensava Pedro Paulo... Preciso partir para Portugal porque pedem para prestigiar patrícios, pintando principais portos portugueses. Paris! Paris! Proferiu Pedro Paulo. Parto, porém penso pintá-la permanentemente, pois pretendo progredir. Pisando Portugal, Pedro Paulo procurou pelos pais, porém, Papai Procópio partira para Província. Pedindo provisões, partiu prontamente, pois precisava pedir permissão para Papai Procópio para prosseguir praticando pinturas. Profundamente pálido, perfez percurso percorrido pelo pai. Pedindo perfeita permissão, penetrou pelo portão principal. Porém, Papai Procópio puxando-o pelo pescoço proferiu: Pediste permissão para praticar pintura, porém,praticando, pintas pior. Primo Pinduca pintou perfeitamente prima Petúnia. Porque pintas porcarias? Papai, proferiu Pedro Paulo, pinto porque permitiste, porém, preferindo, poderei procurar profissão própria para poder provar perseverança, pois pretendo permanecer por Portugal. Pegando Pedro Paulo pelo pulso, penetrou pelo patamar, procurando pelos pertences. Partiu prontamente, pois pretendia pôr Pedro Paulo para praticar profissão perfeita: pedreiro! Passando pela ponte precisaram pescar para poderem prosseguir peregrinando. Primeiro, pegaram peixes pequenos, porém,passando pouco prazo, pegaram pacus, piaparas, pirarucus. Partindo pela picada próxima, pois pretendiam pernoitar pertinho, para procurar primo Péricles primeiro. Pisando por pedras pontudas, Papai Procópio procurou Péricles, primo próximo, pedreiro profissional perfeito. Poucas palavras proferiram, porém prometeu pagar pequena parcela para Péricles profissionalizar Pedro Paulo. Primeiramente Pedro Paulo pegava pedras, porém, Péricles pediu-lhe para pintar prédios, pois precisava pagar pintores práticos. Particularmente Pedro Paulo preferia pintar prédios. Pereceu pintando prédios para Péricles, pois precipitou-se pelas paredes pintadas. Pobre Pedro Paulo, pereceu pintando..." Permita-me, pois, pedir perdão pela paciência, pois pretendo parar para pensar... Para parar preciso pensar. Pensei. Portanto, pronto, pararei. (Blog da sabedoria)

If you reside outside of the U.S., here is the link: http://www.sempo.org/learning_center/research/sempo_research/sempo_2007_state/

This is your chance to have your voice heard. By participating in SEMPO's 4th annual State of the Market Survey, you have to opportunity to share your opinions and expertise. Whether you are seasoned in SEM or still wet behind the ears, your input is valued and needed!

Why should you take the survey?

Taking the survey will actually stimulate you to think about the resources you devote to SEO and paid search - which is a valuable exercise in itself.
First dibs - you will receive the preliminary survey results before they are released to SEMPO's membership.
Support the SEM industry - this survey is highly regarded as a valuable resource for the industry.

Free Giveaways! Randomly-drawn participants will receive:

8 Gb iPod Touch
or
One free pass to a North American Search Engine Strategies (SES) Conference

The time that you invest in completing this survey will help show where the industry is, how it has grown, how it is expected to grow, and trends for the future. Not only does this information benefit the individuals and companies involved in SEM, it benefits the industry as a whole. This survey has proven to be a valuable representation of the ever changing, rapidly growing SEM industry.

Please tell all your colleagues and online marketing acquaintances about this survey - participation is NOT limited to SEMPO members. SEM and SEO agencies, online and traditional agencies, in-house marketers… all are welcome.

If you are not a member of SEMPO and are interested in what our memberships have to offer, please visit https://www.sempo.org/join for information. You are also welcome to contact info@sempo.org if you have any questions.

Time to get started! Please go to http://www6.intellisurvey.com/run/sempo2007 to complete the survey. As a reminder, the deadline is February 1, 2008 and if you reside outside of the U.S., here is the link: http://www.sempo.org/learning_center/research/sempo_research/sempo_2007_state/.

Thank you so much for your participation.

Great list of local business sites and directories.

Google Maps kicks MapQuest’s ass.

SEMPO data on SEM salaries. God, I wish my in-house position paid as much as some of the wages listed!

MSN announces partnership that will allow MSN maps to be featured in Garmin GPS.

YouTube video optimization advice. Good article, but I hate when people try to milk a good piece of link bait by slicing the article up into multiple parts.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I have heard it already. The real markets are in Chicago, L.A., San Francisco, or New York. This is where the big players are. HA! In today's Global / Digital Economy, location of the agency doesn't matter anymore. Let me say it again. location of the agency doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that the Agency or Freelancer is worth their salt and can deliver results. That is why I say that Clients can and should look to the Phoenix Metro Area for Marketing and Creative talent. There are several local Marketing and Creative Agencies which handle National accounts with Fortune 500 and even Fortune 100 companies. Phoenix is home to I-Crossing which has several offices in the US and in Europe. I-Crossing services many Fortune 100 clients, very well I might add. Phoenix is also home to Iology which is providing the Marketing for the next Superbowl. Phoenix has Moses Anshell, winner of many prestigious ad awards, there is Off Madison Ave., and Mighty Interactive and SiteWire which also have an impressive portfolio of clients and awards. I can not forget about AIR Marketing who serves many of the Prestigious Resorts throughout the country as well as many other satisfied clients. When it comes to Marketing Analytics Phoenix is home to KEO Marketing, The Analytical Group to name two. If you need help with marketing your products or services internationally you need look no further than Televerde Marketing Intelligence. AHH, but what about PR? Well you can call Allison & Partners or even Park & Co. Phoenix is also home to World Class developers such as Ryan Christensen, who has his own blogs by the way, and Graphic Designers such as Adrian Delsi, Michelle Hoffman, and Paul Riehle.

Phoenix is also home to several large Marketing Groups like the American Marketing Association (AMA) with close to 400 members in the Phoenix Chapter. The Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) and Ad2Phoenix to name three. We are all here in Phoenix Arizona, basking in the sun and serving companies like yours whether you are in St. Louis MO. or London England.

So, the next time you need some Marketing or Creative work done with your next campaign, just think about Phoenix Arizona. Where would you rather be discussing your Marketing Campaign during the cold months of Winter than on a golf course in Phoenix Arizona with one of our extremely talented Traditional Marketing or Interactive Agencies?

Agencies in these other markets - This goes for you to. Come on down, the water's warm, real warm.

Let me clarify that when I say Phoenix, I include the entire metro valley area to include Scottsdale to Surprise and all of the cities in between.

Whilst I was at the Search Marketing Expo in London last month I caught up with Paul Doleman. Paul  is the Chief Technical Officer and Head of Paid Search for iCrossing (Spannerworks).

Paul has been involved in the new SEMPO training initiative which has been put together by more than thirty five experts from around the world. In this interview Paul covers the background on how the training was put together, what is involved in the training and how to get involved.

Mike

Total Running Time: 6 mins 20 secs

To listen to the interview simply press the play button below.
[audio http://www.recruiterinterviews.com/PaulDoleman131207.mp3]

Download Audio: - Download the MP3 file

Subscribe via Feedburner: - Subscribe via FeedBurner

My friend Heini Van Bergen from Tribal, a search marketing company based in The Netherlands, made this video last month in London at the SMX London event, sandwiching my interview between those of Danny Sullivan and Chris Sherman... what an honor!

The quality at the very beginning of the video is not that great, thanks to the YouTube encoding - but after the first 8 seconds it goes fine. If you are looking for a good, not-corrupted version of this video you can find another version on Veoh.com, which I tried to embed here but, for some weird reasons, Wordpress is not getting right... =(

SMX London 2007 really was a great event - check out also my video interviews posted at the SEMPO video space on YouTube, and at the SEMPO Global Search Blog.

Findings from a new research study called "The Digital Shelf" by comScore, Yahoo, Proctor & Gamble and the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), show significant use of the Internet to search for consumer packaged goods, and suggest correlation between online activity and offline purchase behaviour, lending credibility to the argument that there may be significant brand-building and sales-growth opportunities in search marketing.

Categories studied included baby care, personal care, home care, and packaged food. In the three months of the study, food product searches dominated, but searches for baby products and personal care products were also significant, with the majority of searches motivated by product research and the hope of finding help in making a purchase decision.

But then, I want to know what happened unofficially. :)

I came across this gem in an archived WebMama journal (Feb 2003):

“What is SEMPO? Is it a fusion noodle restaurant? The name of a Japanese World War II consul general who helped to save Polish Jewish refugees? A French marine environment simulator? Well, yes, but it’s much more. It’s the first professional organization for search engine marketing professionals - Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization. SEMPO.” 

Barb goes on to talk about the creation and vision of SEMPO - interesting read.

Rob Garner’s take, Search in the City of Dallas, on Search Insider (Feb 2007)

“I also have a vivid recollection of Barbara Coll, CEO of WebMama.com, walking down the hallway of the Adam's Mark in 2002 with a few other search engine optimizers to discuss the formation of a new association she called "SEMPO," or the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization. So Coll and company hammered out the details for what has become the national group for SEM professionals.”

First, if you visit Luna Innovations, please realize that I have spent the last several months redesigning the company's Web site and building in SEO and clean CSS code in the process. I expect the new site will launch in sometime in September, but at this point, I have done all I can. Right now I'm waiting for the powers-that-be to give their final blessing and then it's GO TIME! I'll keep you posted when the site launches.

I am also working on considerable keyword research for the main site and the company's three other sites. I am an army of one, which I suspect is the case for many of you.

Secondly, I am not Aaron Wall or Danny Sullivan, nor do I claim to know as much about SEO and SEM as they do. My path to an SEM career is one that would make your head spin. In short I'm a former sports journalist, turned corporate communications specialist, turned Web designer, turned Web developer, turned search engine marketer. It's a long story. E-mail me and I'll tell you about it if you enjoy tearing your hair out from sheer boredom.

When Luna Innovations hired me in 2006, they did so with the idea that I would redesign their Web site and then maintain it along with their three other sites. No problem. I was a relative newcomer to the Web development world, but obviously I was doing something right because they liked my work and gave me the job. (It should be noted that Web development wasn't my only responsibility. I do other stuff, too!)

So after the development process began, I started getting questions about SEO. S-E-What? I replied? Thus began my journey into the world of search engine optimization and search engine marketing. Now, more than a year later, I feel I can speak intelligently and authoritatively on the subjects of SEO, SEM, PPC and CSS. In fact, I am even a member of SEMPO's In-House SEM committee. Scary, huh?

I attended the Search Engine Strategies 2007 Conference in New York City earlier this year and met some swell SEM folks. I discovered SEMPO and later joined the aforementioned In-House committee. Much of what I have learned about all the acronyms I've mentioned so far came from blogs and conferences and bugging the crap out of people smarter than me. Luckily, the "rock stars" of SEM, like Duane Forrester, who is the chairman of the In-House SEM committe, are people just like you and me and are more than happy to chat with you.

For that matter, if you are an in-house SEM at your company and would like to talk shop or bounce some ideas of a fellow SEM, by all means, give me a call at (540) 769-8447 and I will be more than happy to talk. You can also e-mail me at gary.cope@gmail.com.

Together, we can fight the good in-house SEM fight!

SEMPO Scandinavia Launches a New Search Blog - but this is just a test, the link for the website would be here www.semposcandinavia.com. Test test and test again. SEMPO Scandinavia Launches a New Search Blog - but this is just a test, the link for the website would be here www.semposcandinavia.com. Test test and test again.

SEMPO Scandinavia Launches a New Search Blog - but this is just a test, the link for the website would be here www.semposcandinavia.com. Test test and test again.

Test test, and test again - Another test post, just to see how it looks like - Test test, and test again - Another test post, just to see how it looks like - Test test, and test again - Another test post, just to see how it looks like - Test test, and test again - Another test post, just to see how it looks like -