Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization Debuts
11/26/03
Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization Debuts
By Troy Perkins
A special report from the Search Engine Strategies 2003 Conference, August
18-21, San Jose, CA.
At the gala inaugural meeting of the Search Engine Marketing Professional
Organization, the group's board outlined the organization's mission and
extended a welcome to all search marketing industry professionals.
Search Engine Strategies 2003, the premier event for search
engine marketing & optimization, comes to Chicago Dec. 9-11.
Register today and be part of this exclusive gathering of search
professionals that features world-renowned search engine expert
Danny Sullivan. You'll learn the basics & practical knowledge of
search engine marketing and fully understand how search engines
interact with your Web site & ways to improve your listings.
The organization, usually referred to by its acronym SEMPO, is a registered,
non-profit group aiming to increase awareness and promote the value of
search engine marketing worldwide. SEMPO represents the common interests
of more than 300 search engine marketing professionals and provides them
with a credible voice in the marketplace.
Barbara Coll, SEMPO President, and Noel McMichael, SEMPO Vice President,
walked the 425 person throng through SEMPO's board member introductions,
initial corporate sponsors, SEMPO circle members, and highlighted SEMPO's
goals.
A special thanks and acknowledgment went out to the first SEMPO Corporate
Sponsors - Overture Services, Inc., a provider commercial search services
now part of Yahoo, and GO TOAST, a provider of pay-per-click search engine
optimization and online marketing management tools. Dave Carlson, CEO,
GO TOAST said, "The search industry needs a leadership forum and
GO TOAST believes SEMPO can provide that leadership."
SEMPO leaders announced several membership levels spanning from an independent
"Executive" to a Corporate "SEMPO Circle" level. Annual
memberships start at $199.00. Tom Rielly, Vice President of Acronym Media,
SEMPO's first Corporate SEMPO Circle member said, "We joined SEMPO
to help encourage our nascent industry to become more professional, to
contribute to the establishment of best practices, and to help potential
customers choose reputable agencies with proven capabilities. Besides,
who could resist Barbara Coll?"
Coll says, "SEMPO exists to fill the gaps in awareness and understanding
of SEM, including educating marketing managers worldwide about what SEM
is and how properly implemented SEM programs can provide some of the highest
returns on investment possible in the marketing world today."
SEMPO's web site (http://www.sempo.org) already offers case studies,
a glossary of terms and links to resources as a first step in its educational
mission. These tools are free to the public, but members will soon have
access to a number "members-only SEMPO research materials" as
well as discounts on paid research materials, selected tools, subscriptions
and dues.
Troy D. Perkins is Editor-In-Chief, |PPCA| Pay Per Click Analyst, the
review of the top pay per click advertising marketing services.
