July 11th, 2007 by James Omdahl
For the last week or so I have been feverishly preparing for a presentation I am doing with my esteemed colleague Megan Mahan at the High Tecc Conference in Vail, Colorado. The topic is search engine marketing and the goal is to educate a number of insurance industry professionals about the virtues of search marketing.
One thing I’ve realized while I’ve been putting together my section of the presentation is that the teaching the basics of search marketing is a challenge. To give an accurate and complete explanation of all of the nuances involved in PPC and SEO is like trying to explain the US tax code in 90 minutes or less. I mean, you can give a high level explanation of what is what and how it works, but oversimplifying search is like saying that you can build a house by buying some nails and wood. I’ve been studying this stuff for four years now, and I still don’t understand what’s going on all the time…and it doesn’t help that everything is changing.
For an affiliate (or anyone) getting in to search marketing is a challenge, and if you’re new, it’s hard to figure out how to get going. It’s not like this stuff was taught to us in school. I think Todd Mintz was thinking along these same lines when he asked 7 search professionals “what is the best way for a newbie to learn search engine marketing.” The answers vary a bit, but the common theme is getting educated through trusted books, ebooks, blogs and conferences.
I wholeheartedly agree with this, and would point out that if you are getting into search marketing you better like reading/learning a lot. Being a search marketing professional is like being a surgeon, except your patient’s organs tend to change size, shape and location on a fairly regular basis (luckily, no one dies when you mess up). I guess what I am trying to say is that it’s not that easy.
So follow the advice of the experts, read Todd’s post, and start learning…but beware, once you start you don’t get to stop.
Bonus: Looks like Google is selling Google franchises!
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July 11th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
I remember when I first started my job and my boss said here is what SEO is … now start reading and learning. Youre right, the learning never stops, but it is a fun little game to try and outwit Google.
There was certainly a lot more to SEO than I thought initially. I first took an E-Commerce class when I was still in college and the professor touched on SEO for about 2 hours, and then nothing else, so I thought it would be easy. It is one of the more challenging tasks I have undertaken in my to completely optimize a site with over 100 landing pages … but it was a great learning experience, and dare I say … actually kind of fun.
July 11th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
James, thanks for the link. All of the experts quoted in the article are members of our local Portland Search Engine Marketers Association and I strongly recommend other SEOs to get involved in a local search marketing association (or start one)…the benefits are tremendous.
July 12th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
but beware, once you start you don’t get to stop.
Nice line, Its like drugs.
July 14th, 2007 at 6:22 am
Most interesting article. And indeed, the slope is steep and once youve slipped into it, theres no coming back !