The Online Marketing Guy

We’ve seen over 600 people complete the SEMPO In-House SEM Salary survey so far! WOW!!!

Massive thanks to everyone who’s participated! We’re wrapping it up after tomorrow, so that’s it - the end of the 31st sees the end of data collecting. Following that you can expect us (SEMPO) to work on getting the results out during November/early December (that’s the current plan, anyway).

Now, for those on the Agency side, fret not, my friends! We’re going to try to get a survey focused on you folks up and running very shortly. Nothing is set in stone on this one, but it only seems right we roll out that side of things to balance the data for everyone in the industry.

Anyway, that’s about it folks - stay tuned for more interesting bits in the coming weeks.

Duane

Tags: SEMPO, In-House SEM Salary Survey by searchgeek
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Well, it’s taken a LOT of months of effort, and a LOT of feedback from folks, but we’re finally ready!

SEMPO’s In-House SEM Salary Survey

For those who may not know it, I’m a co-chair for the SEMPO In-House SEM Committee. Our reason for being is to act as a gathering point for in-house SEMs and offer useful information to the larger group of in-house SEMs scattered around the globe.

So, back in April, the idea occurred to me that we had no real data on salaries and compensation packages for in-house SEMs. Sure, there were discussions in forums, such as this older one at SEW, but everything seemed to be anecdotal - nothing solid that you could, oh, I don’t know - take to HR and say, “Hey, people with my skills are being paid $10,000 (on average) more than I am. What, if anything, can we do about this?”

Now, if your HR Manager is anything like mine, she’d start the discussion by laughing in your face. Then say thanks for the info, she’ll see what she can do. In all seriousness, when I spoke to my HR Manager back it the Spring, she was interested in this data, as it would help her directly understand the value of this skilled, niche position within our company. Finding data on comp packages for Sales Managers, product Managers and Marketing Managers is relatively straight-forward. Finding real data on jobs like Search Managers, PPC Analysts and Directors of Search Marketing, well, that’s still very cloudy.

Regardless, I wanted to know the data - so the survey was born.

Now, lest you get the idea that “Duane this on his own”, I’ll tell you immediately that if it were not for the help and feedback offered by the entire In-House SEM Committee, and the BoD members at SEMPO, this would never have seen the light.

Now, who can use this data?

Well, any in-house SEM can use it. They can use it as a gauge to measure their own value in the industry. Trust me - you are all, everyone, a winner. But those with 6+ years of experience and those with 2 years of experience should occupy very different positions within a given organization.

The businesses themselves will also be able to use this information as a way to judge if they are compensating vital personnel adequately, or if they are in jeopardy of losing them. It’ll also help businesses looking to grow their in-house teams understand the landscape a bit better.

Despite accidentally deleting the survey, and having the awesome and quick-witted staff at www.SurveyMonkey.com save my a$$ by restoring things hours before going live, it’s been mostly boring slogging through details and hundreds of e-mails to pull together what we hope are a relevant list of questions. I’ll tell you, hitting the wrong button and suddenly wondering where everything went is a sure-fire way to raise your heart rate.

So, if you’re in-house, and you see this, please do the following:

1 - fill in the survey (and be honest )
2 - forward the link to anyone you know who are in-house as well

In the end, the info will benefit everyone, so it’s worth participating.

Tags: SEMPO, In-House SEM Salary Survey by searchgeek
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Beyond just the SEMPO research mention, this vid has some interesting info. The presenter, while attractive, is maybe trying a bit too hard for some ‘funnies”, but hey, she’s still delivering the goods.

Tags: SEMPO, Video on Net, Hawthorne Videoactive Report, Interactive News by searchgeek
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Well, it’s been killing me to post about this, but the press releases are floating around, so here goes:

Most folks know I’m active with SEMPO as Co-Chair for the in-House SEM committee. I recently (back in December) decided to run for a seat on the Board of Directors, too.

I figure if the organization is good enough for some of my time, it’s good enough for more of my time…LOL Seriously, I believe the work they do and direction SEMPO is headed in, so it made sense to me to step up and help out some more.

I can now officially report that I’ve won a seat on the Board of Directors with SEMPO for the 2007/2008 season.

For those who don’t know, this is strictly voluntary. We don’t get paid for this involvement, nor do we even get our membership dues waived. I pay my way just like every other member.

Also, this involvement requires certain attendance levels. I have to attended, face to face, at least 2 Board meetings this year. …and before you scoff and say “your company will cover it”, I’ll remind you that I personally don’t run an active consultancy (that is, I have no immediate clients), and my actual day job is as an in-house SEM for a sports media company, so they get nothing directly from me being involved. This means they don’t cover my expenses to travel to these meetings. I might get lucky if I’m goign to an SES show and the meeting happens at the same time, but other than that, it’s all me.

I believe in it, so I support it.

Now, naturally, my first task as a member of the SEMPO BoD will be to take over the world. After that, we’ll see what I feel like…

Big thanks to those who voted for me and to the rest of the elected members.

Duane

Tags: Industry News, SEMPO by searchgeek
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