SEM Industry Training - What Are The Options?

Kalena Jordan provides some answers.

The State of SEM Training
Search Engine Marketing is the hottest new career to sweep the employment sector. There are literally more jobs available than there are marketers to fill them, hence the high salaries. Traditionally, SEO/SEM has had a long, steep learning curve, so there is currently a large supply/demand gap.

The growth of the industry has underscored the need for faster, more flexible training options. The demand for trained SEO/SEM staff has accelerated the launch of online training programs in the past three years. The spread of misinformation and the growth of dodgy SEO practices have also highlighted a need for best-practice industry certification.
Advantages of a Career in SEM
Here are the major advantages of having a career in search engine marketing:

1.    The search industry is hot, hot, HOT!
2.    SEO considered one of four jobs on the cutting edge
3.    The pay is (usually) fantastic
4.    You can learn it all online
5.    You can be your own boss
6.    Search marketing has the WOW factor
7.    The demand is strong and growing
8.    The industry is hip and groovy
9.    The skills are portable and global
10.    Job satisfaction is high

SEM Training Options
If you decide to start that career in search engine marketing, you have numerous training options open to you:

- Do It Yourself (DIY)
- E-books and online manuals
- Books and offline manuals
- Conferences and seminars
- In-person training
- Online courses
Let’s go through these training options one by one.

Do It Yourself (DIY)
You could try to learn search engine marketing on your own, by conducting your own research, reading widely in webmaster forums and honing your skills on your own sites via trial and error.

The advantages of learning SEM on your own are:
- You can set your own timeframe
- It’s generally inexpensive
- You have the satisfaction of acquiring skills on your own

The disadvantages of learning SEM on your own are:
- There is a very long lead time
- You will be faced with conflicting and unreliable information sources
- There is only a limited ability to network with peers
- Research is time-consuming
- You won’t know what works and what doesn’t until you trial it
- You’ll have no record or proof of skills acquired

E-books and Online Manuals
There are plenty of e-books and manuals about search engine marketing available online.

The advantages of learning SEM via e-books and manuals are:
- They are generally inexpensive
- They are readily available

The disadvantages of learning SEM via e-books and manuals are:
- They are generally considered lower quality than training
- There is no interaction with your peers
- You’ll have no record or proof of skills acquired

Examples of SEM e-books and manuals include:
The SEO Book by Aaron Wall
The Nitty Gritty of Writing for the Search Engines by Jill Whalen
SEM: The Essential Best Practice Guide by Mike Grehan

Books and Offline Manuals

As with online versions, there are just as many physical books, CDs and offline training manuals available to persons wanting to learn search engine marketing.

The advantages of learning SEM via books and offline manuals are:
- They are usually inexpensive
- They are readily available

The advantages of learning SEM via books and offline manuals are:
- The information dates quickly
- There is no interaction with your peers
- You’ll have no proof of skills acquired

Examples of SEM books and offline manuals include:
Search Engine Visibility by Shari Thurow
SitePoint’s SEM Kit by Dan Thies
Building Your Business with Google For Dummies by Brad Hill

Conferences and Seminars

As search engine marketing has grown as an industry, so too have the number of conferences and events dedicated to it.

The advantages of learning SEM via conferences and seminars are:
- They offer cutting edge information
- They often provide access to search engine staff
- They give you the ability to network with peers

The disadvantages of learning SEM via conferences and seminars are:
- You must travel to the venue
- They generally provide no training material
- They can be more expensive than other options
- You’ll have no record or proof of skills acquired

Examples of SEM conferences and seminars include:
Search Engine Watch’s Search Engine Strategies
Webmaster World’s PubCon
Search Engine Land’s Search Marketing Expo
Australia’s Search Summit

In-person Training

Just as the number of conferences relating to search engine marketing has grown, so too has the demand for in-house training in SEO and SEM subjects.

The advantages of learning SEM via in-person training are:
- It generally includes step-by-step instructions
- Training material is usually provided
- Verification of subjects studied is provided
- You have the ability to network with your peers
- Some form of certification is generally given
- University credits are sometimes available
- Certification may be recognized by potential employers

The disadvantages of learning SEM via in-person training are:
- You must travel to the venue
- The information can date quickly
- It can be more expensive than other options

Examples of SEM in-person training include:

Bruce Clay’s SEOToolSet

Jill Whalen’s SEM Seminars

Search Engine Bootcamp

Elite Retreat

Online Training Courses
It’s not always viable or affordable for webmasters to attend conferences or training sessions at a venue other than their home or workplace. For these reasons, the demand for online training in search engine marketing subjects has skyrocketed.

The advantages of learning SEM via online training courses are:
- Courses are available 24/7 from any location worldwide
- Training materials are provided
- They are usually cheaper than venue-based options
- They generally include step-by-step instructions
- Courses are self-paced and interactive
- Certification is provided
- A knowledge benchmark is required to qualify for certification
- Verification of subjects studied is provided
- The lesson materials are updated regularly
- University credits are sometimes available
- Certification is usually recognized by potential employers
- Training institutions can assist graduates with employment

The disadvantages of learning SEM via online training courses are:
- They can be more expensive than other options
- There is only a limited ability to network with peers

Providers of online training courses in search engine marketing include the well established:Search Engine College

Benefits of Industry Certification
When it comes to industry certification, there are various schools of thought in the SEM industry. Some suggest certification is simply not necessary, others state that SEO/SEM has no official industry standards, so any certification is meaningless, still others insist that certification is becoming increasingly important to potential employers and persons seeking careers in SEO and SEM. 

If you’re skeptical about the value of industry certification, ask yourself these questions: Will you be looking to hire search marketing staff over the next 12 months? Would you prefer to hire search marketing staff that hold industry certification? Will you be seeking a job in the search industry over the next 12 months? Do you think holding industry certification would give you an edge over applicants applying for the same jobs?

Here are some advantages to having industry certification in search engine marketing:
For Staff:
- Proof of subjects studied and skills acquired
- Ability to promote certification on web site / CV
- An edge over other applicants when applying for SEO/SEM jobs.

For Employers:
- Ability to hire based on a proven skill set (e.g. ability to set up a Yahoo! SEM campaign quickly).
- Ability to impress clients with certified status of staff.
- Reassurance that search engine-approved methods are used.
- Less on-the-job training is required.

To Sum Up
Everyone has a different learning style, so don’t assume one method will work for you. Don’t rely on a single source of training for your search engine marketing needs. Attend conferences, purchase books, take a course, network in forums and DIY when you can to acquire a broader knowledge base.

Finally, remember that training should always be supported by hands-on SEO/SEM experience so get those hands dirty!

Chris Dickenson #topafilpro
About the Author:

Kalena Jordan - one of the first search engine optimization experts in Australia, is well known and respected in the industry, particularly in the U.S. As well as running her own SEO business, Kalena manages Search Engine College - an online training institution offering instructor-led short courses and downloadable self-study courses in Search Engine Optimization and other Search Engine Marketing subjects.

The Secret of Video Website Building

Hi;

Who else knows how to get 90% discount on an all-time best selling video website builder!

How cool is that?

Niche Video Site Builder is the most advanced and most popular

website builder out there . You can literally create a full blown

video website in any niche in less than 10 minutes.

I have a copy and it's super easy to use:

  - you just enter a keyword and your adsense ID

  - you upload it to your domain

  - no step 3... that's it. They're all set, you can forget them...

(do not forget to check your Adsense account and your Analytics though)

To see how easy it is, you can check The Video Website Builder Demo site.

I am sure you will agree that it has some amazing advanced features built-in

working for you on autopilot:

- automatic content (you don't have to lift a finger, NVSB finds the most

relevant videos on Youtube for you)

- strong filtering capabilities to only show relevant and useful videos,

- automatically create SILOs inside your website for maximum search engine

exposure and indexation power

- automatically generate backlinks from authority websites

- engage your audience

- leverage the power of social networks by allowing your visitors

to tag your pages

- strong SEO (these video websites will literally force bots

to index thousands and thousands of your web pages and drive

hordes of targeted visitors)

- automatic update

- automatic viral growth (your website automatically grow based on the new

videos published on Youtube as well as based on videos browsed

by your visitors!

- Works with Google Analytics (if you wish to monitor each site)

- many advanced settings (optional) to further customize your website

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You could have your first video website live in less than 10 minutes.

Seriously, this video website builder is the most impressive script

I have seen in years. No wonder why it's so popular (it currently powers around 350,000+

websites on the Internet!).

And today, you can get Video Website Builder  for a 90% discount:

This is truly a no brainer and a must have in your arsenal.

If you're like me and you have 20 or even 500 domains sitting there

doing nothing, you could easily turn them into traffic and profit pulling

machines by installing a NVSB website on them.

Better still, if you have blogs, you could drive more traffic to your blogsites it by installing

a NVSB powered website in a subdomain and linking back to your blog!

how simple is that?

Want to promote a Squeeze page? That's easy! You take your optin

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Seriously, the Sky is the limit. At 90% Discount it's a no brainer and I can only say that you should get this amazing Video Website Builder it right away.

Wishing you every success as always,

CJ Dickenson. #topafilpro

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How To Get Your Business Up and Running The Easy Way.

Hi, it’s CJ here. Whether you’re selling products or services online,
or just getting your new online business up and running…
chances are you’ve been paying close attention to the
supersonic speed at which new Internet marketing products
are being released.

I get at least two or three new info-product offers in

my mailbox every week so I know how easy it is to feel

confused or overwhelmed about which direction to go and

which products to buy next.

Nearly every day I get requests from new visitors asking

for “easier way” to get their business up and running.

Or for a “really simple” way to grow and expand their

existing business.

And I tell them exactly what I’m going to say now:

There’s only 1 product I know of that boils down, step by

step, what you need to do and how you need to do it into

a simple “point, click and follow the steps” system.

That product is the “ Marlon Saunders Marketing Dashboard"

Introducing the NEW Marketing Dashboard for 2012

Marlon has just updated “The Marketing Dashboard”

with hot new content for the year 2012 which means

you can get your hands on all the latest marketing

information, tools and resources right now just by

going to The Marketing Dashboard

You may actually want to call it the “Money Dashboard

for 2012″ because what it’s going to do is give you

simple step by step instructions and actions to take

to get products promoted, sold, delivered and the

money banked.

There’s a lot of models on marketing and most or all of

them make money, but how many models do you really need?

And how hard are most to follow? The answer is, you need

1 simple to use model that works.

The bottom line is, you can either sit back and watch

the fireworks show and keep going “ooh and aah” or pick

1 model proven to work and just do it.

“The Marketing Dashboard” is built on one of the simplest

and oldest models, which is to find out what people want

to buy, get it or create it, then promote it and profit

from it.

If you’ve been sitting around saying you need to get

something done or need to get a product out or you wish

that some day the ebooks you bought on Internet marketing

would somehow magically turn into money or if you’re

frustrated waiting for your search engine pages to finally,

maybe, possibly get some darn traffic, then maybe it’s time

you stopped making excuses and just get it done.

Here’s the formula: Dashboard = Get It Done

If you want to get it done, check out the Dashboard today

Best Wishes,

CJ Dickenson#Topafilpro.

SETTING YOUR GOALS

I WILL keep this Top Affiliate Pro Blog short and sweet, because it is you who must do the work to make it happen.

IF you are serious about making money online………….

Then do this right now…… 

• Put together a simple Five Year Plan listing each and every goal you want to achieve. 
  

• Write them down in a small personal note book that you can carry with you in your purse or pocket.  
  

• Every day, read what you have written down, out loud if possible, especially when you get up in the morning and before you go to bed at night.  
  

What do you write down? 

• Your Five Year Plan will be in the form of Daily Declarations – Your Personal Vision of  what you have decided that you will have achieved on a date five years from the day you start.

• Write each declaration as though you have already accomplished it.

• Don’t write statements like…I want…I need…I wish…I Hope.

• Instead,  write; " I have….I am….I own…. I Can"
   
• What you write is your blueprint for the future. ...........…....….Don’t limit yourself.
  
  
  Write each Declaration down in full.

     Be positive.  Aim for the impossible. 

THESE ARE YOUR GOALS FOR SUCCESS  

      

Remember this……Goals that are not written down are just wishes.
If you want to reach a goal, you must "see the reaching" in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal.

Over 98% of affiliates fail because they fail to plan.

Do this now, don't leave it until tomorrow.

To Your Success.

C J  Dickenson #setting goals

How to Choose Products to Sell Online

IN ORDER to locate and choose affiliate products that you can sell online, it is necessary to start from basic principles to understand what people already want to buy whether that might be Information Products and Services, Training Courses or Physical Products. Finding a good choice of idea or niche product is always accompanied by interfacing the demand for the product in the current market and the level of competition or market share that the product will have in the long term.

So, the first thing you should consider is: "What should I sell and what are hot the selling products right now? These are the questions most new affiliate marketers need to establish an answer for when choosing products to sell online. If you really want to know the answer to this question, your only real choice is to do some research.

Top Affiliate Pro advice at this stage is not to try and sell anything or everything because on most occasions you end up selling nothing.  I talk from experience here!!, You must research and find that niche you are going to be comfortable with. There are all kinds of twists along the road that may lead you to think you have a high-demand idea. In affiliate marketing, you must be able to understand and satisfy the needs, wants and expectations of your customers for a particular product that they are searching for online with a view to purchasing it. 

Needs are the basic reasons or the minimum requirements consumers are looking for in a product or service. They are called the qualifying or "gatekeeper" dimensions in a purchase. Wants are the determining dimensions among many choices. Expectations, on the other hand, are values or intangibles associated with a product or service. Expectations are actually part of "wants" but they become extremely important when products or services are not differentiated.

For example, in reading a logic book, university students would use keywords and look for the following: Relevant logic concepts, use of simple language, easy to understand and affordable prices. A keyword is a word or phrase used to make a search. These similar ideas can be applied to Internet Sales as well. After all, the Internet is just another place to sell products. The basic concept of demand is the same there as it is anywhere else, and has been all the time.

The second factor that must be considered in finding "hot" products to sell is the level of competition or the market share your product will have.  Market share or level of competition means the ratio of your brand sales versus the total market sales. While a company would naturally define its target competitors, it is actually the consumers who ultimately decide the competitive frame, or the list related products or services that consumers consider when exercising their purchasing power.

You must therefore choose the market segment where you believe that can have potential leadership or a strong challenger role. Think about the subject area you know best and also consider other top selling subject areas that your potential customers would be interested in. Typical examples here include Weight Loss, Health, Self Improvement, Investment and Finance, Cookery, Gardening and a number of other topics. Whatever the subject may be, you can be sure that the most important thing that everybody is search for is Information.

The overriding objective of becoming an Affiliate Marketer is not just to satisfy the needs and wants of your customers, but to do so profitably and better than your competition. Otherwise, your competition will end up satisfying the customers better than you.

The third factor to consider when choosing hot selling products to sell, is how to establish the general interest level about the product. General interest in a product helps us to gauge where our demand and competition numbers fall into the big picture. Simply saying, if there isn't much demand for the product, and there isn't much competition, it would seem that it might not be good idea to sell the product. However, the research doesn't stop here; there is one last thing to be considered when choosing hot selling products that you've been looking for. You must also learn how others are advertising and promoting those products. If there are a good number of them doing so, it may mean that it's a good product niche to get into.

The last phase of the process is all about analyzing and evaluating all the information that you have collected. Look at all of the data you have collected on demand, competition, and advertising, and then decide how they all balance out. I know all this takes time but it is worth it believe me.

Finally, there are several factors or aspects that must be measured: (a) not enough demand means not enough people are going to buy (b) too much competition means not enough of a profit to go around (c) too much advertising drives up the price of pay per click ads, and competition as well (d) not enough general interest, combined with low demand, means there may not be a good market even if there is competition trying to make the sales.

Now is the time for you to take some tough decisions to know what niche market is the best for you and to think very clearly about your goals - what you want to do, where you want to be in the short term and longer term and how you are going to get there.

To Your Success

C J Dickenson - #topafilpro

Choosing a Rewarding Niche

CHOOSING a rewarding niche means locating a requirement that has not been widely served on to a large degree.

You will need to identify a group (niche) of people who have a very particular interest that is under served, and discover a way to serve that target audience with the products and services they require.  Your business strategy should certainly serve an area that is in very low supply, but very high in demand amongst a notably specific group of people.

Do not opt for a general area where you will be with primary companies for a mass audience.  Your plan should be to uncover a very distinct target audience that is underserved by the general market.

For example, if you are interested in selling video game goods, you may want to restrict that niche to a specific video game genre, or even a specific game collection.

Tightening your niche as much as you can simplifies your efforts to market your products and services, because it will allow you to aim on a target audience that shares a similar interest.

I would be interested to know what your views are here.

#topafilpro

Domain Names - Making The Right Choice

THE SINGLE  most crucial item of any website is its Domain Name. Try to think of a name that people will remember based on what you do, remind them of your company name (if not an exact match), and that will at least somewhat describe what is on your site. A Domain Name should indicates what your website is all about and how you want your visitors to remember it in the future. Choosing a domain name for you or your business can be a long and tedious process. Many Domain Names are no longer available, so creating a new one or finding the right one requires research, creativity and sometimes a significant investment in time.  Choose the wrong Domain Name and people seaching the internet for specific information using keywords to do so, may never find you. The length of a domain name is extremely important because people remember shorter names.

Choosing a suitable domain name ultimately depends on the purpose of your website. Any advice other than using your brand name as your domain name, would probably result in me being crucified by marketing gurus. After all, their mantra is the brand name is supposed to be the most important asset that any business has. Accordingly, the brand name must translate to the domain name.

Which of these areas of business will your website serve?

1.) Company Website: Will your website depict an already-established company? You should try to choose the same name as your company. (For example: www.JocksNitch.com)

2.) Entrepreneurial Website:  Are you trying to start an online business? You should choose a name that shows the product or service your company offers. But if you plan to advantageously promote your website, you may also want to give your domain a creative twist to enhance brand recognition. (For example: www.ParkvillePlumbers.com, or www.ComodoProductions.com)

3.) Informational Brochure Website:  Are you trying to establish a simple informational website that serves as a brochure for anyone inquiring about your business? Try to choose a domain name that shows how your clientele predominantly recognize you. (For example: www.JoeTheBarber.com)

4.) Landing Page:  Are you setting up landing pages for the purpose of recording traffic to redirect back to your already-built website?  You should try to choose a name that reflects what people might type into search engines. Separating each word with a hyphen increases your landing page’s ability to collect search engine traffic. (For example: www.how-to-build-a-website.com)

5.) Personal Blog:  Are you considering a personal blog? You can be as creative as you want in choosing your name. But if your blog is a means to serve the purpose of marketing yourself, such as finding a job, you should choose your own name as your domain. (For example: www.CJ Dickenson.com)

Domain names or website addresses are available for purchase from many website services or registrars. Once you have decided on the domain name you want for your website, you then check for its availability with a domain name registrar and if the name is taken, they will suggest an alternative Domain Name that may fit your requirements or you can simply try for another name. Because I like simplicity and the speed of application, I use  GoDaddy.com.

A domain name will give your website a unique identity, and sometimes (though nowadays not quite as likely) affect the success of your site. For as long as you remember to renew it, it's yours.

When it comes to Domain Names - Making the Right Choice is vitally important to your business. 

Get started Today.

CJ Dickenson.  #topafilpro