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Comments
It seems I’m not one either.
I want to be a gardener anyways.... :)
I don’t qualify by a long shot.
http://sphinn.com/story/2959 also covered this, and I agree, this program seems less then thrilling. I commented in that other thread: "I mean it’s good conduct to have two full time search marketing employees, to have been in business for six months and join some organization (like the IAB or SEMPO) that will admit anyone? The only requirement going to skills is getting Google accreditation. So big whoop -- you get a logo that ultimately proves you understand Google help files. Yeah, I’d say these need to grow a lot to have real teeth to them."
The criteria were put together by the members of the Search Council who consist predominantly of search marketing companies but also of clients and all of the top search engines in the UK. All of whom felt it was reasonable to have at least two employees to cover for sickness, long-term leave, holiday etc. Interestingly, in conflict to this article and some of the comments, this number was seen as low-bar to allow smaller SEMCo’s to sign-up. I just commented on the post Danny mentioned too: "Hi Danny, I oversee the IAB Search Marketing Council and the development of the Search Charter. The Charter will certainly grow in the future - as mentioned in the press release, starting with the introduction of sections on trademarking and working with affiliates - and the existing section will develop with time. At today’s Council we actually discussed the possibilities of SEO accreditation as a separate but obviously relevant project. This is something the IAB couldn’t produce itself at the moment because it doesn’t fall within its remit, but it is something we would wish to help develop. Such a project would help build on the criteria in the existing Charter. People’s mixed responses have been expected, but the Council’s aim has always been to launch a starting point, and to work with the industry from that point to form best practice to benefit the search industry. It’s particularly pleasing to see so much discussion around this topic and already people’s comments like yours have begun feeding into the Charter. Incidentally, it’s worth mentioning that while our Councils are for our members we welcome guest attendees on certain topics like the Charter (or comments by email / phone). I can always be contacted on jack@iabuk.net."
Thanks for the Spinn and taking the time to engage, Jack. That’s a promising start at the very least. I guess I’m only at odds with the clarification & definition of a "search marketing company" - I’m all for a best practice set of rules but I think it should be made clear this is for PPC primarily at this time. Shaun
Hi Shaun, this charter is meant for SEO companies too. This point was discussed at length and it was agreed by all that the Google accreditation contains good content for SEO only companies and as the only accreditation process available in the UK, was still considered a good inclusion in the charter. It was also felt that the Google accreditation, although obviously aimed at PPC, contains information that a SEO company should know - making it fair to ask them to complete it. Essentially, Google accreditation was seen only as a good thing even for an SEO only company and that asking them to complete it, while not essential for their business, would only help boost their profile further. The point on SEO training was added as a result of these discussions. Your post does highlight a need for further explanation within the charter itself on this point.
I was hoping to get some more detail on this aspect: "have received official search engine optimisation (SEO) training as relevant" Training from whom?
Ciaran, the actual wording in the charter is: "It is also recommended that companies specifically focusing on SEO marketing should have completed a relevant SEO marketing training course from an accredited source." This is just a recommendation. It is up to the SEMCo to decide which training course they choose but they are available from many training providers that have been accredited by governing bodies. This may be expanded upon in the future.
"It is also recommended that companies specifically focusing on SEO marketing should have completed a relevant SEO marketing training course from an accredited source." Surely the only source for a training scheme will be from Google themselves. I’ve seen in the past companies advertising ’SEO University course’, when I’ve looked into what the course entailed it was all pretty simple knowledge which a seo novice should know already. The course needs to be difficult to attain to make sure that not every tom dick and harry company that advertise seo services attain accreditation which would make the award worthless. There are a lot of design companies who advertise SEO and don’t have a clue what they are doing.