SEM Training & Certification » SEM SEO Training

Most SEO’s are self learners – so sez an SEOmoz survey

David Temple — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:30:25 +0000

SEOmoz recently conducted an seo industry survey of more than 3,000 respondents and learned that seo’s are in fact mostly self taught. Interestingly enough self employed consultants are the majority of self learners. I imagine a lot of them were teaching each other in forums, bars (don’t laugh I’ve learned a thing or two about seo over drinks) and more recently on blogs as the community shares and analyzes information regularly. Rand Fishkin advises us to take this survey with a grain of salt.

…..The survey also did not attempt to control for any particular biasing, so there is certainly over-representation by those more likely to read SEOmoz, those more likely to take surveys, and those more likely to have found information about the survey itself (via email to SEOmoz members and posts on sites like SearchEngineLand and SERoundtable or others).

Nevertheless the survey reveals some trends and provides some insights. I’m just looking at the seo training here but head over to SEOmoz and take a closer look at the entire survey to get a better understanding of the seo community.

In general, we can see that most respondents are self-taught, followed by on-site training and formal classes. However, this graph breaks down responses by the type of company a respondant works for, and helps to answer questions like “If a respondent works at an SEM agency, how likely is it that he or she learned SEO and how does that compare to respondents at other types of companies?” The chart indicates that respondents from SEM agencies, and non-self-employed respondents in general, received on-site traning more often than, for instance, self employed consultants. This is probably not surprising, but knowing this kind of difference in source of SEO education might indicate broader differences between self-employed and non-self-employed SEOs. We’ll look at differences between these groups in more detail below, and this might be a great starting place for further analysis of the data by the reader.

SES sem training workshop in Denver, CO

David Temple — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:00:43 +0000

Search Engine Strategies is offering sem training in Denver, Colorado on May 6th. The courses and instructors are listed below. Costs are $745 for half day and $1,345 for the full day. You can register here.

Local Search Engine Marketing 101
Mary Bowling, Blizzard Internet Marketing

Search Engine Optimization Workshop
Shari Thurow, Omni Marketing Interactive

Advanced Keyword Research
Ron Jones, Symetri Internet Marketing

How to Effectively Use Social Media for Search Marketing Campaigns
Liana Evans, KeyRelevance

These workshops will provide you with the practices, applications, and hands-on exposure you need to become (and remain!) a top performer in your field. In the end, you will not only walk away with the knowledge and skills you need to be a successful search engine marketer, you will also jump-start your career and enhance your professional know-how

SEO Class now brought to you by We Build Pages

David Temple — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:17:19 +0000

Here’s the first sem training consolidation I’ve seen and it looks to be awesome. Jim Boykin announced WBP has purchased SEO Class and is offerng 4 classes in New York, San Francisco, Dallas and Edinburgh, Scotland. Jim adds that as a bonus he’ll give the first 200 members of Internet Marketing Ninjas a free pass to one of the SEO Class Live Events. So Internet Marketing Ninjas and SEO Class, all under the same roof. Could other sem training consolidation be far behind?

There’s a pretty impressive lineup of instructors for the SEO Class in Troy, New York on April 11th including;

Michael Gray (Graywolf)

Greg Neiland (GoodROI)

Barry Schwartz (Rustybrick)

Ted Ulle (Tedster)

Chris Winfield (10e20)

Kim Krause Berg (Cre8pc)

Jim Boykin (We Build Pages and IM Ninjas)

Other instructors for future classes include;
Ammon Johns
Bill Hartzer
Barry Lloyd
Todd Malicoat (Stuntdubl)
Shaun Anderson (Hobo)
Brian Turner (iBrian)
Tony Wright

The three other SEO Classes will be held

June 23-24 Edinburgh Scotland (4 hours of formal training each day, rest of time is sightseeing/networking with other SEO’s)

September 22-23 San Francisco, California (4 hours of formal training each day, rest of time is sightseeing/networking with other SEO’s)

November 17-18 Dallas,Texas (17th training day, 18th free bus trip to Buffalo Gap.)

Direct Online Marketing Blog interviews me, say what?

David Temple — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 04:17:40 +0000

I’ve done a couple of interviews on this blog of search engine marketing training course folks including Bruce Clay of Bruce Clays’ SEOToolset and a part one and part two with Kalena Jordan from Search Engine College. (I told you a couple). OH by the way, here’s a recent interview with Kalena Jordan. I should do more as this is a great way for your blog to be noticed and an excellent way to get to know more about the people in the industry.

Well now the shoe is on the other foot and I’ve been interviewed by Justin Seibert from the Direct Online Marketing Blog about none other than search engine marketing training. Hope you enjoy the read and Justin’s blog. Now I better get some people lined up to interview myself.

Online seo training options by Ron Jones on SEW

David Temple — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 07:50:43 +0000

Ron Jones provides a great list of online seo training options and descriptions at Search Engine Watch. I’ve covered most of them here but he adds a few to his list. Ron is an Internet marketing consultant, trainer and owner of Symetri Internet Marketing, which provides strategic consulting and Internet marketing solutions.

Thanks Ron, look forward to your list of classroom training next week.

Search Engine Bootcamp February 14, Brisbane Australia

David Temple — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:17:56 +0000

Brisbane’s Search Engine Bootcamp – Feb 14, 2008
Brisbane Hilton – AU $595 + GST

Search Engine Bootcamp is divided into four sessions covering all the important SEO and PPC topics plus a few that you may not even have thought about, each session is designed to cover important search marketing techniques.

For example, session one – PPC Essentials deals with keyword research, creative management and PPC “Quality” Scoring, all three topics work together to effect where you rank and what you pay per click on search engine advertising platforms like on either Google Adwords.

We also incorporate topics that have a bearing on both SEO and PPC, search term research for example is relevant to both topics and there is at least one “Key Topic” in each session.

Elite Retreat to be held in San Francisco, April 3-4

David Temple — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 10:48:01 +0000

When it comes to sem training there’s an abudance of seminars and conferences available today. Elite Retreat however sets itself apart by the number of instructors (or “leaders” as they are called) to student ratio. They also “screen” the applicants to make sure they are a good fit for the program. I have an idea that newbies aren’t accepted and you should have a good level of internet marketing experience to get the most out of this program. Here’s how they position it on their website;

Two days that will change your business life!
This event is very exclusive and has limited availability. Attendees will be chosen by an application only process. The purpose of this event is to take your business to another level. Bring your business plan or current site objectives with you and we will help you optimize your business structure.

Leaders at this Elite Retreat in San Francisco are Jeremy Schoemaker, Neil Patel, Aaron Wall and Brian Clark, Andy Liu, Margie Zable Fischer with the keynote from Guy Kawasaki. Here’s feedbck from the frst Elite Retreat held last year in San Antonio, Texas by Chris Hooley of ThinkBait.

I know that I sometimes sound like a fan boy when I talk about some of the SEOs I respect, but seriously, this was worth so more than the price tag. I made at least one good friend and a few awesome new business associates (more so than when you go to a big conference). The reason I think they should raise their price is because the size of the group made it special, and the info the we got was so much more specific than any other conference I’ve ever attended. More people will want to be at the next conference for sure, but I don’t know that it will be as effective. The price, certainly was worth it. Great job to all invovled in the Elite Retreat!

SEM training breaks into college, a study by Vertical Measures

David Temple — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 06:43:39 +0000

SEM training moves up in the world with courses at Harvard, DePaul, James Madison, George Madison, Rutgers and others. According to a recent study by Vertical Measures, an Arizona search engine optimization company, some prestigous universities are offering sem training yet at the same time “the overall findings were a bit disappointing”. The study looked at into SEM and SEO training programs and resources available at the university level.

“Some of the programs we found are outstanding said Arnie Kuenn, Vertical Measures’ president. Unfortunately, what we found overall is a major gap in university-level training for this important field of study.” The methodology and results of Vertical Measures’ study can be found online at www.verticalmeasures.com/education.html.

The company welcomes information on SEM or SEO training programs available that are not included on the list to ensure the resource is as current as possible. “We set out to create a comprehensive listing of the best university-level curriculum available,” said Kuenn. “While the results are not quite as high as we would have liked them to be, we stand ready to update and add to this resource as new, high-quality programs are brought to our attention.”

Internet Marketing Ninjas unleash the power

David Temple — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:41:00 +0000

With all the sem training courses and programs as well as sem conferences you would think that the market is saturated and there’s no room for growth. But one of the reasons I blog about sem training is because of the fresh content and information that comes out about search engine marketing. The newest in the sem training field comes from Jim Boykin and his team of Internet Marketing Ninjas and 15 hours of video.

Jim, Aaron Wall, Andy Beal, Bill Slawski, Jim Gilbert, Cameron Olthuis, Neil Patel, Shoemoney, Jill Whalen, Christine Churchill, Lee Odeen, and Todd Malicoat are unveiled as the Internet Marketing Ninjas. Now that’s a powerful Internet marketing group and they each talk about their fields of interest including SEO, PPC, social media, affiliate marketing, and more. One year access to Internet Marketing Ninjas is $2,995. Membership includes updated videos and many of the We Build Pages Tools. On Jim’s blog he says;

We’re also planning on adding a bunch of new video during 2008 by other influential internet marketing minds (we’ve already got 10 out of the top 40 most influential SEO’s in search). We’re also working on saving tool reports in each person’s control panel, as well as adding other cool features to the program, as well as we’ve got some more tools in the pipeline.

You can read what is probably the first interview with Jim Boykin about the Internet Marketing Ninjas with Shaun Anderson at the Hobo blog and Jim Boykin’s interview with Lee Odden from the Online Marketing Blog for extra insight. And here’s some snippets from the website of the talented group of individuals now and forever to be known as the Internet Marketing Ninjas.

Jim Boykin, CEO of We Build Pages, has been involved in Internet marketing since 1999, When he began the company as a sole proprietorship. Since then, it has expanded into one of the top Internet marketing agencies in the industry, running successful linkbuilding campaigns for clients in a wide variety of industries. In these videos you’ll learn about link building.

Aaron Wall is the author of SEO Book, the Bible of the search marketing industry. Aaron is the former owner of Threadwatch as well as a frequent conference speaker and SEO tool creator. He blogs at seobook.com. In these videos, Aaron talks with Jim about SEO, link building, linkbaiting, SEO Tools, and more.

Andy Beal,of Marketing Pilgrim, has been featured in many publications and media outlets, including NPR, CNBC, Business Week, and the Wall Street Journal. In these videos, Andy talks about keyword research for Internet Marketing Ninjas.

Bill Slawski (SEO by the Sea) has been involved in search engine optimization since the mid-1990′s. Bill is one of the founders of the Cre8asite Forums and is a correspondent for Search Engine Land. He specializes in search engine algorithms and patents, which he discusse in these videos.

Christine Churchill, president of KeyRelevance, has been involved in the Internet marketing Industry for over 10 years. Christine is a regular speaker at industry conferences and a recognized expert in PPC campaigns and web usability. In these videos, Christine talks about tips and tricks for pay-per-click Gold.

Cameron Olthuis is an independent search marketing consultant who specializes in social media marketing, usability, reputation management, and community building. Cameron is a frequent speaker at industry events. In these videos, you’ll learn about social media marketing.

Jim Gilbert is Vice President of KeyRelevance and a Google Certified PPC Professional. With a background in statistics and math, Jim has conducted many analytical research studies of pay-per-click campaigns. Jim’s presentation for these videos is titled “I want the Truth! PPC Marketing.”

Jeremy Schoemaker (better known as ShoeMoney after his popular blog) is an expert at the art of monetizing websites. Jeremy has been involved in creating websites and SEO strategies since the mid-1990′s. He talks about how he got his first big check and how to monetize websites. In these videos you’ll learn about direct advertising, affiliate marketing, arbitrage, pricing strategies, subscription revenue, Google Analytics, AdSense, tracking clicks, and more.

Jill Whalen, founder and CEO of High Rankings, has been involved in Internet marketing since the early ’90′s. Jill hosts the High Rankings Advisor newsletter and is the author of “The Nitty-Gritty of Writing for Search Engines.” Jill’s topic for these videos is “SEO Myths and Scams”.

Lee Odden is President of TopRank Online Marketing, one of the leading search marketing agencies. Lee has developed successful marketing strategies for hundreds of companies, specializing in SEO, online public relations, and blog marketing. Lee provides tips on blogging, social media marketing, and networks of distribution.

Neil Patel, author of the Pronet Advertising blog, is one of the sharpest social media minds in the industry. Neil has implemented successful strategies for a wide variety of social media venues. Neil’s presentation is called “Leveraging Digg and StumbleUpon”.

Todd Malicoat, better known as Stuntdubl, has been creating websites since 1997 and began doing SEO and Internet marketing in 2001. Todd has been involved in all aspects of Internet marketing, including traffic acquisition, affiliate marketing, and pay-per-click management. In Todd’s videos he covers link building, link values, social media marketing, SEO tools, and more.

SEMPO Institute celebrates one year and 350 students

David Temple — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 03:23:33 +0000

SEMPO Institute, the online sem training program, was launched a year ago by the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO). They now have had 350 enrollees of their search engine marketing training courses, Fundamentals of Search Marketing, Advanced SEO and Advanced Search Advertising.

Enrollment during November reached peak levels as a broad spectrum of agency, in-house and etailer marketers registered for courses. “These professionals know they are going into the New Year with the competitive advantage of high-end SEM knowledge,” says Terry Plank, dean of SEMPO Institute. “As they complete their courses, they can immediately put this knowledge into practice to better serve clients and achieve greater success.”

Simon Heseltine, one of the first to complete the Fundamentals course writes about his experience on his blog Search Engine Tigers. Keep in mind this was early in the process and things may have changed.

All in all, its not a bad start for the SEMPO institute. I’d like to see them do some randomization in the questions, and maybe implement and external testing / maximum amount of retakes policy. Then the certificate of completion will actually mean more. As for whether I’ll recommend that the rest of my team take it. I will, but probably in a month or so, when some of the kinks have been corrected. I’ll also be signing up for the advanced courses when they become available.