Seach Marketing Experts — In Boise?
A year ago the search marketing space in Boise wasn’t extremely crowded. In fact, when Marc and I first embarked on our venture (2005) I think there was basically nobody in the space. Well, over the last few months I have met several people in the industry that are specifically “search marketers.” Granted, some of the people reading this are saying, “Well, I have been doing search marketing in Boise for years.” And, they probably have. I think there are few things at play here…
First, have you ever noticed how when you buy a car all of a sudden you see the same make and model all over the place. I bought a Chevy S-10 Blazer when I was in school, and the next thing I knew they were the most popular car on the street. Was it because I was so cool everyone wanted to be like me? No, I was just more aware. So, I freely admit that is one possible reason why there seem to be more search marketers in Boise than there used to be.
Second, participants in the web world are realizing that specialization is a MUST. It is getting to the point where web developers just can’t effectively build websites, run paid search campaigns, optimize for organic search, and do all of the other stuff they have been doing for years. The skill set of a really effective search marketer is significantly different from the skill set of a great web developer. Sure, they overlap, like they have to be able to use the Internet (and some HTML capabilities help :-), but the thinking is different. Consequently, in the recent past anybody who was a search marketer was probably going by another name too, like web developer, web designer, or IT professional.
Finally, changes in the marketing world have lead to more focus on the web. People are spending more leisure/entertainment time on the Internet (vs. traditional media, like radio and television). Marketing dollars are following the shift to the Net. At the same time, businesses are getting more aware of the opportunities on the web there is a higher demand, which in turn is getting filled. To meet the demand marketing firms are gobbling up web development companies as a way to supplement their offline offerings.
So What?
Well, if you are a business owner, be prepared for more segmentation. There is already a splitting between paid search and organic search — the skills for each are different, and will continue to become more disparate. If you are in the industry rest assured that specialization will be critical to your survival and that you will need GREAT referral partners. Your current competitors are likely to become welcomed allies.
If you don’t believe me — check out www.vaughan-marketing.com. I had a very nice meeting with the owner last week. She offers some similar services to us, but we have common clients. How is that possible? We each have our specialty, which means the customer gets great web analytics and great search performance — and we each get to do what we love best. As Michael Scott would say — win-win-win.
