Moderator:
Misty Locke, President & Co-Founder, Range Online Media

Pradeep Chopra, Co-Founder, OMLogic

Internet has changed the business marketplace, not limited by time, distance or capital.

SEM is considered the best options and SEM industry is growing at an incredible pace.

Talent:
- Demand exceeds supply
- SEM is the core of marketing
- Today is the best time to be an SEM professional

Why a Career in SEM?
- Flexibility
- Skills are portable and global
- SEO: One of the four cutting edge jobs (Source: RHI)
- Innovation and adventure
- You don't need a professional degree
- Salaries are attractive

Salaries Overview:
- Executive entry level 30-45k
- Specialist 3-5 yrs 50-75k
- Expert with etc...
From ClickZ

What Skills do you need?
- Communication
- Passionate about Internet
- Networking
- Quicker Learner
- SEO is technical, PPC is creative
- Sales & Marketing

What Lies in the Future:
- Web 2.0
- Rich media
- Behavioral
- Conversions
- Beyond US
- Verticals
-- Retail
-- Travel
-- Finance
-- Education
-- Social Networking
-- SEM

Key to Success:
- Use SEM for finding a new job
- Continuous Learning and certification
- Leadership role

Dan Perry, SEO Producer, Cars.com

Believer in interviewer skills in getting the job.

Preparation:
- "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." Ben Franklin

- Expect to meet with at least three people
-- HR: Did you like on your resume?
-- Boss: Can you do the job?
-- Boss' Boss: Will you fit in?

- Questions to answer:
-- Where do you want to be in 5 years?
-- Strengths and weaknesses
-- Biggest accomplishment/failure?
-- Friend/coworker boss describe you?
-- Best decision you ever make?

- Never bring up money
- Don't say you have offers elsewhere, even if you do
- Don't ask for more vacation
- Know your number and stick to it
- Consider entire package
-- Insurance
-- Relocation details
-- 401k match (and vesting)

Interview Process:

- Do you have a question for me?
-- Always have a question
-- Be specific (no culture questions
-- Think about this one and have a few

Final Thoughts:

- Be prepared to compromise (working on groups and teams)
- Develop diplomacy

David Wallace, CEO and Founder, SearchRank

- David stumbled into this industry, got his computer in 1996. April 1997 he went to a seminar on making money online, became an affiliate of web design. They launched niche web site to attract customers. They developed a contractors resource directory in Arizona. They relied on free organic results. Started then building their own sites and then added SEO services.

Today way to learn SEM:
- Free resources like Beginners Guide from SEOmoz, blogs, forums
- eBooks, SEOBook.com, etc.
- Online Courses, SEMPO, Bruce Clay, SECollege
- Conferences, SES, PubCon, SMX

Take this knowledge and apply it to a site.

Establish a site to learn from:
- Choose a niche (something not highly competitive)
- Secure a domain name (new ones can be a hurdle)
- Establish the web site (design yourself, hire someone, or use automated solution)

Applying a Search Marketing Strategy:
- Conduct keyword research
- Apply organic search techniques
- Set up paid search campaign
- Track progress

Networking with Others:
- No matter where you work, networking is important
- Develop business partnerships with ad agencies, web design firms, etc.
- Network online with SEMs through forums, blogs, social media
- Network in real life at conferences, local, etc.

Brand Yourself as an Expert:
- Write informative articles
- Participate in forums
- Participate in social media
- Start an informative blog

Things not to do:

- Don't spam forums or blogs
- Don't steal other's content or sales copy
- Don't come off as a know-it-all
- Don't promise what you can't deliver

Stay on the cutting edge

- Live and breath it
- Active in forums
- Subscribe to quality blogs
- Never be afraid to experiment
- Buy savvy SEMs drinks at SES

Michael Gray, Owner, Atlas Web Service

How to Avoid Shooting Yourself in the Foot

Manage Client Expectations
- Only promise what you can actually deliver
- Set reasonable time/date expectations

Set Reasonable Limits
- How much time will be spending on the project
- How much time will you be available
- Avoid the temptation to become the equivalent to an in house SEO

Conflicts of Interests
- Disclose any conflicts before you close a deal
- Decide if you are going to limit yourself to only one client for a particular area
- Avoid competing with your clients

Manage Your Risks
- Don't let your business depend on one client
- Don't let your business depend on just one web site
- Don't expose your clients web sites to unnecessary risks

Keep Learning and Growing
- Pick and follow some of your favorite blogs and limit yourself
- Use recap or roundup bloggers
- Experiment with your own sites and build your own test labs

Use Sub Contractors
- Use sub contractors to scale up or down quickly
- Use them to compensate for your areas that aren't your core competency or expertise
- Be careful using sub contractors for mission critical functions

Contracts
- Know when you need and don't need a contract
- Large companies wont work without a contract
- Understand "Work for hire" and copyright

Accounting:
- Get a good accountant
- Learn how to use accounting to your benefit
- A good accountant will save you more money than you are paying them each year

Jessica Bowman, Director of Search Engine Optimization, Business.com

You are now a student that is constantly learning

Learn the basics:
- Work.com
- Google Hacks
- SearchEngineGuide
- SEOBook
- Search Engine Visibility
- Cat Seda
- Attend conferences
- Attend training programs
- Most training will come from hands on experience

As You Get Started:
- Outsource aspects of your project
-- Strategy
-- Technical site audit
-- keyword research
-- Trouble shooting issues
- Q&A

SEM is Constantly Changing:
- You need to stay on top of it
- Especially if you will charge for it
-- Read Search Engine Watch, Search Engine Land, Search Engine Roundtable and Sphinn (thanks)

Big Changes Occur
- Cloaking can get you banned and it once was acceptable, she said
- Link exchanges once worked well and not always so good
- Link buying was once acceptable, not anymore
- You must stay on top of this
- Expect to spend two hours per day on reading

As You Work:

- Systematic process in place
- Document
- Gaps between client meetings require documentation
- When you are consistent, productivity increases
- Once solid, it you can outsource portions of the project as needed
- Things you can document:
-- Gathering rankings
-- Keyword data gathering
-- Gathering link data
-- Directory submissions
-- Portions of site audits
-- Optimization QA

Build Industry Camaraderie
- You need other people to talk to about questions

Know What you don't know

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