Search engine marketing (SEM) is helping to put the interactive medium back on the map. But as a panel of search marketing professionals noted recently, all is not rosy in the hallowed land of search.
Thursday, interactive agencies received a considerable amount of criticism from search engine marketers speaking at the Jupiter Media Advertising Forum in New York City. Kevin Ryan, director of
market development and worldwide agency relations for Wahlstrom Interactive, kicked off his presentation by sharing his favorite quotes from top-level SEM executives regarding the role of interactive
agencies in search engine marketing. Among them was this direct hit from the CEO of an unnamed, top five SEM firm: "Agencies don't get it. They just don't get it, and they never will." Ryan said
that advertisers have three choices when starting a search marketing campaign, they can either: staff up, hire an SEM firm, or force their agency to adapt. The panel, consisting almost exclusively of
search engine marketing firm executives, unanimously agreed that the second was the best of the three alternatives presented by Ryan. Ryan pointed out that the tenuous relationship between
agencies and SEM firms is exacerbated by clients' overall lack of understanding of SEM. Differences and difficulties in fee structures lie at the crux of the problem. SEM firms think agencies receive
too much from sales commissions, while agencies feel that SEM firms demand too much from an already limited budget. Ryan noted that the industry is in need of education and industry standards from
organizations like the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO) to help solve these disputes. Dana Todd, co-founder of SEM and Web
development outfit SiteLab International, opined that because the search marketing landscape is so cluttered and confusing, the commission model itself might be in jeopardy because "the financial
model is so tricky on both sides." Todd added that relationships between SEM firms and agencies can be fundamentally flawed. "You can't control what you can't understand," she said of interactive
agencies. Todd said that agencies need to understand that SEM isn't just media buying. As Shari Thurow, Web master and marketing director for GrantasticDesigns.com said, "The hot thing is search
advertising. Search engine marketing is not just search advertising," but search engine optimization as well. Thurow noted that this involves boosting clients' natural search results as well, by
optimizing their Web sites for keyword crawlers. Clients are often reluctant to do this, but she said that Web development services are crucial to boosting free traffic from search engines. She also
noted that agencies are often unwilling to pay for these specialized services. While the bonds tying agencies to SEM firms may be fragile, the interactive industry must not forget that it is still
struggling through its recent turnaround on the shoulders of search. As Jupiter analyst Gary Stein noted, "(search marketing) is shaping up to be a marathon, but the last few meters have been treated
like a 10K," meaning that SEM firms and interactive shops would do well to slow down, play nicely together, and have faith in the industry's ability to help them work out these kinks.
