Bloggers and SEMs

For a while now bloggers and SEMs (Search Engine Marketing companies) have been at loggerheads.

A situation I wrote about in Bloggers beware!

Today I’m pleased to publish a sponsored post from Hannah Jackson, the MD of Search Marketing Group, giving her own take on the situation.

Search Marketing Group has been working with Judy at Work At Home Wisdom for almost 9 months. In this time I believe that we have formed a mutually beneficial working relationship, far from what is often reported in both blogging and (Search Engine Optimisation) SEO forums.

Often these forums and posts describe SEO companies targeting bloggers with mass produced eshots, which show no apparent attempt to match products to blogs. Bloggers complain that SEMs show little concern whether the product or service will really appeal to the blog’s readers.

This level of impersonal contact infuriates bloggers, who invest not just time and money, but also a lot of themselves into their blogs. As we have a wide range of clients in our portfolio, our outreach team often find themselves reading a myriad of blogs. From the social-focused “mommy” bloggers to intrepid travellers, to deep analysis business bloggers, we see the passion that goes into these sites on a daily basis.

From an SEO point of view (especially in light of Matt Cutt’s latest pronouncement on guest blogging), the importance of appropriate links will continue to remain a strong focus. However, it makes sense to place links (including both banners and anchors) on sites where they will attract traffic as a result of adding value to the readership.

As with any industry, there will always be SEM companies that are below par in their service provision. However, one of the things that many people who aren’t directly involved fail to recognise is that the sphere of SEM is constantly evolving, posing the challenge of fluidly adapting working practices with little notice.

I was lucky enough to attend last year’s SMX conference in London, where I met peers and industry leaders who were dedicated to generating the best results and legitimising the industry through valid competition and strategy.

In this spirit (and as an ethical SEO company), the team at SMG seek to build long-term relationships with those in the blogging community that will benefit both parties into the future.

While the ways in which we work together will inevitably change, there is no doubt that the blogging community is here to stay as an integral part of the internet landscape, in the form of a fantastic source of opinion and information.

What do you think about the standoff between bloggers and SEMs? Has the situation improved in the last few months?

SMG are independent search marketing specialists, offering bespoke SEO, PPC and website development services to help you maximise the reach and conversion potential of your website.