SEM & The Consultant

Wikipedia defines SEM (Search Engine Marketing) as "a form of Internet Marketing that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in the Search Engine results pages (SERPs) and has a proven ROI (Return on Investment). SEM methods include: Search Engine Optimization (or SEO), paid placement, and paid inclusion, the practice of buying paid search listings, different from SEO which seeks to obtain better free search listings."

In plain English, Search Engine Marketers game the system to increase ROI by *LOWERING* the ad position and associated cost per acquisition. If I can appear in the second position and get 70% of the traffic attained by the first position for 50% of the cost... well, you can fill in the rest. They are aiming for second best.

The other way to optimize is to put resources behind managing your campaign, so that you can capture the top spot for pennies more than the second spot, as apposed to bidding high, and guaranteeing the spot without managing the campaign.

There is a close parallel with the job market for elite candidates, like those with experience in top consulting firms.

Many roles are driven by top-line production. these are the roles that will pay recruiters and top salaries to guarantee top talent.

Other roles are driven by bottom line thinking and ROI for the position. These companies are likely to accept the 70/50 discount modeled above by SEM, or to put search resources behind acquiring top candidates at a smaller premium over tier 2.

As Consultants we'd advise our clients to pursue the latter course, but as candidates we seek to maximize our salary potential. This dichotomy is rampant in the job market, where hiring managers tend to maximize their own compensation, while touting the lifestyle/environment tradeoffs that make their workplace attractive at a discount.

The challenge as candidates/recruiters is identifying the hiring managers & companies with the former approach to elite talent acquisition. The value proposition that accomplishes this is selling the "you get what you pay for approach." because of the way the market is built, you can find 70/50 trade offs in the SEM world. I constantly remind my clients that that tradeoff is more rare in the human capital market, and they should expect to pay top dollar on the 120/100 premise.

Can you deliver?
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We've had some shocking news in the past few days at Hawkes Peers. Sherry, a good friend, and one of our top client managers, has been diagnosed with a serious illness, and will be on leave indefinitely. Many of you have had the privilege of interacting with Sherry. Our prayers are with her, as are yours, I'm sure.