Comments on: Huge Growth + Talent Shortage = Increased M & A Activity

By: Terry Van Horne

Terry Van Horne — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:52:32 +0000

Hmm… topical for me because I have been shopping myself… most M&A want the one man shop guy to conform to their vision which is generally to pitch the stuff the acquisitor do which is to still be pitching the crap that stopped really being effective a year or two ago. 😉

By: Mike Munz

Mike Munz — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:06:27 +0000

A standard (in search) will soon emerge from the train wreck. Accountabilty, seems to be the biggest problem from where i sit. I see enough business owners who don’t understand SEM, let alone the internet. Therefore, they don’t know how to judge a good result from a bad one.
I think a better informed advertiser will be a natural segway to a higher quality product as better qualified SEM. Eventually the “squeaky wheel” will be oiled!

By: Utah SEO

Utah SEO — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:14:42 +0000

The shortage of talent is ridiculous. There’s way too many SEOs who also have a poor sense of marketing or absolutely no tech background which makes for another problem.

By: Dev Basu

Dev Basu — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:56:02 +0000

I think the only problem with most of the training material out there is that the techniques taught are always getting outdated. For example, many guides teach the value of free directory submissions, but we know that just isn’t as effective anymore. That’s one of the core problems in writing a book about SEO – by the time you finish it, SEO will have already evolved into its next iteration.

By: Kyle James

Kyle James — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:49:11 +0000

Great well thought out post, but I have to wonder… are we taking ourselves too seriously? I mean yes SEO and Online Marketing in general is booming, but is it really going to get to the point where it’s going to be outrageously priced? Supply will always quickly find a way to catchup to meet demand.

By: Catfish

Catfish — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:52:58 +0000

Great article Jen. One of the challenges that exists within a large agency is developing a scalable, repeatable process and that develop training materials around that process. The upside is that it really makes you define what you do and why.

By: Critical Bride

Critical Bride — Mon, 12 May 2008 23:58:00 +0000

This is a very nice post, thanks for posting about the M& A Activity.

By: Dev Basu

Dev Basu — Mon, 12 May 2008 21:16:05 +0000

Fun is priceless. The dynamic nature of this market is what makes it so alluring, both to those just entering the market, and its veterans. Great post Jenn!

By: Nick James

Nick James — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:21:03 +0000

Thought provoking stuff, Jenn. I like the wild west analogy at the end.

I was wondering what your thoughts were as to why the big corporations haven’t yet dipped their toes in any measurable scale into the SEO pool.

Over here, SEO is still very much a cottage industry and with the sort of money that can be made on what can be sold as another branch of marketing, why do you think that the snouts have kept away from the trough for so long?
Is it just a case, as you say, that they can wait until SEO reaches an unprecedented level then just buy their way into the feeding line; or has the likes of personalised search, social media, people talking of ‘the demise of SEO’, left them questioning the long-term stability of search engine optimisation?

Thanks for another great post 🙂