Considering a Career Change? Get in Before the Boom Subsides

[thejenn]

Authored by: Jennifer Laycock

Full Text: http://www.searchengineguide.com/laycock/007027.html

A Snippet:

So my question becomes...is the industry spoiled? Is the fact that an experienced SEM scoffs at a salary that's not equal to those paid out by top law firms, or earned by experienced surgeons a sign that something is wrong?

[David Wallace]

r that worked for a mid-sized firm. He said that he was learning SEM so that he could work on marketing their firm online and that he really enjoyed it. He also said that he was considering a career change and from what he was seeing, SEM professionals seemed to make almost as much money as lawyers did.

Ian McAnerin is a fine example of that - a guy that studied law and even graducated law school but never actually practiced because he got into search marketing.

[BKCB]

The industry is not spoiled, IMO, but I think it is great that you ask that question.

Why? I've seen other industries where "inflated pride" due to a current "hotness" in the industry caused an eventual "double edged sword" affect. By that I mean that "rock star" egos wound up working against those that went too far in one way or another (directly or indirectly).

Who determines what is "too far"? The marketplace does with not only the "supply and demand" dynamics of SEM people, but also the expectation levels of the buyers for the kinds of ROI results they're looking for as the SERP's get more competitive. You hit the nail on the head with "The day is coming however when search engine marketing will be as much a part of the average company's game plan as direct mail, print advertising and public relations."

I think that when many "rock star" traditional ad agencies learn SEM terminology, along with treating their Interactive divisions with the respect and funding they deserve, you will see the "nomalization" of SEM vs. the baloney "Voodoo" misperception. I think that some of this is starting to happen this year!

[Jill]

Sheesh, Jen...way to put a damper on my extravagant lifestyle!

[KevinW]

While SEM firms and pros often get a black eye by some web pros, facts are facts.

1) A good one can make your company VERY successful.

2.) A good one will SAVE your company money. Potentially a lot depending on how big your online marketing budget is.

3.) They provide MEASURABLE results.

4.) A bad one can ruin you. That makes the good ones worth even more...

[thejenn]

Jill...lol...I always come back from SES a little cynical.

As for a good SEO making you money...no doubt about that! It's the reason that so many within our industry can charge those lawyerly fees...

My point is...that right now, it's a supply and demand issue. I'd be willing to bet that there are less than one or two hundred SEM firms out there that are REALLY qualified and skilled at what they do.

That won't always be the case. Once there are just as many skilled SEM firms as there are skilled copywriters or skilled public relations firms or whatever else...there WILL be less SEM pros that can charge totally exhorbitant fees.

[Jill]

That won't always be the case. Once there are just as many skilled SEM firms as there are skilled copywriters or skilled public relations firms or whatever else...there WILL be less SEM pros that can charge totally exhorbitant fees.

In other words, get what you can now, don't spend it all, and figure out how to put it away so that it makes you money later when things go downhill.

Always good advice for anyone!

[thejenn]

EXACTLY!

I know a few folks that have had great luck with AdSense. A few have bought fancy cars, fancy houses, etc... Others have paid off their current houses, cars, build college funds, retirement funds, etc... because they know it won't last forever.

[Black_Knight]

Hope you don't mind my coming late to this discussion.

I'm actually going to disagree with one of the assumptions of the article. It isn't SEM greed that is fuelling this. It isn't an over-valuation of SEM. It is actually an undervaluation of SEM. What's more, I'll use your own example to prove it.

a major insurance company based here in Columbus, Ohio has been looking for a search marketing director for quite some time. The posted salary range isn't bad for the area (around $75K) but the reality is that based on their job description, they wouldn't find anyone that would take the position for that pay. Why? Because someone with as much experience as they require could easy charge $150-$200 an hour as a consultant.

It isn't the consultant role that is stopping them filling the job. It is that their top affiliate is making more than double that salary per month.

If you can get good rankings for finance related keywords, and send that traffic to the finance companies, many of them will pay out well over $200k per month. In some cases so much over that if you aren't already nodding knowingly, you'd probably fall off your chair.

Finance companies are often the biggest investors in PPC traffic. I know of several finance companies that spend far more than half a million dollars per month on first-tier search PPC alone.

Now that spend is for raw traffic identified only by search phrases. It hasn't had the time-wasters, fraudulent clicks, unqualified applicants, etc etc filtered out. So imagine what they'll joyfully spend on well-qualified leads that are all hot-to-trot and are ready to buy right now.

So, if you can rank high for finance related terms, are you going to work directly for the company for a salary, or are you going to respond to the market conditions they themselves have set in place, and literally earn 20 times as much for the same amount of work, working from home, calling your own hours, and answerable to noone but yourself?

It isn't the consultants that are the alternative. Note just how many of the very top SEOs have gone over to doing affiliate only, and have sacked all their clients, and never want to go back. The fact is that companies under-value what the in-house guy could be doing for them, and offer him far far more not to be their employee.

[thejenn]

Ammon, you make an excellent point on that end.

It's a tough call really...because as long as folks can work for themselves whether as consultants or affiliates, there's pretty much NO incentive to go work in the real world.

It's not even like you need to go work somewhere for the benefits, with the rates a good SEO can charge, they can afford top quality private health insurance no problem.

That said, i still think that we're going to see a day when this slows down. We'll see a lot less folks pulling in 5 digit monthly payouts from affiliate sites and we'll see a lot less firms able to charge $300 or more an hour.

You've got to admit, we're still in the very early stages of this game. Yes, the industry has matured a lot, but we've still got a long way to go. That's not a bad thing.

That said, you still won't convince me that our industry isn't a tad bit spoiled. I mean come on...even if you're earning it by being a top notch affiliate marketer, it's hard to make 5 digits a month and NOT be a little spoiled...right?