Just when we thought it was over, the rumors have started flying about Microhoo, Googlehoo, and Microhoobook. The merger news picked up last week when the rumors started that Carl Icahn was going to initiate a proxy battle to take control of Yahoo and sell to Microsoft. Since then the rumor mill has been running at full speed with news of possible deals involving Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Facebook and many others.
In Jennifer Osborne’s article, Huge Growth + Talent Shortage = Increased M&A Activity, she provides some insight into why there has been a recent increase in the M&A activity in the search industry. With the current constraints on the amount of available talent and the recent and forecasted growth of the industry, many companies looking to get involved are forced to purchase their foothold in the industry. Jennifer goes into detail about what companies look for when evaluating an acquisition, and breaks it out the criteria into three groups, one-man shops, small to mid sized SEO firms, and large agencies.
Last week Danny Dover of SEOmoz, wrote a great article, The Beginners Guide to Getting Your Foot in the Door. Danny provides very good advice for finding and getting the job of your dreams. He starts by covering some of the overlooked aspects of the job hunt, researching yourself and owning your own SERP, and goes onto provide advice about finding your dream company to work for and how to work to get that job. He provides some great pointers and his article is a must read for anyone currently hunting for a job.
Over at Search Engine Land, Duane Forrester asked what really is an “SEO Expert” with his article, Are We In-House SEO Experts? Not Really…And Here’s Why. Duane talks about the expectations of an “SEO Expert” and what is involved in being called an “SEO Expert”. He uses his own experiences to explains some of the difficulties of managing expectations around a website’s performance. Instead of labeling himself an “SEO Expert,” Duane labels himself and other “SEO Experts,” “usability experts.” In Duane’s experiences, being called an “SEO Expert” limits the authority and importance of recommendations made by said expert, when dealing with people less familiar with SEO practices. By referring to himself as a “usability expert,” it clears up some of confusion people might have as to why his recommendations will actually benefit the business.
Laura Callow took a good look at Search Marketing Trends last week in her article for Search Engine Marketing Insight. Laura gives insight into many of the industry trends over the past couple years, much of it stemming from the competition between Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo. She covers the trends from both an investor’s standpoint, as well as a marketer’s standpoint. Her expertise is definitely looking from a marketers perspective, where she gives a good list of “to do’s” based on the current trends in the industry.
That is it for this week in search marketing staffing, check back next week another update.
