Companies concerned over dealing with insecure SEM'sMarch 14, 2005 Search engine marketing firms have prospered by selling clients on their expertise, while saving online media players from the complicated technical aspects of managing search campaigns. Some companies have expressed frustration over dealing with insecure agencies, while also admitting to fears of getting wiped out by Madison Avenue bullies. “The search agency space right now is in the same place that the online agency space was five to seven years ago,” said Stuart Bogaty, CEO of mSearch North America, which was recently launched as a sister agency to mOne.  “The smaller guys are either going to be acquired or will not be able to support their businesses.” It remains to be seen if SEMs will thrive, get snapped up by agencies, or whether agencies elect to build out their own search expert teams, like mOne. There are reasons why agencies, even pure interactive shops, have been hesitant to do the latter. "I know of agencies that have made a strategic decision that ‘search is not us, we are a creative agency,’” said Sarah Fay, president of Isobar U.S., part of the Aegis Group. As the head of Carat Interactive, Fay led Isobar’s acquisition of search firm iProspect late last year. “[Search] is a huge undertaking,” she added. “It is incredibly hard to build from scratch.” Fay said that for many agencies, search also isn’t perceived as a moneymaker, given its low-cost pricing model and modest creative. Yet despite the obstacles, most think that the dollars, as well as the client relationships attached to search, are too tempting for agencies to ignore for long. “I definitely believe that agencies have to build it or buy it,” said Will Margiloff, CEO at search specialty firm Exact Advertising. “Most agencies want to control the client’s budget from soup to nuts.” Margiloff, who admitted that his company could be acquired, said he believes independent search firms that can offer proprietary technology and strong client relationships will survive.  “I believe that [the SES conference] will be really different next year,” he said. Jay MacDonald, an analyst at DeSilva & Phillips, added that a flurry of acquisitions is imminent, yet it all may be for naught. “As technology improves, the need for optimization will go away,” MacDonald said. “Their business won’t exist in three years.” Source: Media Week Read Serge Thibodeau's daily blogs on search engines at Serge Thibodeau Live. We strongly suggest you bookmark our web site by clicking here.  Tired of receiving unwanted spam in your in box? Get SpamArrest™ and put a stop to all that SPAM. Click here and get rid of SPAM forever! Get your business or company listed in the Global Business Listing directory and increase your business. It takes less then 24 hours to get a premium listing in the most powerful business search engine there is. Click here to find out all about it. Rank for $ales strongly recommends the use of WordTracker to effectively identify all your right industry keywords. Accurate identification of the right keywords and key phrases used in your industry is the first basic step in any serious search engine optimization program. Click here to start your keyword and key phrase research.
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