Dana Todd Elected Chairperson of SEMPO, Shares Vision for Organization

SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization) Enters Fifth Year with New Focus on Industry Growth, Training and Standards

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) April 17, 2008 --The Board of Directors of SEMPO, the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, has announced its elected roster of officers for the 2009 fiscal year:

Dana Todd, Chairperson
Jeffrey Pruitt, President
Dave Fall, Vice President
Ron Jones, Treasurer
Chris Boggs, Secretary

Representing the largest independent trade organization serving search marketers in companies around the world, SEMPO's leaders serve an important role in identifying major trends and initiatives in the industry. In this term, the Board of Directors has committed to continuing to find new ways to support the primary three legs of the mission - education, research and global expansion - but with some new initiatives around defining standards and best practices, building local presences, and an expanded role for the SEMPO Institute bringing a higher baseline of education to search marketers.

"Because the internet marketing industry changes so rapidly, it's becoming more important to hiring managers to know that the people they're bringing on board have more than a passing knowledge of the tactical aspects of Search Marketing. It's very learnable, but you can't take shortcuts in learning a complex science such as Search," said Chairperson Dana Todd. "I'm honored to continue the efforts made thus far, in this next iteration of the Board."

Todd, who co-founded interactive agency SiteLab in La Jolla, CA, is also passionate about helping to apply the principles of search marketing to other sectors such as online advertising, information architecture, and PR. Because user-initiated conversations such as search queries can lead to many different assets online and offline, marketers have an opportunity to be many places at once on the internet, to pick up their end of the conversation with customers.

"SiteLab helped incubate a startup called Newsforce, which aims to help the PR community achieve the same opportunity and accountability as other marketers," said Todd, CMO of Newsforce. "Our first product, an online software platform, helps PR people optimize press releases for news search engines quickly and easily. Our partnership with Business Wire has been very successful over the past year, and many more PR professionals at agencies and in companies now make a consistent effort to include valuable keywords in their writing, so that users can find the news more easily."

SiteLab uses search optimization principles and tactics in its high-end creative design and web development services, combining keyword "opportunity" research with information architecture to help drive users quickly from their search queries to advertiser answers. "We have been integrating search marketing best practices in our work since 2000," said Carmella Spencer, VP of Sales and Marketing. "While it's often a struggle to find a balance between creativity and SEO, we've had plenty of years to learn the tradeoffs. With the newer advances in software and coding methods, we can more easily bring back the 'high brand' creativity that clients crave."

"Search is one of those change agents which ultimately affects our experiences and opportunities tremendously," Todd concluded. "I am proud to help SEMPO and our constituents continue to grow their careers and their education. I've learned so much from Search, and I'll be satisfied when every marketer and PR professional on the planet has had the same experience."

SiteLab Interactive is a full-service interactive agency founded in 1994 with a strong presence amongst the internet business community and known as a leader in B2B /B2C website design, development and search/performance marketing. SiteLab established its reputation for building national brands through a strategic approach to high-end design and online marketing that ensures every stage of the customer acquisition process is fully optimized to extract maximum value from each dollar spent. SiteLab has also mastered the fine art of motion media and creative design to compliment our performance marketing expertise. Website: http://www.sitelab.com

Newsforce, Inc. is a platform for new media tools and distribution options for press and PR professionals. It offers a wizard-based tool for simplified "SEO" (Search Engine Optimization") of press releases and news articles, helping writers find audiences more easily through higher news search engine results. In addition, Newsforce will be launching a paid placement network specifically for press releases and promotional news articles. Website: http://www.newsforce.com/

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