28th April 2008 5:25 pm Search Engine Marketing

The Search Agency (TSA), a leading search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimisation (SEO) firm, announced today that it has received a strategic investment from JMI Equity.

JMI, a private equity firm focused on investments in growing software and business services companies, will work closely with TSA management to support its strong growth in providing search marketing services to clients worldwide. Peter Arrowsmith, a General Partner at JMI, has joined TSA’s Board of Directors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

TSA provides SEM and SEO to online advertisers through a suite of paid search and organic search tools, including its AdMax platform. The company’s unique approach to online marketing is based on combining proprietary technology with a robust service offering, and has resulted in annual growth rates exceeding 100% and market leading client retention rates. TSA plans to use the investment from JMI to expand its sales and marketing efforts, and to support the continued research and development of the company’s proprietary technology.

“We welcome the opportunity to partner with JMI,” said David Hughes, Chief Executive Officer of TSA. “In our focus to accelerate TSA’s growth and gain market share, we were seeking an investment firm who is highly knowledgeable in the online marketing space. The fact that JMI has proven experience in our industry resonated with us. They clearly understand our strategic plan and we are excited about the significant value they can provide both strategically and financially to our organization.”

“The Search Agency’s ability to offer first rate service supported and enhanced by technology is unique in the marketplace today,” said Mr. Arrowsmith of JMI. “We look forward to working with David and his team to build on the company’s success, help enhance its competitive position and continue to generate profitable growth over the long term.”

RBC Capital Markets was the exclusive placement agent to TSA and Stubbs, Alderton & Markiles, LLC provided legal counsel to TSA on the transaction. JMI was advised by Goodwin Procter, LLP.

The Search Agency is a profitable, privately held corporation that employs search industry experts to guide its clients through the complicated world of search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimisation (SEO) and in turn convert quality traffic for those client’s into revenue through conversion path optimisation (CPO).

This personal approach combined with the company’s innovative and proprietary technology enables its clients to maximize ROI on search spend The Search Agency proudly maintains over an 85% retention rate among their clients. TSA has twenty-five engineers on staff and a total of 75 employees between two offices in Rhode Island and Santa Monica.

SEO Tools unveil a keyword difficult checker tool

28th April 2008 12:04 pm Search Engine Marketing

The chaps over at SEO Chat have put an interesting little keyword applet on their site. Speaking on their latest blog post they say “Have you ever wondered how hard it will be to rank for certain keywords or keyword phrases? Try out SEO Chat’s Keyword Difficulty Check Tool. This tool gives you a percentage score that reflects how difficult it will be to get first page ranking for your keywords.”

It’s a useful tool to have in your locker for anyone in Search Engine Marketing, knowing the market you are attempting to rank for is key to the success or failure of your efforts. Here’s what a brief check turns up

• Travel 89.53%
• Digital Cameras 74.38%
• mp3s 72.06%
• mobile phones 73.57%
• Debt Consolidation 69.55%
• Cheap flights 66.67%
• Car Hire 66.92%

For the record SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) ranked 80.91 % and PPC (Pay Per Click) ranked 72.47 %

Would you like to know more about search engine ranking? If so, contact Hit Search, SEMPO accredited Search Engine Optimisation and Pay Per Click specialists, on 0845 643 9289. Remember, its a big world out there, make sure you become visible.

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Google comments on selling its Search Marketing company Performics

4th April 2008 9:17 am Search Engine Marketing

Tom Phillips, Director of the DoubleClick Integration today commented on its decision to sell its Search Marketing company Performics.

Tom comments “Since we closed the acquisition of DoubleClick on March 11, we’ve been immersed in integration planning for each of our products and business units.

Recently we completed this process for the DoubleClick Performics businesses, and have decided to split them into two separately-run business units: Affiliate Marketing and Search Marketing.

It’s clear to us that we do not want to be in the search engine marketing business. Maintaining objectivity in both search and advertising is paramount to Google’s mission and core to the trust we ask from our users. For this reason, we plan to sell the Performics search marketing business to a third party.

We believe this will allow us to maintain objectivity and the search marketing business to continue to grow and innovate and serve its customers. While we have not yet identified a buyer, we’ve received preliminary interest from a number of our current partners. Search Marketing will continue to run as a separate entity until the division is sold.

We plan to integrate the affiliate marketing business into existing Google operations, providing enhanced value and reach for our affiliate advertisers, and additional tools and monetization opportunities for our publishers. Together, we believe that we can continue to grow this business and deliver on the high expectations from partners.

Where it’s applicable in Europe, these plans and their implications for employees are subject to consultation with staff and employee representatives. During this transition, we will ensure that all affiliate and search marketing customers receive the same high level of service they have always experienced.”

Would you like to know more about Search Marketing? If so, contact Hit Search on 0845 643 9289. Remember, its a big world out there, make sure you become visible.

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