Thanks for putting up this interesting article. When I saw the heading it sent my mind racing and I must say that all in all, if seen with an open mind, your post makes pretty good sense. But one objection in my opinion would be that serious “in-house” SEM consultants hardly have the time or the inclination to interact in SEM specific social media because we have tons and tons of in-house industry related work. But I do agree that thought leaders or evangelists, somewhere at some point in time, probably do/did interact in SEM specific social media, which enhances/enhanced their visibility.

For example, Mr X used to interact in SEM forums and sites while working on previous assignments in a company delivering SEM services because his presence there was required as part of his responsibilities to make his firm visible. Not any more as an in-house SEM because his social media interaction is largely in e-learning circles and he hardly gets the time (no matter how much he may want) to interact in SEM circles. To quote Miriam above, “Perhaps, in this age of specialization, businesses may begin hiring SEMs on the merits of their personal passions rather than a simpler metric of skills.” May I add adaptability also Miriam?

It’s an awesome time to be an SEM isn’t it! Thank you for stopping by.

You make some excellent points, but it seems like we should distinguish the thought leaders from the industry evangelists. You don’t have to be a thought-leader to be able to speak well and get people engaged in following what you’re doing like the evangelists do. However, the ones who know how to be engaging have a better chance of having their ideas heard and/or listened to, even if those ideas aren’t on the cutting or bleeding edge. In my humble opinion, the evangelists who speak publicly may be less likely to take the risks of being a true thought-leader who dream up new ideas to test, as even the best are going to make mistakes occasionally which could dampen their reputation as being a leader.

Separately, I like your idea of having a trusted “general counsel” that you can use to measure quality of potential vendors and other people’s skill sets. Interesting concept! Thanks for the good read.

Who’s Right For Me?

We’ve been discussing something along these lines at Cre8asite.

The scenario I’m imagining is a business owner having a pick of 10 great SEOs/Marketers. Every one of them is good and talented.

But, imagine that only one of them also happens to be a devoted wildlife enthusiast and the business revolves around getting donations to protect sea otters in Monterey Bay.

Connecting that business up with that SEO is going to be a match made in heaven.

Perhaps, in this age of specialization, businesses may begin hiring SEMs on the merits of their personal passions rather than a simpler metric of skills.

Very enjoyable article!
Miriam

You asked whether some get hired because “name (brand) or because they are “thought leaders” That’s an appropriate comment. The rubber meets the road by the work that we do, not the label. There are in fact thought-leaders who don’t practice as much as write and organize ideas for readers. That’s a valuable resource as well.

However, the title of this post, and I assumed theme, is “industry thought leaders”. This, to me, looks at the topic a little differently. Leaders are those who are actively out there supporting their industries. I do it. Doug does it. We’ve been doing it for a very long time. It could be said we’re damned good at what we do as well. But, do people want to hire us because we work hard or have a name (brand) or because we are “thought leaders”?

I think places like forums, which some say are dying out, remain a top spot for finding potential employees and talented companies. You can learn a lot from people who aren’t afraid to help others and you can get a sense of who is offering correct advice or not, who writes clearly, who has a good attitude, etc.

I think where forums are weak is when it comes to recommending good people, networking, and promoting talent. I know we try at Cre8asiteforums but forums are spam magnets. We spend so much time filtering out the fake, liars, ripoffs, scum and absolute unskilled. I sometimes wonder if the true talent and skilled ones don’t join forums because they simply don’t want to be associated with beginners.

Which if so, counts them out as future leaders.

Thank you for an interesting post Marty!

I also should point out to you that I have reviewed and linked to quite a few SEO’s on a page on my site who I feel are the very good at what they do. It’s interesting to note that most of them have never been to a conference or spoke, and don’t hang out at those places you mention either. Heck, more than half of the sites I linked to don’t like me at all, but that didn’t stop me from linking to them and telling others I do recommend them. I’m just kind of sick of our industry making it seem like the only people in it are people who hang at this place or that. A very small minority of our industry fits into that category, and a much greater majority do NOT promote themselves at all, nor do they participate in blogs or conferences or at places mentioned.

Yes Doug, I’m sure there are many terrific SEOs we’ve all “never heard of.” It’s just hard to follow and/or hire thought-leaders we’ve never heard of. Since SEM is about PR and marketing, looking to SEMs who know how to effectively promote themselves is a good place to start. Umm, it’s not ass-kissing, any more than you getting your clients relevant links is ass-kissing.

As for your statement, “I know for a fact that the very best SEO’s in our industry are one’s that I do not even know their names, and neither do you.” Ummm, I’m pretty sure I’ve heard of at least some of the very best.

Regardless, perhaps you might consider avoiding such sweeping generalizations when being critical of content which you perceive to be overly-generalized.

For our readers who don’t know Doug’s work, he operates the SEO Best Practices Search Engine Forums from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Stop by and check it out.

So you actually truly believe that only the best SEO’s hang out at those places and also speak, and do the SEMPO thang?

You have just gotta be pulling my chain. LOL

I know for a fact that the very best SEO’s in our industry are one’s that I do not even know their names, and neither do you. That’s a fact. Giving this type of advice is extremely dangerous to whoever may be reading and looking for help.