On Blogging Australia

Andrew: I’m talking today with Christine Parfitt of Semfire Internet marketing management services. Christine runs the Semfire search engine marketing blog and has written a lot about internet marketing.

First things first, Christine - thanks for agreeing to the interview and to sharing what you know about search engine marketing (SEM).

There seems to be a lot of information around on SEM. Where do I start if I want to find out more about it?

Christine: Forums are a good place to start. The High Rankings forum has resources for beginners and a lot of information from good contributors over the years. It’s worth spending time searching through the topics. There are of course hundreds of blogs but it can be difficult to find a starting point. Search Engine Land is one of the best places for daily coverage on what’s happening in the industry and links to other blogs. Over time you build your own favourites list.

Andrew: What’s the Adwords Qualified Individual program about? Is it worth looking for a qualified person to run your ad campaigns?

Christine: The qualification shows that someone has passed the Adwords exam and has managed at least one account for a period of 3 months. It’s worth something but I think there are better indicators of knowledge and experience. Reading someone’s blog is probably a better way to assess someone.

Andrew: What does SEM mean to Australians? For example, are there a lot of businesses here taking advantage of it, and are they making money out of it?

Christine: There’s a big interest in Australia and it’s growing all the time. It’s also not as competitive as the US which presents an opportunity for Australian businesses.

Andrew: Do you enjoy blogging about SEM? Is it a niche that has a lot of room to expand?

Christine: Yes I enjoy it even though I always feel that I should do more so it’s frustrating as well. I write mostly about paid search and a bit about search engine optimisation. SEM encompasses a lot of different sub niches and is a fast changing industry so there’s plenty to write about.

Andrew: Are you at the stage yet where the blog has moved beyond supporting your business and has become an income source in and of itself?

Christine: I’ve never seen my blog as a direct income source so haven’t done anything to move it in that direction. It doesn’t mean that I would never consider it in the future but I’m primarily blogging to be part of an industry network, establish credibility, attract potential clients etc. It’s important for the Semfire business.

Andrew: Finally, where do you see the Semfire blog going? I’ve seen articles that are Australia-specific and then there is some material that would apply anywhere - do you see yourself publishing both an Australian-specific blog and an international one?

Christine: It’s interesting that you see a potential split along these lines. I feel comfortable with the mix of Australian and International content but I have recently been wondering about splitting beginner and advanced content. At the moment I’m trying to write for people who are relatively new to SEM topics but also covering quite complex stuff at times particularly on the AdWords side and I’m not sure how well that works. The blog is just less than a year old so it’s probably a good time to evaluate and maybe make a few changes.

Andrew: Thank you for your time, Christine. It’s been a pleasure.