I plan to interview our members over the coming months and give them an opportunity to introduce themselves. This month I have randomly chosen Paul McIntyre, founder and MD of Search High:

How did you get into search, Paul?

I got into search out of frustration, really. I was managing director of the European operation of a US-based online survey company. Marketing purse-strings were controlled out of the US. Allegedly, the purse was empty.

The only route to market was via the web site, which was not optimised for ranking highly, had little calls to action, ignored the AIDA approach, and relied on Google Adwords and Overture to promote un-researched terms.

I wanted to find a way of making this route to market work for professional organizations. I had previously been an accountant in the City, run an internal IT consultancy for a large multinational and built and run my own IT/management consultancy, so was always going to be serving corporate customers and professional organizations, with a bleached white hat on!

I decided that there must be lots of small and medium sized companies trying to do as much effective and targeted marketing as possible with relatively little funds, compared to amounts required for other marketing methods.

I set about building an organization to fill that requirement. Now Search High can help others with the same frustration that I had.

Where does Search High come from - why was it founded?

A lot of search organizations, especially smaller ones, seem to have come from a solely technology background. Technology only solutions, by their very nature, are short term. Not much changes faster than today's technology.

I wanted to add a detailed understanding of business issues and requirements, the marketing mix, the psychology of conversion, as well as copywriting options through a network of copywriters with specialist experience in differing business sectors and industries.

As such, we find that we pick up clients who have had previous bad experiences with SEO companies who offer a purely technology based response.

What types of client or business sectors do you serve?

Search High serves SME's mainly, in almost any ethical business sector. These are the companies that can react faster than the large PLCs, so our help and enthusiasm seems to work better with the reduced levels of internal politics that generally exist outside of large corporate clients.

How do you foresee 'search' changing in the future?

Search is certainly in its infancy and I see more and more localization of search, and availability on smaller platforms, such as 3G phones, especially when fitted with GPS receivers.

If I'm out on business and I need a hotel for the night or a restaurant table at short notice, I don't need to know where I am – the mobile SERPS will tell me all that's near me.

If I live in the UK, I might want to save money by downloading software from the US and paying in dollars, but I wouldn't place an order with Domino's in LA (unless I was there) no matter what the price.

Search will become much more relevant and specific to user requirements, and much, much slicker. In a few years time, today's SERPS will look like MS DOS compared to Windows XP.

What issues do you face?

Establishing "white hat" search engine marketing as a credible business discipline. Also, reaching the right markets and proving that we are not charging for fresh air. Testimonials help. The SMA- UK could possibly help with credibility assurance.

What would you most like SMA-UK to achieve for you?

I'd like SMA-UK to provide credibility for the industry and visibility for its members. The SMA will benefit from realising that its members generally do things in one of a number of different ways.

Without getting into the white hat/black hat debate, it could help match end user requirements with members' offerings. Done in an unbiased way, this would surely benefit us all, including our clients, who would then receive the most appropriate services.

There has been some further coverage of SMA-UK including a piece in print in B2B marketing which principally questioned the purpose of the SMA stating that we had 'missed the point' and that we should be more focused on the accreditation of agencies.

Nicholine Hayward of weboptimiser was interviewed and reinforced this view.

The debate is great - but find it unfortunate when criticisms like come from 'outside' the association which could so usefully have been made inside the association. There would then have been more awareness of the fact that standards are one of our key objectives and that Barry Lloyd is chairing a committee which is investigating this whole area.

At our executive committee meeting, we spent some considerable time discussing this and what route is open to us to explore - but there are legal ramifications from restricting membership which we have been briefed on and which we must work around.

Weboptimiser is very welcome to join our discussions and debate from the inside.

Meanwhile, Mad.co.uk published the above article - your comments appreciated - from the inside of course!

Database Marketing has interviewed me with regard to publishing an article on how to choose a search marketing agency.

Travel Daily News has followed the Internet Travel News with an article on the launch.

The publicity effort is beginning to see its first results with Internet Travel News featuring a story on the launch of the Association.

Today I briefed the developing SMA-NA association on the recent committee meeting of the SMA-UK

The Association's first formal committee meeting took place last week in London and was very productive. We will publish summary minutes of the meeting soon - but the most important points were:-

• Reality PR has been appointed to handle the association's press relations - and a campaign is now being developed. They have wide experience already in search.
  
• Kingston Smith has been appointed to handle the association's adminstration. They are experts in running associations and will free resources for the committee to focus on action rather than admin.
• Payment of association membership is now possible using a credit card online.
• The search engine liaison committee will be announced at the end of July. Invitations are currently going out.
  
• The editorial committee will be announced at the end of July. Invitations have already gone out.
• A paper on standards and the association's approach will be published in August.
  
• A series of discounts for members will very soon be available and will be announced very soon.
• Legal and insurance issues are being investigated on behalf of members.
  

B2B Marketing is a new magazine targeting - obviously - business to business marketers. Kate Walsh interviewed me today with regard to what the association is planning to do and what the benefits are specifically to B2B marketing people.

I was able to say that B2B marketers - particularly those who target a business niche - still have great opportunities before them from using search - but that many still have not recognised the potential.

I was also keen to encourage in-house search marketing specialists to join the association.

The very first 'official' news release of the association has been distributed to the press - actually over a week ago (whilst I was on holiday). A number of initial press interviews have been set up and, as the PR machine gets into gear, this will increase over time.

The press activity promotes the web sites and the members! To my knowledge, at least one member has already reported benefitting from their membership of the association!

Today I meet with the organisation which we plan to instruct to undertake the administration management for the association to make us as efficient as possible. We believe this will be a the most cost-effective way to generate value for money for members.

I've just distributed the proposed programme by email for the year ahead. Members would be very welcome to put themselves forward to help out with this, and all feedback is welcomed.

If you haven't received it let me know and I can send it through to you.

Thanks,
Simon

Mike Grehan has helped me to get conversations going with a leading PR company which we are considering using to promote the search marketing industry and the association. This will be discussed further at the July Executive Committee meeting.

I have also today had discussions with the organisation which it is proposed will take on the administration of the association - a meeting is lined up for early July to get things moving.

I have today completed the programme for the association for the forthcoming year. This will shortly go out to members for comments - and an abridged version will go to those who have signed up to the association's mailing list.

As part of our commitment to drive the association forwards and to keep the information flow going with the membership - and with potential members - welcome to the new blog.

The first meeting of the association took place during the London Search Engine Strategies show this week. At this meeting it was announced that I had been elected President and Mike Grehan Vice-President.

I'd like to say "Thanks for your support" - and I will do my best to deliver the association you want.

At the meeting we reiterated the objectives, shown on this site so I won't repeat them here, and said that members would receive a programme outline with what we plan to do in this, the association's first year. At the same time, members-only will be asked to give their comments on what they think of programmes, to chip in any ideas they have and to give us their backing.

Two suggestions have already been incorporated from the first meeting which is to look at Professional Indemnity Insurance and at a template SMA-UK presentation which members can use when talking to groups in their area. We've added both to our planning.

As President I am to be as available to members as it is possible for me to be and to listen and build on your suggestions and ideas.

Thank You!

SMA-UK Blog has been launched