SEMPO Reaches 500 Member Milestone

January 23, 2007; 01:53 AM

SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization) today announced it has reached the 500 member milestone. SEMPO was founded in August 2003, not four years ago, and continues to add search marketing professionals as well as agencies and service providers to its membership base. The organization represents the interests of 500 corporate and individual members from more than 20 countries and 5 continents.

"Our membership continues to grow at a steady pace, especially with new members from Europe, Asia and Central and South America," says SEMPO Vice President Jeffrey Pruitt. "A strong membership base enables SEMPO to build out its education, research and member networking initiatives that are designed to help grow and shape the rapidly evolving search engine marketing (SEM) industry."

Examples of SEMPO's expanding programs include:

-- In January 2007, The SEMPO Institute, www.sempo.org/training, will go live with search engine marketing skills instruction via online, distance learning courses.

-- The third annual SEMPO market survey, www.sempo.org/survey, will include participants from Europe this year. Results of the survey will be presented at the London Search Engines Strategies Conference in February.

-- To support the global growth of the search marketing industry, SEMPO has launched a network for working groups around the world. The network is designed to support learning and networking across SEM working groups in North America, Central and South America, Europe and Asia.

The SEMPO Global Committee is co-chaired by Bill Hunt, CEO of Global Strategies, and Massimo Burgio of Global Search Interactive.

"The SEMPO Global Committee and its working groups in countries around world are the best opportunity for SEM professionals to keep up with the rapidly changing market and learn from the leading practitioners around the globe," said Bill Hunt.

Reflecting SEMPO's emergence as a global association for the search engine marketing industry, new members include: Nordic eMarketing, an online marketing and web development firm located in Reykjavik, Iceland; Dominion Enterprises, a media and information services company headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia; Homeaway, a marketplace for vacation rentals; and OSO Co., a SEM agency headquartered in Seoul Korea serving companies in twenty Asian countries.

SEMPO holds general member meetings as well as special interest group meetings at industry conferences. The next two SEMPO member meetings will take place at the London Search Engine Strategies Conference, Monday, February 12 and New York Search Engine Strategies Conference, Tuesday, April 10. Individuals and companies who are considering SEMPO membership are invited to attend these upcoming general meetings to learn more about the organization and its member services.

About the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO)

SEMPO (www.SEMPO.org) is a global non-profit organization serving the search engine marketing industry and marketing professionals engaged in it. Its purpose is to provide a foundation for industry growth through building stronger relationships, fostering awareness, providing education, promoting the industry, generating research, and creating a better understanding of search and its role in marketing. SEMPO represents the common interests of more than 500 companies and consultants worldwide and provides them with a voice in the marketplace. SEMPO's education and outreach initiatives are sponsored in part by Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google, Verizon Superpages.com, Atlas, and Search Engine Strategies.