Wakefield, MA (PRWEB) February 18, 2009 -- The hiring picture for 2009 is a tough one. Search marketing jobs will still exist, but highly honed skills will make the difference in getting hired. To help marketers become more competitive in a tight job market, SEMPO Institute, the online distance learning division of SEMPO, (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization), www.sempoinstitute.com, today announced it is launching a new, four-lesson course designed to provide job seekers and search marketers with enhanced skills in keyword search and copywriting.
"Effective Search Marketing: Keywords and Copywriting," is the first of a series of short courses SEMPO Institute plans for 2009-2010. It will be available online in February, 2009. The course fee is $299 and includes, upon successful testing, a certificate of completion. Students can register at https://www.sempoinstitute.com/search-marketing-enrollment/default.aspx. Also planned for 2009 is a short course on link building and social media.
"Marketers and job seekers are looking for briefer, more affordable courses that they can put to use immediately, either to enhance skills in an existing job or to improve their chances of getting hired for a search-related position,"says Katie Donovan, SEMPO Institute Business Development Manager.
The keywords and copywriting course is a good skill building tool for search marketers and copywriters and may help a marketer in a traditional position transition more easily to a search marketing job, says Donovan.
Ron Jones, a member of the SEMPO Board of Directors, and an Internet marketing consultant, trainer, and owner of Symetri Internet Marketing, and Cindy Turrietta, owner of Affordable Search Engine Ranking, are the authors of the keywords and copywriting course. Turrietta's firm provides strategic consulting and Internet marketing solutions for mid-to large-sized companies. Jones is an Expert Columnist for Search Engine Watch, and writes the SEM.edu column. Both authors have contributed to other SEMPO Institute courses.
"SEMPO Institute courses are authored and peer reviewed by the best practitioners in the search marketing field. We are delighted that Ron Jones and Cindy Turrietta have contributed their high level knowledge to our new keywords and copywriting course," says Terry Plank, Curriculum Dean of SEMPO Institute.
Other Institute Courses
SEMPO Institute recommends students pair the short course with its Insider's Guide to Search Marketing ($399), says Donovan. Insider's Guide is the Institute's full length, introductory course, and covers, among other subjects, how search engines work, how to identify good and poor quality links, and understanding the differences between copywriting for organic search and paid search.
"If students take the Insider's Guide course, they can dig deeper into critical topics with the new keywords and copywriting course, further adding to their skill set," says Donovan.
Students will also have the advantage of working with Trellian's Keyword Discovery Tool and Wordtracker's keyword research tool, through an arrangement with the Institute. They will be able to use the Trellian and Wordtracker tools to develop the most effective set of keywords for a particular campaign. From there, the students can take the keyword set and create effective copy to optimize each search engine campaign. The course will also include multimedia elements to illustrate different tactical points, and quizzes will be given during each lesson to reinforce the knowledge gained. A test will occur at the end of each lesson, and students who successfully pass the tests will earn a certificate.
SEMPO Institute also offers two advanced courses:
Advanced SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ($1,399)
This course shares the methods experts have utilized over the years to get the best "organic" or "free" results for themselves and their clients.
Students learn how to: