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GATL 0122: Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Gatlin Education Online Course

About Gatlin Education Program
Course Description
Features
Topic Highlights
Certificate Requirements
Course Objectives
PDF Brochure
Who Should Attend
PC Requirements
Instructors

Search Engine, Business (image of a professional man typing)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The Search Engine Marketing training series has been developed in direct response to the skyrocketing growth of the search engine industry.

No longer the territory of geekdom, search has exploded into the mainstream over the past few years and businesses are falling over themselves to get seen by online searchers. And they'll pay big bucks to search engines for the privilege. Search giants like Google, Yahoo!, and AOL can't fail to make money because everybody wants a bit of the search action.

According to a recent article on MSN Careers, the position of Search Engine Optimizer (a sub-set of Search Engine Marketing) is considered one of four jobs on the cutting edge right now. Below is a definition of SEO provided by MSN Careers:

"Search engine optimizers (SEOs) increase a firm's Web site traffic by improving its search-engine page rankings. This is an especially important task in today's Internet-driven world, where many customers first learn of an organization and its products or services through the Web. Because of a shortage of experts in this relatively new area, many top SEOs receive multiple job offers. SEOs typically supplement their knowledge of how various search engines operate and determine page rankings with strong marketing skills, as well as the ability to communicate effectively and program using HTML."

 
Registration
Start at any time, and work at your own pace.

Click here to download the registration form.
Demo
Coming soon!
Fee

$1,995

Length

250 Hours

CEUs

25 CEUs

Included Materials
  • 32 downloadable PDF lessons (585 pages in total)
  • 2 downloadable PDF worksheets
  • 3 Excel spreadsheets
  • 40 interactive online review quizzes
  • 26 Assignments
  • 4 interactive online exams
  • 1 offline exam
  • 4 case studies
  • Extensive Internet-based resources
  • 12 months access to online classroom area
  • 12 months access to online quizzes and final exam
  • 12 months access to lesson updates
  • The Search Engine College Seal of Certification* for display on a Web site
Contact Info.
  • Online contact form
  • Address:
      George Mason University
    Office of Continuing Professional Education
      4400 University Drive, MS 2G2
      Fairfax, VA 22030
  • Telephone: 703-993-2113
  • Fax: 703-993-2121

  • Wikipedia defines Search Engine Marketing here.

    A job in the search industry can be unbelievably lucrative. As noted recently by Jennifer Laycock of Search Engine Guide, "There are quite literally more jobs than there are skilled marketers and salaries can skyrocket to almost embarrassing levels."

    This extreme demand means Search Engine Marketers can pick and choose their jobs and/or clients. The more skilled marketers are head-hunted regularly. Experts in select specialties such as Pay Per Click Advertising (another sub-set of Search Engine Marketing) are currently enjoying even higher demand than usual, as advertisers out-bid each other to have their site shown for popular keyword searches on Google, Yahoo! and MSN. Another indicator of high demand is the sheer number of search-related job postings seen on employment sites.

    Job candidates who hold specific industry certification in Search Engine Marketing may well have an edge over their fellow applicants when it comes to interview selection. The Search Engine Marketer series is a bundle of 5 courses designed for persons who want to jump-start their career path in the fast-paced search engine industry.

    The Search Engine Marketer series consists of the following 5 individual courses:

    1) Search Engine Optimization 101 +

    2) Search Engine Optimization 201 +

    3) Pay Per Click Marketing 101 +

    4) Pay Per Click Marketing 201 +

    5) Web Site Copywriting 101

    Search Engine Optimization 101 will show you step-by-step how to optimize your web site to obtain better search engine positioning on the world's most popular search engines and directories for target keywords and phrases. It will also show you how to choose the best keywords to target and how to monitor and maintain successful search engine rankings for those keywords.

    Search Engine Optimization 201, will take your knowledge of SEO to the next level by teaching you how to further increase your site's compatibility with search engines and how to optimize a web site that uses more complex design technologies such as dynamic content, Flash and tables. SEO201 also introduces the concept of pay per click search engine advertising and shows you how to accurately measure the Return on Investment of your search engine optimization efforts. There's even a bonus lesson for persons wanting to start their own SEO business.

    Pay Per Click Marketing 101 will give you the knowledge necessary to set up, monitor and maintain a successful campaign to promote your web site on the pay-per-click search engines and their network of partner sites. It will walk you step-by-step through the process of setting up a PPC campaign from scratch on the two most popular services, Google AdWord and Yahoo! Search Marketing. Taking the course will ensure your advertising campaign is designed for success from the very first impression.

    Pay Per Click Marketing 201 will take your knowledge of PPC to the next level by teaching you how to Improve the Return on Investment of your PPC campaigns on the major search engines and their network of partner sites. The course will show you step-by-step how to improve your ad click-through and conversion rates, create effective landing pages, measure campaign effectiveness, conduct split testing and tweak your campaigns for better performance.

    Web Site Copywriting 101
    will provide you with an understanding of how to integrate your target search keywords into your site and design your web page copy so your site appeals to more visitors and encourages them to take the desired action you want them to take (e.g. purchase, sign-up or bookmark your site).

    The text within your site needs to inspire empathy and interest in those who read it. Unless it convinces the reader that they genuinely need the service or product you are offering, you are not going to convert them to a customer or loyal visitor.

    The Web Site Copywriting 101 course gives your site the best chance possible of converting your site visitors to customers by teaching you how to write powerful and effective copy that describes your products and services appealingly and entices a reader to purchase or sign up. At the same time, you will learn how to integrate search keywords naturally within the copy to ensure your site is found easily in the search engine results for related search queries without disturbing the flow of text for the reader.

    FEATURES

    This nationally recognized Search Engine Marketing (SEM) online course and training program has been developed in direct response to the skyrocketing growth of the search engine industry. This comprehensive program covers all aspects of search engine marketing including; search engine optimization, pay per click marketing and web site copywriting. These are the essential components for understanding this unique and growing career field.

    As noted by Jennifer Laycock of Search Engine Guide, "There are quite literally more jobs than there are skilled marketers and salaries can skyrocket to almost embarrassing levels." This online certificate program is offered in partnership with major colleges and universities.

    TOPIC HIGHLIGHTS

    I. Search Engine Optimization 101
    a. Course Introduction
    b. Introduction to SEO
    c. Search Engine Basics
    d. SEO Requirements Gathering
    e. Keyword Research
    f. Title and META Tag Creation
    g. SEO Copywriting
    h. SEO Integration
    i. Search Engine and Directory Submission
    j. Search Engine Spam
    k. SEO Reporting and Conversions
    II. Search Engine Optimization 201
    a. Course Introduction
    b. Overview of SEO
    c. Site Architecture
    d. Text Content
    e. Dynamic Content
    f. Graphics
    g. Flash and Splash Pages
    h. Frames and Tables
    i. Link Popularity
    j. Pay For Performance
    k. Measuring SEO ROI
    l. Starting Your Own SEO Business
    III. Pay Per Click Marketing 101
    a. Course Introduction
    b. An Introduction to Pay Per Click Marketing
    c. Pay Per Click Campaign Preparation
    d. An Introduction to Google AdWords
    e. How to Set Up an AdWords Account
    f. An Introduction to Yahoo! Search Marketing
    g. How to Set Up a Yahoo! Sponsored Search Account
    h. Keyword Research for PPC Campaigns
    i. Ad Copy Creation for PPC Campaigns
    j. Landing Page Creation for PPC Campaigns
    k. PPC Campaign Conversion & ROI Measurement
    IV. Pay Per Click Marketing 210
    a. An Overview of PPC Marketing
    b. Pay Per Click Search Engines
    c. Key Elements of a Successful PPC Campaign
    d. Building Effective PPC Ads
    e. How to Structure Your PPC Campaign
    f. Effective PPC Bidding Strategies
    g. How to Create Killer Landing Pages
    h. Tracking PPC Conversions
    i. A/B Split Testing
    j. How to Measure ROI on PPC
    V. Web Site Copywriting 101
    a. Course Introduction
    b. THE Most Important (and most overlooked) Aspect of Copywriting
    c. Discover What Copy Type Fits Your Target Audience Best
    d. Guess What? Men and Women Are Different!
    e. Writing to Please Everybody
    f. Headlines - The Beginning and the End
    g. Features vs. Benefits - Do You Really Know the Difference?
    h. Adding Emotions & Dreams and Tugging On Heartstrings
    i. The Power Points of Your Copy
    j. A.I.D.A. and the Buying Process
    k. Search Engine Optimization - Copy Is Crucial
    l. Final Thoughts

    CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS

    George Mason University Certificate of Completion

    A 70% or better must be achieved in order to receive a Certificate of Completion.

    COURSE OBJECTIVES

    Upon successful completion of this program, you will be able to:

    • Set up, monitor and maintain successful search engine optimization or pay-per-click campaigns for your sites or your client's sites on the world's most popular search engines and directories.
    • Make web sites search engine compatible and designed to attract the right kind of qualified search engine visitors who are more likely to buy or sign up from the moment they arrive on a site.
    • repare for starting your own search engine marketing business or applying for a job as an SEO (search engine optimizer), SEM (search engine marketer), PPC Marketer, Online Advertising Executive or Web Site Copywriter.

    PDF BROCHURE

    Please click here to download the PDF brochure for the Gatlin online courses offered by OCPE.

    This brochure and the registration form for this course require Adobe Reader. Click here to download the latest version of Adobe Reader.

    WHO SHOULD ATTEND

    • Marketing executives entrusted with the responsibility of promoting their company's or clients' web sites.
    • Webmasters wanting to increase traffic to their web sites via search engines.
    • Small business owners wanting to learn how to promote their web sites on the search engines.
    • Owners of e-commerce sites that want to increase their site's visitor to customer conversion ratios.
    • Web site designers wanting to offer search engine marketing services to their clients.
    • Search engine optimizers (SEO) or search engine marketers (SEM) wanting to improve their industry skills.
    • Persons wanting to learn how to optimize web sites for search engines in preparation for starting their own search engine optimization business or applying for a job as an SEO or SEM.
    • Copywriters wanting to learn how to write for an online audience.
    • Copywriters wanting to learn how to write in a way that attracts search engines AND appeals to readers.
    • Webmasters wanting to increase traffic to their web sites via search engines and prepared to pay for it by the click.
    • Small business owners wanting to learn how to promote their web sites on the search engines via paid listings.
    • Marketers of e-commerce sites that want to use PPC to measure their site's visitor to customer conversion ratios.
    • Search Engine Optimizers and Search Engine Marketers that want to learn about pay per click search marketing and offer PPC campaigns as part of their product offerings.
    • Webmasters or small business owners currently running pay per click campaigns, who want to increase their ad conversion rates and ROI.
    • Search Engine Marketers that already sell pay-per-click search engine marketing campaigns as part of their product offering and want to expand their knowledge to a more advanced level.
    • Persons wanting to achieve a higher return on investment from their search engine marketing campaigns.

    The following skills are required for taking this course:

    • Keyboard skills
    • Search engine usage
    • Internet Browser usage
    • Email usage

    The following skills are recommended for taking this course:

    • Some HTML knowledge
    • Advanced search engine usage

    This course is tutor-supervised with a tutor assigned to guide students through the lesson material and review their assignments.

    *Students who want to receive industry-recognized Search Engine College Certification in Search Engine Optimization must make a 70% overall pass on their quizzes and final exam AND complete set assignments to the satisfaction of their tutor.

    PC REQUIREMENTS

    The following items are required for taking this course:

    The following items are recommended for taking this course:

  • A word processing package such as Microsoft Word or Works
  • A spreadsheet package such as Microsoft Excel or Works
  • A printer (if you want to print lessons rather than read PDF docs online)
  • INSTRUCTORS

    Kalena Jordan
    Kalena Jordan was one of the first search engine optimization experts in Australia and New Zealand and is well known and respected in the search engine industry, particularly in the United States.

    With her in-depth knowledge of Internet marketing techniques and a decade of experience in search engine optimization for client web sites, she decided to specialize and set up her own SEO company (Web Rank) in 1999.

    As well as being Co-Founder of Search Engine College, Kalena is Director of Studies and Tutor for all SEO courses. Her previous roles have included SEO Manager for a web development firm, Public Relations consultant, Freelance web site designer, Marketing Manager for a computer systems firm and five years as Public Relations Advisor to the Royal Thai Government. She has a bachelor of arts in communication from the University of Newcastle, Australia.

    Kalena is a member of SEO Consultants and SEO Pros and has spoken at the popular Search Engine Strategies Conferences. She is also a moderator at the Search Engine Watch Forums. Kalena is the author of The Search Light newsletter and the popular "Ask Kalena..." Search Engine Advice Column.

    Karon Thackston
    Karon Thackston is owner of Marketing Words, Inc., a full-service copywriting company specializing in search engine copywriting. Karon is author and publisher of three ebooks including the popular Step-by-Step Copywriting Course, an e-course designed to teach sound and highly effective copywriting techniques - including search engine copywriting techniques.

    Karon is the copywriting moderator of both the High Rankings Forum and the Best Practices Search Engine Optimization forum. She spoke at the Search Engine Strategies conference in Toronto and is a regular presenter at the High Rankings Search Engine Basics seminars held across the United States.

    With over 20 years of copywriting experience, Karon has contributed to the search engine and sales success of companies large and small including Gorton's Seafood, Third Sphere Hosting, and more.

     

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    Office of Continuing Professional Education
    4400 University Drive, MS 2G2 · Fairfax, Virginia 22030 · 703-993-2109


    If you can't find what you are looking for, please call us at 703-993-2109.
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