UK SEM Group Gears Up for Elections

The working group for the Search Marketing Association UK (SMA-UK) has exceeded its initial membership and financial goals and is now in the process of formally launching the trade organization and electing an executive committee.

“We initially gave it six months, so we’re two months ahead of schedule,” said Barry Lloyd, acting president of SMA-UK. “We’ve had a tremendous amount of interest.”

The group decided when it launched in October that it needed to register more than 50 corporate and individual members in the first six months to be financially viable, and to meet UK government regulations for trade associations. Now that it has exceeded that target, it will register as a trade association with the UK’s Department of Trade & Industry next week. The group launched as an alternative to the US-based Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO).

The next step for SMA-UK is to hold elections for an eight-member executive committee, and then to elect a president and vice president from among those eight committee members. Nominations will be accepted until March 31, with elections to follow at the end of May.

The working group will also begin its search for a professional administrator, who will be responsible for such things as running the day-to-day business, accounting, and government and public relations. The group decided against having members run the organization, both to take advantage of the expertise of a professional trade association administrator and to prevent conflicts of interest among members.

“If we wish to be seen as a viable trade association, we should not be seen in a position where members are batting their own wickets, putting down their own rules and guidelines for the betterment of their own business,” Lloyd said. “Having an independent arbiter and spokesperson for the association makes it a lot more healthy and above board.”

SMA-UK will be updating its Web site with new information, both about the organization and search marketing in general. A sub-group has been formed to develop content and solicit content from members for the site. A training program is also being developed.

The group has also begun a conversation with the British Standards Institute, which deals with things like ISO-9000 certification in the UK. That group has agreed to work with the SMA-UK to define professional standards for its members, such as structure of contracts and accountability norms.

“These are professional business standards, not a black-hat/white-hat discussion,” Lloyd said.

The group has also been busy working with other regional SMA organization, like Europe’s SMA-EU and the North American SMA-NA, which launched in January. Search marketers from other regions have been working with SMA-UK to begin the process of starting a group in their region.