Why I'm a part of MKE DMC

MKEsearch (now MKE DMC) has been on my mind since I attended the inaugural MN Search meeting in St. Paul back in 2012. As I walked into the Three Deep office I was expecting the normal “marketing meetup” group of random mid-level marketing folks. People who might not know the difference between SEO and PPC…and a few that definitely think PPC stands for paperclip marketing. To my surprise, the room was absolutely packed with PPC and SEO talent from around the Twin Cities, well over 100 people crammed into this standing-room only presentation. I officially joined that night and it almost immediately helped continue to grow my career in SEM and form long-term relationships with some of the best minds in SEM.

So why was I thinking of MKEsearch back then, and in Minnesota? Because I saw the group of people from MN open up and share “secrets” like I never saw before. Having moved from Milwaukee shortly before that, it really contrasted with the competitive and secretive SEM ecosystem that I witnessed in Milwaukee in the early 2000’s. I figured that everyone was like that. I had always blogged, tweeted and just generally spewed “everything PPC” to anyone who wanted to listen. So, this concept of open sharing, learning and teaching as a community really spoke to me.

This new organization is going to be fueled by passionate digital marketing professionals and curious learners alike. From SEM veterans with 10+ years of experience, to recent college grads, to entrepreneurs; MKEsearch will be a welcoming environment to learn, grow and thrive with a pure focus on digital marketing.  

MKEsearch is something that Milwaukee needs. It may not impact 1000’s of people like larger social causes do, but it can certainly impact 100’s of people. And it will hopefully open up a dialog that needs to occur in the Milwaukee search marketing community. We need less kickball. We need more deep talks about geo targeting, audience segmenting and v-lookups. We need a group of peers to push us to the next level of excellence in our SEM practice. I envision that this organization will directly impact individuals and help grow their careers, help them network with likeminded professionals, and really accelerate the growth of the SEM community in the Greater Milwaukee Area.

Viva SEM! Viva MKEsearch!