Overture Accreditation Officially Launches.

[MakeMeTop]

They have accredited 6 SEM companies and 4 media agencies. The aim is to curtail rogue resellers who try and con Joe Public with waffle about 'special relationships' and deals on key terms etc.

Interesting to see how it pans out.

http://www.overture.com/d/UKm/specials/makemetop.jhtml




(Moved by Doug. Barry is very shy about this great thing! I decided to move this thread out into the public so everyone can see what Barry has accomplished. Also, a very good step by Overture and it's my hope other regular search engines will follow suit. :) )

[Advisor]

Good info, MMT. And congrats on being one of the chosen few!

:cheers:

Jill

[MakeMeTop]

Thanks, Jill. Hats off to the people in Overture UK who got the scheme approved by Overture US. I thought it may have been squashed through fear of lawsuits!

We did have to sign a pretty substantial document - but bottom line it is all about not misrepresenting what we do, providing clients with a decent service and explaining how Overture listings work as part of the SEM mix.

In return we get the accreditation logo to display which links to the accreditation page on Overture. This shows that Overture confirm the accreditation. We also get stuff that we can use on printed material and a rather fancy certificate!

Overture are also recommending/passing leads to accredited companies.

Hopefully, this scheme will be emulated by other search related organisations and spread beyond the UK.

Also, interestingly, the other SEOs who got this were not the big companies like Outrider, NetBooster or other 'big name' UK companies but were people about our size. One of them is literally a 1 person operation but made the grade (rightfully so). All were companies I would have no hesitation in recommending to potential clients if I couldn't take on a job. So (IMHO) they did their selection quite well and not in the way one might expect them to do it.

[Advisor]

Barry, you should definitely put out a press release about this. It's very big news for you, and you might as well show it off!

Again, well done!

<added>I'm sure Robert Clough would run the release in SEG!

Jill

[MsSearch]

Congrats MMT!! :cheers:

[Blue]

:cheers:

[Kal]

Very, very well done Barry! :thumb:

[Alan Perkins]

Congrats, MMT :cheers:

[WebSavvy]

Well Done. Congrats Barry! :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

[Matt B]

Very nice - congratulations!

:cheers:

[scottiecl]

Good for you! and good for Overture for taking steps in the right direction!

:)

[ihelpyou]

VERY good stuff Barry!! :cheers:

More to hopefully come in the future from at least one other search engine. ;)

[MakeMeTop]

Thanks, everyone - but I've really done nothing different to the work we all do here for clients apart from use Overture since the beginning. The way they detected who were 'good' and who were 'not so good' or downright 'bad' is the way that SEOs who use them manage bids and terms. It is pretty easy for them to spot who manipulates bids for short term 'ranking' benefits or does other dodgy tricks. What shocked me (and them) is how many people do this.

All I've done is try to deliver the best ROI to my clients and (in many instances) this has reduced their spend on Overture and PPC engines generally - hence my congratulations to Overture for looking towards their long-term reputation rather than short term profits.

I'll do a Press Release today, Jill and send it around. We'll see who picks up on it.

[robertclough]

I'm sure Robert Clough would run the release in SEG!

Barry, please do send something my way.