We take a look at the best magazines covering the search engine marketing scene.

There are those that argue that printing paper based search engine marketing magazines is meaningless, as anyone interested will find their information online anyway.

And, indeed, they can. However, there is much to be said for sitting down in a sofa with a cup of good coffee and read a more comprehensive discussion on how to get search engine results.

There are now several American magazines that cover the search engine scene. Two of them are focusing on the needs of the search engine marketer in particular.

Search Marketing Standard

The Search Engine Marketing standard is covering the whole of the search engine marketing spectrum, from search engine optimization to pay-per-click advertising, taking care of the social web, blogging, certification, SEM fims and much more in the process.

Our original complaint was that the magazine didn’t make enough out of the fact that this is a medium well suited for longer, more in-depth, analysis of relevant topics.

The Search Engine Marketing Standard has listened. The Summer 2007 issue has, for instance, in-depth coverage of available SEM training courses and certification.

The magazine has also managed to develop a good balance between help for beginners (often skipped by professionals) and advanced analysis for seasoned search engine marketers (skipped by beginners).

Another interesting development since the birth if this magazine, has been the development of the Web site. The Search Engine Marketing standard site is now a blog in its own right, with a lot of freely available content.

Yearly subscription to the magazine starts at $15 for 1 year/4 issues for US-based readers and $20 for international subscribers (shipping included). It is worth it.

The Search Engine Marketing Standard web site

Website Magazine

Website Magazine has taken the online prescence approach to another level, as it publishes an animated version on the magazine itself that can be read in your browser.

The magazine itself takes a somewhat broader apporach to website development, in that it is not only covering search engine marketing.

Examples of other topics are site security, content management systems, domain registration, hosting and more. However, given that The Search Engine Marketing Standard also goes beyon SEM in its purest sense, the two magazines are not that different.

There are in-depth studies of relevant topics (like “Going Social” on the social Web) as well as practical hands-on search engine marketing advice (How-to guide to redirects and htaccess). Experts are interviews, others are asked to contribute with articles.

The subsription is free. Website Magazine is clearly counting on advertising and direct marketing to generate revenue.

Website Magazine web site

Both the Search Engine Marketing Standard and Website Magazine have become highly professional and informative publications that will be of benefit to most people involved in the search engine marketing business, as well as to amateurs trying to learn more about search engine marketing on their own.

The only ones that will probably not learn so much here, are those that have been in the trade for ages. They may, however, use the magazines to teach colleagues and clients.

There are also other magazines that might be of interest to webmasters and others interested in search engine marketing:

Revenue

Revenue calls itself “The Performance Marketing Standard” and covers online marketing, including key business strategies, online advertising techniques, emerging advertising trends in technology and more.

We have found interesting articles on web metrics, alternative search engines and more.

Revenue web site

Domainer’s Magazine

Yes, domaining has become an industry on its own focusing on the art of using domain name registration for marketing purposes.

Given that many domainers use domains in combination with search engine optimization and pay per click advertising to generate revenue, you will find SEM relevant information here.

Here are a few examples of relevant articles: “PPC Fraud. Who it hurts and how to combat it”, “Tertiary Kewyords, Primary Importance” and “The Future of Pay-Per-Click”.

Domainer’s Magazine web site

Direct

Direct calls itself “The Information Resource for Direct Marketers”.

You may not think that there is any overlap between “old fashioned direct marketing” (using snail mail) and Web 2.0 savvy Internet marketers, but there is. This is, after all, all about communication and selling.

Anyway, the magazine also covers search engine oriented articles, and has separate columns or “channels” for email and the web.

The web site has a separate category for posts on search engine marketing.

Direct magazine web site

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