Search Engine Marketing Taxonomy

What's it look like?

[pageoneresults]

If you were to create a Taxonomy based on "all of the services" offered under the search engine marketing umbrella, what would it look like? Keeping in mind that SEO is a subset of SEM and will have its own taxonomy under SEM.

For example, would these be top level categories under the SEM umbrella? If so, what would be under those levels? How far down, and how horizontal does it get?

Search Engine Marketing > Accessibility
Search Engine Marketing > Analytics
Search Engine Marketing > Application Development
Search Engine Marketing > Brand Management
Search Engine Marketing > Consulting
Search Engine Marketing > Content Development
Search Engine Marketing > Graphic Design
Search Engine Marketing > PPC
Search Engine Marketing > SEO
Search Engine Marketing > Usability

What am I up to? I'd like to see a logical classification of services that are offered under the SEM umbrella. What top level categories am I missing besides Link Development? Exactly how many hats are we wearing these days? Does something reside above the SEM level? Do I have the classifications wrong? Should Application Development not fall under SEM? Should Graphic Design not fall under SEM? What's your "hat rack" look like? And no, I'm not referring to white, grey or black either. :)

[caveman]

Interesting topic, to me at least. With directories, it so often depends on one's perspective and the starting point of the directory.

For example, regarding this branch:
Search Engine Marketing > Brand Management

... I view the highest order organization quite differently, more like:
Business > Marketing > Brand Management

Under Marketing, in addtion to Brand Management, one might find:
Business > Marketing > Brand Management
Business > Marketing > Research
Business > Marketing > Advertising
Business > Marketing > Media

Brand Management and Media are entirely different functions, and break into their own branches at a relatively high level in the business planning process. Then, within the Media branch for example, a deep dive into Search might look like:

Business > Marketing > Media > Internet > Search > Organic
Business > Marketing > Media > Internet > Search > PPC

Primary point being that generally speaking, Brand Management is a much higher order function than Search Engine Marketing. Brand management, done right, is largely resolved in conjunction with other high order priorities like product, pricing and distribution ... before Search Engine Marketing is even considered. Search engine marketing takes its cues from business objectives, marketing objectives, and branding guidelines. Otherwise it's the tail wagging the dog.

However, back to the notion of directory structures depending upon one's starting point ... if the the highest order topic for the site is SEM, then branding should at least be touched upon in that site, and one might need to list Brand Management under SEM. But that would be inverted relative to normal business planning and operations, and only make sense if SEM is THE highest order topic of the site.

[jimbeetle]

Every time I kick this around in my head I wind up chasing my tail. I see the top levels as something like this:

Internet Marketing > Advertising
Internet Marketing > Public Relations
Internet Marketing > Promotions
Internet Marketing > Search Engine Marketing
Internet Marketing > Affiliate Marketing
Internet Marketing > Site Architecture & Development
Internet Marketing > Analytics & Research

The first four categories are a bit problematic since each of the strategies is in itself used by each one and are so interdependent. A 'clean' taxonomy might look something like this (illustrative only, not meant to be exhaustive):

Internet Marketing > Advertising > Banner Advertising
Internet Marketing > Advertising > Text Ad Advertising

Internet Marketing > Public Relations > Press Relations
Internet Marketing > Public Relations > Community Relations
Internet Marketing > Public Relations > Brand Management
Internet Marketing > Public Relations > Social Media Marketing

Internet Marketing > Promotions > Contests
Internet Marketing > Promotions > Couponing

Internet Marketing > Search Engine Marketing > Partnerships
Internet Marketing > Search Engine Marketing > PPC
Internet Marketing > Search Engine Marketing > Gadgets
Internet Marketing > Search Engine Marketing > SEO
Internet Marketing > Search Engine Marketing > SEO > On-page optimization
Internet Marketing > Search Engine Marketing > SEO > Off-page Factors > Link Development

And I would put these under a separate category:

Internet Marketing > Site Architecture & Development > Application Development
Internet Marketing > Site Architecture & Development > Content Development
Internet Marketing > Site Architecture & Development > Design
Internet Marketing > Site Architecture & Development > Accessibility
Internet Marketing > Site Architecture & Development > Usability

Analytics & Research are used across the board, should probably be in its own category.

I was just going to go on and chase my tail again, I think I'll stop now before I confuse myself.

<added>Added 'Research' to 'Analytics' after reading caveman's post</added>

[caveman]

Hey jimbeetle, nice post.

It is so easy to get tangled up. More on my top down vs. bottom up line of thinking...

In your list, again PR and advertising are subsets of Internet Marketing. But if we take just the example of a major brand with offline and online marketing activity, the first order of decision making regarding advertising would be: IS there an ad budget at all? If so, which media vehicles will be budgeted? (Over time, the Internet is gaining ground at this point in the decision/budgeting process.) I

Then, if Internet-based options are budgeted, how will the money be further divided? (For the longest time banners and PPC got the lion's share; lately the move as been to Organic SEO, as PPC costs have skyrocketed.)

So maybe a good hierarchy takes into account the higher order nature of business decision making first, i.e., not all parts of the tree start at SEM.

OTOH, that isn't universal either. For Web-only business, the bottom up, inverted approach may make the most sense, even though it's opposite to how large offline/online businesses approach the process. For Web only businesses, no discussion of Internet Marketing is complete without the normally higher order topics like advertising and PR being covered.

So maybe the nature of the hierarchy needs to start with the nature of the business? Offline/online versus online only. The two really are quite different. Online only doesn't usually spend much time considering offline marketing. Whoops. That's changing too. Dang it. ;-)