Erik Dafforn  When SEM Needs to Back Off    |  April 29, 2009 
 |  Comments  As search engine marketers, we sometimes find it
hard to slip the surly bonds of TCP/IP and realize that, as
vendors, our primary goal is the overall success of the client,
not simply the online success of the client.  That means making
hard choices that may not always benefit us in the short term.
In the long term, however, they usually do.  At times, it's
smart to objectively look at your recommendations and be
prepared to step back if necessary.  The Pecking Order of
Traffic Sources  When you argue for a certain type of change to
site architecture, it's smart to know at the beginning of the
conversation how much clout you have. This is almost certainly
determined by the amount of revenue the SEM (define) program
generates for the company overall. Assuming all traffic converts
at the same rate (I know, it doesn't always), it boils down to a
simple equation: as an SEM professional, your influence on site
decisions is directly propor