A few search engine marketers have come together to present the SEM Challenge, which is described as a project for the search engine marketing community to use their online skills to make a real difference in the offline world.
The initiative is working with charity organization FORGE, which works with displaced communities in Africa. The challenge itself is to meet their budget gap of $100,000 through a pro-bono SEM campaign designed to increase awareness and donations.
“Over the last few years, SEM community has often come together to address various social causes or raise money for charities – particularly during this time of year,” Boris Mordkovich, who brought the project to my attention tells me. “This year, non-profit organizations and charities have been hit particularly hard and many of them are facing financial difficulties threatening their ability to continue operations. So, a couple of weeks ago, a small group of search engine marketing professionals have decided to make a difference and come together to help a charity in need.”
“The marketers – 4 people in total – have been putting in a tremendous amount of work and effort into this already and will continue to do so into the new year,” says Mordkovich. “I just figured that it’s a nice testament to how our community can come together and work to accomplish good, selfless goals. And I hope that if this is successful this year, we’ll be able to repeat it again next year with a different charity and more people onboard.”
At the time of this writing, they are up to over $3,000. The hundred-day challenge lasts until the end of February 2009.
