Where and How?

You're asking a couple of different things: online marketing, SEO and SEM may cross over in places but they are different things and in terms of occupations they are different as well.

What is it you want to achieve? Without knowing your goal it's a little hard to say one way or the other which way you should go.

What I can say is start with online marketing and work your way into SEO and SEM. Most SEO's I know started with site development and went from there, and there is absolutely no better way to learn SEO than from experience...unless you get an internship with SEOMoz :-)

As you've noted forums are a good way to start. SEO BlackHat forum provides some great advice, although I haven't dropped in lately (so I'm presuming it's still going). Digitalpoint and Sitepoint offer a variety of forums that cover the basics through to more advanced discussions.

The one way I learn about new areas online is to watch and observe people in that space. In your case subscribe to the SEO/ SEM guys in your feedreader, and look at sites they mention. Dissect these sites to find out how they work and why. Forums are good for this as well, particularly sites like DP with the site sales: you can get a good idea of what works based on earnings from sites listed for sale on DP. Again visit the sites, look at the code, do link searches in Google and elsewhere: it's the best way to find out what other people are doing and what works for them.

That was an excellent piece of advice you gave me. Basically I am a Web Designer & Developer (Intermediate), have not much concentrated on Usability & lately. I am presently doing a Post Graduation in E-Commerce and the fields that were introduced are SEM and related one's. It was getting interesting to see how sites and blogs make a best part of the Internet and I thought I should concentrate on SEO & SEM while developing my skills on Web Development as well.

I have been a long time member of SitePoint & DigitalPoint but the point was I never went deep inside the Internet Marketing & Online Business, but now I really feel I have to explore a lot. Thanks so much for your advice and hope this thread should be useful for newbies who want to have their presence in Internet Marketing.

If possible provide some links where one start up with, a basic guide on SEO, SEM should be fair enough and thanks for taking you time on the reply.

Cheers!

Well, I don't know how much it will help you... But my experience might help you.  I got a job in SEO by first building websites on my own and getting them high in the search engines. 

The last couple of jobs and current full time job I have was pretty much all thanks to a site I built for fun called BuySomeHappiness.com.  People seem to get a kick out of outside the box thinking.... and it also shows that I actually really love and am excited about this field.

Also I would suggest you work on branding yourself as an SEO/SEM.  Start a blog about SEO/SEM and perhaps even other sites about who you are and what you can do.  The goal is to put enough stuff out there so that when people do a search for your name the entire first page, or at least the top three spots are about you.  It shows that you know what you're doing and having these sites is another thing to add to your resume.

Hope it helps,
-Wingnut

Hi Wingnut,

Thats was most supporting response to what I was seeking for, thanks so much for that detailed response. I would also wait and see for more such professional responses to enrich.

Cheers!