Here is yet another cool use of the Google Maps API. Earlier this week, Search Engine Watch Forums moderator Elisabeth Osmelowski created a Google map showing where hundreds of search engine optimizers and marketers are located.

The map is open for SEO/SEM practitioners to place a marker on their city or region. As of the time of this writing, 265 search marketers had identified themselves and their location. After reading their writing and looking at their work, it is sort of interesting to see where our colleagues are located.

Our firm, StepForth Placement is located in Victoria British Columbia, at the southern end of Vancouver Island off the west coast of Canada. Aside from being one of the most beautiful places on the planet, it is the home to three well known search marketing experts from three different ends of the SEM spectrum.

Jensense is known as one of the world’s leading authorities on paid search advertising and is the author of the highly popular JenSense blog.

Todd “Oilman” Friesen is very well regarded as one of the nicest “blackhats” (or is he a whitehat today?) in the SEO industry and is a host of the popular Webmasterradio.fm broadcasts.

And then there is us, the lil’ ol’ StepForth team. Located deep in the heart of downtown Victoria, StepForth Placement is one of the oldest and most established SEO firms operating on the Internet.

The map application is interesting, especially for those of us in the industry who rarely get the opportunity to meet each other in person. It is also interesting as it shows how easy it is to create an application that attracts visitors and keeps them coming back.