Chris Boggs
SEW Experts: Don’t Believe Everything You Read
Would you make a life or death decision about caring for a sick infant based solely on blog advice, or even WebMD? Would you decide on a retirement strategy by reading a few blog posts or a forum discussion? Probably not. Yet, some marketers choose to base their search marketing strategies on blog posts. In today’s SEM Crossfire column, “Don’t Believe Everything You Read,” Chris Boggs and Frank Watson remind you not to take the information you find online as gospel.
SEW Experts: Battling Click Fraud is Important for All Involved
Every pay-per-click advertiser sees the presence of click fraud, as does every search engine. We’re just disagreeing about the numbers. In today’s SEM Crossfire column, “Battling Click Fraud is Important for All Involved,” Frank Watson and Chris Boggs remind us that both sides need to acknowledge that a certain level of click fraud exists, and work together to diminish its impact.
SEW Experts: A Linking Strategy Is About More Than Just Quality Content
Some SEOs seem to think that all you need to do to get good links is to build quality content, but improving the quality and quantity of your inbound links doesn’t rest on the shoulders of good content alone. In today’s SEM Crossfire column, “A Linking Strategy Is About More Than Just Quality Content,” Chris Boggs and Frank Watson remind you to spend the time to develop a sound linking strategy, or no one will ever find your quality content.
It’s “Horses for Courses” at SES London 2009
A year ago, I wrote an article for Search Engine Watch entitled, “It’s ‘Horses for Courses’ at SES London.” In the article, I said business professionals may want to bring a team to Search Engine Strategies London – because there will be three concurrent conference tracks and no business professional will be able to attend all of the sessions.
Well, it’s a year later and I’d make the same case – even in a recession. In fact, if you need to grow your business online now more than ever, then the smart move will be to bring a team of three people to SES London 2009.
To some extent, this is a case of “In for a penny, in for a pound.” If something is worth doing, then you might as well go the whole nine yards.
But it also turns out that it has economic benefits. If you read the rates and registration details closely, you’ll see that there are Special Group Discounts. (First two conference registrants pay full price, the third person from the same organization, registering at the same time qualifies for 50% off their registration fee.)
And sending a team of three people will enable you to take advantage of the fact that the SEM conference includes advanced sessions, intermediate sessions, and beginner sessions. And this will enable your organization to put different “horses” on different “courses.”
For example, someone entering the SEM steeplechase for the first time will race through the the Fundamentals Track on Wednesday, Feb. 18, as well as the Beyond Fundamentals Track on Thursday, Feb. 19.
Meanwhile, someone who’s been around the SEO racecourse a few times will gallop through the Organic Track on Tuesday, and the Issues and Tactics Track on Thursday.
To extend the metaphor, someone who already knows how to harness PPC will be trotting through the Advertising Track on Wednesday, as well as the Improve Me Track on Thursday.
How can I be so sure? Well, I’ve been speaking at Search Engine Strategies London each and every year since 2005. And when I wasn’t speaking, I was sitting in on sessions to report on the conference for Search Engine Watch.
If you’ve never been to SES London before and want to get an idea of what you’ll see and hear, you can take a look at the descriptions below of half a dozen out of more than 40 sessions — as well as some video interviews with six the more than 60 conference speakers.
Let’s start with a couple of the advanced sessions first.
Search Advertising Tools: In order to get a leg up on the competition, successful Search Engine Marketers need to be armed with the latest tools of the trade. This session will explore a range of popular search engine advertising tools along with some important features you should be aware of. One of the speakers on the panel of experts will be Thomas Bindl, Founder & CEO, Refined Labs GmbH.
Byron Gordon of SEO-PR interviewed Thomas about the evolution of search ad tools during SES Chicago 2008. Thomas mentioned the best paid and free search ad tools on the net and provided a preview of SES London 2009.
Thomas Bindl, Refined Labs, on search ad tools and SES London 2009
Ads in a Quality Score World: More and more, ranking well in paid search listings is less about how much you pay and more about the “quality” of your ad campaign. But what goes into making up your quality score? One of the speakers on this panel will be Andrew Goodman, Principal, Page Zero Media.
As SES Chicago 2008, I interviewed Andrew about the updates he made to his book, “Winning Results with Google Adwords.” His book take a closer look at quality factors and gives tips on increasing the perceived relevancy of your campaign.
Andrew Goodman, Page Zero Media, on Google Adwords at SES Chicago 2008
Next, let’s take a look at a couple of the intermediate sessions:
Search Resources: Building a Better Economic Model: In today’s uncertain economic times, businesses need certainty around their marketing and sales initiatives. Measurable, quantifiable strategies which have a defined ROI will win, as managers will only invest in activities they can measure. One of the speakers on this panel will be Bryan Eisenberg, Co-Founder, Future Now, Inc.
Mitch Joel of Twist Image and Six Pixels of Separation interviewed Bryan at SES Toronto 2008. Bryan was the talked about his keynote presentation as well as his new book, “Always Be Testing: The Complete Guide to Google Website Optimizer.”
Bryan Eisenberg on Site Metrics and Optimization
SEO Through Blogs & Feeds: Not yet running a blog? Not syndicating your content through web feeds? Then you’re missing out on an important area that can help your overall SEO efforts. One of the speakers on this panel is Jennifer Evans Laycock, Editor-in-Chief, Search Engine Guide.
At SES San Jose, 2008, Andrew Goodman interviewed Jennifer about the best tips on viral campaigns and social media marketing, especially for small business who want to make the most of their business online without spending too much money.
Small Business Viral Marketing Tips, SES San Jose 2008
Finally, let’s take a look at a couple of the beginner sessions:
Search Engine Friendly Design: How can you build a website from the ground up that pleases both crawler-based search engines and your visitors? Discover how “search engine-friendly” design can tap into free traffic from search engines. One of the speakers at this session is Matt Bailey, President, SiteLogic.
As SES Chicago, Chris Boggs of Rosetta interviewed Matt about difference between Analytics 1.0 and Analytics 2.0. Matt said Analytics 1.0 is the endless reporting of numbers with no analysis of the data, while Analytics 2.0 digs into the “why and how” to better understand what the data means.
Matthew Bailey, SiteLogic on 1.0 and 2.0 Analytics at SES Chicago
Search Advertising 101: Paid placement is a form of search advertising that provides a top ranking in return for payment. Every major search engine offers a paid placement program. The moderator of this session, which is especially geared toward beginners, will be Andy Atkins-Krüger, Managing Director, WebCertain Europe Ltd.
Byron Gordon interviewed Andyat SES Chicago 2008 about that show as well as his expectations for SES London 2009. Andy also talked about the state of search in Europe for 2009.
Andy Atkins-Kruger, WebCertain, discusses SES Chicago and SES London 2009
In other words, there are courses for horses at SES London 2009. That’s what makes it the definitive event for UK and European marketers, corporate decision makers, webmasters and search engine marketing (SEM) specialists, including pay per click (PPC) advertisers and search engine optimization (SEO) consultants.
SEW Experts: We’re All Convertibles, And It’s Time to Take the Top Down!
Many of us are still looking at the Web through a narrow perspective of search. If we think in terms of what search is — not as it exists online, but what motivates it, how it can be answered, and what happens when it truly is delivered — there may be an answer on where the industry is headed and how to be successful in it. In today’s SEM Crossfire column, “We’re All Convertibles, And It’s Time to Take the Top Down!,” Frank Watson and Chris Boggs discuss the future of search marketing accountability.
SEW Experts: Porn and Gambling: Canaries in the SEM Coal Mine?
Many advances in marketing on the Web are the result of spending by the profitable and competitive porn and gambling industries. In today’s SEM Crossfire column, “Porn and Gambling: Canaries in the SEM Coal Mine?,” Frank Watson and Chris Boggs explore recent lawsuits in both industries that might help us again, by pointing out some specific areas for marketers to keep an eye on.
SEW Experts: SEO During E-Commerce Application Development
E-commerce applications for Web sites can take thousands of hours to build, and require patience and determination on the part of the organization. As with large-scale Web site designs and redesigns, putting search engine optimization off until after the fact can be a costly mistake. In today’s Search Marketing Crossfire column, “SEO During E-Commerce Application Development,” Chris Boggs and Frank Watson look at what it takes to make an application SEO-friendly vs. optimized.
SEW Experts: Google’s New Tools for Site Link Strengthening
Both Matt Cutts and the Google Webmaster Central team recently turned their focus on helping sites address 404 error pages, which don’t pass link authority and negatively impact the user experience. In today’s SEM Crossfire column, “Google’s New Tools for Site Link Strengthening,” Frank Watson and Chris Boggs discuss the new tools Google has created to assist site owners and SEOs with a quick way to improve a site’s overall impact on search results.
SEW Experts: Is Your SEM Truly Looking at Search Holistically?
To achieve SERP nirvana, your search engine optimization and paid search efforts must have the same goal. In today’s Search Marketing Crossfire column, “Is Your SEM Truly Looking at Search Holistically?,” Chris Boggs and Frank Watson offer five important questions to make sure your potential search vendors view search holistically when updating ongoing strategy and planning considerations.
SEW Experts: Charity Events: Search With a Cause
Our industry affords us a pretty good living — the people are friendly and helpful for the most part — and the work is interesting. We should have no problems digging into our pockets occasionally to give to charity. In today’s SEM Crossfire column, “Charity Events: Search With a Cause,” Frank Watson and Chris Boggs share your next opportunity to do so: next Monday in New York.
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