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You don’t need to read most of the 10 top stories from Day 4 of SES Chicago 2008. You can watch them. In fact, one of the photos that I hope someone took the week was the battery of online video crews interviewing speakers between sessions.

The rest of the coverage from the only major Search Marketing Conference and Expo in the Midwest was provided by online journalists and bloggers. In fact, the “dog that didn’t bark” at Search Engine Strategies was the print media. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but the Chicago Tribune filed for bankruptcy this week. And earlier this month, PC Magazine decided to go “all digital.”

I don’t know about you, but I think I saw the future of journalism this past week – and it was already “all digital.”

Personalizing Video Analytics for Campaign Success – Interview with Omniture’s CEO Josh James
ReelSEO’s Contributing Reporter Erika Blackwell interviewed Josh James, CEO and Co-Founder of the online analytics and business optimization firm Omniture. Erika spoke with Josh after his keynote presentation at Search Engine Strategies Chicago, Avoiding the Chasm of “Anticipointment, and asked him, is it possible to do a video ad campaign that offers personalized, relevant online experience for each visitor, and how could it be tracked?

SES Chicago: Profitable Opportunities for CPG Marketers
Abby Johnson of the WebProNews Video Blog interviewed Eli Goodman, Search Evangelist for ComScore, who says 73% of searchers are now becoming more specific with their search queries and are looking for information and help. She adds, “Although these observations strengthen a paid strategy, comScore is seeing a shift in traffic to social media enhancers such as Yahoo! Answers, Google Blogger, and About.com.

Paid Links: A Black Hat/White Hat Discussion
Kevin Newcomb of Search Engine Watch writes, “Those expecting a knock-down, drag-out brawl at the ‘Black Hat/White Hat’ session at SES Chicago may have left a bit disappointed. It looked like the sparks could fly, with Dave Naylor, director of search marketing at Bronco, and Todd Friesen, VP of search at Position Technologies there representing the black hat side, and Eric Enge, president of Stone Temple Consulting and Doug Heil, owner of ihelpyou there defending the white hat side. But, as Friesen so eloquently said, ‘As it turns out, Doug’s actually a nice guy.’”

Gary Stein on Battle of the Browsers
I interviewed Gary Stein, the Director of Strategy at Ammo Marketing, who elaborates on search engine data analysis after the heated SES Chicago Orion Panel “Battle of the Browsers- Personalization or Privacy.”

SES Chicago: SEO Through Blogs and Feeds
Lee Odden of the Online Marketing Blog writes, “Yesterday I presented at SES Chicago in a session on SEO Through Blogs and Feeds with Stephan Spencer and Sally Falkow. I went first and presented the slideshow embedded below, a presentation in two parts:
1. Why blogs created solely for SEO purposes will inevitably fail.
2. Tips on how to create a successfully optimized company blog that will last.”

Lawrence Lessig at SES Chicago 2008
Sage Lewis of SageRock.com talks about Lawrence Lessig, a professor of law at Stanford Law School and founder of its Center for Internet and Society. Lessig, who was the opening keynote speaker at SES Chicago, is also a founding board member of Creative Commons. According to Sage, Lessig “sheds some really provocative insight into the world of copywrite and how it is negatively affecting today’s culture.”

Blogging To Build Buzz About Your Business
Mike Sachoff of WebProNews writes, “While blogs are now considered mainstream with more businesses using them to get their message out, just how are they building buzz online? The SES session ‘Blogging For Business’ has the answers.”

SES Chicago 2008: Sally Falkow and Shari Thurow
Sally Falkow of ExpansionPlus and Shari Thurow of Omni Marketing Interactive discuss content syndication, link development, and news search optimization at the 2008 Search Engine Strategies Conference and Expo in Chicago.

YouTube’s Guitar Hero
Anna Maria Virzi of ClickZ writes, “As a marketer, what YouTube video do you wish you had dreamed up? I posed that question to participants of the SES Chicago panel, ‘The Next Wave for Online Video,’ which I moderated yesterday. Gregory Markel, founder/president, Infuse Creative, pointed to this one featuring JerryC, which has 55 million page views and counting. It’s snagged the number-two spot on Google’s search engine results page for the search term ‘guitar,’ appearing higher than Gibson, Fender, and Guitar Hero.”

Jordan Kasteler: PocketCam Interview at SES
Manny Rivas of the aimClear Blog writes, “Yesterday at SES Chicago 2008 I met up with Jordan Kasteler a.k.a Utah SEO Pro. Not one to miss a cool opportunity, I whipped out my pocketCam to ask him a few questions. At age 26, Jordan has made quite a name in the search community and consistently contributes valuable content and thought-leadership that can’t be overlooked.”

Okay, so I’m an old Beatles fan. But there are lots of very current reasons why retailers should consider becoming day trippers to Search Engine Strategies Chicago next week.

Hidden in plain sight on the rates & registration details page is this nifty option: “One-Day Package” for SES conference sessions is $895. I’m not making this up. Check it out for yourself.

And which day might a retailer consider being a day tripper? Check out the SES Chicago Agenda Overview and retailers will see two options.

The first is Tuesday, Dec. 9. You can start with the morning keynote presentation by Bill Tancer, General Manager of Global Research at Hitwise and author of “Click: What Millions of People Are Doing Online and Why It Matters.”

Bill is going to talk primarily about what search term data can tell us about the economy and consumer sentiment. He’ll also spend some time on finding insights on the effect of an economic downturn on search. You could get an ROI on your day trip just by attending the keynote.

But wait! There’s more!

Tuesday features a Retailer Track. There are three sessions focused on:

Squeeze More Sales Out of Your Existing Online Campaigns
Given the economic downturn, learn how companies are using the latest tools, like Google Website Optimizer and others, to maximize online sales without increasing their ad spend. Three internet retailing companies will discuss how they are increasing the ROI of their ad campaigns in these tight budgetary times.
• Moderator: Kayden Kelly, CEO, Blast Advanced Media
• Speakers:
Chris Benson, CTO, AudioEditions.com
Todd Curry, VP of Marketing, ifbyphone
Sandra Niehaus, VP, User Experience and Creative Director, Closed Loop Marketing

Google Site Search: Fast, Relevant, Customized Search Results for Your Website
Over the past decade, website search has increased in importance from a technical feature to a core marketing and sales asset. End-users are increasingly losing patience with multiple navigation options on websites and are looking to search as the answer. To this end, Google’s Nitin Mangtani will be discussing how customers are using Google Site Search to grow their businesses and how you can do the same for yours in this sponsored session.

A Case Study From American Greetings: Rethinking Optimization
What happens when you combine thousands of keywords across 2 engines with 3 products and a single, optimized landing page? Nothing much really. In this session, attendees will learn how American Greetings became post-click marketing mavens by discovering the inherent value of AdGroup-level testing and iteration for increased lift. American Greetings and ion interactive will explain how and why they moved from a single optimized landing page to testing over 40 landing pages tightly matched to each individual search AdGroup–enabling them to deliver the right content to the right people in the most compelling format. Attendees will hear real American Greetings examples — what worked and what didn’t — that achieved increased engagement, increased conversions and increased behavioral data that impacted their bottom line. Session takeaways include best practices for running simple, high-impact A/B tests that any front-line marketer can easily implement and understand.
• Moderator: Rebecca Lieb, Contributing Editor, ClickZ
• Speakers:
Tessa Fraser, Marketing Manager, Online Media, American Greetings
Anna Talerico, Executive Vice President, ion interactive

Now, if retailers have a conflict on Tuesday, then they should check out what’s being offered on Wednesday, Dec. 10.

The morning starts with a keynote by Josh James, President and Chief Executive Officer of Omniture. The title of his presentation is “Avoiding the Chasm of ‘Anticipointment’” To drive to the next level of conversion and optimization, Josh thinks it’s time for online marketers to consider the entire marketing value chain and bridge the gap between ads and a personalized, relevant online experience for each visitor.

Then there is a Vertical and Retail Track that features sessions on:

Advanced B2B
Forget consumers. You want leads! Leads that become opportunities that convert into booked business! Join our seasoned panel of B2B marketing professionals as they share the latest tips and trends in using search to find those niche decision-makers that drive your business.
• Moderator: Aaron Kahlow, Chairman & Founder, Online Marketing Summit
• Speakers:
Karen Breen Vogel, President and CEO, ClearGauge
Patricia Hursh, President & Founder, SmartSearch Marketing
Adam S. Goldberg, Chief Innovation Officer, Clearsaleing

Getting Vertical Search Right
The need for specialized search capabilities has never been more prevalent than it is today. Established leaders and experts in vertical search application and execution will discuss the state of the industry, positive and negative experiences, and best practices for answering needs of today’s demanding searchers.
• Moderator: Elisabeth Osmeloski, Founder, AdventuresinSearch.com
• Speakers:
Paul Forster, CEO, Indeed
John Ellis, Senior Online Marketing Manager, ResortQuest
Jeff Tinsley, CEO, Reunion.com

Shopping Search Tactics
Learn how content from your e-commerce or merchant site can – and should! – be included in shopping search engines.
• Moderator: Brian A. Smith, Analyst, ComparisonEngines
• Speakers:
Greg Hintz, General Manager, Yahoo! Shopping
Jonathan Ashton, VP of SEO & Web Analytics, Agency.com
Dave Moran, Sr. Manager Search Marketing, Performics
Aaron Shear, Partner, Boost Search Marketing

In House: Lessons Learned & Victories Won
As Search Engine Marketing (SEM) grows in popularity, many companies are attempting to handle the SEM function in-house despite the inherent complexity and challenges. Join us for a spirited discussion and get a chance to meet some of these intrepid do-it-yourselfers behind the in-house movement, as we debate the pros and cons of developing and training a dedicated in-house team. Laying the foundation for in-house SEO success, long-term cost savings, gaining project support at the executive level, leveraging innate knowledge and creating accountability are just some of the topics to be discussed.
• Moderator: William Flaiz, VP, Search Engine Optimization & Web Analytics, Razorfish
• Speakers:
Olivier Lemaignen, Group Manager, Global Search Marketing, Intuit
Jessica Bowman, SEO Strategist & in-house SEO Expert, SEMinhouse.com
Maura Ginty, Senior Web Manager, Web Content Team, Autodesk, Inc.
Mark Ruzomberka, Traffic.com

Oh, and the exhibit hall also happen to be open Tuesday and Wednesday, so retailers can what’s new on the show floor.

I think these are some pretty compelling reasons why retailers should consider becoming day trippers to SES Chicago next week. Of course, I’ve got a ticket to ride for the entire week. So, I also think there are some pretty compelling reasons for attending the entire conference and expo.

Omniture has agreed to acquire the site search and merchandising assets of Mercado. Already a partner of Omniture, Mercado’s tools were previously integrated with Omniture SiteCatalyst through Omniture Genesis.

“Omniture is the top supplier of Web analytics to the retail industry and this acquisition extends our leadership further into merchandising,” said Josh James, CEO and co-founder of Omniture. “The macro environment has created a great opportunity for us to acquire assets that we have been interested in for some time at a great value for our stockholders.”

Last month, Omniture launched its SiteSearch product, a hosted site search product picked up via its Visual Sciences acquisition, which was completed January of this year.

The keynote speakers for Search Engine Strategies Chicago have just been posted to the website for the SEM conference. And check out the heavy hitters:
• Lawrence Lessig, the Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, is giving the opening keynote on Monday, Dec. 8;
• Bill Tancer, the General Manager of Global Research at Hitwise, is giving the morning keynote on Tuesday, Dec. 9; and
• Josh James, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Omniture, is giving the morning keynote on Wednesday, Dec. 10.

That’s quite a line up. Or, as my good friend Anne Kennedy, the Managing Partner of Beyond Ink and a member of the SES Advisory Board, says, whether you’re a “seasoned search maven or hopeful newbie, you’ll find speakers who share expertise, new research, horizon’s edge views and knuckles-in-the code tactics” at SES Chicago.

Take Professor Lessig, for example. For much of his career, he has focused on law and technology, especially as it affects copyright. He is the author of Code v2 (2007), Free Culture (2004), The Future of Ideas (2001) and Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace (1999). He was also a columnist for Wired, Red Herring, and the Industry Standard.

According to a recent article by Kim Heart in The Washington Post, Professor Lessig is among the signers of a letter that went to the Barack Obama and John McCain campaigns. The letter was also signed by Craigslist founder Craig Newmark and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.

The letter asked the candidates to insist on using a new method to choose debate questions. While that job is usually left to the media host, the members of the “Open Debate Coalition” say they aren’t “hard-hitting enough.”

Instead, they want to let people submit questions, then vote on their favorites, over the Internet. The top 25 questions would have the potential of getting asked during the debates.

“This cycle’s YouTube debates were a milestone for Internet participation in presidential debates,” the letter said. “But they put too much discretion in the hands of gatekeepers. Many of the questions chosen by TV producers were considered gimmicky… and never would have bubbled up on their own.”

So, do you think what Professor Lessig says at SES Chicago will be on the mid-term? All I know is that I can’t wait for the Q&A following his keynote.

The following day, Bill Tancer takes the stage. He’s the author of “Click: What Millions of People Are Doing Online and Why It Matters.”

Bill, who I’ve known for years, is the author of a weekly online column for TIME, “The Science of Search.” He is a frequent guest on CNBC, and has been quoted extensively in the press, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today and Business Week.

Bill recently had a “naked lunch” with Andy Greenberg of Forbes.com. Hey, I didn’t make this up. Click on “We Are What We Google” and read the article for yourself.

In the article, Bill is quoted as saying, “What I find really fascinating is how much we tell search engines – more than we tell surveys, more than our family members, more even than our priests or rabbis.”

Are you skeptical of this claim? Bill backs it up with his analysis of searches beginning with “fear of.” It reveals search engine users are afraid of flying, heights, clowns, intimacy and death, in that order.

Looking at searches beginning with “how to,” he observes that the phrase “how to tie a tie” edges out “how to have sex” and “how to kiss” for the top spot.

And Bill’s analysis of searches beginning with “why” shows that most queries are related to school projects. But these fall sharply during the summer and Christmas holidays. During those periods, more existential questions like “Why did she leave me?” and “Why did God do this to me?” pop to the surface.

But wait! There’s more! The following day, Josh James is the keynoter.

James co-founded Omniture in 1996 and, under his leadership, it has evolved into one of the fastest-growing publicly traded software companies with more than 4,700 customers across 75 countries and over 1,100 employees. His market vision, leadership and entrepreneurial philosophy have enabled Omniture to achieve greater than 75% growth for more than five consecutive years, as well as to maintain customer retention rates of greater than 95%.

James is also the founder of Silicon Slopes – a private sector initiative whose mission is to promote the interests of high-tech in Utah. A recent article by Tom Harvey in The Salt Lake Tribune said that the Omniture CEO was motivated to found Silicon Slopes in 2007 to change the misperception that Utah is “A quirky state at the edge of the desert dominated by a single religion and defined by its far-right politics and weird liquor laws.”

For example, Siliconslopes.com is sending out thousands of promotional posters this year that depict the Silicon Slopes running along the Wasatch Mountains from Logan to Provo, listing an array of high-tech companies with operations here, as well as ski resorts and signs pointing to Moab and other attractions.

While I haven’t met Josh James yet, I did interview Huw Roberts of Omniture earlier this year at SES London. Roberts talked about the importance of web analytics to effective search engine marketing for businesses of any size.

Huw Roberts, Omniture, at SES London 2008

There you have it: The keynote speakers for Search Engine Strategies Chicago.

And I’ve got to agree with Anne. Whether you’re a “seasoned search maven or hopeful newbie, you’ll find speakers who share expertise, new research, horizon’s edge views and knuckles-in-the code tactics” at SES Chicago.

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Web analytics provider Omniture today launched Omniture SiteSearch, a hosted site search product it picked up in its Visual Sciences acquisition, which closed in January 2008.

The SiteSearch product was an early entry in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) space. It was originally launched in 1999 as Atomz Search, part of its content management suite. Atomz was later acquired by analytics provider WebSideStory, which later acquired Visual Sciences. The entire company changed its name to Visual Sciences, and was then acquired by Omniture.

A few clients, including Verizon and BusinessWeek have been using SiteSearch as a standalone product, according to Jeff Minich, senior product marketing manager at Omniture. Today, it becomes an integrated part of the Omniture online marketing suite.

The biggest effect of this is the ability to impact site search results using data from Omniture’s SiteCatalyst analytics package. So on an e-commerce site, for example, a search for “shirts” could be made to return the most popular shirts of the season, or those that return the highest margin, or those that are converting highest, Minich said.

“You can set business rules to break ties, or to push a page higher in the results,” he said. “You can also combine metrics, and weight them relative to each other, and relative to the natural relevancy ranking in SiteSearch.”

John Nack of Adobe posted a brief Q&A related to the issue of Adobe software welcome screens phoning home to a tracking site hosted by analytics firm Omniture.

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The discovery that some Adobe products phone home to analytics firm Omniture brought out the tinfoil hat crowd, and a raised eyebrow from Adobe’s John Nack.

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Want a snapshot of the day’s search marketing news? Here we’ve collected today’s top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:

From the SEW Blog:

• The Impact of the Omniture – Visual Sciences Merger
  This move follows closely on the heels of Omniture’s acquisition of Offermatica, a leading web optimization company. Clearly, Omniture is moving to consolidate their position as the leading brand in this space.
• Strike Outs or Home Runs?
  In honor of the current World Series, we looked at search capabilities delivered by the most popular sports web sites. The results were surprisingly inconsistent.
• SEW Experts: Content Creation About Journey, Not Destination? – Part 2
  You can waste a lot of time debating whether content is king. For the sake of argument, let’s just all agree so we can focus on business decisions.

Click to read the rest of this post…

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Web analytics company Omniture has agreed to acquire landing page optimization and A/B testing specialist Offermatica for $65 million. The deal includes OTTO Digital, the marketing agency division of Offermatica, and a wholly owned subsidiary. In February, Omniture acquired Touch Clarity, a site-side behavioral targeting firm that will complement Offermatica’s multivariate testing capabilities, for $50 million.

As PPC prices continue to rise, and the quality scores of landing pages affect bid prices, many marketers are turning to firms like Offermatica, Optimost, SiteTuners, and others to improve the conversion rates of the visitors their campaigns are already sending them.

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