search-engine-optimization
SEO event in South Florida
I just want to let you know that we have a 3 days SEO event (Search Engine Optimization, Internet Marketing) here in South Florida, if you or any one you know wants more information, please let me know.
Taking place Deerfield Beach April 2-4
SEW Experts: Getting Buy-In Is A Crucial First Step in Enterprise SEO
Because of their size and complexity, large organizations face some big challenges to planning and implementing an SEO strategy. In today’s Web analytics and ROI column, “Getting Buy-In Is A Crucial First Step in Enterprise SEO,” Eric Enge explains that, because the SEO is the newcomer, and the peculiar requirements of search engine optimization aren’t generally understood, the SEO must first be the evangelist/teacher to the rest of the organization.
Higher Education and Travel Industry Headed to SES London 2009
According to the organizers of SES London 2009, it looks like attendance will be up this year. While this may come as a surprise to some, Matt McGowan, Publisher of the conference series in addition to its sister sites ClickZ and Search Engine Watch, says, “Attendance figures are up 11% compared to last year, which is not surprising as businesses invest more of their budgets in digital marketing.”
He adds, “What’s noticeable this year however is the increase in representation from the education and travel industries. Delegates from these two sectors have increased by 10% (Education) and 16% (Travel). Many of Europe’s leading universities are sending people to SES London – from web managers to researchers. Similarly, established travel companies and tour operators are, as always, well represented, but this year has seen an increase in representation from the smaller, more niche, travel companies. The figures suggest that these two sectors will see significant growth in digital marketing spend this year.”
On this side of the pond, universities have seen grad school applications and enrollments increase as government funding and endowments have declined. This prompted Brandeis University to announce it would close the Rose Art Museum and turn it into a study and research center.
So, I can see why higher education on both sides of the pond is interested in finding more cost-effective ways to drive traffic to college and university websites than mailing out more college brochures. One of the first things I’d recommend is registering for the Google Online Marketing Challenge, which is open to any higher education institution, anywhere in the world.
Meanwhile, here in Boston, we’ve had 49 inches of snow dumped on us – more than double the normal snowfall at this point in the winter and even more than the normal snowfall for the entire winter season. So, I can also understand why the travel industry sees search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) turning “the winter of our discontent” into “glorious summer” in the coming year.
Despite last year’s economic conditions, travel spending by domestic and international visitors in 2008 increased 5.2%, to $778.2 billion, according to the Travel Industry Association. Heck, I can’t begin to describe the looks I get from my wife when I lamely explain that I “have to” go to London to speak at conference, blog about the event for Search Engine Watch, and conduct video interviews from the show. Hey, it’s a business trip.
So, when we all get together Feb. 17-20, 2009, at the Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, Islington, I need a little help. For the European universities in attendance, my daughter is planning to spend a semester abroad next year. What do you have for an art major? And for the travel companies who will be at SES London 2009, my wife is looking for someplace sunny, where she can forget about the sleet, wind and bitter cold. (If I’m lucky, she might even bring me along.)
I’m speaking at the sessions on Online Video Update – The Next Wave, News Search SEO, and Beyond Linkbait: Getting Authoritative Mentions Online. Just come up after the session and introduce yourself.
If we haven’t met before, I’ve been called “the bearded guy you’d vote least-likely-to-be-in-public relations” by one industry observer. Or, I’m the bearded buy below who was interviewed by Li Evans of Key Relevance at SES San Jose 2008.
VSEO – Video Search Engine Optimization – with Greg Jarboe
Oh, and if you are from an art school in a sunny place like Spain or Italy, let me know all about the programs you offer. Who knows, I may even be able to come back from SES London 2009 a hero, instead of a zero.
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.
Going to Search Engine Strategies? In a New York Minute!
Are you going to Search Engine Strategies New York, which will be held March 23-26, 2009? Of course you are. It takes less than a New York minute to make that decision.
SES New York is a not-to-be-missed event in the search industry. I’ve been attending each and every year since 2004. And I attended SES Boston in 2002 and 2003, before the spring conference and expo was moved to the Big Apple.
Why do I keep coming back year after year? Because search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising are not static fields. You can’t learn the industry best practices in a week and then continue applying them without getting an annual update.
Let me share a recent conversation I had with an unnamed organization. (All I can say is that it’s big, which is why it wouldn’t want its name dropped in a blog post.)
This organization’s website was built seven years ago. And it was “optimized” back in 2002. But nobody inside the organization could understand why the website didn’t have high rankings anymore.
I diplomatically observed that the website had been optimized back when AltaVista was the leading search engine. Who knows, maybe it still ranks well in AltaVista – but that doesn’t matter anymore.
And one of the industry best practices back in 2002 was changing the Meta keywords tags. Hey, I still remember those days like…they were yesterday.
So, I had to explain politely that no one in the organization had made a mistake in the spring of 2002. It’s just that AltaVista dropped its support for the Meta keywords tag in July 2002, prompting Traffick.com’s Andrew Goodman to declare “the end of the metatag era, full stop.”
Oh, and during 2002, Google charged past AltaVista to become the leading search engine. And Google never supported the Meta keywords tag.
In other words, things change in the search industry.
A couple of years back, I tried to get a handle on the pace of change and discovered that about half of what I had learned the previous year was obsolete. That’s why I had to go back to SES New York each year to discover which half.
And then the pace of change increased. Today, I estimate that about two-thirds of what I learned last year is now obsolete.
Hey, anyone still optimizing the video on their website for Google Video and Yahoo! Video?
Well, according to comScore Video Metrix, YouTube.com accounts for more than 98% of all videos viewed at Google Sites. (This means Google Video accounts for less than 2%.)
As for Yahoo! Video, while it began as an internet-wide video search engine, it added the ability to upload and share video clips in June 2006. And Yahoo! Video launched a re-designed site in February 2008 that changed the focus to Yahoo-hosted video only.
Meanwhile, comScore just reported that 97 million viewers watched 5.1 billion videos on YouTube.com during November 2008, ranking it as the top U.S. video property. MySpace.com ranked second, with 52.5 million viewers watching 371 million videos that month. Neither are video search engines.
And this is just one example of the kind of changes that can fly past you like a stealth jet under the radar.
This is what makes SES New York 2009 a not-to-be-missed event in the search industry. Even if you’ve attended in the past, you can’t afford to miss the latest twists and turns in this ever-changing business.
So, you know you’re going to Search Engine Strategies New York. It’s a no brainer.
Then, here’s a tip: Register by Friday, Jan.9, 2009, and you’ll save up to $700 with the Early Bird Rate. That’s tomorrow! Just do it.
Now that I’ve done you a favor, maybe you can do me a favor.
At SES New York 2009, we plan to do some more “Escalator Pitches” like the ones we did last year. An Escalator Pitch is like an elevator pitch – except the escalators at the Hilton New York move much faster than the elevators. Check out the YouTube videos below to see what I’m talking about.
Escalator Pitches at SES NY 2008
So, if you’ve got a story to tell that can be told in the time it takes to get from the bottom to the top of the escalator (or the other way around), just let me know. You can email me at Greg (dot) Jarboe (at) SEO-PR (dot) com.
Get it? Got it? Good!
Building a Business Case for Going to SES London 2009
With six weeks to go before SES London 2009, it’s time to build a business case for going to 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.
Yes, yes, I know there’s a recession on both sides of the pond. I read The Economist. (I loved the article in the print edition on December 30, 2008, which reminded us that Alfred Kahn, one of President Jimmy Carter’s economic advisers, was chided in 1978 for using the “R” word. So, Mr Kahn, in his next speech, replaced the offending word, saying, “We’re in danger of having the worst banana in 45 years.”)
So, how do you make the business case that you need to go to an SEM conference during the worst banana since 1978?
I would argue that it is penny wise and pound foolish to miss SES London 2009 just because we’re in a recession. In fact, it’s probably more important to go now than ever before.
So, what makes Search Engine Strategies London a not-to-be-missed industry event? And what makes it particularly important for people who have attended in the past to make a return visit this year?
First, SES London 2009 is the place where the search industry gathers to chart the year ahead. The pace of change in this industry hasn’t slowed down. This search industry keeps reinventing itself at an amazing pace and last year’s cutting-edge program already is dated in some areas. You can’t afford to be left behind.
Second, it’s where you can learn how to calculate the ROI of your search marketing efforts from top search experts. Now, I’m just one of the 48 conference speakers who will be making presentations at SES London 2009. And I plan to share some case studies of how optimized press releases generated:
• $200 million in B2B leads for Symmetricom’s chip-scale atomic clocks,
• More than $2.5 million in ticket sales for Southwest Airlines, and
• Almost 1.3 million searches for “florists” on SuperPages.com.
I’ll also explain how combining blog outreach with press release optimization generated:
• A record 450,000 unique visitors to The Christian Science Monitor in 24 hours,
• A record 88,000 entries into Parents magazine’s cover kid photo contest, and
• A record 1,100 attendees to the Wharton Economic Summit.
Now, I think I’m supposed to say, “Past performance is no indicator of future success.” And I should disclose that SES became a client about 14 months ago.
But check out the list of speakers who will be presenting at SES London 2009. I know most of them. I’ve heard many of them speak at previous Search Engine Strategies conferences. And I know they have similar success stories to tell.
If you want to hear more than 200 of their success stories from 2008, just go to SESConferenceExpo’s Channel on YouTube. Or watch the three SES London 2008 Roundup Reels below.
So, can your organization really afford to skip SES London 2009 just because there’s a recession? Missing a not-to-be-missed industry event would be penny wise and pound foolish. Skipping the event because you went last year would be “bananas.”
Now, you could simply cut your print magazine, print newspaper and other offline advertising budgets. But that isn’t going to grow your business online and it isn’t going to help you weather the storm any better than your competitors.
The only way you can do this is by learning the SEM strategies, PPC tactics and SEO tips that generate a measurable marketing ROI. And then you need to keep learning what’s coming next in the constantly evolving world of search, and how you can profit from those changes.
And where can you do that? You already know where I’m headed. You can learn all this by going to SES London 2009.
Top ten stories from SES Chicago 2008 for Day 3
Today’s list of top ten stories from SES Chicago 2008 is just a small sample of all the news and commentary that’s coming out of Day 3 of the conference and expo. I’m sure that you will see more coverage rolling out over the next week.
But for those of you who couldn’t attend because your travel budget was cut because of the recession, here’s a quick summary of the search engine marketing tips and SEO tools that – ironically – could help your company weather the downturn in the economy better than your competitors:
The Rich Are Different Than…
Anna Maria Virzi of ClickZ writes, “An examination into the online behavior of the most affluent or ‘upper crust’ people was an eye-opener for Bill Tancer, Hitwise general manager. He shared this following anecdote during the SES Chicago keynote on Tuesday to make the point that online marketers have access to information that can inform marketing strategies.”
Bill Tancer on Search Patterns in 2008
I interviewed Bill Tancer, the General Manager of Hitwise and author of the best-selling book, “Click: What Millions of People are Doing Online and Why it Matters,” following his morning keynote presentation. I asked Bill to elaborate on some of the search engine user behavior he saw in 2008 and forecast what patterns we might see in 2009.
SEM Tips For Small Businesses
Mike Sachoff of WebProNews covered the the “SEM Small Business Blitz” session the speakers focused on how to use social media in an affordable and practical way.
Lawrence Lessig on Copyright Laws
Stanford Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig, who gave the opening keynote at SES Chicago 2008 on Monday, talks about the problems and shortcomings of current copyright laws and discusses solutions on how to revise copyright laws to end the war on prohibition and build on a new hybrid economy.
I Drool, You Drool, We all Drool for New Tools
Manny Rivas of the AimClear Blog writes, “Take time to research the overwhelmingly huge list of SEO tools out there, and you’ll quickly see there are hundreds (if not thousands), all sorting the very same data. Some cost arms, legs and sometimes skin off the back, but many are appendage-friendly (free). This SES Chicago session, succinctly titled ‘SEO Tools,’ was moderated by Sage Lewis, Search Engine Watch Expert & President of SageRock.com.”
Live Blogging Day 3 at SES Chicago
Jeff Woelker of Written By All Of Us, a Slack Barshinger Blog, was back at it for day 3 at SES Chicago. He writes, “Hope you’ve been enjoying the last two days.”
Interview with Amanda Watlington on Podcast & Audio Search Optimization
Shana Albert of Social Desire writes, “Right now SES Chicago is going on….. the only major Search Marketing Conference and Expo in the Midwest. I had the good fortune of being able to interview Amanda Watlington of Searching for Profit…. She was on the panel of the Podcast & Audio Search Optimization session. Here is my interview with Amanda.”
Sally Falkow at SES Chicago 2008 with Matthew Bailey
Sally Falkow of ExpansionPlus interviewed Matthew Bailey of SiteLogic about social media measurement, content strategy, and search engine optimization (SEO) at the 2008 Search Engine Strategies Conference and Expo in Chicago (SESChicago08).
A Special Message to the Ladies Attending SES Chicago: Woman to Woman
Nathania Johnson of Search Engine Watch has this observation about women at SES Chicago: “I see you at the keynotes. I see you at the sessions. I see you in the expo hall during the day. But at night, when I go to the networking cocktails, it’s a testosterone festival.”
Happy Thanksgiving, from All of Us at Search Engine Watch
We will not be publishing on Thursday, November 27, or Friday, November 28, in observation of Thanksgiving Day. I hope those of you that are celebrating the holiday can stay off the Internet and spend some time with those you love.
For those of you that aren’t celebrating Thanksgiving, or have had enough quality time with your family, here are a few things you might find interesting:
* If you haven’t checked it out lately, I suggest looking over the articles in our Search 101 section. It’s been updated with articles covering the basics of search engine optimization, search advertising, and several other topics. Keep an eye on that section, as it will continue to be updated on a regular basis.
* We’ve been collecting quite the archive of Search Engine Marketing Webcasts. We’ve got one-hour presentations with Q&A available on demand on topics from Holiday PPC campaigns to search trends, to Profitable PPC fundamentals. You can also sign up for upcoming webcasts, including one next week on Advanced Keyword Research.
* Catch up with other Thanksgiving refugees on the Search Engine Watch Forums, or browse the archives to find the best advice on a range of search marketing topics.
* Head on over to Facebook to join the SearchEngineWatch Facebook Group or the Search Engine Strategies Facebook Group. Or check out our LinkedIn Groups for Search Engine Watch, SearchEngineWatch.com Forums, or Search Engine Strategies Conference & Expo.
We’ll be back on Monday with plenty of new Experts columns, blog posts, and more. Have a happy Thanksgiving!
SEO covered at PRSA International Conference in Detroit
I’ve just returned from the PRSA International Conference in Detroit, Michigan. The Public Relations Society of America is the world’s largest organization for public relations professionals.
But there were a number of sessions on the agenda about search engine optimization. On Saturday, Oct. 25, Lee Odden taught a half-day workshop on “Optimizing Content for Optimum Search Results: Search Engine Optimization of News.” Lee, as most of us in the search industry know, is the CEO of TopRank Online Marketing.
Bill Wagner, the CMO of Vocus, talked about “Uncovering the Potential of PR to Drive Sales.” Lee Odden, Rob Key, the founder and CEO of Converseon, and David Bradfield, senior vice president and partner of FH Digital, discussed “The Changed PR Landscape: What Works, What Doesn’t.” And Laura Sturaitis, senior vice president of media and product services for Business Wire, and I spoke about “What’s the ROI on Your Press Release?”
In other words, SEO and PR people are starting to “reach across the aisle” to build some pretty interesting alliances.
In February, I interviewed Lee Odden at SES London 2008, about news search engine optimization and related topics. And in December, Lee and Sally Falkow, the President of PRESSfeed, will be speaking about “SEO Through Blogs and Feeds” at SES Chicago 2008.
Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing, at SES London 2008
As Frank Watson noted earlier this morning, Lee and Jay Byrne, President of v-Fluence Interactive Public Relations, are holding a free PRWeb webinar entitled, “Use PR To Drive Better Search Results,” today at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.
And PRSA has asked me to teach a teleseminar on “The Secrets of Search Engine Optimization” on Thursday, Nov. 6, at 3 p.m. Eastern.
What’s all this mean to search engine marketers? Get the folks over in public relations to check out this topic. They may have missed it at the PRSA International Conference. But it is a subject that they’ll want to understand as they prepare for 2009.
And getting your PR specialists on the same page with your SEO specialists could give you the best bang for your buck in a global recession. Consider this tip a “recession special” you won’t want to pass up.
One last note: I hadn’t been back to Detroit in a long, long time. Wow, is the Renaissance Center impressive. And the Detroit Riverwalk. And the GM Next Showroom. Now, I remember Detroit as Motor City and Motown. But it has experienced a renaissance while I wasn’t looking. Cool. Very cool.
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.
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