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The Web Analytics Association has announced a new board of directors, and here they are:

• Vicky Brock, Highland Business Research, Inverness Highlands, Scotland
• June Dershewitz, Semphonic, San Francisco, CA
• Andrea Hadley, NetSetGo Marketing, Vancouver, BC Canada
• Avinash Kaushik, Author, Analytics Evangelist — Google, Mountain View, CA
• Alex Langshur, PublicInsite, Medford, MA

Neil Mason, Applied Insights, Oxford, England

• Lauria Paxia, I.C.C. S.r.l., Catania, Italy

Seth Romanow, Microsoft, Redmond, WA

• Marshall Sponder, Monster Worldwide, New York, NY
• Robbin Steif, LunaMetrics, LLC, Pittsburgh, PA
• Jim Sterne, Target Marketing, Santa Barbara, CA
• April Wilson, The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, TX

WAA Chairman Jim Sterne said, “The WAA is growing and maturing, and this new Board is a wonderful mix of talent and geography. The cumulative experience of these people is exceeded only by their cumulative IQ. We have a great team for tackling our objectives for the coming year.”

Related Reading:
Bryan Eisenberg Talks about Persuasion Architecture
Interview of Analytics Expert, Eric T. Peterson

Search Engine Strategies London has wrapped up Day Two and the 2,000 attendees have adjourned until this morning. Meanwhile, the bloggers, videographers and photographers covering SES London have posted another batch of blog posts, YouTube videos and Flickr photos. Here are the ones that I found this morning/evening (depending on the time zone you’re in):

SES London 2008: Day 2 Roundup Feb. 20, 2008. This YouTube video includes just some of my interviews with speakers at Search Engine Strategies London yesterday. (More to come over the next few days and weeks.) Andy Beal, Consultant, Blogger & Author, Marketing Pilgrim LLC, gives positive reviews (however ambivalent his accent) of his own sessions and those he sat in on for their direct applicability to increasing revenue and extensive use of case studies. Piers Stobbs, VP of Comscore Networks, previews his big-picture presentations on user trends in search with implications for search marketing, such as increases in frequency and familiarity/capability of individual searchers. Jim Sterne, Chairman of the Web Analytics Association, evangelizes on behalf of website testing, and breaks down in brief the web analytics players between free and paid packages and their various advantages in increasing ROI. And Jon Myers, Head of Search at MediaVest, provides some down-to-earth comments on dealing with click fraud.

Video: Interview with Adam Lasnik of Google by Lee Odden, who was able to catch up with the Google Search Evangelist to do a short (10 min) video on several topics important to web masters looking for better results on Google.

SES London 2008. More than 60 photos on Flickr provide an overview of the speakers, attendees and exhibitors at the Business Design Centre in Islington.

SES London Day Two Photos by Lee Odden. Additional pictures from Search Engine Strategies London capture the highlights of the event.

SES London 2008 - A Few Pictures by Mel Carson. Even more photos from the event.

SES London 08: The Changing World of Search, Keynote Roundtable by Li Evans, who covers the video from Nick Carr and panel discussion of Microsoft’s unsolicited bid for Yahoo.

SES London 08: News Search Optimisation by Li Evans, who covers the News Search SEO session.

SES London 08: Video & Podcast SEO by Li Evans, who covers the Video & Podcast SEO session.

SES London 2008 - Competitive Research by Simon Heseltine, who covers the Competitive Research session.

Ralph Wilson’s Introduction to Search Marketing at SES London by Amanda Watlington, who covers the Introduction to Search Marketing session.

Search Engine Strategies - London - Video & Podcast SEO by Mal Watlington, who also covers the Video & Podcast SEO session.

Nofollow, What a Load of Crap! by David Fairhurst, who covers the Organic Listings Forum.

SES Update #1 by Rick Bosch, who provides half a dozen observations from the event.

SES Update #2 by Rick Bosch, who covers the Search Engine Friendly Design session.

Collapsed Lungs & Micro-hoo: SES London Day 2, Part 1 by ciaran, who covers the keynote, News Search SEO session, and Search Term Research and Targeting session.

SES Audience: Pro-Merger by Andrew Goodman, who polled the audience: “From your standpoint as a marketer using these ad platforms: would you prefer that Yahoo remain an independent company, or that Microsoft and Yahoo merge to form a single #2 vendor in the space?”

Pilgrim’s Picks for February 20 - London Edition by Andy Beal, who links to the coverage of Search Engine Strategies London by Li Evans.

Off to London to Tempt Scottie and Simon by Jennifer Laycock, who is hopping a flight to London.

SES London Day Two Recap by Barry Schwartz, who provides a roundup of coverage.

What a Blackhat SEO Looks Like by Barry Schwartz, who comments on one of the photos from the show by Lee Odden.

SES London and SES New York by Jason, who will be going to the post-con party organized by LondonSEO.

Search Engine Strategy à Londres by Estelle Schomann, who provides a roundup of the coverage in French.

På vej til SES og SMX by Mikkel deMib Svendsen, who writes something in Danish that I’m sure is insightful, if I could read Danish.

SEO Headlines by Lisa Barone, who says she is being “ranty” today because she can’t be in London for SES.

A giant snakehead fish (the “Jaws” of freshwater fish in Southeast Asia) was caught by a fisherman in England. The snakehead hooked in a river caused a panic in the Midlands and created something of a “Snakes on the Plains” buzz online. The British Environment Agency tried to assuage fears of a snakehead invasion but many of us here in Islington (London SES) remain scared out of our wits secure in the knowledge the Thames River is only kilometres away.

The giant snakehead has been known to crawl on land.

Snakehead fish can grow to more than 5 feet in length. Sharp teeth make the snakehead a feared predator of other river dwellers.

FOG (Fear of Google) was one of the themes of the Orion Panel (All Star Analytics Team). London FOG reminded me of the giant snakehead fish. Consumers, corporations and regulatory bodies often have an irrational fear of Google.

They say Google will invade privacy and destroy our natural Internet habitat. Companies fear the mega-search engine will use Google Analytics, Google Conversion Optimizer and Google Checkout to artificially inflate keyword prices. In short, to rig the keyword auction. They worry Google will prey on competitors and customers alike.

With respect to privacy, Jim Sterne of Target Marketing and chairman of the Web Analytics Association put it best:

“Why would I worry about Google knowing what I search for? The privacy issue is that I’m upset the bank knows how much money I have?”

There were no conspiracy theorists in the audience. Brian Clifton, Google’s head of Web Analytics, EMEA, didn’t even have to defend Google’s honor.

Nor did Ian Thomas, Microsoft’s director oif customer intelligence attempt to exploit the climate of fear.

Bryan Eisenberg, co-founder, Future Now noted Google needs to be more transparent. Separation of church and state may be tough when Google has so many evangelists, not only in their employ but among brand-loyal consumers.

Google dominates the European and UK search landscape. As scary as the giant snakefish may be, here’s the key takeaway:

The more you know, the less you fear.

Let’s say you’re a savvy, seasoned search engine marketer. You can easily send some of your junior staff members to Search Engine Strategies London, which is being held next week at the Business Design Centre. So, why would you want to slip over to Islington for a few days to attend SES London yourself?

Let me give you seven serious reasons:

1. Keynote Roundtable: The Changing Search World. This session on Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 9:00 a.m., will discuss the global impact of Microsoft’s recent bid for Yahoo! Following an introduction from Nick Carr, author of The Big Switch, Rewiring the World, From Edison to Google, Kevin Ryan, Vice President, Global Content Director, Search Engine Strategies and Search Engine Watch, will host a panel of leading industry analysts and search experts that includes: Mike Grehan, SES London Co-Chair and Founder and CEO, Searchvisible Ltd.; Steven Kaufman, SVP Media Director, Digitas; Bryan Eisenberg, Co-Founder, Future Now Inc.; and Erica Schmidt, Global Director of Search, Isobar. Watch the Associated Press video interview of Kevin Ryan on Microsoft’s Yahoo bid.

2. Opening Keynote: Fredrick Marckini, Chief Global Search Officer, Isobar. Fredrick founded iProspect and is recognized as a leading expert in the field of search engine marketing. He is speaking on Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 3:30 p.m. Fredrick has authored three of the SEM industry’s earliest books, including Secrets to Achieving Top-10 Positions (1997), Achieving Top-10 Rankings in Internet Search Engines (1998), and Search Engine Positioning (2001). If you want an idea of what he’ll be talking about, read “Fredrick Marckini iProspect Exclusive SEO Interview with Dan Horton.”

3. Orion Panel: Universal, Blended and Vertical Search. This panel of industry gurus is being held on Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 4:45 p.m. Moderated by Kevin Ryan, the speakers on this panel include: Andrew Goodman, Principal, Page Zero Media; Adam Lasnik, Search Evangelist, Search Quality Team, Google; Mike Grehan; and Jeff Revoy, VP Yahoo! Search and Social Media, Yahoo! Europe.

4. Orion Panel: All Star Analytics Team. This panel of thought leaders is being held on Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 1:30 p.m. Moderated by Kevin Ryan, the speakers include: Brian Clifton, Head of Web Analytics, EMEA, Google; Bryan Eisenberg, Co-Founder, Future Now Inc.; Steve Jackson, Senior Consultant, Web Analytics & Search Marketing, SATAMA, & International Co-Chair, Web Analytics Association; Jim Sterne, Target Marketing & Chairman, Web Analytics Association; and Ian Thomas, Director, Customer Intelligence, Microsoft Advertiser & Publisher Solutions. To get a flavor of the session, read Christine Churchill’s blog post, “A Chat with Analytics Guru Jim Sterne.”

5. Searcher Behavior Research Update. This session is being held on Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 4:00 p.m. Moderated by Jon Myers, Head of Search, MediaVest, speakers include: Piers Stobbs, Vice President, ComScore Europe; Erica Schmidt, Global Director of Search, Isobar; Dr. Jon Dodd, Co-founder and Managing Director, Bunnyfoot; and John Marshall, CTO, Market Motive. For a preview of what one of the speakers plans to say, read Simon Heseltine’s blog post, “SES London 2008 Interview - Piers Stobbs.” Or read Massimo Burgio’s blog post, “Pre-SES London interviews: Piers Stobbs, comScore.”

6. My SEM Toolbox. This session is being held on Thursday, Feb. 21, at 2:15 p.m. Several search marketers share a variety of tools and services they find useful in performing SEO and SEM. Moderated by Mike Grehan, speakers include: Thomas Bindl, Founder and CEO, Refined Labs GmbH; Maxime Grandchamp, President, Trellian Europe; and Bruce Clay, President, Bruce Clay, Inc.

7. News Search SEO. This session is being held on Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 10:30 a.m. Moderated by Anne Kennedy, Manager, Managing Partner, Beyond Ink, speakers include: Lee Odden, CEO, TopRank Online Marketing; Tim Gibbon, Director, Elemental Communications; and me. For a preview of what one of the speakers plans to say, read Lee’s article, “SES London: News & Blog SEO, Reputation Management.”

As the title of Lee’s article indicates, there are a lot more than seven reasons to attend SES London. I should disclose that Search Engine Strategies London is a client. So, don’t take my word for it.

Read Lisa Barone’s blog post over at BurceClay.com, “Gearing up for SES London!” She lists 16 sessions that “we think will give you the most bang for your SEO buck,” including all seven of the sessions listed above.

Or watch Mike Grehan’s video clip on YouTube, which covers his take on the highlights of the upcoming Search Engine Strategies London conference.

So, you should give serious consideration to slipping over to Islington for a few days.