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Two Special Training Workshops Offered at SMX West

Search Engine Land — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:55:52 +0000

In-House SEM Exchange and Bruce Clay’s SEO Training Will Run March 5th

Join us for workshops that take a deep dive on search engine optimization (SEO) or issues confronting in-house SEM professionals at Search Marketing Expo – SMX West. The seminars will be held March 5th, immediately following SMX West on March 2-4.

Keep reading for descriptions of In-house SEM Exchange and Bruce Clay SEO training workshops.

Managing Your Company’s Search Marketing? In-house SEM Exchange Is A Must…

In-house SEM Exchange is a focused, interactive and intimate workshop designed by in-house SEOs for in-house SEOs.

In-house SEM Exchange is:

100% in-house – all day, everywhere you turn, you’ll be immersed in the in-house community who understands your SEO and paid search challenges…and has solutions to share;
interactive – it’s called “exchange” for a reason – you’ll learn practical solutions and exchange ideas with others who have encountered similar challenges… and overcome them;
intimate – attendance to the workshop is limited to foster a collaborative environment that promotes learning and sharing.

Your host for In-house SEM Exchange is Jessica Bowman, widely recognized as the authority on helping in-house SEMs succeed.

Find out more about In-house SEM Exchange here!

Increase Search Traffic With White Hat Tactics: Attend Bruce Clay SEO Training

Join SEO pioneer Bruce Clay as he presents his time-tested SEO Training course. Learn corporate SEO methodology, concepts and strategies, taught by an accomplished instructor and search marketing expert whose training is based on years of research and successful Web site optimization.

Topics covered include:

What should be done to achieve high rankings?
How to increase click-through rates?
How to make your site more relevant?
How to identify the best keywords for your site?
What is PageRank and how to increase link popularity?

Specializing in search engine-approved optimization methods, the white hat techniques covered in this workshop will enable you to improve site rankings while adhering to the major engines’ webmaster guidelines. More info here.

Register Now and Save!

You save when you register for SMX West and either the In-house SEM Exchange or SEO Training. You pay just $1,695 for an All Access SMX East pass (including keynote from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer!) and either workshop. Just want to go to the workshop? Sure, you can do that too.

Save with pre-agenda pricing when you sign up now. These will be the lowest rates available, so register today!

PPC Advertising and Geo-Targeting: SMN Webcast Thursday

Search Engine Land — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:36:19 +0000

On Thursday at 1 PM EST, join Dan Soha of Five Mill Inc as he explains the ins and outs of geo-targeting, on the SMN Webcast: “PPC Advertising and Geo-Targeting.” Thanks to Marin Software for sponsoring this webcast.

PPC advertisers use geographical targeting to create more focused and targeted advertising campaigns. By limiting the geographic target, you can increase the efficiency of your advertising campaign, cut costs and increase conversion rates and ROI.

Learn how to geo-target by keyword and by physical location, how to outbid your competitors using geo-targeting, and more. Register directly, or get more information at Search Marketing Now.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to Keynote SMX West – March 2-4, 2010 in Santa Clara, CA

Search Engine Land — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:22:07 +0000

The dates are set and registration is live! Search Marketing Expo – SMX West happens March 2-4, 2010 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Get exceptional content, invaluable connections and essential conveniences that make SMX conferences famous.

SMX West will begin with a fireside chat between Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Danny Sullivan, editor-in-chief of SearchEngineLand.com and SMX co-chair. In his first address to the search marketing community, Steve will talk about the company’s progress so far in the world of search and their vision of the future.

Whether you are just starting out in search or looking for advanced level tactics, work on an in-house SEM team, hail from an agency or own your own business, SMX West has sessions just for you. The multi-track program will include supercharged sessions on PPC, SEO, real-time search, local & international search, analytics, social media marketing and search engine friendly design. The agenda for this year’s conference will be posted by mid December – in the meantime check out the 2009 agenda for a sample of what to expect.

Program by Search Engine Land. The SMX West program is created by Search Engine Land editors Danny Sullivan and Chris Sherman, the site you trust to deliver decision informing news and thought provoking analysis. We’re confident you’ll be satisfied with what you learn and the experience; we guarantee it.

Lowest rates now available! Register online for SMX West or by calling (877) 242-5242 and save with our pre-agenda pricing. Just $1095 gets you access to 3 jam-packed days of exceptional content, numerous networking opportunities to build invaluable connections, and all the essential conveniences you’ve come to count on from SMX events.

Want to send a team? Attractive group rates also available – check them out here.

Register today!

SEO in the Executive Suite: Webcast Tomorrow, 1 PM EDT

Search Engine Land — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:23:11 +0000

If organic search drives 90% of referrals, why does it only get 5% of marketing budgets?

That’s one of several questions we’ll address in tomorrow’s webcast, “Managing Search Marketing Success at the C-level: What Your CMO Should Know,” at 1 PM Eastern time. Richard Zwicky, CEO of Enquisite, and Sramana Mitra, author, entrepreneur, and columnist at Forbes.com, will discuss what CMOs need to know in order to truly understand the value they are getting from their search marketing investments, and how to create a set of metrics that will demonstrate this value.

More information and registration at Search Marketing Now.

Last Call – SMX East Starts Next Monday

Search Engine Land — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:21:07 +0000

It’s time. Search Marketing Expo – SMX East begins next Monday at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. Register now to reserve your place.

Join Us in NYC Oct 5-7 for the Exceptional Content and Invaluable Connections at SMX East. Your investment in attending will pay off many times. We guarantee it.

Conference chairs Danny Sullivan and Chris Sherman, and the all-star SMX programming team, have developed a comprehensive agenda that is tactical, strategic and inspiring. Whether you’re a beginner or experienced search engine marketer, SMX East has sessions just for you. Check out the agenda.

In addition, we’ve taken care of the little things that will make your experience more valuable and enjoyable, including:

Hot lunches, breakfast and snacks all day.
Free WiFi in session rooms, so you can access speaker presentations (or check to see what’s going on back in the office).
Networking. Networking. Networking. See the details about the in-person activities, and learn more about our online tools.
Presentations from over 25 leading search marketing solution providers in the SMX Theater – open to all SMX attendees including free Expo Only attendees.

Don’t wait any longer! Register today and you save $200 on an All Access Pass compared to the on site rate.

SMX East Next Week – Register Today!

Search Engine Land — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:20:24 +0000

There’s still time, but not much. Join the Search Engine Land editorial team for Search Marketing Expo – SMX East at the Javits Center next Monday to Wednesday, October 5-7.

Register for your All Access pass and get 3 days of exceptional content and invaluable industry connections for only $1395, a $200 savings compared to the on site rate. For a description of all the pass options click here.

Still deciding? Here are some helpful links:

Check out the multi-track, multi-level agenda with over 60 stimulating sessions
150+ search experts are ready to share proven tactics and tips. See who’s speaking
Keynote presentations will refresh, inspire and motivate you
Multiple networking opportunities
Get the tools to help you do your job better with access to leading vendors in the Expo Hall and educational theater presentations

Register online or call (877) 242-5242 today! Attractive group rates are available. Click here for details.

Need help choosing what sessions to attend? See SMX Dream Agendas for:

Advanced SEOs by Bruce Clay
PPC Professionals by Matt Van Wagner
Search Marketing Beginners by Disa Johnson
In-house Marketers by Jessica Bowman
Business Managers by Sara Holoubek
Technical Professionals by Vanessa Fox

All Of Your Technical SEO Questions Answered And Bonus Free Developer Summit: Technical SMX East Dream Agenda

Vanessa Fox — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:11:50 +0000

Search engine optimization involves a lot of moving parts. Audience analysis, content optimization, rankings factors — it can be hard to pinpoint concrete, actionable data. But technical SEO is a little different. It’s certainly not any easier than the other components, but at least the data can be a bit more straightforward. You can check your server logs to see if the search engine bots haven’t been crawling of your pages (or have been crawling lots of duplicate ones with various URLs); you can generally determine if search engines are having trouble extracting the content on your pages (ever see “loading, loading, loading” as a snippet?); and while the search engines don’t come right out and tell you when they’ve tweaked a ranking factor, they do generally announce technical changes (”we can crawl Flash“; “we are executing onClick JavaScript events“).

And technical SEO is clearly of vital importance. If search engines can’t crawl your pages and extract your content, your site will never be well-ranked for the queries you care about, even if you have the most awesome content on the web and more backlinks than the Adobe Reader download page.

Historically, search engines have had a tough time with newer web technologies. They were built as text-based engines that searched HTML pages, so it’s been taking them some time to catch up with things like Flash and AJAX and video. But the times, they are a changin’. The last couple of years have seen some great improvements, particularly from Google. The new parameter handling feature of Google webmaster tools to help with canonicalization issues due to URL parameters is only the latest example in a long line of advances in this area.

Get the latest solid information

Search Marketing Expo East, coming up in just a few weeks in New York, provides (among many other topics) in-depth, actionable information about how to construct search friendly web architecture, diagnose technical issues, and be prepared for the next evolution in search engine handling of web technologies. I’ve programmed a number of sessions that I’ll be moderating and speaking at, along with some fantastic technical experts, and have put together a suggested itinerary for the whole show for those interested in the more technical side of SEO.

Stay another day for even more technical discussions at Google NY

In addition, I’m organizing a post-SMX technical day of follow up discussion, information, and site review time to really dig into what technical issues you are experiencing and help you formulate real solutions. This developer summit, as we’re calling it, is co-hosted by Jane and Robot and Google and will be held at the Google New York office on Thursday, October 8th, the day after SMX East. It’s absolutely free and SMX attendees get preference on invitations.

See the SMX East developer’s itinerary for complete information about what’s available for web developers and anyone else interested in the technical side of SEO and see the Jane and Robot developer summit page for more details on the agenda and information on how to register for your invitation. The technical highlights of SMX East are included below. I hope to see you there!

Day 1 – October 5

SMX Boot Camp: For web developers who are new to search and SEO, we recommend that you go through ALL the SMX Boot Camp sessions on the first day to get a solid foundation of how search works. If you’re more experienced, then…

Duplicate Content Issues: The Search Engine Edition – What’s the best way to deal with duplicate content issues? In this session, search engine representatives offer direct advice including tips on the new canonical tag.

Ranking Tactics For Local Search – This session looks at cutting edge tactics that work to drive traffic from local listings, plus highlights research to predict where things may be going.

Maps, Maps, Maps! – This session looks at how the mapping & local seach services work from the three major search engines. Search representatives will share insights and tips for performing better.

Day 2 – October 6

Ecommerce Search Marketing Tactics – This session looks at a variety of tips and tactics to help retailers and ecommerce merchants do well in search results.

Ask The Search Engines: Best Practices Edition – In this session, search engine engineers and representatives share their most important takeaways and tips for those hoping to do better in traffic, plus there’s lots of time devoted to open Q&A.

Ask The SEOs – PowerPoint Free! Put your questions about SEO to our panel of experts and get answers about ranking and crawling issues.

Universal & Blended Search Opportunities – This session looks at how to closely monitor your paid search visitors, analyze what they do when visiting your site and how best to convert them toward your goals.

Day 3 – October 7 – Technical SEO Track

Diagnosing Technical SEO Issues – Site isn’t being indexed fully? Experience a huge drop in rankings or traffic? This session provides a step by step checklist to help developers or others diagnose site issues and ensure they’re following best technical practices in SEO.

Dealing With Domain Names, URLs, Parameters & All That Jazz – Subdomains or subdirectories? Are tracking parameters a problem for search engines? Keywords in the URL make a difference? How about the “level” of a page – is “deep” in a site bad? This session focuses on technical SEO questions of this nature and provides answers.

Pumping Up WordPress For SEO – WordPress is an incredibly popular blogging platform and CMS system. This session shows you how to quickly tune WordPress with plugins and settings to get the most out of technical SEO.

CSS, AJAX, Web 2.0 & SEO – This session looks CSS, AJAX and Web 2.0 dynamic design techniques that can cause search engine indexing and ranking issues, with solutions to consider.

Search and the Business Manager: An SMX East Dream Agenda

Sara Holoubek — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:32:18 +0000

Now that Bruce has provided his dream agenda for SEOs, Matt for PPC, Jessica for the in-house crowd and Disa for the beginners, here’s a track for the business manager who needs to stay on top of the macro issues, develop investment cases and report back to HQ on future trends. You can have a peek at it now, or wait until you read through the below.

Sunday, Arrival Day

Five out of five search experts agree: Sunday’s SMX Meet & Greet is the way to kick it off. I am with Jessica in that social activities are a must. Meeting people and learning from their experiences is as important as attending sessions. I am all about putting the “confer” back into “conference.”

Monday, Day 1: Shiny New Toys

Since your job probably requires understanding new investment areas, now is the time to brush up on mobile, local and maps. Long considered the Internet marketer’s shiny new toy, mobile, local and mapping are here to stay. The morning session, Mobile Search Ads, will review the various paid search opportunities that your firm could be utilizing as either an advertiser or an agency building out a mobile competency. Later in the day, Ranking Tactics for Local Search will break down how to win big in local listings today…and down the road. For the app-obsessed, Mobile Search Apps & Opportunities will answer marketers burning questions around this new means of engaging with the customer. Finally, Maps, Maps, Maps! Will detail how the various search engines and local search services integrate mapping technologies.

At the end of day 1, pull out the mobile device of your preference and navigate on over to the SMX Expo Hall Reception, followed by the Internet Marketer’s Charity Party@SMX East.

Tuesday, Day 2: The Agency Decision + Attribution

Step 1: Lots of coffee. Remember, last night’s party was great…and we raised lots of money for charity!

I’ll spend Day 2 covering two big topics for business managers: agencies and attribution.

I’m eager to kick my day off with a new session, When An Agency Just Won’t Do. For some companies, the search challenge does not fit into an agency’s typical scope of work and a strategic investment scenario must be developed. This was the case for LexisNexis when they needed to deliver search marketing services to thousands of small lawyers. The lessons learned, from building an internal competency to integrating a scalable technology infrastructure, are a good fit for companies that service SMBs, agencies that need to build out a search marketing competency or anyone who feels that the search challenge is too big for a standard agency relationship.

For those who love their agencies, Search Marketing & The Ad Agency will reveal how the large, traditional agencies are building their search competencies, be it through partnering, building or buying a search competency.

Later in the day, we will move on to Case Study: Integrating & Measuring Search As Part Of The Marketing Mix. For starters, who doesn’t love a good case study? More importantly, the panelists will cut to the chase, providing specific examples, how to’s and results for integrating search into the mix.

For those who are currently integrating and measuring, the next question is “who gets credit?” In The Cross Media Attribution Battle I will do my best to broker world peace between search, display and any other faction that seeks to win budget based on attribution.

And since I love shiny new toys, Real Time Search: Opportunity Or Hype? (from which I will tweet every money quote) and Evening Forum With Danny Sullivan are a must.

Wednesday, Day 3: The In-House Decision + Management

Following a day of agency talk, in-house sessions Bringing SEO In House: How To Be Successful! and Bringing PPC In House: How To Be Successful! are advised. Like any investment decision, there is no right or wrong to the agency vs. in-house question. However, it is key to understand the talent, technology, management and cultural requirements for each option.

If you are large multinational, Managing Search Across Business Units is a must. Search engine marketing’s rapid rise has created new challenges in the form of company culture and communication. Learning how to garner input and buy-in across company stakeholders is as important as the hard skills.

And since this is a dream agenda, I’d be able to attend a few sessions simultaneously, especially the shiny objects. Social Media, Search & Reputation Management and Analytics For Social Media are calling my name.

If I may extend the dream a little longer, the conference will end with the delightful surprise that my email inbox would be completely empty, my clients content and Thursday and Friday declared national holidays.

Still need to register for SMX East? The countdown has begun – less than two weeks left!

Two Weeks Left Until SMX East – Register Now

Search Engine Land — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:09:08 +0000

60+ Sessions. 150 Speakers. Keynotes Added. See You in NYC!

Only two weeks until Search Marketing Expo – SMX East returns to New York City, October 5-7! There’s a fantastic search engine marketing conference on the horizon. Here’s what’s in store:

60+ sessions on PPC, SEO, real-time search, social media, local search and more. See the agenda.
over 150 search marketing experts sharing their best tactics
two electrifying keynotes (keep reading for more on those)
numerous opportunities to connect and network with your SEM peers
plus the extras you always get at SMX events: Wifi, hot lunches, all-day snacks, birds of a feather tables, online pre-show networking and much more!

You’ll be satisfied; we guarantee it!

Cheezburgers & Caffeine: The SMX East Keynote Diet

We’re thrilled that two inspiring and lively keynotes will round out SMX East. You’ll be treated to a special keynote presentation by Ben Huh, CEO, Cheezburger Network, which includes the incredibly popular I Can Has Cheezburger and Fail Blog. He’s proven that you can build a lucrative business on viral content. Don’t miss this energizing presentation about tapping into memes, viral content and crowd-sourcing for long term success.

Debate, controversy and coffee are on the menu at Tuesday morning’s SMX East breakfast keynote roundtable What’s Next In Search: The Bigwig Crystal Ball Panel. Will Google’s “caffeine” update radically alter the way you approach SEO? Will the partnership between Yahoo and Microsoft open up a new, viable alternative for search advertisers? Will privacy advocates succeed in enacting legislation that limits targeting options? Treat yourself to one of SMX’s world famous breakfast buffets and join us for this no-holds-barred, no-subject-taboo romp through these and other hot-button issues with some of the sharpest minds in search marketing.

Register today online or call (877) 242-5242. Become a more effective, innovative and inspired search marketing – attend SMX East!

PS: Interested in sending your team? You’ll save money when you register 3 or more people – check out our attractive group rates!

Don’t Miss Online & In-Person Networking at SMX East – October 5-7

Search Engine Land — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:11:00 +0000

We’ve already highlighted the exceptional content and highly qualified presenters at SMX East. But there’s another aspect of the show that is just as important and valuable – networking. And with more than 650 companies sending delegates (so far), there are lots of people to network with!

Keep reading to learn more about the networking opportunities and then register for your All Access pass to Search Marketing Expo – SMX East, October 5-7 at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. Networking begins before the conference on SMX Connect, the SMX East social networking site. You can:

post your profile, introduce yourself to others, and arrange meetings
create and print a custom itinerary of sessions and activities
schedule lunches with others who share your interests at birds-of-a-feather tables

Meeting people online is great, but networking in person is where you make the connections that grow your professional network. Here is the schedule of in-person networking events at SMX East:

SMX Meet & Greet
Sunday, October 4th – 6:00pm to 7:30pm

Start your SMX East experience off right! Arrive early, pick up your All Access Pass and join for an informal evening reception with fellow attendees, speakers and invited guests. Open to All Access and Networking Pass holders. Join us at The Living Room, located in the W Hotel in Times Square, 1567 Broadway at the corner of 47th street (walk is less than 10 minutes – map and directions here).

Meet & Eat Networking Lunches and Birds-Of-A-Feather Tables
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday at lunch

There are two ways to get more out of lunch at SMX than just hot meals! All lunches are included for SMX East All Access and Networking guests. You’re certain to sit with knowledgeable and engaging people.

Like the experience to be a little more structured? Sign on to SMX Connect and sign up for a birds-of-a-feather table. These are a great opportunities to continue the conversation with others who share your interests. Topics will be posted shortly.

SMX Expo Hall Reception
Monday, October 5th – 6:00pm to 7:00pm

The SMX Networking Reception is the most fun you can have in an Expo hall. Join us to talk, relax, and have a drink and snacks while you visit with all the marketing leading solution providers. See the full list here. This event takes place right after the opening keynote in the Javits.

IM Charity Party@SMX
Monday, October 5th – 8:00pm to 11:00pm

Do good – have fun. Join us for Internet Marketers’ Charity Party @ SMX and help support a great cause. We’ll have an open bar, raffle some great prizes and you meet internet marketers from around the world! 100% of your $50 entrance fee donated here goes to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

The IM Charity Party@SMX East is open to everyone with your $50 donation. You’ll have the opportunity to register for the Party when you register for SMX. Just want to attend the party? Click here. The Party will be held at The Town Tavern, 134 West Third Street, New York City./p>

Our sponsors pay 100% of the cost of the beverages and refreshments at the Party, so much thanks to Best of the Web and Clix Marketing.

Look for details and additions to the networking activities on our page!

SMX East is an outstanding value at just $1395 for 3 days of exceptional content and invaluable connections, with the essential conveniences SMX events offer. You can be confident you’ve invested wisely; we guarantee it!

Register today!