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Keeping score in connected marketing (one pepperoni pizza at a time) 14
The second wave of location-based services 8 Social and mobile converge in location-based marketing 10 Newest stats on mobile search 12
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Keeping score in connected marketing (one pepperoni pizza at a time) Listening to your customers, constituents, and fans is the easy part. sneak preview: SES San Francisco at Connected Marketing Week Find out why our sessions, workshops, and speakers make SES San Francisco, part of ClickZ’s Connected Marketing week, a must-attend event.
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Newest stats on mobile search Four insightful findings on the types of information consumers are searching for on mobile.
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F-Commerce, the arrival of the Facebook consumer Retailers, businesses, and brands test approaches for commerce inside or influenced by Facebook.
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6 ways to use social media to boost local search results How can you get the most impact out of a social media program? Start with the right social media strategy.
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Stopped buying links? Here are 3 better ways to use that budget Put your link buying budget to better use in digital asset optimization, social media, and SEO.
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So how is the job market looking this year? Workers in four key digital marketing disciplines are in demand.
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ww.connectedmarketingweek.com Facebook Check-in Deals
The second wave of location-based services A look at promising new services from Facebook and other companies. Social and mobile converge in locationbased marketing There are significant opportunities for social engagement between companies and community members, so long as you watch out for the hurdles.
Check-in on Facebook on a smart phone and see the special Deals from nearby businesses.
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staff Matt McGowan MD, North America
about SES Mike Grehan Global VP, Content
Welcome to SES Magazine. What can you do to ensure that you are part of the conversation with connected consumers? In this issue, we share some potential approaches, and we would love to hear your ideas, too. We also invite you to check out the agenda for Connected Marketing Week, which takes place on August 15–19 in San Francisco. Hope to see you there!
Program Development Senior Program Director Conference Program manager Conference Program manager
Marilyn Crafts Jackie Ortez Laura Roth
Operations director of U.S. Operations Operations Manager Operations Manager Registration Associate
Anna Maria Virzi executive Editor CLICKZ
Michele McDermott Dan Hoskins Tamsin Parkin Charisse Rosales
ClickZ & Search Engine Watch Executive Editor, ClickZ Director, SEW Managing Editor, News Senior Editor, News Staff Writer Staff Writer Copy Editor Asia Desk Editor
SES Advisory Board
Anna Maria Virzi Jonathan Allen Zach Rodgers Kate Kaye Christopher Heine Jack Marshall Caitlin Rossman Adaline Lau
Comprised of both industry thought leaders and real-world practitioners, the Search Engine Strategies advisory board brings together top players in the field of interactive media and search. The team works to deliver continually cutting-edge search techniques, more integrated and relevant content, and professional development resources to SES attendees.
Sales & Marketing Sales Directors
Account Executive Director, Client Services Marketing Director Marketing Manager Web Designer Designer Online Operations manager Online Operations associate
Andrew Katz Elaine Mershon Elaine Romeo Peter Westerholm Elizabeth Huston JoAnn Simonelli Angela Man Christian Georgeou Rebecca Holz Edward Simpo Louise Laberge Aleksey Gershin
Mike Grehan, Chair Global VP Content SES/Search Engine Watch/ ClickZ
Bryan Eisenberg Bestselling Author bryaneisenberg.com
Anne F. Kennedy International Search Strategist Beyond Ink USA
Jonathan Allen Director SearchEngineWatch
Paul Fegan Head of e-Learning Incisive Media
Jon Myers Head of Account Management Yahoo! UK & Ireland
Matthew Bailey President Site Logic Marketing
Christian Georgeou Marketing Manager SES Conference & Expo
Lee Odden CEO TopRank Online Marketing
Thomas Bindl Founder & CEO Refined Labs GmbH
Andrew Goodman President Page Zero Media
Jackie Ortez Conference Program & Training Manager SES Conference & Expo
Mikel Chertudi Sr. Director, Online & Demand Marketing Adobe
Bill Hunt President Back Azimuth Consulting
Laura Roth Conference Program & Training Manager SES Conference & Expo
Eddie Choi Managing Director Frontiers Digital
Aaron Kahlow Chairman & Founder, Online Marketing SummiT
Crispin Sheridan Sr. Director of Search Marketing Strategy SAP
Magazine Contributors
Contributing Designer
Julie Batten, Chris Boggs, Jason Dempsey, Janice Diner, Liana Evans, Jake Langwith, Garry Przyklenk, Jon Schepke, Anna Maria Virzi Dawn Cavalieri
Marilyn Crafts Senior Program Director SES Advisory Board Coordinator SES Conference & Expo
Corporate Chief Executive Group Managing Director
Tim Weller James Hanbury
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SES: Volume 5, Issue 6 | July 2011 © 2011 Incisive Media plc To advertise, subscribe, contribute, or view past issues: www.sesconference.com/ses-magazine Comments? Want to unsubscribe? E-mail us: magazine@sesconference.com Incisive Media, U.S. 55 Broad Street, 22nd fl. New York, NY 10004-2501 tel (646) 736-1888 fax (646) 390-6612 Please recycle this magazine!
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-based services ng wave of location -based marketi The second e in location mobile converg on mobile search Social and Newest stats
Advertiser Index For information about advertising in future issues, please contact sales at sales@sesconference.com or (212) 457-4993.
Advertiser Page Adlucent.......................................................................15 adMarketplace......................................................... C4 Bing.................................................................................. 3 Bruce Clay, Inc..........................................................21 Business Wire............................................................39 eConsultancy.............................................................17 eMarketer....................................................................13 eZanga.com................................................................27 Google............................................................................. 1 iContact......................................................................... 5 Indus Net Technologies........................................33 iProspect.....................................................................25
Advertiser Page LinkWorth...................................................................35 LocalSplash............................................................... 29 Marin Software........................................................C3 PRWeb..........................................................................37 ReelSEO......................................................................... 9 The Search Monitor............................................... 40 Submit Edge...............................................................23 Symantec – VeriSign Authentication Division.................................................................... C2 topseos.com................................................................. 6 Website Magazine...................................................31
focus: location-based services
The second wave of location-based services A look at promising new services from Facebook and other companies. by Jason Dempsey
T
hough still in their infancy, locationbased service (LBS) applications have experienced tremendous growth. Now that we’re seeing more rapid adoption, we expect the environment to change and start to show innovations as services begin to mature. Let’s look at where the next wave of LBS applications is going this year. Beyond the Check-In
As the market evolves, companies that offer location services will need to look for new ways to beef up their offerings beyond the check-in and fulfill more mainstream roles. While we all love checking in and sharing info, users will tire of the many steps that now exist (think about the many questions on whether you want to share, where you want to share, associated confirmations, and on and on). The “check-in” as a popular concept in LBS will be in for some serious changes as consumers look for more convenient, private, and rewarding ways to declare where they are. Better Deals integration: Facebook has intimately linked its Places offering with Deals. The service is a natural extension of its local marketing initiatives. Small, medium, and large businesses can all benefit from linking their company’s Facebook page to a physical location on Facebook Places. Business owners can then use the combination of Places and Deals to increase foot traffic. Facebook Places check-ins have also become a focus of the Sponsored Stories ad units. Brands can have friends’ likes and Places checkins turned into small ads that show up next to a user’s newsfeed. For example, if your friend checks in at Starbucks on Facebook Places, you would see that check-in called out alongside the other Facebook ad units. Social recommendation engine: Expect growth in conversations around places. People want to share not only
8 SES • July 2011 {San Francisco preview}
The “check-in” as a popular concept in LBS will be in for some serious changes as consumers look for more convenient, private, and rewarding ways to declare where they are. that they’ve been somewhere, but also what they think about it. Foursquare’s Tips feature makes it easy for people to
the volume up when entering a loud workspace, turn off 3G, and switch to Wi-Fi when entering their home.
leave behind tips about a location like what to eat, what not to eat, and what to do. Other apps will follow and extend this content from a supporting role to a key component of the experience.
Broadcastr, a startup, links locations to audio stories. One of the first projects on the service is a series of audio stories about the World Trade Center that people can access when they’re close to where the towers stood. Broadcastr’s service shows how location-based media can add context for people who want to learn more about a location.
Users will also start extending recommendations to other places outside of the current location. For Google, this means making robust updates to its suite of location apps. Google has already rolled out updates Privacy Concerns to make its Latitude and Places products Privacy will remain a major issue for many more appealing to everyday consumers – for consumers, regardless of all the whizz-bang example, Google Places’ HotPot, a location awesomeness that these location-based serrecommendation tool that is fueled by Net- vices offer. Microsoft’s LBS research found flix-like ratings of locations and a social rec- that just over 50 percent of consumers are ommendation system based on places friends “very concerned” about their identities being have liked. Yelp has started using Facebook’s stolen via LBS. Just as job hunters have Open Graph API to make social recommenda- grown to protect their Facebook activity from tions based on reviews Facebook friends have the eyes of human resources and recruiters, posted. the pitfalls of over-sharing one’s locations with friends and colleagues is also a concern. Specialty Services Smart startups and marketers must take data LBS apps are evolving to focus on utility and security and privacy seriously and not abuse specialty services that have location at their consumer trust. core. For the past four years, Jason Droplat creates location-based virtual Dempsey has lead Moxie’s storage: users have a virtual drive that Technology department with follows them from location to location, his futuristic thinking and innoand each location has its own drive filled vative ways. He is constantly with files others have left behind. The pushing his team of 50 to chalservice is small but shows how location lenge the conventional ways of thinking and decan add a new twist to file sharing. velop unique and unprecedented programs and Tasker, a robust location app for Android, rich Internet applications for Moxie’s clients. can automate a phone’s entire behavior Dempsey works on all of Moxie’s brands, from based on the location it is in. Users can Coca-Cola to 20th Century Fox to Verizon set the phone to automatically switch Wireless. to silent when entering the office, turn
focus: location-based services
Social and mobile converge in location-based marketing There are significant opportunities for social engagement between companies and community members, so long as you watch out for the hurdles. by Liana Evans
F
or many years now, we’ve been hearing that this year is the “Year of Mobile.” Without giving away my age, I will say that I used to sell cellular phones back when they were big Motorola bag phones. Even back then, the hype around those years being the “Year of Mobile” was heard. Needless to say, we’ve come a long way since bag phones and the once popular flip phone models of old. Back then, the thought of accessing the Internet directly from a mobile phone was something of Star Trek wonderment. Now, I’ve got a Star Trek tricorder app for my phone. Smartphones are becoming a way of life. For many of us, if we lose our phones, it’s like a lifeline has been cut. How do we communicate with our social world? How do we let our friends know what’s going on with our lives? How do we find out vital information? The thought of booting up the laptop or running to a desktop by this point seems archaic.
According to a report from The Location Based Marketing Association and SocialLoco Conference, there’s an apparent disconnect between early adopters, what people are talking about online in regard to smartphone apps, and how the rest of the U.S. population perceives these types of services. People are talking about Groupon online; over 50 percent of the conversation revolves
doesn’t “reward” its users like Foursquare does with mayorships and badges. When people get something in return for engaging with an entity, they talk about it. With Groupon, you’re getting a “great deal,” and you want to share that with your network; when Foursquare merchants reward check-ins with coupons (on top of the badges and mayorships), there’s a definite answer to
around this “couponing” phenom, followed by 29 percent of the conversation around Foursquare, and only 2 percent about Facebook Places. Early adopters not only discuss these apps but embrace them: 30 percent use Groupon, 22 percent use Foursquare, and a whopping 90 percent use Facebook Places. In contrast, only 6 percent of mass consumers who aren’t using the apps would consider using Foursquare, 40 percent would consider using Groupon, and 55 percent would use Facebook Places.
the “What’s in it for me?” question.
what’s in it for the user? opportunities and challenges
While we still have a long way to go for adoption rates to pick up in the United States, in our now ever-present global society, other parts of the world use their smartphones as second nature. Seventy-five percent of mobile subscribers in Japan are connected media users, and adoption rates in the U.K., Spain, and Italy have all surpassed rates in the U.S., according to comScore’s “The 2010 Mobile Year in Review” report. This presents some significant opportunities for social engagement between companies and community members. While most location-based marketing services that interact with mobile devices such as Facebook Places and Foursquare aren’t exactly mainstream, they are seeing tremendous growth. For marketers wanting to be where the market is trending, mobile and social is definitely a place to keep a keen eye on. Yet, there are some hurdles that marketers need to keep in mind when planning strategies that engage consumers in this converged area of marketing.
10 SES • July 2011 {San Francisco preview}
People love to talk about these new “shiny objects,” but there are reasons why they haven’t appealed to the mass public yet, and there are lessons to be learned from those reasons for marketers wanting to engage their audience in this social-mobile marketing environment. Eighty-three percent of those surveyed were non-users of social location apps, citing these reasons for not embracing the technologies as early adopters do: 50 percent don’t own a smartphone. 49 percent had no motivation to use the app. (“There’s nothing in it for me!”) 48 percent had privacy concerns (these apps tell your network where you are). Experts have surmised that the reason Facebook Places has such a high adoption rate isn’t that early adopters want to check in, but that they are already using Facebook through the app and it’s not “another download” that has to take place. However, this doesn’t address the fact that the system itself
Conclusion
While location-based marketing isn’t hitting the mainstream audiences this year, it’s likely that in the next two years, you’ll see this type of consumer engagement become part of everyday marketing efforts. This is especially true when people are already interacting with national brands (63 percent) and users are sharing what they do online with small businesses (63 percent) via their smartphone apps. While 2011 won’t be the year of mobile, it’s certainly wise for any marketer to keep an eye on ways to engage their consumers in this new platform. Liana “Li” Evans is the author of Social Media Marketing: Engaging Strategies for Facebook, Twitter & Other Social Media, and is the co-founder and CEO of LiBeck Integrated Marketing. She is an established online marketing industry veteran with over 15 years experience specializing in search marketing and social media marketing.
Want to learn more? SES San Francisco will feature sessions on the latest in social and mobile, including “Local + Social: the Future of Promotion.” www.SESsanfrancisco.com
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focus: mobile
Newest stats on mobile search Four insightful findings on the types of information consumers are searching for on mobile. by Julie Batten
I
don’t know about you, but I’m always on the lookout for the latest stats to help me justify to my clients where to invest their marketing dollars. What I’m particularly interested in are bite-sized pieces of compelling data I can share quickly with others. As mobile is one of the hot topics in digital, I was excited to see Google release a brand new study on mobile and smartphone usage. The study, entitled “The Mobile Movement,” was conducted in partnership with OTX MediaCT, U.S., in April 2011. The study looked at five key areas: 1. How are smartphones used in daily life? 2. What role do smartphones play in decision making for products and services? 3. How do consumers multitask with their smartphones? 4. What types of info are consumers searching for on mobile? 5. How do consumers respond to mobile ads?
I’m going to focus on number four – what users are searching for on mobile. This is going to be a bullet-point dissemination of facts that you can pull out during an elevator conversation with your executive. I will also include a quick-hit overview of the relevancy for marketers. Finding No. 1: Search Engines Are the Most Visited Sites on Mobile
Search engine websites are the most visited websites, with 77 percent of smartphone users citing this, followed by social networking, retail, and video sharing websites. Relevance for marketers: Make sure your website is findable in mobile search. That may mean purchasing mobile search ads if your organic ranking isn’t showing at the top. And with significantly less fitting in “above the fold” on mobile, it very well may not show.
12 SES • July 2011 {San Francisco preview}
News, dining, and navigational information are all sought by over 50 percent of smartphone users. No matter what category or business you’re in, mobile matters. Even if you don’t market a product or service that lends itself well to mobile (e.g., a local business or news source), you can still offer something of value to mobile or “in transit” users. Finding No. 2: Searchers Look for a
Finding No. 4: Local
Variety of Information on Mobile
Information Seekers Are
While a range of topics top the list, news, dining, and navigational information – information types that lend themselves particularly well to mobile access and action – are all sought by over 50 percent of smartphone users. Relevance for marketers: No matter what category or business you’re in, mobile matters. Even if you don’t market a product or service that lends itself well to mobile (e.g., a local business or news source), you can still offer something of value to mobile or “in transit” users. For example, if you market a gastrointestinal product, you could create an app to help users find the highest rated public bathroom in their area.
Even More Action-Oriented
Finding No. 3: Mobile Phone Searchers Take Action
Nine out of 10 smartphone searches result in an action (purchasing, visiting a business, etc.). 24 percent recommended a brand or product to others as a result of a smartphone search. Relevance for marketers: Make it easier for mobile searchers to take action after seeing your ad or listing. Provide a phone number in your search ad, a send-to-a-friend link on your home page, a map to the nearest location, or a short-code so users can text to get more information.
95 percent of smartphone users have looked for local information. 88 percent of these users take action within a day. 77 percent have contacted a business, with 61 percent calling and 59 percent visiting the local business. Relevance for marketers: If you’re a local business, presence in search engines is of the utmost importance. It’s even more critical to make it easy for users to take action. In addition to some ideas mentioned above, offering time-sensitive promotions can also motivate users to respond quickly (e.g., promoting a one-day sale). While none of these findings are quite intuitive, they provide solid justification to secure additional funding for your mobile marketing efforts. Julie Batten, vice president, media strategy, at Klick Communications, is responsible for developing and managing online marketing campaigns for world-class brands. With a strong emphasis on search marketing activities, Julie conceptualizes digital marketing strategies to enhance clients’ online presences. She previously headed up the SEM practice at Non-linear Creations.
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by Anna Maria Virzi
Keeping score in connected marketing (one pepperoni pizza at a time) Listening to your customers, constituents, and fans is the easy part.
14 SES • July 2011 {San Francisco preview}
W
hen Shaquille O’Neal announced on June 1 that he was retiring from professional basketball, he initially shared the news on Twitter, Facebook, and video site Tout. “im retiring,” he stated succinctly on Twitter, where he has 3.8 million followers, and on a Facebook fan page, where 2 million people like him. Good karma instantly kicked in. “The original Superman, the Big Diesel, u will be greatly missed bruh. The most powerful force to ever lace up a pair of sneakers has left the court but not our hearts !! Continue success bruh !!!!” wrote Stan Williams, one of nearly 4,000 people who left comments on O’Neal’s Facebook fan page. Welcome to an era where people – consumers and potential customers, fans, and followers – are connected to each other and to brands and personalities that have earned their loyalty. O’Neal showed that he’s a savvy marketer committed to and connected with fans, rewarding them by imparting news two days before going public at an “official” news conference with traditional media organizations. He’s also built good will among fans as he moves into his next career off the court. In contrast, U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner served as an example of connected marketing gone bad. In May, Weiner said someone hacked his account to send a photo of a male crotch in underwear to a college student. Ten days later, he admitted that he had meant to send a private message, but accidentally made it public. “I lied because I was embarrassed. I lied because I was ashamed and did not want to get caught,” he confessed.
WE ALL SHOP IN OUR UNDERWEAR.
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focus: cover story / connected marketing
The fallout was fast and furious, demonstrating that everyone has a voice online and off – from daily newspapers, to late-night TV talk show hosts, to individuals on Twitter. “Say it ain’t so, Rep. Weiner. Epic FAIL, dude,” tweeted @pulpjedi. “Should Anthony Weiner have lied about his picture? No. Should we have ever asked about it? No. There are still two wars to end,” wrote @_SoulKhan on the night of Weiner’s admission.
platforms like Facebook Deals. Add location in the mix and it again means new marketing opportunities while providing a payoff to the user,” remarked Jason Dempsey, SVP of technology at Moxie Interactive, in a recent ClickZ column. He pointed to mobile app Shopkick that rewards shoppers with so-called Kickbucks in exchange for performing different actions at a retailer: walking in, scanning products, and liking different goods and deals. Participating retailers include Best Buy, Target, and Crate & Barrel.
The Connected Consumer: A Snapshot
Encourage sharing: Businesses are pursuing ways to build good will, and social sharing holds promise. Pepsi’s Refresh Everything program, started in 2009, awards grants of $5,000 to $50,000 each month for “refreshing ideas that change the world, one community at a time.” People and organizations are invited to submit ideas and then get as many other people as possible to vote on the ideas. From May 9 through August 16, Toyota is giving away 100 cars over 100 days to nonprofits. Each day, five organizations will be profiled on Toyota’s Facebook page; the public is invited to vote to help determine the winning nonprofit organization. Apologize when you screw up: One of Rep. Weiner’s biggest mistakes was failing to show respect to his constituents and others when he initially lied about his tweets. Though his apology did not silence critics, it appeased some, including Kevin McCullough, conservative columnist on FoxNews.com: “Anthony Weiner did the right and just thing in completely confessing his actions, apologizing to his staff, his constituents, his families, and his wife.” (Despite the heartfelt apology, Rep. Weiner resigned after additional embarrassing details emerged about his online activities.) Look inward: A business is only as good as the products and services it offers. And it must continually fine-tune its operations and customer service to ensure that it meets customer needs. “Listening is the easy part,” said Jeff Cole, senior manager of global social media operations at Kellogg’s, during a recent marketing conference in New York City. “It’s actually getting collaboration across organizations, having one vision – getting insights from [social analytics and customer] data, that’s the challenge.” Consider Domino’s Pizza. It listened to complaints from customers and worked on improving its pizzas. Rather than run from its critics, Domino’s management acknowledged customers’ concerns and worked on turning around its reputation one pepperoni pizza at a time.
Sales of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices have taken off, making it easier for people to communicate on the go and stay in touch with friends and family. So how connected are consumers? Consider these stats: Worldwide sales of smartphones totaled 99.6 million units during the first three months of 2011, an increase of 79.7 percent compared to the same period in 2010, according to market analysis firm IDC. 53 percent of people ages 16 to 22 would give up their sense of smell before relinquishing their mobile phone or computer, according to McCann Worldgroup. “Technology as a fifth sense allows young people to sense the world and make sense of the world,” observed Laura Simpson, McCann Worldgroup’s global IQ director. Among those adults who own a cellphone, 65 percent say that they have slept with their phone on or right next to their bed, according to a Pew Research Center study from 2010. 50 billion apps will be downloaded this year, according to Ilja Laurs, CEO of GetJar. “Apps are like websites 15 years ago,” Laurs noted during a marketing conference in New York City. “You just don’t put your printed brochure online. You build an app experience around your core brand value; leverage all the new and cool features of the mobile device – touch, location.” Bottom Line for Brands
Connected consumers can embrace brands they like and attack those they don’t – in a heartbeat. A study by McCann Worldgroup, “The Truth About Youth,” found that 90 percent of young people said they agree with this statement: “If a brand lets me down in some way I will make a point of telling my friends about it.” So what can businesses do to ensure that they are part of the conversation with connected consumers? Reward loyalty: Businesses have long sought to reward loyal customers since the introduction of the S&H Green Stamps program in the 1930s and the airline frequent flyer programs in the 1980s. Today, rewards programs are taking new approaches. “Virtual currencies are gaining a lot of attention, and this will only increase with
16 SES • July 2011 {San Francisco preview}
Anna Maria Virzi, ClickZ’s executive editor, is a journalist who’s covered Internet business and technology since 1996. She was on the launch team for Ziff Davis Media’s Baseline magazine and has worked at Forbes.com, Web Week, Internet World, and the Connecticut Post.
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SEO track
PPC Track
SOCIAL MEDIA TRACK
Day 1: Tuesday, August 16
7:30a–6:30p 8:00a–9:00a
Morning Coffee
9:00a–10:00a
Conference Welcome & Opening Keynote
10:00a–11:00a
Speed Connect—Expo Hall open 10:00a–6:30p
11:00a–12:00p
Information Architecture for the Modern Website
The Tools of the Trade for PPC
12:00p–1:00p 1:00p–2:00p
4:15p–5:15p
Social Media Solutions on a Budget
The Tools of the Trade for SEO
sponsored session
Meaningful SEO Metrics: Going Beyond the Numbers
Reserved for Late-Breaking Topic
Insider Tips to Ad Optimization
sponsored session
WeBuildPages Internet Marketing Services
sponsored session
Automating Social Media
Analytics for PPC
PPC Track
SOCIAL MEDIA TRACK
7:30a–6:00p
Registration Morning Coffee
9:00a–9:20a
Morning Briefing with Mike Grehan The Basics of Link Building
Reserved for Late-Breaking Topic
10:30a–11:30a Word Press: Power to the People!
What Every Paid Search Advertiser Needs to Know about the Bing/ Yahoo Search Alliance
Introduction to Social Media
Crossing the Digital Divide: The Leap from Search to Display
Introduction to SEO
accelerator track
Is Retargeting/ Remarketing Right for You?
Killer Facebook Targeting Tactics
global business track
sponsored session
sponsored session
HTML 5: The Interactive Social Web
Getting Ready for Global Business
Social Media Data Can Drive Your Business
The Other Googles
Advanced Paid Search Tactics
Global Opportunities in PR, Social Media, & Mobile
Conversion Tools of the Master Craftsman
Global Search Marketing Best Practices Roundtable
Meet the Experts: Networking Lunch Bringing SEO In House: The Pros & Cons
Landing Page Optimization
2:30p–3:00p
Next Gen YouTube Marketing Afternoon Break in the Expo Hall
SEO Competitive Analysis
PPC Veterans: Roundtable
4:30p–4:45p 4:45p–5:45p
Reserved for Late-Breaking Topic
Speed Connect—Expo Hall open 10:00a–3:00p
12:30p–1:30p
3:00p–4:30p
Introduction to Paid Search
Networking Cocktail Reception—Expo Hall
8:00a–9:00a
1:30p–2:30p
Advanced Keyword Modeling
Speed Connect—Afternoon Break in the Expo Hall
SEO track
11:30a–12:30p
Introduction to Analytics
Session Interval
5:15p–6:30p
9:30a–10:30a
Bing: More Bang for the Click sponsored session
Meet the Experts: Networking Lunch
2:00p–2:15p
2:15p–3:15p
kick start track
Registration
3:15p–4:15p
Day 2: Wednesday, August 17
accelerator track
Social Media Lab Session Interval
SEO Is Dead. Long live SEO!
Place Search & Facebook Ads: An EyeTracking Story
5:45p–6:45p
20 SES • July 2011 {San Francisco preview}
Social Media Metrics
Open Mic: SEW Black Hat, White Hat Unconferenced
SEO Training:
Your Online Marketing Edge Having trouble getting your Web site to rank in Google? Are you losing ground to competitors, and slipping in the search results? Your business needs a search engine optimization strategy that works for today’s search environment. Search engines keep advancing at a hectic pace. New features like personalization, canonicalization, real-time search and on and on continue to emerge and evolve. It is a full-time job just keeping up with all the changes, let alone knowing how to apply them to make your Web site rank. Thankfully, the Internet marketing team at Bruce Clay, Inc. has paired leading-edge search engine research with years of successful Web site optimization to create an SEO training course geared for all levels.
Join search marketing expert Bruce Clay at SES New York for a one-day Search Engine Optimization Training workshop. This one-day course targets marketing and technical staff alike. You’ll learn white hat SEO strategies and tactics necessary in today’s fast-changing search world.
What You Get: Full day of live training from search marketing expert Bruce Clay Lunch
n in g i a r S ESOE T O Tr a i n i n g ay, A u gu st 19 d F ri tea: te D aD :M
o n day, A u gu s t 2. . – 5:3 0 p.m 2 .m a 0 :3 8 : e T im T im e: 8:3 0 a .m . – 5:3 0 p .m . 5 9 9 o sot: CC s t:$ $ 1 ,2 45 gister, go to: e details and to re or rm FoFo r more detai
Training materials One-year subscription to the full-featured SEOToolSet®
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Free copy of Search Engine Optimization All-in-One for Dummies, co-authored by Bruce Clay and Susan Esparza
Finish off your conference week right — learn the current best practices in SEO methodology, concepts and strategies. SEOToolSet® SEO Training courses also available in Simi Valley, CA. For dates and details, see: http://www.bruceclay.com/seo/training.htm
Serving businesses of all sizes since 1996 U.S.: (866) 517-1900 Worldwide: (805) 517-1900 www.bruceclay.com
agenda
www.ConnectedMarketingWeek.com
SEO track
local/mobile TRACK
8:00a–4:00p
Registration
8:00a–9:00a
Morning Coffee
9:00a–10:30a
Day 3: Thursday, August 18
PPC Track
SEO Veterans: Round Table
Ads in a Quality Score World
10:30a–10:45a 10:45a–12:15p
Webmaster Workshop
PPC Lab
Accelerator Lab
Content Marketing Optimization
Local + Social: The Future of Promotion
Creative Thinking & Effective Linking
B2B Lead Generation Management & CRM Integration
Channel Surfing: Measuring Profit & ROI across Channels
Search: Where to Next?
PPC Beyond Search: New Ad Formats, Display, & Social
Managing Your Google Reputation
Meet the Experts: Networking Lunch
SEO Lab
Avoiding PPC Campaign Stagnation
2:45p–3:00p 3:00p–4:00p
special interest track
Session Interval
12:15p–1:15p
1:15p–2:45p
Local 2.0: The Evolution of Local Search
accelerator track
Smart Mobile Marketing
Session Interval Enterprise Level SEO
Contextual Ads and AdSense Clinic
Reserved for Late Breaking Topic
4:00p–4:30p
Afternoon Break
4:30p–5:30p
Afternoon Keynote Panel
5:30p–6:30p
Wrap-up Session
exhibitors 7Search.com Acquisio Adlucent Adobe Systems, Incorporated American Express OPEN AuroIN LLC Bing blekko Brafton, Inc. BrightEdge Bruce Clay Inc. ClearSaleing ClickEquations ClickPath Compete Covario, Inc. Cybertegic, Inc. Email Experience Council eZanga.com Google gShift Labs
22 SES • July 2011 {San Francisco preview}
iContact iCrossing Inceptor Indus Net Technologies iProspect Kenshoo LinkWorth Local.com LookSmart Marchex Marin Software Market Motive Training Institute Pixelsilk Plimus PM Digital PRWeb Que Publishing Raven Internet Marketing Tools Rimm-Kaufman Group (RKG) Rosetta Searchmetrics
Sedo.com SEMRush SEO, Inc. SEOmoz Servio Media SiteWit SpyFu SubmitEdge Superpages.com Symantec – VeriSign Authentication Division teliad Textbroker.com topseos.com Trada Inc. Visibility Magazine WebmasterRadio.FM Website Magazine We Build Pages Wpromote Inc.
www.submitedge.com | support@submitedge.com
| Link Building Services
| Local Search Optimization
| Search Engine Optimization
| Video Creation & Optimization
| Web Speed Optimization
| Online Reputation Management
| Pay Per Click Management
| SEO Content Creation
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US Office (Marketing) : 10777 Westheimer, Suit 1100, Houston, TX 77042., USA. Toll Free : +1 (866) 503-2556 Toll Free Fax : +1 (800) 871-9044 UK Office (Marketing) : Office 404, 4th Floor, Albany House, 324/326 Regent Street, London, W1B 3HH. Phone : 0-808-234-2383 India Office (Production House) : 24, Nand-Deep Ind. Est., Kondivita Rd., Andheri (E), Bombay - 400059, India. Phone : +91-22-42560099
session highlights
www.ConnectedMarketingWeek.com
Conference Day 1: Tuesday, August 16
about improving your PPC ads on Google, Facebook, and other platforms.
11:00–12:00P
4:15–5:15p
seo track Information Architecture for the Modern Website
accelerator track Crossing the Digital Divide: The Leap from Search to Display
We all know how to develop sites to be search friendly, but how do we architect sites for the rapidly evolving cross-media challenges of social media, real time, and user-generated content. Come learn how to design and deploy a next-generation site architecture that maximizes your chances of findability no matter where and how searchers look for you.
The advent of new display optimization technologies and next-generation ad exchanges is offering a radically fresh take on an outdated media model. Demand-side platforms, in particular, offer advertisers better control over pricing and targeting, and power these advantages by creating advertiser-specific algorithms. In this session, you will receive an introduction to DSPs and ad exchanges, as well as advice for experienced search advertisers who want to take a first foray into exchange-traded display to broaden their media mix.
ppc track The Tools of the Trade for PPC Are there tools you could be using right now to help double your conversions, lower your costs, and save your team hours of time every week? At this panel, top paid search tool vendors will showcase their latest features in bid management and campaign workflow efficiencies, and reveal what the future holds for the industry.
social media track Automating Social Media Visit www.SESsanfrancisco.com for details.
Conference Day 2: Wednesday, August 17
1:00–2:00P
11:30–12:30P
accelerator track Advanced Keyword Modeling
Accelerator Track HTML 5: The Interactive Social Web
Google Instant and Bing’s intent-based results are creating a need for a new generation of keyword research, expansion, and modeling techniques. This session will guide you through ways to integrate data from search, social, and traditional media to identify new opportunities and revenue streams.
2:15–3:15P ppc track Insider Tips to Ad Optimization Can changing just a couple of words in a PPC ad really account for a 115+% lift in click throughs, conversions, and more? Why might your image on Facebook be turning people off from clicking on your ad? How can you consistently improve your online advertising performance? This session will cover everything you always wanted to know
24 SES • July 2011 {San Francisco preview}
HTML 1.0 was developed as a simple markup code to format and display text. But with the growth of the world wide web and the demand for a much richer end user experience, web browsers are forced to accept alien apps and plug-ins such as JavaScript, Flash, and AJAX, which provide both commerce and entertainment. With the emergence of HTML 5, developers can take a different approach. Find out how the new hypertext markup language will change the chemistry of the web.
Global Business Track Getting Ready for Global Business This session will focus on the fundamentals of going global, with emphasis on understanding the opportunities as well as the
inherent complexities in conducting an international business. The speakers will suggest ways to pick target markets, to understand your opportunities in new markets, and to deal with logistical and cultural issues.
1:30–2:30P PPC Track Landing Page Optimization Getting someone to come to your website is only half the battle. Once visitors arrive, the landing pages are a crucial component in moving them to act. If your conversion rate is too low, you are literally turning away business. This session will give you a crash course in how to tune and tweak your key web pages to get the conversion.
3:00–4:30P Global Business Track Global Opportunities in PR, Social Media, & Mobile Emerging technologies on a global scale are as various as the countries themselves. This session showcases new technologies from around the globe and explores ways they may be of use in other markets.
4:45–5:45P Special Interest Track Place Search & Facebook Ads: An Eye-Tracking Story An eye-tracking study conducted on Place Search and Facebook by UX Research–provider User First revealed some interesting trends, including the way users interact with the new localized search results and paid ads in social media. Nielsen released a study on the behavior of 800,000 Facebook users and concluded that earned media and social advocacy made users more likely to notice ads, absorb their content, and make purchases. This session will share data and insights on measuring the effectiveness of optimized search elements and understanding the value between social media campaigns and user engagement.
session highlights Conference Day 3: Thursday, August 18 9:00–10:30A Accelerator Track Accelerator Lab Visit www.SESsanfrancisco.com for details.
10:45–12:15P Accelerator Track Creative Thinking & Effective Linking It’s fairly well recognized in the SEO sector that the importance of PageRank at Google has been declining. However, links are still vitally important to your SEO strategy. This advanced session takes into consideration the combination of links, text, and usage data as ranking signals to search engines. Learn how to use creative methods to develop and maintain an ongoing linking strategy to acquire quality links and improve ranking for varying types of content.
1:15–2:45P Local/Mobile Track Smart Mobile Marketing This session will help you understand how mobile marketing fits into the traditional and online marketing mix and determine what marketing strategy is most appropriate for your business. It will provide tips for updating existing sites to work on a variety of mobile devices and will expose the major online marketing mistakes that are being made by some of the top mobile marketing agencies.
Accelerator Track Channel Surfing: Measuring Profit & ROI Across Channels Which types of ads or combination of ads are the most likely to lead to conversion – your display ads, Facebook ads, branded PPC ads, or something else? And which ads result in the highest profit and ROI? Proper attribution models give marketers scientifically valid ways to determine how particular channels had an influence on purchase
26 SES • July 2011 {San Francisco preview}
www.ConnectedMarketingWeek.com or conversion. In this session, the panelists will identify various methods for determining attribution and will pinpoint common attribution misconceptions.
3:00–4:00p Accelerator Track PPC Beyond Search: New Ad Formats, Display, & Social There’s been an explosion of new ad formats like Sitelinks and Product Extensions, various flavors of managed and automatic content matching, and new tactics for managing and bidding on various placements. This session brings you up to speed on the state of the art. Learn what tools or skill sets are needed to manage and report on results from multiple search engines and even Facebook, and how marketers should prioritize efforts.
Workshops: Monday, August 15 8:00-12:00P How to Collect, Interpret, & Use Your Web Analytics Data You’ve built your web site. Now what? Is it generating revenue or is it still a cost center? Are people coming? Once they come to your site, what are they doing? All these questions can be answered by interpreting your web analytics data. This four-hour training session will teach you how to determine analytics tools that will help you make the decisions that will turn your web site into a revenue-generating tool and not simply an expense-line item.
How to Architect a SearchEngine Friendly Website In order for a site to be search engine– friendly, it must meet the needs of crawlerbased search engines and your site’s visitors. Ultimately, the site must be profitable for the owner. Can a single site satisfy all of these groups? Yes it can – if you have the right architecture, navigation design, and page layouts. Attendees will learn the whys, whats, and hows of architecting a user-
friendly, search-friendly, and persuasive site that converts visitors into buyers.
Mobile Marketing 101: Strategy, Tactics, & Best Practices You will receive a solid foundation in mobile marketing fundamentals, immerse yourself in examples and best practices, and consider their direct application to your business. Sharing and collaboration among participants will make for a lively brainstorming atmosphere.
1:00–5:00P Advanced Keyword Research & Management This workshop will guide you through ways to integrate and analyze data from search, social, and traditional media to identify new opportunities and revenue streams. Using provided worksheets, your data, and these new techniques, you will leave the session with actionable insights, new keyword opportunities, and a radically different perspective of how to leverage and manage the goldmine of data you already have in your organization.
PPC Basics & Implementing Your PPC Strategy Once you have the basic foundation of the campaign set up, your job as a search engine marketing professional is far from over. Implementation of a campaign requires attention to a completely separate set of tactical and strategic areas. Your campaign is like a living breathing entity, and needs both automated and manual attention in order to thrive. Learn what to look for in order to properly implement your PPC strategy.
Creating Social Media Strategies Using Audience Research You will be introduced to the world of online audience research through the use of various tools such as buzz monitoring tools, keyword analysis tools, trending, and insight tools. You will learn how to look at not only the quantity, but the quality of the data you are collecting and how that applies to efforts in social media marketing.
registration
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All-Access Pass
August 15–18
$2,495
$2,795
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Expo Hall Pass
August 16–17
FREE
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Events
Dates
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OMS Social Media Marketing Summit
August 15–16
2-Day Pass
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SES San Francisco Conference & Expo
August 16–18
1–2–3 Day Pass
$795–$1,195–$1,695
August 16
1 Day Pass
August 17
1 Day Pass
MMA Mobile Marketing Forum eec Email Marketing Forum
Workshops
Dates
Type of Pass
$745
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SES Training Workshops
August 15
Full & Half-Day Workshops
Full Day: $1,195 Half Day: $795
On-Site Rates $349 $995–$1,495–$1,995
$1,295
$895
On-Site Rates Full Day: $1,395 Half Day: $995
Bruce Clay SEO Training*
August 19
Full Day Workshop
$1,095
$1,295
aimClear® Facebook Marketing Intensive*
August 19
Full Day Workshop
$795
$1,000
eec Email Marketer’s Toolkit For Success*
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Full Day Workshop
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Visit the iTunes App Store this month for the SES San Francisco Conference & Expo mobile app.
28 SES • July 2011 {San Francisco preview}
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focus: social commerce
F-Commerce, the arrival of the Facebook consumer Retailers, businesses, and brands test approaches for commerce inside or influenced by Facebook.
F-Commerce Ecosphere
Commerce off Facebook
W
hat is social commerce? Wikipedia defines it this way: “Social commerce is a subset of electronic commerce that involves using social media, online media that supports social interaction and user contributions, to assist in the online buying and selling of products and services.” Let’s consider F-commerce or Facebook commerce. It’s a subset of social commerce and e-commerce, referring to commerce executed on or influenced by the Facebook platform. Retailers, businesses, and brands are testing a multitude of F-commerce models, and it is not just about pure e-commerce transactions; F-commerce naturally supports social interactions and user contributions. To break it down, we are seeing the terms “commerce on Facebook” and “commerce off Facebook” emerging.
Commerce on Facebook
by Janice Diner
F-Stores Facebook e-commerce stores where shoppers can purchase real goods with real currency without leaving Facebook
Commerce Deals on on Facebook Facebook This is commerce that happens inside Facebook, referring Facebook Credits Consumers can pay for The mandatory currency specifically to the purchase of real goods and real services Facebook Deals inside used for games and in-app FacebookFacebook with a credit virtual goods. Recently inside with a credit card or other valid monetary card, with PayPal or with being used for real goods system. Facebook Credits. with Deals on Facebook
Facebook Facebook Commerce off Facebook (on other sites) In-Store Retail Open Graph Bricks and mortar retailers This is commerce that takes advantage of Facebook's Facebook influenced integrating Facebook to commerce on e-commerce offer customers a social Open Graph, allowing shoppers to sign into Facebook websites with Like, Share, Facebook experience Recommend and Facebook while shopping in-store from any online site with a PC or mobile device. Connect Facebook Check-in Deals Check-in on Facebook on a smart phone and see the special Deals from nearby businesses.
© May 3, 2011, Janice Diner www.janicediner.com @janicediner
Commerce on Facebook
This e-commerce happens inside Facebook, referring specifically to the purchase of real goods and real services inside Facebook with a credit card or other valid monetary system.
just discounts. Currently, consumers pay for Facebook Deals inside Facebook with a credit card, PayPal, or Facebook Credits – Facebook’s own currency that, for the first time, is being used to buy real-world goods.
Facebook stores or F-stores
They’re emerging in a variety of formats and are not limited to traditional retailers. The P&G Pampers F-store, powered by Amazon WebStore, sold 1,000 diapers packs direct to consumers in under an hour. ASOS became Europe’s first fully integrated F-store, allowing consumers to complete purchases without ever leaving Facebook. Delta Ticket Counter allows consumers to book and pay for flights inside Facebook.
Commerce off Facebook (on other sites)
This is commerce that takes advantage of Facebook’s Open Graph, allowing shoppers to sign into Facebook from any online site with a PC or mobile device. There are many early examples of merchants using Facebook Social Plug-ins such as like, share, or recommend or with a deeper integration using Facebook Connect.
Facebook Credits
Facebook-enabled websites
The mandatory currency used for games and in-app virtual goods is now being used by Warner Bros. to stream movies in Facebook where consumers pay 30 Facebook credits ($3) to watch.
These are traditional websites and e-commerce sites that integrate with Facebook to offer customers a Facebook experience while shopping or researching purchases. Log in to TripAdvisor.com with Facebook Connect and you get a personalized experience that allows you to see your friends’ travel recommendations, socializing your travel planning and purchases. The Levi’s Friend
Facebook Deals
This launched April 26 in five cities with the focus on shared experiences as opposed to
30 SES • July 2011 {San Francisco preview}
Store, launched in April 2010, allows shoppers to browse their friends’ likes by product category. Facebook in-store retail
These brick-and-mortar retailers offer customers a Facebook experience while shopping in-store. Macy’s Magic Fitting Room is a Facebook-connected fitting room equipped with a camera-enhanced 72-inch mirror and an iPad that allow customers to try on clothes and then share the experience with their Facebook friends. Facebook “Check-in Deals”
These allow local retailers to drive in-store traffic by offering special discounts to consumers who check in to their location with Facebook Places on their mobile phone. The Gap leveraged check-in deals by offering a free pair of blue jeans to the first 10,000 consumers who checked in at Gap stores. Mazda U.K. offered a 20 percent discount off the Mazda X5 for check-in deals when Places launched in the U.K. continues on page 38
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focus: SOCIAL MEDIA
6 ways to use social media to boost local search results How can you get the most impact out of a social media program? Start with the right social media strategy. by Jon Schepke
M
arketers are no longer asking if they should be active in social media. They understand that user-generated content such as ratings and reviews is a required element of a comprehensive location-based search program. These days, it’s a question of how to get the most impact out of a social media program. With the right social media strategy, you can communicate directly with your customers, create engaging discussion topics, and help your marketing go viral. Social media can also boost the prominence of your online brand-awareness and organically propel your business locations to the top of local search results. The fast-evolving social media landscape can be a confusing place for marketers these days, however, as the array of choices grows almost daily: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Groupon, Flickr, and Foursquare, just to name a few. Recently, Facebook Deals and other new social networking ventures have joined the frenzy for local businesses’ marketing dollars. As interactive marketing options become increasingly complex, so do the criteria requirements for search engine optimization. Due to recent changes in Google algorithms, SEO is now aimed at delivering more relevant and personalized information to searchers. Many marketers aren’t exactly sure how and where to focus their online efforts. To achieve the highest ROI, they must keep up with a rapidly changing environment. If you’re responsible for marketing a national brand, you know how important it is to have your locations rank prominently in geo-specific searches. This is especially true for multi-location businesses such as restaurants, retail, and hotel chains. An active social media program will make your business locations more prominent in sources across the web, and prominence is a primary factor used by Google in local search rankings. Here are six tips that will help you achieve that goal:
32 SES • July 2011 {San Francisco preview}
1. Build a fan base on Facebook
Forty percent of Facebook users also follow a brand. More than half of these Facebook users will move on to purchase that brand. Facebook likes are a speed-marketing tool that virally spreads brand awareness by delivering information to the news feeds of everyone befriended by your brand fans. 2. Use Twitter to keep in touch with customers
One in four Twitter users follows a brand, and 67 percent of those brand-followers will end up purchasing that specific brand. Your tweets should engage consumers by providing them with helpful information about your business and services. Special offers are a great way to grab the attention of Twitter followers.
By creating an engaging social media program, you can make it easy for your customers to find your local business and, more importantly, talk about it online. The result will be incredible ROI that will amplify your web marketing, generate calls and appointments, and boost long-term brand awareness. 6. Give customers promotional incentives to share information online
3. Encourage customers to rate and review your business
Yelp users wrote six million reviews in 2010, and the local search site is on track for nine million in 2011, according to a Mashable report. Consumers love online reviews because they can see what others really think about a product or service before making a decision to buy. Reviews on socially interactive sites such as Yelp improve your search engine rankings and drive free web traffic. 4. Leverage the power of YouTube in local search results
Embedded videos in Google Places pages, websites, and social profile pages can showcase your products and services while putting a human face on your business. 5. Use group-buying sites such as Groupon or LivingSocial
During hard economic times, subscriptions to coupon sites such as these have never been more prevalent. Promoting deals to these huge subscriber bases can be a fast and easy way to create buzz and spread the word about your business without advertising.
Branded “Share for Rewards” programs can encourage consumers to share offers with their friends via Facebook, IM, and other web channels in exchange for discounts on products or services. conclusion
By creating an engaging social media program, you can make it easy for your customers to find your local business and, more importantly, talk about it online. The result will be incredible ROI that will amplify your web marketing, generate calls and appointments, and boost long-term brand awareness. What are you waiting for? Jon Schepke is an Internet marketing industry veteran who has been in the space for over a decade. Since the mid-1990s, Jon’s passions for technology and marketing have driven innovative marketing strategies that have focused on achieving significant ROI for multiple Fortune 1000 companies. Jon’s broad understanding of the space includes all facets of Internet marketing, technology, web analytics, mobile marketing, research, and tracking.
VI SI TU SA TB OO TH
NO .6 20
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focus: optimization
Stopped buying links? Here are 3 better ways to use that budget Put your link buying budget to better use in digital asset optimization, social media, and SEO. by Chris Boggs
I
f you have abandoned buying links or greatly curtailed your budget for such activities, don’t simply turn that into PPC or display money. You can leverage it for three SEO tactics that are lasting and promote positive user experiences. Link Buying & Outing: A Brief History
In February 2011, a dark New York cloud came over the practice of securing inbound web links for search engine optimization purposes. This cloud was manifested in two distinct New York Times and Wall Street Journal investigative reports, which detailed tactics that JCPenney and Overstock.com had used to game the search engine algorithms. In order to pass authority to pages, which is one of the key elements to getting exposure in the “free” (organic) search results, each of these huge e-commerce players took a calculated risk in order to skip the line and get to the top. JCPenney likely spent more money because they were actually buying links (and promoting the American Way), but Overstock.com also had to provide some additional support to their students who were exchanging links for discounts. Now there are signs that the dust has settled, and Overstock.com’s penalty has been lifted. SEOs who were buying links before February, especially in large or expensive quantities, suddenly faced a decision whether to continue the practice and hope to remain under the radar, or to discontinue paying brokers to obtain links. Although a few folks chose the former, I’ve spoken to many senior SEOs who report that they are discontinuing the practice. Here are three ways you can leverage the budget that was formerly allocated to link buying for 2011. 1. Digital Asset Optimization
The practice of optimizing all content on a website in order to promote increased universal search exposure is one of the most important tactics for SEO going into the
34 SES • July 2011 {San Francisco preview}
future. Unfortunately, few marketers have made it a reality as part of their regular content development process. Non-text content such as videos, images, infographics, and rich Internet applications (RIAs) are worth their weight in gold. The problem is that one needs to successfully secure large budgets for many DAO tactics, especially video production or the development of RIAs. Yes, sometimes other marketing and PR budgets could be tapped for this function, but if you have an extra 5-50K (or more from what I’ve heard) lying around that had been budgeted for buying links, use it to make something really cool!
The ability to leverage social media to support brand evangelism (and the side effect benefits for SEO) requires “building it so they can come.” Leading with SEO/DAO as the primary value to be delivered from these efforts may not go over so well, especially with creative or finance directors. The best thing about DAO is that you will improve the site experience nearly 100 percent of the time by adding a properly planned and targeted digital asset. 2. Social Media Involvement
One of the natural benefits of DAO is that you will likely get great buzz from evangelists within your targeted segments. If you can help to promote the potential for Facebook shares and likes (especially if your segments are likely to use Bing), links from tweets, and mentioning/linking to your pages from blogs or other social/community platforms, you will gain incremental SEO value. The ability to leverage social media to support brand evangelism (and the side effect benefits for SEO) requires “building it so they can come.” Investments should be made with care and under the supervision of a social media expert who has a full
understanding of your broader marketing plan and target consumers. In the past, Google’s algorithms appeared to give “buzz” (timeliness) link credit to links found within press releases. With the advent of real-time results and with millions of likes and tweets a day, their pool of buzz authority has certainly increased. You have to be standing in this river to catch fish. 3. Good Old-Fashioned SEO
Every year things get more complex within many SEO strategies. The basics of technical, content, and linking, however, are still the primary drivers to performance within organic results – universal or not. Local optimization is another huge tiein that should fit under the primary SEO umbrella. Take signals from the search engines. Matt Cutts, who launched Google’s quality assurance team and program, states that it may be a good idea to develop a page on your website link-to for each of your bank branches or physical stores. Translating signals like this and other emerging strategies into recommendations that can be afforded and implemented requires budget, which may now be available as a result of no longer investing in links. “Blocking and tackling” link building tactics also require a serious investment commitment, if the goal is scale. SEO really is an art and science that requires the appropriate investment level to be able to compete within your own industry. It also requires constant understanding of your target market. Chris Boggs of Rosetta is a specialist with 10 years experience in search engine optimization and paid search advertising. Chris joined Brulant from Avenue A | Razorfish in 2007 as the manager of the SEO team, and Rosetta acquired Brulant in 2008. His current role involves working across channels and verticals to promote cohesive strategies and synergies between campaigns and Rosetta Best Practices.
focus: careers
So how is the job market looking this year? Workers in four key digital marketing disciplines are in demand. by Jake Langwith
S
o we are firmly into summer, and our thoughts turn to sun, sea, and sand. But those ice cold beers and cocktails only last a short while before the realities of work come flooding back as you sit on the plane home wondering if the grass is really greener on the other side of the fence? Let’s be honest, we are all mere mortals and it’s only human nature to be curious about such things. And if you work in digital media, then it’s quite likely you are an avid fan of social media and probably can’t help but notice how happy some people are at XYZ company or the amount of new jobs being blasted out across the Twitterverse with such abandon. So how is the digital job market shaping up? It’s shaping up pretty well, and has been doing so for the past few years. It is certainly an industry that has weathered the global downturn better than most, and one that has flourished in many areas. As someone who spends all of my working hours speaking to companies and headhunting talent for them in this space, I feel I’m reasonably well-placed to pick out a trend or two within the market. I’d be willing to bet on what will happen the rest of this year within the digital marketing sector. Overall Trends
Whether you are based in the U.K., Europe, Asia, or the Americas, the only real differences to be seen are localized salary trends. The actual markets themselves are mirrored pretty closely. So what specific jobs are pushing the envelope in regard to demand, and what factors are driving this upward curve? If one thing is true in 2011, it’s the simple fact that the job market has changed from one that was client-driven to one that is dominated by candidate demand. What do I mean by this? In layman’s terms, highly qualified job seekers are at a major shortage, and it is becoming more evident that companies looking to hire are facing hugely increased competition at interview and offer stages within the recruitment process.
36 SES • July 2011 {San Francisco preview}
Jobs in this sector are not going away, and to have skills in SEO, PPC, social, and analytics will pretty much guarantee that you won’t be in a position to worry about unemployment any time soon. Competition is fierce at all experience levels, and this is also driving salary levels
moving into social media, but it will be a good year or two before salaries level out as
upwards at an increased rate month-onmonth. The honest truth is, nine times out of 10, if you want a pay raise or promotion you must jump ship and join a new company. And there is no shortage of firms who are screaming out to attract people to them right now. Where traditional advertising spend may have decreased during the recession in areas such as TV, online spend is up and companies are looking to invest in areas such as SEO and PPC, which can show demonstrated returns on investment. These areas also happen to be vastly cheaper than those primetime TV advertising slots.
experienced staffers become more numerous. As for analytics-based roles, companies are looking to invest in their data and to use it to hunt out profits. These positions all tend to be quite specialized and often at senior levels with extremely lucrative salaries on offer. Due to the technical nature of the work, fewer people are operating within the market, and applicants with good experience will find themselves being fought over by clients. Conversion, monetization, and experts with strong skills such as multivariate testing are required by both agency and in-house teams.
SEO and PPC
It will be very interesting to see how the market matures over the next six to 12 months. But one thing is for sure: jobs in this sector are not going away, and to have skills in SEO, PPC, social, and analytics will pretty much guarantee that you won’t be in a position to worry about unemployment any time soon.
Conclusion
Natural search is still the dominating sector within the markets and will be for the foreseeable future. Firms are recruiting across the board from graduate entry all the way to director level. SEO strategy is at the heart of most companies’ campaigns and, as departments grow, it has become evident that there’s a lack of experienced people to meet demand. Luckily this is a mature sector within marketing, as is PPC, and although it’s hard to find relevant candidates, there is a larger pool of people to hunt within. Social Media and Analytics
The two areas that are showing huge growth this year are social media and analytics. The demand for people in these disciplines far exceeds supply; therefore, salaries are rising faster than those of other roles. With social being an emerging market still, the candidate pool is small in comparison and applicants looking to move are finding their skills in huge demand. More and more, people are
Jake Langwith is the head of search at London-based head hunters Salt, where he runs the SEO, PPC, analytics, and social media teams. With over 16 years experience across the U.K., Europe, and Asia Pacific markets, he has established a strong team of industry experts and works in close partnership with some of the world’s leading digital agencies and direct clients. Jake is actively involved in the digital marketing community and is an avid blogger as well as a speaker at SEO-related industry events.
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focus: best practices
Conversion optimization: top 5 places to start Reduce cost per action, increase revenue per action, and satisfy more visitors to your website by losing excess baggage. by Garry Przyklenk
O
ne of the easiest ways to gain credibility with any business partner is to establish quick wins using conversion rate optimization. In terms of business impact, conversion optimization is a grand slam because you effectively reduce cost per action, increase revenue per action, and satisfy more visitors to your website. As is often the problem, web analysts and marketers tend to inherit a lot of excess baggage, so choosing to focus on only one or two sore spots on a website is hard to do. Consider these top five places to start:
navigation, and perhaps synonyms you didn’t consider when writing creative. Increases in conversion optimization from visits to internal search pages are usually quick wins.
Summary 3. Help Sections
Areas on a website dedicated to helping people are most often frequented by loyal customers that want to solve problems on their own, rather than cost you money by calling support numbers, or emailing support staff. Help them help you (and other customers) by doing a better job of help documents, support downloads, and public service messages.
1. Paid Search Landing Pages
Looking for big impact right away? Optimize those paid search landing pages and start counting the money you save on search marketing immediately. Vary your value proposition, urgency, pricing, product mix, and form length. 2. Internal Search Results Pages
Search inquiries made on your website often yield the best (and cheapest) way to determine indicators to voice of customer information. These are committed visitors who probably aren’t finding what they want intuitively. Inspect your server logs if you have to, but find out where your on-site navigation fails to satisfy. Look at pages with no results, top queries that should be satisfied through
how content can be changed to reduce bounce rate and you may just improve your search rankings at the same time.
4. Product and/or Service Recommendations
The art of the upsell is best exhibited by e-commerce giants such as Apple, Amazon, GoDaddy, and Dell. If you are able to measure cart abandonment on your site, you’re ready to start testing product and service recommendations to increase your average revenue per order (I love ARPO). 5. Top Entry Pages
Entry pages to your site (excluding home pages and landing pages) are a bit harder to optimize, because referred traffic through search or other websites isn’t always continuous or predictable, but this is traffic to your site that is (usually) free. Measure common pathways from entry pages to determine
Not making the list is “talk to your sales people,” because they often have invaluable insights into top questions prospects ask that may not be answered on your site that could warrant testing. Garry Przyklenk is an expert in lead generation, search engine marketing, web analytics, and social media marketing. He has successfully championed creative marketing campaigns and executed on actionable insights in several vertical markets including media, insurance, technology, and telecommunications. As senior web analyst at TD Bank Financial Group, Garry is responsible for implementing online measurement solutions that yield actionable insights for key business stakeholders. Want to learn more? SES San Francisco will feature sessions on how to tweak your web pages, including “Landing Page Optimization.” www.SESsanfrancisco.com
F-Commerce, the arrival of the Facebook consumer continued from page 30
for real-world goods. We are in the early stages of F-commerce.
Why the excitement over F-commerce? It is where the eyeballs are, with 600+ million users, 50 percent visiting daily. Facebook Credits are a major game changer. For the first time, they are being used as a currency
Janice Diner is a founding partner at Horizon Studios, a social business design consultancy. She is an award-winning creative director and strategist working in the areas of social
Conclusion
38 SES • July 2011 {San Francisco preview}
and emerging media technologies. Janice has led teams that have conceived, developed, and executed social technology for both global and local markets. She is considered a pioneer brand builder on Facebook in Canada and serves as an advisory at MaRS Discovery Centre. Janice has a track record of accomplishment developing multiple social initiatives including the launch of RIM BlackBerry’s Global Social Media Platform.
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