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At the ultimate digital marketing event

Many brands are not extending customercontributed content and positive reviews across their entire marketing programs, including e-mail, in-store signage, Facebook, Twitter, mobile, direct mail, online advertising, and TV commercials. Why? §

SNEAK PREVIEW: SES SAN FRANCISCO AT CONNECTED MARKETING WEEK From social to video and local to mobile, the new online marketing frontier is here. Learn how to connect the dots at next month’s Search Engine Strategies conference, part of ClickZ’s Connected Marketing Week. In this section, find out why our sessions, workshops, and speakers make SES San Francisco a must-attend event. §

GLOSSARY Terms and acronyms every online marketer should know. §

AUG. 16-20 • San Francisco

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July 2010

What is real-time advertising? Four ways that advertisers, publishers, and technology providers are pushing forward with innovations in advertising. §

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Transaction-based websites should run with an unlimited search marketing budget, subject only to day-to-day profitability. §

How to choose a platform and technologies, how to determine which features to include, and how to drive continuous engagement. §

7 things agencies hate about Facebook social ads

Duplicate content: The what, why and how

Making sense of global search: Target via country, not language

10 reasons why Drupal is the best CMS for SEO

Some of Facbook’s practices prevent SEM agencies from experimenting further and becoming bigger spenders. Here are the seven most annoying things about the social network’s social ads. §

What duplicate content is, types, why it exists, and how to avoid it. §

In a successful SEO or PPC strategy, targeting by country will help you achieve localization, reduce competition, and gain trust. §

Drupal, the open source content management system that runs WhiteHouse.gov and The Economist, is the best platform that exists today for search engine optimization. §

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Staff Matt McGowan Publisher & Head of U.S.

Mike Grehan VP, Global Content

Magazine Managing Editor Drew Eastmead Contributors Michael Bonfils, Sam Decker, Ben Finklea, Marc Poirier, Prashant Puri, Timothy Seward, Gary Stein, Rob Weber

about SES Magazine SES Magazine, now in its fourth year, is brought to you by ClickZ, the leading online destination for news and expert advice in digital marketing. In this issue, you’ll find articles on the latest online trends, as well as a preview of our upcoming event, SES San Francisco at ClickZ’s Connected Marketing Week (Aug. 16-20). We are grateful to our contributors and readers alike, and we’re always interested to hear your feedback and learn about what topics you’d like to see (e-mail us at magazine@SearchEngineStrategies.com). For more information on advertising, subscribing, and contributing, or to view past issues, visit www.SearchEngineStrategies.com/ses-magazine. You can also follow us on Twitter: @sesmag.

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT VP, Content Development Stewart Quealy Senior Program Director Marilyn Crafts Conference Program Manager Jackie Ortez

Learn more about SES San Francisco:

SESsanfrancisco.com

Learn more about Connected Marketing Week:

Drew Eastmead | Managing Editor

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OPERATIONS Director, Operations Michele McDermott Operations Manager Dan Hoskins

SES Advisory Board Executive Editor, ClickZ Director, SEW Managing Editor, News Senior Editor, News Staff Writer Staff Writer Copy Editor Asia Desk Editor

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 Andrew Katz Elaine Mershon Elaine Romeo Peter Westerholm Account Executives Elizabeth Huston Katie O’Hea Director, Client Services JoAnn Simonelli Marketing Director Angela Man Marketing Manager Christian Georgeou Web Designer Rebecca Holz Online Operations Manager Louise Laberge Online Operations Assoc. Aleksey Gershin

CORPORATE Chief Executive Tim Weller Group Managing Director James Hanbury

Matthew Bailey President SiteLogic

Jeff Ferguson Sr. Director, Online Marketing Local.com

Jon Myers Head of Search/Assoc. Director Mediavest

Thomas Bindl Founder & CEO Refined Labs GmbH

Andrew Goodman President Page Zero Media

Lee Odden CEO TopRank Online Marketing

Mikel Chertudi VP, Demand & Online Marketing Omniture

Mike Grehan, Co-Chair VP & Global Content Director Incisive Media

Pauline Ores Sr. Marketing Mgr, Social Media IBM Corporation

Eddie Choi Managing Director Frontiers Digital

Bill Hunt President Back Azimuth Consulting

Stewart Quealy, Co-Chair VP, Content Development Incisive Media

Brett Crosby Group PPM Google

Anne Kennedy Managing Partner Beyond Ink

Erica Schmidt Global Search Director Isobar

Bryan Eisenberg Bestselling author bryaneisenberg.com

John Marshall CTO Beyond Ink

Crispin Sheridan Sr. Director of Search Marketing Strategy, SAP Marketing

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§ FOCUS: what’s next

What is real-time advertising? believe that we are about to have another big shift in advertising. There are rumblings that seem to suggest that the big boys of the technology/media world are going to make a major push. Our future hasn’t simply flowed out in front of us for several years. It comes in bursts and fits among long periods of calm. The financial downturn and the overall lack of enthusiasm for consumer marketing was one of those periods of calm, and it’s just about over. For example: Twitter has suddenly become very serious about making money out of its service. It seems intent on shutting off a number of the ways that outsiders have been making money, possibly to ensure that its offering — Promoted Tweets — has the absolute best chance of capturing a brand’s excitement (and dollars).   Facebook has expanded its reach, probably too far. Facebook is the Icarus of media properties, forever going too far with its ideas, only to have its concepts melt under the harsh heat of consumer concern. The Facebook push into the rest of the web has hit a wall, but it will find a way to scale it. Apple has begun making serious plans around iAd (its mobile ad network), and the Federal Trade Commission has approved Google’s purchase of AdMob. This means that mobile advertising is going to be easier to execute, efficient to traffic, and rigorously measured. Google has announced Google TV, a technology and set-top box that will essentially make your home TV a web browser, capable of showing video on the web. In addition to being a huge boon to the porn industry (and what isn’t?), this should open up piles and piles of online video inventory. Google’s not great at hardware (the Nexus One was exciting, but barely), but hopefully its partners will take the lead on developing cool items that you want in your media center. There’s a lot happening, and it’s all part of the same underlying trend. I think there’s

By Gary Stein

either from a user or the contents of the page: Making content dynamic is key in the development of truly interactive advertising. Publishers have been hesitant about this technology for a while, since they would have to be a bit unsure about what ads will really Collapsing time to nothing show up. But this is starting to change. In media, we have gone from the “CBS True integration across platforms: Evening News” to “The Situation Room.” As more platforms come under the We have gone from browsing the web to mandate of a few large companies always on. We have (like Apple, Google, or Microsoft), gone from personal Mobile advertising is going we can expect to websites to blogs to to be easier to execute, communicate with Twitter feeds. We have a consumer as he or gone from documenefficient to traffic, and she moves through taries to live feeds. different environments rigorously measured. We live in a world and have that all where we want what’s tracked. This is a happening to be piped into our lives now, critical move: Consumers already have and there seems to be no limit to the number integrated their media experiences, and of windows we can have open or devices we we need to catch up. can interact with. We are on a human-media A social environment that pervades quest for real time, and it’s time advertising many experiences: So many online experiences have a commercial slant, joins in. especially when it comes to looking The term “real time” has been applied to a for information or finding content. The few different corners of technology, and has ability to have a social graph applied been adopted from computer science. The to a piece of content represents a new technical definition of real-time computlevel of recommendation that should ing is, well, totally beyond my comprehenhelp to power a consumer decision. sion. You’re welcome to try to sort it out on This one is fraught with issues, but it’s Wikipedia. still an important frontier.   In practice, “real time” has come to mean A hyper-connected distribution that time gaps between an event occurring, system: The protocols and our ability to see or know about that event, technologies that we need to have a and the feedback that comes from our reacpiece of content widely distributed — whether it’s from a publisher, a tion to that event, have been eliminated. merchant, or a consumer — means that That is, something happens and we know once we say something, we can expect about it as though we were there, regardless it will end up in the right ears, right of where we are. away. In advertising, we are beginning to not only understand this need for speed, but All of this is accelerating our work and also to have the tools to take advantage of making us into better, more nimble advertisthe opportunity. This means that advertisers ers, who are not just interested in crafting (and publishers and technology providers) the perfect message, but being the perfect can continue to push forward with innovabrand. § tions, but toward a particular direction of making advertising not only more responGary Stein is VP of strategy for sive, but also integrated with consumer’s Ammo Marketing. He has been lives. working in interactive advertising for nearly a decade. Gary lives in Here are ways that this is happening: San Francisco with his family. The ability to make contents of an ad @garyst3in unit change, based on information

one root cause that’s driving the supply side (publishers), the demand side (brands), and the underlying infrastructure (the tech companies), and that is, bluntly, the need for speed.

SES § July 2010 {San Francisco preview}

The unlimited search marketing budget

By Timothy Seward ata-driven direct response marketing is a moneyprinting machine. Marketing budgets are a holdover from former days when you didn’t know the results until weeks or months after you paid for it. Budgets are for testing. Once you have proven the profitability of your traffic channel, you should run full steam ahead. ROI from search marketing can be monitored in near real-time. E-commerce sites need only float marketing capital for two to three days while awaiting revenues to be transferred from merchant to bank accounts. As such, transaction-based websites should run with an unlimited search marketing budget, subject only to day-to-day profitability. While the unlimited budget concept is simple to understand, there are some normal hesitations to turning on the fire hose. Your marketing must first be accountable. Second, it must be profitable. Third,

SES § July 2010 {San Francisco preview}

it must be reliable. Here are some strategies to give responsible boldness to your marketing dollars — and give you that unlimited budget.

Step 1: Determine your optimum CPA

The first step in data-driven marketing is to determine how much you’re willing to pay in marketing costs to get a sale. You must take into account such variables as product cost, overhead, and desired margin. The figure you’re willing to pay is your cost per action (CPA). Your search marketing success will be judged by this number. Only it isn’t that easy. The hidden part of the equation is volume. The amount you’re willing to pay for a sale will determine how much advertising you are able to purchase. The more you pay for traffic, the more sales you make, but the less profit you make per sale. You must find the optimum CPA that brings in the most total profit. This number is usually quite different from what you’d

FOCUS: ad planning §

This may appear elementary, but there is a powerful psychological urge to overcompensate and shoot for a lower CPA so that your average for the month will appear solid. This is a misguided attempt to “punish” the overspending or worse, to hide the overspending from your boss. Two things to keep in mind: 1) Overspending is part of the process of finding your ideal spend and profitability level. As long as it doesn’t go on for longer than If you don’t have a predictable order necessary, there’s nothing to be ashamed value and/or your margins vary considerof. 2) Overspending ably throughout your is by definition in the catalog, you should Overspending is part of past and is thus a sunk instead measure your the process of finding cost. You can’t change marketing success by the past. You should return on ad spend your ideal spend and not factor sunk costs (ROAS) or value/cost. profitability level. into future spending The “value” you track decisions, unless there can either be order is actually no more money left that can be value or the order value minus your costs. spent. This will provide visibility into your actual If your goal is to actually make the most profitability and help you manage spend profit, not just have the cleanest looking accordingly. reports, you need to put the past behind you and again shoot for the CPA that will Step 2: Turn on the hose make you the most money. If you are $10 Start spending some cash. If this is a new over your $60 CPA on day 15 of the month, traffic channel, a budget will come in handy you should not start targeting $50 for the to lower your risk of loss. Once you know remainder of the month. Yes, this would put how profitably the traffic converts, your your average for the month at $60. Yet your need for a set budget will diminish. total profit will be diminished because you lost the additional volume that the $60 CPA Step 3: Track your results would have brought you in the second half All of this is futile if you don’t have reliof the month. able tracking in place. At a minimum, you must be tracking spend and sales from every When to use a budget traffic channel. In reality, you should track I’ve already mentioned above that a everything. All aspects of your campaigns budget makes sense when testing new should be tagged, so individual components traffic sources. There are additional situaand ads can be measured and managed for tions where it does make sense to stick to profitability. a budget, even when your traffic source has proven profitability. guess. Testing alone will reveal the volume available at different spend levels. CPA is the ideal metric under any of the following conditions: you are paying for leads of equal value your e-commerce site sells only one front-end product your order value doesn’t fluctuate much, and neither do your margins

Step 4: Make corrections

At this point, your spend level is high, low, or just right. If you’ve spent too much, your natural instinct is to decrease your spend. Indeed, this is the obvious response. Be careful, however, that you don’t get back into a “budget” mentality. Let’s say you’ve determined that a $60 CPA makes you the most money. A certain campaign has spent $70. Assuming you’ve got enough data to make a decision (your sample size needs to encompass more than just a few actions), you’ll want to lower your spend level going forward.

Cash flow constraint due to long buying cycle

You probably don’t have unlimited capital. Even if you are certain the marketing spend will be profitable, it may take a few months or more to recoup your investment. This is common when buying leads that have a long sales cycle. It is also common in SaaS businesses that rely on monthly recurring revenue from their customers. In cases such as these, your marketing budget will be tied to your cash flow position.

Want to learn more? SES San Francisco will feature sessions on best budgeting practices, including Wednesday’s “Stretching Your Marketing Dollars: The Upside of Search.”

www.SESsanfrancisco.com

Uncertain lead & customer quality

When you increase your spending and the volume of online advertising, the marginal increase in traffic is often of reduced quality. You can’t be certain how this additional traffic will convert, so it makes sense to approach this additional spending with caution. It may not require a fixed budget, but additional spending certainly requires a watchful eye.

Production & inventory constraints

If you can’t physically service the additional customers, by all means put a cap on your marketing. This is a great problem to have and should be looked on as an opportunity for growth. When spend does need to be reduced, the most profitable way to reduce your spend usually isn’t to cap your overall spending with a budget, but instead to lower your target CPA. This will accomplish the same goal, but will give you more profit from every sale you do make. Otherwise a budget cap usually works to simply stop your ad from showing once the budget has been reached. It is better to show your ad consistently at $1 per click than to show your ad for half the day at $2 per click. It may take some convincing to loosen the budget limitations from your marketing. Tracked profits and solid ROAS are your weapons. Your goal is to make the most profit for your company, so your cautious budget needs to go. § Timothy Seward is CEO and founder of ROI Revolution. A summa cum laude graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University with a bachelor’s in computer science, he has been running data-driven online paid search marketing campaigns for clients since June 2002. Learn more about ROI Revolution’s paid search management services and request a free strategy session at www.roirevolution.com/unlimitedbudget.

SearchEngineStrategies.com § SES

§ FOCUS: mobile

App development 101 for marketers

o, you know you need to have a mobile app for your next campaign, but you don’t know where you should start. I asked Aleksey Cherfas, our top mobile app developer, to tell me what he thinks digital marketers need to know about app development, and he distilled his guidance around how to choose a platform, how to choose what type of technology to use, how do you determine what features to include in your mobile app, and how to drive continuous engagement. One of the most important decisions in preparation for mobile development is to decide which platforms you will target. Do you go for the iPhone OS, because everybody seems to be so hyped about the iPhone and iPad; Android, because you heard it is a promising open source platform; or the BlackBerry, just because this is what your boss uses? Regardless of whether you decide to cover multiple platforms right away or focus on just one from the beginning, you should start with analyzing your prospective users and the marketplace. Determine if your app will have a Number of respondents in global reach or if Omniture’s “online analytics you’ll focus on benchmark survey” who said Facebook was either their local markets, in first or second most important which case you social media channel. should seek out Source: Omniture, 2010 device usage in A For more details, check out ClickZ Stats. those markets before committing to any particular device. A safe bet would be to single out one device to start with and then gradually expand to others, focusing on those that are more relevant to your domain. Once you decide on the platform, you have at least three choices in terms of the type of applications you can develop. You can go for developing a native app, which takes advantage of platform-specific functionality and design, arguably making it easier to operate for your users, though condemning your development effort to be very complex and technologically involved. On the other end of the difficulty spectrum in the world of mobile application development are web apps. These applications are web pages that are rendered inside a mobile

88%

By Rob Weber

browser and capitalize on the browser’s Want to learn more? multitouch technology for navigational interSES San Francisco will feature sessions action. Some basic knowledge of HTML, on the latest mobile tactics, including Wednesday’s CSS, and JavaScript is usually sufficient “Getting Mobilized! Mobile Marketing Strategies.” to build a simple and effective application. www.SESsanfrancisco.com There are even frameworks that allow you to harness the power of JavaScript in mobile browsers without much effort. JQTouch, a the first version of your app. Start with a jQuery plug-in for mobile development, is simple feature of essential functionality, and one such framework. let the user feedback drive your future funcYour third option is a combination — a tionality and application design. kind of half-native, half-web app, where you One way to keep functionality to the miniwould create a native app that uses a browser mum is a product requirements document engine for rendering (PRD). In its simplest your content as web form, a PRD is a list Don’t try to incorporate pages, but requires you of application requireto develop your own every single feature into the ments or features, with navigation instead of a brief explanation and first version of your app. using built-in mobile some weights attached browser navigation to each feature. The controls. This option is a little more techno- commonly used weights are “must have,” logically involved than a simple web app. “good to have,” and “may have.” Keeping Because you are using a browser engine these weights in mind makes it easier to for displaying your content, the effort is not set development priorities and move unesquite as involved as with the native app. sential application features into the next Several services attempt to solve the releases. Again, keep it simple — think in multiplatform conundrum and complexity of terms of “must have” requirements for the native development, making your entrance first release. to mobile app development a lot easier. Even after users install your app, you are These services will allow you to write still only one of many that occupy their home your code once, in many cases using JavaS- screen and will constantly need to compete cript and HTML, and they will take care for their attention. Updating your app often of compiling applications into the native is one approach to keep users engaged and code for different devices. Some of the interested. Many successful apps release more prominent of them are Rhomobile, updates at least once a month. With each PhoneGap, and Titanium. If you plan to update, they address bugs and performance develop an app by yourself, do give high issues, but most importantly they try to consideration to these services. come up with a small new feature that will As you think about the design of your keep users interested and prompt them to mobile applications, consider these options. re-download and open your app. You can either make your design very With so many options to choose from specific to the standards and conventions when developing for mobile platforms, your of each platform, or use your design from decision should be based on your requireother domains (website, desktop software) ments and resources. If you are to rememand transplant it onto the mobile app. Even ber one takeaway from above, it is: Keep it with the array of platforms out there, it’s simple. § possible to use blueprints that will nicely fit into different platforms without violating too Rob Weber is the VP of business many conventions for each platform. development and co-founder of W3i, an application network that There’s no right answer when it comes to increases revenue, distribution, design. If you deviate from the standards, and engagement for consumer you should still stay within familiar metaapplications and add-ons. Rob is phors, so that the users don’t have to work an entrepreneur with over 10 too hard to learn how to use your app. years’ experience, leading W3i The main difference of mobile apps from through the rapidly changing online business environyour other domains is limited display area, ment. His expertise is in consumer application marketso keep it very simple and to the point. Don’t ing, gaining insight from leading companies and using try to incorporate every single feature into applications in their marketing strategies. @W3i

SES § July 2010 {San Francisco preview}

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How to make

customer content go multichannel

By Sam Decker

SES ยง July 2010 {San Francisco preview}

COVER STORY / FOCUS: connected marketing §

onsumers rarely buy a product companies successfully leveraging customer without consulting customer review content across marketing channels. reviews first. Before making B2B marketer Treatment Abroad, which just about any purchase — matches surgeons around the world to clothing, electronics, house- U.K. prospects, printed customer reviews hold items — people go online to check out in pamphlets and leaflets. Samsung, meanthe reviews. A July 2009 study by Nielsen while, featured customer reviews in its prefound the most trusted forms of media are Super Bowl e-mail campaign. Intuit used “recommendations from people I know” customer review content in a far-reaching (92 percent) and “consumer opinions posted online display advertising campaign, and online” (72 percent). I’d be willing to bet also used review content for its TurboTax those numbers are even higher one year later. product in in-store displays at Best Buy, What’s amazing, however, is that many Office Depot, and OfficeMax. These are just retailers and brands have not done more a few ways to use review content in multiwith the wealth of online reviews about their channel marketing initiatives. Including user-generated content in products and services. They are not extending this valuable first-person, customer- advertising campaigns works to boost sales. contributed content across their entire When Office Depot added top-rated review marketing programs, including e-mail, language to its paid search ads on Google, in-store signage, Facebook, Twitter, mobile, it recorded a 196 percent increase in revecatalogs, direct mail, online advertising, TV nues from paid search. When Rubbermaid included a positive customer review on commercials, and more. a coupon, redemption rates Positive reviews are for the coupon rose 10 an extremely powerpercent, while Northern ful marketing tool. By Positive reviews Tool boosted converextending the customer are an extremely sion by 10 percent on voice across all marketan e-mail campaign ing channels, brands powerful simply by including and retailers can drive marketing tool. customer reviews in the incredible value from e-mails. their customers’ opinions. These results show that In other words, customer customer-generated content does input creates great ad copy. not only live online. The Internet is a Here’s a look at how some innovative companies have extended customer convenient place for customers to share their content across marketing channels to drive credible opinions on products, but it’s up to a sustained increase in sales in their social you as a marketer to leverage this powerful content to drives sales in other channels. commerce programs. When extending review content across QVC featured top-rated products on its television broadcasts. The shopping chan- marketing channels, remember five simple nel labeled some products showcased on the principles: program as “customer top rated,” and also Work together: Marketpublished excerpts from online reviews on ers, merchandisers, and brand air, unedited, to reinforce the customer topmanagers should work together rated label. Sharing customers’ opinions on to identify the top-rated products air worked so well in driving sales of these products that QVC aired a standalone show and the most compelling reviews of those called “Customer Choice” that showcased products to be used in marketing materials. The use of review content in multichannel only products rated highly by its customers. “Customer reviews have now become an marketing materials should meet your overimportant tool and resource in our program- all marketing goals. ming and merchandising strategies,” said Choose wisely: Highlight the Alex Miller, director of programming at products that you really want QVC. “They reinforce the trust our customto sell. People pay attention ers have with QVC and help to take our to products you promote with customers one step closer to an experience reviews, so make sure these are the items of shopping with their friends.” There are many other examples of you want to move.

Want to learn more? SES San Francisco will be part of Connected Marketing Week in August. For more information:

ConnectedMarketingWeek.com

Don’t be shy: Highlight the product’s value in numbers. For example, “22 of 24 users would recommend this product to a friend,” or “4.8 of 5 stars.” Don’t be afraid to include prominent stars or bold graphics, or highlight the most glowing words from reviews.

Keep it short: Review snippets included in marketing materials should be short — no more than two lines.

Get personal: Give the name and location (and/or age) of the reviewer. Showing customers that the reviewer is “someone like them” is a great way to build trust in the authenticity of the review content.

But lest we not forget, successful social commerce lives and dies on the analysis of your content and campaigns. Find out which of your multichannel campaigns including positive reviews performed the best, and run A/B tests to see which specific review content had a bigger impact on sales and ROI. All positive reviews are not created equal — and sometimes a more neutral, even-handed review can deliver the best results because consumers trust authentic reviews more than glowing ones. § Disclosure: QVC, Treatment Abroad, Samsung, Intuit, and Office Depot are clients of Bazaarvoice.

Sam Decker is chief marketing officer of Bazaarvoice, the market leader in hosted social commerce applications that drive sales. In his role, he works to help brands present the right user-generated content at the right time in the purchase path, bringing value to both consumer and business. Sam has almost 20 years of marketing and online retailing experience, has written two books on word-of-mouth marketing, is a frequent speaker at marketing and e-commerce events, and is an award-winning blogger. Prior to Bazaarvoice, he drove Dell’s customer segmentation and customer-centricity strategy, while building Dell.com into the largest consumer e-commerce site at $3.5 billion in annual sales.. @samdecker

SearchEngineStrategies.com § SES

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 San Francisco 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  Training materials  One-year subscription to the full-featured SEOToolSet®  Free copy of Search Engine Optimization All-in-One for Dummies, co-authored by Bruce Clay and Susan Esparza

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strategies.com/ heng anine d to ww.searcils register hthttp: tp//w ://w wco ar -p tnered.php, go to: eaain rcing heng cis w.s/tr an in es sa tra tegies.com/ sanfr nfrancisco/tra ining-partnered .php

Start off your conference week right — learn the current best practices in SEO methodology, concepts and strategies. SEO Training courses also available in Simi Valley, CA and Long Island, NY. For dates and details, see: http://www.bruceclay.com/seo/training.htm

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How are you connecting and communicating with your target market? Is your marketing more a lecture than a conversation? At SES San Francisco, businesses will learn how to engage with their clients — not just to effectively tell their story, but listen as well. Learn to leverage emerging technologies, what they mean to you, and how mastering them will transform your brand and your profit margins.

Key Areas of Focus • Apps • Display Advertising • Marketing Analytics • Mobile Marketing

SES § July 2010 {San Francisco preview}

SES is the pioneer of educational conferences and training in digital marketing. It’s where the industry leaders gather to discuss the newest trends, share their insights, and give you the action plans you need.

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AUG. 16-20 • SAN FRANCISCO Today, success in not only search marketing — but all of marketing — requires an advanced understanding of how consumers and audiences are connecting, sharing their passions, and influencing others. Thus SES, in partnership with ClickZ, the leader in online marketing news and under the umbrella of Connected Marketing Week, is bringing together a community of organizations and events who will explore every aspect of digital marketing, from e-mail, conversion optimization, SEO, social, performance marketing, and more.

For more details on partnered events & workshops, head to:

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SearchEngineStrategies.com § SES

9:30AM -10:45AM

Conference Welcome/Orientation & Opening Keynote: Jeffrey Hayzlett, VP, Eastman Kodak Company

10:45AM -11:30AM

Grand Opening of the Expo Hall (open 10:00-7:15pm) Track 1

Track 2

Track 3

11:30AM -12:30 PM

Introduction to Search Engine Marketing

Covario Sponsored Session

Introduction to Analytics

12:30 PM -1:30 PM

Networking Lunch in the Expo Hall

1:30 PM -2:30 PM

Successful Information Architecture

Digital Asset Optimization

Meaningful SEO Metrics: Going Beyond the Numbers

3:00 PM -4:00 PM

Link Building Basics

Content Marketing Optimization

Deep Dive Into Analytics

4:15 PM -5:15 PM

Developing Great Content

Video: The Next Marketing Frontier

21 Secrets of Top-Converting Websites

5:15 PM -7:15 PM

Networking Cocktail Reception in the Expo Hall

9:30AM -10:30AM

Morning Keynote: BJ Fogg, Author Track 1

Track 2

Track 3

11:00AM -12:00 PM

SEO101

News Search Optimization

Bringing SEO In-House: The Pros & Cons

12:00 PM -1:00 PM

Networking Lunch in the Expo Hall

1:00 PM -2:00 PM

Sponsored Session

Search, PR & the Social Butterfly

Stretching Your Marketing Dollars: The Upside of Search

2:30 PM -3:30 PM

Keynote Panel: Real Time Storytelling

3:45 PM -4:45 PM

Paid Search 101

Google Sponsored Session

B2B Search Marketing Tips

5:00 PM -6:00 PM

How to Become a Link Magnet

Pushing Content via XML, RSS & Site Maps

B2B Lead Generation Management & CRM Integration

6:00 PM -7:00 PM

Open Mic: SEW Black Hat, White Hat Unconferenced

9:30AM -10:30AM

Morning Keynote: Tim Ash, Author, Using Five Pillars to Build Instant Trust Online Track 1

Track 2

Track 3

10:45AM -11:45AM

Reserved for Late-Breaking Topic

PPC or SEO? The Ultimate Search Marketing Battle

Eye-Tracking Research Update

12:00 PM -1:00 PM

Social Media 101

Channel Surfing: Measuring Profit and ROI Across Channels

Duplicate Content & Multiple Site Issues

1:00 PM -2:00 PM

Networking Lunch

2:00 PM -3:00 PM

Social & the Marketing Mix

Reserved for Late-Breaking Topic

Ads in a Quality Score World

3:15 PM -4:15 PM

Facebook Feeding Frenzy: Targeting Opportunities, Privacy Challenges

Reserved for Late-Breaking Topic

Advanced Keyword Research

4:45 PM -5:45 PM

The Business Value of Social Media

Digital Marketing & Sports

Advanced Paid Search Tactics

5:45 PM -6:15 PM

Wrap-Up Session

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TUES, AUG 17, DAY 1

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AGENDA Track 4

SEW Labs

Search: Where to Next?

PPC Lab Primer

Introduction to Information Retrieval on the Web

SEO Lab Primer

Wpromote Sponsored Session

SearchEngineWatch.com SEW Lab (2 hours) PPC Lab

SEO Performance Marketing

TUES, AUG 17, DAY 1 Jeffrey Hayzlett VP, Eastman Kodak Company

Track 4

SEW Labs

Local Search Ranking Factors

Local Primer

Local Search & Social Media

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Video Lab Primer

Mr. Hayzlett is known as the “Celebrity CMO” for his work at Kodak, because his countless media appearances and social media skills have made him one of the top C-level executive Twitterers in the world. He is also cowboy — literally: A South Dakota native who always wears cowboy boots and still has a little house on the prairie. A much sought-after speaker, Mr. Hayzlett was named “Business to Business Marketer of the Year” by B2B Magazine in 2009 and has received numerous business awards and honors.

WED, AUG 18, DAY 2 BJ Fogg Director, Persuasive Technology Lab, Stanford University

Twitter Nation

SearchEngineWatch.com SEW Lab (2 hours) SEO Lab

Flashecom Sponsored Session

Track 4

SEW Labs

Ad Networks & Exchanges

SearchEngineWatch.com SEW Lab (2 hours) Mobile Lab Enterprise Level SEO

Enterprise Level SEO

From Real-Time Search to Dynamic Discovery

SearchEngineWatch.com SEW Lab (2 hours) Video Lab

Augmented Reality: A New World Order Selling Search to the C-Suite

BJ Fogg directs the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University. A psychologist and innovator, he devotes half of his time to industry projects. His work empowers people to think clearly about the psychology of persuasion--and then to convert those insights into real-world outcomes. He is the author of Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do, a book that explains how computers can motivate and influence people. BJ is also the co-editor of Mobile Persuasion, as well as Texting 4 Health. His upcoming book is entitled The Psychology of Facebook.

THURS, AUG 19, DAY 3 TIM ASH CEO, SiteTuners.com CEO of SiteTuners.com, a landing page optimization firm that offers conversion consulting, full-service guaranteed-improvement tests, and 2nd-generation software tools to improve conversion rates. Tim is a highly-regarded presenter at Search Engine Strategies. Tim is a columnist for several publications including ClickZ. Tim is the author of the bestselling book Landing Page Optimization.

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SearchEngineStrategies.com § SES

SESSIONS DAY 1 11:30am-12:30pm Introduction to Search Engine Marketing This session will provide a clear and concise overview of the key concepts involved in search engine marketing. This is a mustattend basic session for anyone new to SES events. Introduction to Analytics Cut to the chase! Use analytic tools to get the specific answers you need about your search marketing campaign’s economic performance, your users’ onsite behaviors, and how to look for major red flags in traffic patterns. This slate of experts will keep you focused rather than poring through hundreds of pages of meaningless statistics. Search: Where to Next? Join us for an illuminating discussion as we peek into the next generation of digital marketing and predict what search might look like in the following five to ten years.

can begin participating in the linked-data movement. SEO Lab Primer Go online for details. 3:00pm-4:00pm Link Building Basics Discover how search engines rely on link analysis as an important component for ranking web pages. You will also learn how to increase traffic to your site by building quality links in an appropriate manner. Content Marketing Optimization This session provides unique insight into content based optimization strategies and processes as well as tactics for sourcing, creation and promotion of optimized content on the social web. Deep Dive Into Analytics It’s all about answering specific business questions using your web analytics data to drive tactical and strategic decision making. This session will provide you with all of the essentials to get down and dirty with your data.

PPC Lab Primer Go online for details.

SEW Lab PPC Lab (2 hours) Go online for details.

1:30pm-2:30pm

4:15pm-5:15pm

Successful Site Architecture This session will provide a fresh look at how to successfully architect your site for search engines and how specific page elements and design technologies may impact your ability to gain good organic listings.

Developing Great Content In this session, we’ll explore a diverse range of Web content development strategies along with innovative techniques for dramatically boosting the visibility and interactive appeal of your site.

Digital Asset Optimization Search result multiplicity is not a new phenomenon, but recent advancements guarantee that the world of search and marketing will be changing forever. Discover how blended search will affect your strategy and how users are reacting to this new evolving technology. Meaningful SEO Metrics This panel will discuss a myriad of ways to move beyond Page Rank, indexed pages or linked sites and into metrics that can make you a hero and, better still, get your budget increased to a respectable level. Introduction to Information Retrieval on the Web This sessions will demonstrate how internet researchers are changing the web in a fundamental and powerful way, and the session will showcase practical ways that search marketers and web developers

Video: The Next Marketing Frontier This panel will cover the latest developments in video-based marketing, including: factors that make your video assets visible; Ad networks; Formats; YouTube; plus more. 21 Secrets of Top Converting Websites In this fast paced session you’ll find relevant examples from retail sites, B2B sites, publishers and everything in between. You’ll learn the key principle of GTC Get the Cash! You’ll never be able to look at a website the same way again. SEO Performance Marketing In examining the strategy of tying SEO Performance Marketing, panelists will cover what parts of SEO can be tied to a performance model, and what should clients demand, and agencies promise.

SES § July 2010 {San Francisco preview}

DAY 2 11:00am-12:00pm SEO 101 In clear, non-technical language, you’ll learn the latest optimization trends along with the best practices necessary to make an immediate impact on your internet presence and website profitability. News Search Optimization In this session, we look at how to make use of press releases and news content to tap into the power of news search. Bringing SEO In-House: The Pros & Cons In this session you’ll learn what you’ll need to do in order to manage a successful in-house SEO program that runs smoothly and successfully. Local Search Ranking Factors Local is different than regular SEO and requires special techniques. This session will cover the factors and criteria you need to know in order to get your clients ranked in Local directories including Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Mobile Lab Primer Go online for details. 1:00pm-2:00pm Search, PR, & the Social Butterfly Don’t miss this opportunity to hear firsthand from online PR/ social media pros that bridge the best of both worlds while influencing SEO via Profiles, Fans, Tweets, Friends and Follows. Stretching Your Marketing Dollars: The Upside of Search Our panel of industry experts will teach you the secrets to maximizing your exposure via organic, paid search and local search without emptying your wallet or cutting sales or leads. Local Search & Social Media We’ll sit down with some of thought leaders in this area to drill down on what really is working for small businesses in the universe of social networks. Video Lab Primer Go online for details. 2:30pm-3:30pm Keynote Panel Real-Time Story Telling Go online for details.

3:45pm-4:45pm Paid Search 101 Learn what’s available in this session that is especially geared toward beginners, with details on programs from major providers and advice on how to succeed. B2B Search Marketing Tips This session will focus on PPC and SEO best practices—specific to B2B search marketers. Twitter Nation Within the dramatically expanding social network space, Twitter has become everybody’s darling ever since major companies like Dell publicized how many millions of dollars they are actually making via this 140-characters-is-enough micro blogging platform. Learn why subtle, “suggestive marketing” works best on Twitter - and how to automate that effectively, too. Plus, effective strategies to outpace your competitors. SEW Lab: SEO Lab (2 hours) Go online for details. 5:00pm-6:00pm How to Become A Link Magnet Find out from a panel of experts how you can have your (metaphorical) 15 minutes of fame, become a link magnet and dominate search engines. Pushing Content via XML, RSS & Site Maps Learn about the unique advantages blogs and feeds offer to search engine optimization. B2B Lead Generation Management & CRM Integration This session will focus on “postclick” best practices -- specific to B2B search marketers and/or companies with a complex sales cycle. 6:00pm-7:00pm Open Mic: SEW Black Hat, White Hat, Unconferenced Go online for details.

DAY 3 9:30am-10:30am Keynote: Tim Ash. Using the Five Pillars to Build Instant Trust Online In this provocative keynote, SiteTuners CEO and bestselling author of Landing Page Optimization Tim Ash, will show

SESSIONS 10:45am-11:45am

Duplicate Content & Multiple Site Issues We’ll examine issues and explore solutions for syndicating content, running mirror sites, and duplicate content.

PPC or SEO? The Ultimate Search Marketing Battle Join us for this no-holds barred session where the SEO proponents square off against the PPC evangelists.

Enterprise Level SEO This session will include a proven model of organization for your enterprise level SEO campaign as well as a summary of key metrics that you should be measuring to drive ongoing SEO strategy.

you how to effectively use the Five Pillars Of Trust and smooth the way to your online conversion goals.

Eye-Tracking Research Update This panel will discuss a neuromarketing study performed by One to One Interactive which analyzed user behavior through physiological, emotional, and qualitative data. Ad Networks & Exchanges This session will cover the macro-level impact of exchange buying/selling and will include business specific case studies illustrating practical methods to get it right. SEW Lab: Mobile Lab (2 hours) Go online for details. 12:00pm-1:00pm Social Media 101 This session is designed to guide you through the complex landscape of social media and how it relates to your brand or web property. Storyteller Marketing: The Art of Storyteller Matches Up With the Business of Marketing Great search strategies are built around great content; this session will give you the economic and social tools you need to create that framework.

2:00pm-3:00pM Social & the Marketing Mix In this session, you’ll hear from leading experts who’ll help you cut through the hyperbole and create some long lasting, meaningful consumer connections with some useful integrated social media marketing tactics and strategies. Ads in a Quality Score World In this panel, we’ll take a closer look at quality factors and give tips on increasing the perceived relevancy of your campaigns. From Real-Time Search to Dynamic Discovery In this session we look at how near real time information is being used to offer a fresh and relevant experience for both music and recruitment. SEW Lab: Video Lab (2 hours) Go online for details. 3:15pm-4:15pM Facebook Feeding Frenzy: Targeting Opportunities, Privacy Challenges Facebook and other social

WORKSHOPS

media platforms (Twitter, LinkedIn) offer tremendous new segmentation and ad targeting opportunities to marketers. Advanced Keyword Research This advanced session will demonstrate how to target the right terms in your paid and organic search marketing, and you’ll learn where these keywords should be used. Augmented Reality – A New World Order App developers and experts explain how apps hook users, demonstrate their rapid growth trajectory, and explore what might be in store for the future. 4:45pm-5:45pm The Business Value of Social Media Join us for an illuminating discussion as we move past outdated business models, tackle ROI, and unlock the economic potential of social media. Digital Marketing & Sports Go online for details. Advanced Paid Search Tactics This solo session covers campaign expansion techniques, advanced ad testing, advanced auction theory, the proper use of relevant analytics reports, ideas for bid rules and campaign automation, and more. Selling Search to the C-Suite This very interactive session will explore how both search and non-search marketing, can educate each other and explore such issues as the nominal percentage of marketing spend that is allocated to search.

(additional fee will apply, discount may be used)

Monday, Aug. 16

Search Analytics Workshop

Bruce Clay SEO Training

Attendees will learn a basic overview of the available reports and analysis that can be done in the Google Analytics dashboard. The workshop will then focus on how to create custom reports and displays to track goals.

Focusing on white-hat, search engine-compliant SEO methods, this course will help you change your sites while avoiding techniques that will get you in trouble.

Email Marketer’s Toolkit For Success Want to compare your email marketing goals and campaigns with best of breeds in your category and take your programs to the next level?

Friday, Aug. 20 Search Analytics Training Learn which numbers really matter and how to combine information to answer the questions you have about your website. Learn the basic analytics terms, dispel myths, and understand the concepts of segmentation.

Keyword Research Workshop In this four-hour training session, attendees will explore the tools available for identifying, researching and zeroing in on the right keywords for your SEO, PPC and even social media campaigns. We’ll walk through the process in theory first and then work on a realworld example that leverages the latest tools available.

For more information on partnered events, visit

www.ConnectedMarketingWeek.com

EXHIBITORS 15miles 7Search.com Acquisio AdGooroo adSage LLC Advertise.com Ask Sponsored Listings Bing Brafton CustomNews Bruce Clay Inc. Business.com ClearSaleing ClickEquations ClickSweeper Compete Covario, Inc. Elsner Technologies Pvt Ltd. eZanga.com Findology Interactive Media Flashecom Inc. Google iContact iCrossing Inceptor Indus Net Technologies iProspect LinkWorth Local.com LookSmart Marchex Marin Software Market Motive Marketwire, Inc. Omniture Onward Search OrangeSoda PRWeb PubCon Quova, Inc. Raven Internet Marketing Tools Reply.com ROI Revolution Rosetta Searchmetrics GmbH Sedo SEO, Inc. SLI Systems SpyFu Superpages.com Textbroker.com topseos.com Unica Corporation Visibility Magazine Website Magazine Wiley Publishing Wpromote Inc. Yahoo Yield Software

Get the most updated list online:

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EEC: Email Marketing Day Aug. 18

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140Conf

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SearchEngineStrategies.com § SES

§ FOCUS: social

7 things agencies hate about Facebook social ads

By Marc Poirier aise your hands if you’re addressed them a long time ago. You would playing with Facebook ads, think that the challenger would come ready trying to figure out how this to take its piece of the pie, but that doesn’t can complement your search seem to be the case. Here are the seven most annoying things marketing efforts. OK, don’t really raise your hands, I can’t see you from about Facebook social ads, especially if here. But I know that about 92 percent of you you’re an agency trying to bring Facebook ads into your current offering. had your hand up. How do I know this? Well, my company Billing recently did an internal survey of all our Why would any business want clients, mostly SEM agencies, and asked to get a new invoice for every them if they “do” social ads. There were just account, every single day of the under 200 respondents, and 92 percent said month? Please, one “I do.” summary invoice per We then asked them Some of Facebook’s month per account. how much they invest issues irritate search in social ads for their marketers because the Lack of clients. This is where a hierwe laughed. While engines addressed them archical the average agency a long time ago. structure spends about $75,000 Because there is to $100,000 per month on paid search (with wild variations), they no hierarchy in social ads, it’s practically spend more like $1,000 or $2,000 per month impossible to build and efficiently manage on Facebook (again, wild variations, but highly targeted ads for tens of thousands of clearly a minuscule fraction of the paid segments, like you would for keywords. search budget). No MCC? Besides the obvious fact that most of us Agencies have to manage search marketers have yet to truly figure out multiple client campaigns. Can how to make our clients more money with we have one über login to see this thing, and that we all suspect that there is a way to succeed here, Facebook does a everything? number of things wrong, and that prevents Stats for demographics and SEM agencies from experimenting further psychographics and becoming bigger spenders. The stats in Facebook are disapThese issues are especially irritating to pointing. Why can’t we see which search marketers because search engines segment generates the best ROI?

Want to learn more? Marc will be speaking at the “Search: Where to Next?” session at SES San Francisco, on Tuesday, Aug. 17. For more information, visit

www.SESsanfrancisco.com 22

Daily spend limits This has got to be one of the most annoying things in any ad network — ever. What’s with the elf that decides how much money you’re

SES § July 2010 {San Francisco preview}

allowed to spend on any given day? Are you joking? I want to give you $20,000 today, not $50. Conversion tracking & impressions The newly released Facebook conversion tracking code is a huge relief. It also takes liberties that will go right over many people’s heads, giving ad impressions credit for conversions. There is no attribution model in place to give them some credit. If there is a conversion, and an ad was displayed on some page, then that ad impression takes credit for the conversion. Hmmmm...

Conversion tracking: Inside Facebook Last but not least, it looks like marketing on Facebook social ads is all about getting fans (or likes? not sure what they call these anymore). If that’s true, then why is it that Facebook social ads will not report on Facebook actions, such as new fans, or RSVPs? Why isn’t Facebook better equipped to help agencies address all these issues? Maybe they have focused on brand advertisers and brand agencies, and not so much on direct marketers (search nerds) like us. Or perhaps they tried to be a little too different? Who knows. One thing is for sure: Facebook needs to show search marketers the money, because right now most of us can’t find it. But we’re not giving up just yet. § Marc Poirier is a search engine marketing expert with more than a decade of experience. He is co-founder and CMO of Acquisio, where he leads all marketing activities. Previously, he was founder and president at Canalytics, a boutique SEM and SEO agency.

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§ FOCUS: best practices

Duplicate content: The what, why, and how

By Prashant Puri uplicate content is one of the most discussed, blogged, and talked about SEO topics — well, after link building, of course. Based on Google’s webmaster guidelines, “Duplicate content generally refers to substantive blocks of content within or across domains that either completely matches other content or is appreciably similar. Most of the time when we see this, it’s unintentional or at least not malicious in origin.” What exactly do “substantive” and “appreciably similar” mean? In my view, two pages can be termed “duplicate” if 30 percent or more of the page elements — title, URL, content — are similar to each other. For example, in the news/blog world, articles are often syndicated across numerous websites. Two types of duplicate content exist: within a domain and cross-domain.

Within a domain

This kind of duplicate content arises within the same site or domain. The most common example is a scenario like abc. com, where http://abc.com, http://www. abc.com/index.html, and http://www.abc. com all point to the same page. The solution here is simple: 301 redirect http://abc. com and http://www.abc.com/index.html to http://www.abc.com. Duplicate content issues can also arise when the crawler can get to the same piece of content through two or more different paths. Example: shopzilla.com/digitalcameras/402/canon/259-43010/products and shopzilla.com/digital-cameras/ canon+digital+cameras/402/products are very similar. In such cases, Google picks one and discards the other. If you have tons of these types of instances on your site, I suggest using a canonical tag — pick a URL

Want to learn more? Prashant will be speaking at the “Bringing SEO In-House: The Pros and Cons” session at SES San Francisco on Aug. 18. For more information:

www.SESsanfrancisco.com 24

an SEO perspective, I would stay very far that’s already indexed by Google or is more away from co-brand deals, because they relevant to users, and have the second URL inevitably result in one of the sites being point to the primary using the canonical tag. completely removed This will help in two from the search ways: Have the site on which engine results pages Search engines your content is syndicated (SERPs). will know your Here are some preferred version link back to you. things to keep in mind and will pick that. when syndicating Search engines your content or starting an affiliate program. will pass link juice from one version to Have the site on which your content is another, thus boosting the link juice of syndicated link back to you. your preferred page. Ask the website syndicating your content to add a “no index” tag to Cross-domain prevent search engines from indexing Here are a few common scenarios where their version of the content. If you can duplicate content arises between domains. swing this, you should probably be in Content syndications: This usually business development or sales! happens when one domain syndicates its Keep the syndicated feed different content to another domain. The example from the content that’s on your site. below shows CNET’s content syndicated One way of doing this is to not on nytimes.com. syndicate all of the content, or have the affiliate site display results in a different order. Ensure that the key SEO elements like URL structure and title and meta tags are different between your site and the affiliate. However, if you do find that your content is being copied and this is resulting in the scrapers ranking ahead of you, you can file a DMCA with Google (google.com/dmca. html), Bing (microsoft.com/info/cpyrtInfrg. htm), and Yahoo (http://info.yahoo.com/ According to Google, “If you syndicate copyright/us/details.html). your content on other sites, Google will Removing duplicate content from your always show the version we think is most own domain is easy, so complete that as appropriate for users in each given search, soon as you can. Duplicate content across which may or may not be the version you’d domains is a totally different beast, but if prefer.” you play by the rules, in most cases, you In most instances, “most appropriate for should be able to tame this beast. § users” corresponds to greater page authorPrashant Puri is head of global ity. In this case, CNET shows up in No. 2 SEO for Shopping.com (an eBay spot for the query “Canon PowerShot S90,” Inc Company). He is responsible while nytimes.com is on page three of the for SEO for sites that run across results. five countries. He has more than Affiliates and co-brands: Both affilieight years of online marketing ate and co-brand deals result in dupliexperience, including stints at cate content issues if not done correctly. Yahoo and AT&T. He’s built nuAlthough co-brand deals are generally a merous sites into multi-million unique visitor sites thing of the past, they do still occur. From through a combination of SEO and SEM.

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§ FOCUS: international

Making sense of global search: Target via country, not language By Michael Bonfils

he most common mistake when companies decide to launch a multilingual and international search campaign is focusing on language rather than country. There are obvious benefits and challenges to both strategies, but before you commence your program, know exactly what you’re getting into. It’s much more difficult to re-engineer your site later, so get it right in the beginning.

Benefits of targeting by language

Save on costs such as hosting and TLDs Since you are not specifically targeting one nation, hosting in target countries is not as crucial, and it should save you some money. Besides hosting, having specific TLDs, re-engineering your site, and hiring a language SEO and content specialists can get very expensive. Targeting by a few languages, especially if they cover a lot of territory and population, is not nearly as expensive.

Multi-cultural by nature Language is one of the biggest parts of a culture. Multi-cultural advertising not only touches those outside of North America, but internally as well. A multicultural Spanish campaign, targeting U.S. Hispanics, for example, can easily be converted to cover almost all of Latin America.

Drawbacks of targeting by language

These certainly outweigh the benefits:

Issues with SEO It’s not impossible to rank when you are just targeting by language, but search algorithms are typically built around the locality of countries they are in, rather than languages. If they weren’t, while in Los

Angeles, you might find your local dry cleaners in Australia. Linguistically wrong Dialects and spelling are typically dissimilar across different countries that share the same language. In many cases, phrases and certain names can be taken the wrong way. The well-known story of Chevy Nova is one of those cases, where “No va” in Spanish means “no go” — it affected only some countries that spoke Spanish, not all of them.

Benefits of targeting by country

Targeting your campaign via country will likely provide you with more value. Some areas of success include: Succeed with your SEO Many SEO best practices exist in each specific country, and following Google’s rules in general works just about everywhere. However, there are huge benefits to be gained with SEO targeting to a country. In-country hosting and having a specific TLD are two of those ranking benefits that could be easily employed. Additionally, keyword targeting in the country you chose now competes with fewer pages, thus making it much easier to rank well.

and some British guy laughing at your use of the English language and misspellings. There are ways to get around it, though, like re-writing the duplicated content, specifying language in Google’s webmaster tools, and fixing links. Expensive Did I just say “re-writing all of your content” as one of the previous challenges? Yes, not only re-writing them, but hiring a content specialist from your target country can get expensive. And that’s not talking about other languages either — for example, Brazilian Portuguese is different from European Portuguese, plus you’d need two hosting boxes in each country, independent TLDs, and different SEO strategies around each marketplace. Starting from the ground up in each country is a lot of work. Make sure you do solid research prior to entering your choice markets, and keep in mind: Sometimes the differences between two nations and languages are close enough that you don’t have to worry.

Targeting by language in my experience can work well when you want to just provide users with the ability to understand the content on your site in a different language. It can be easily employed with the use of a paid search campaign and is a cheap alternaDeveloping the trust factor I feel that the “trust factor” is by far the tive if serious cross-border marketing is not most important factor when choosing to the main objective. Although, if your goal is a successful target via language or country. Being local and/or coming across as local as possible SEO or PPC strategy, targeting by country does have more is going to win more business than being When you give the user the benefits then targeting by language. Targetmultinational, unless sense that you are local to ing by country is true you represent a huge, localization, compethem, it develops trust. well-known global tition is reduced and brand like eBay (who, by the way, also employs local strategies). crucial trust is gained. Yes, it will cost you When you give the user the sense that you a lot more in the short term, but in the long understand them and that you are local to term, you may just win a market that thinks them, it develops trust — and trust is the goal your brand is a local competitor. § of all marketers.

Drawbacks of targeting by country

If you’re not careful, there can be disadvantages to targeting a specific country: Content duplication According to Google, it is not a penalty for having the same content from one site to the next; however, not getting ranked is the risk. I have seen many .com sites (U.S. versions) rank better than their .co.uk (U.K. versions) counterparts when targeting the U.K. Often the result is less conversions

SES § July 2010 {San Francisco preview}

Michael Bonfils is the international managing director of SEM International, specializing in providing international-multilingual search engine marketing management services for global advertising agencies, search engine marketing, and Fortune 1000 firms. Michael is a contributor to national publications and events such as Search Engine Watch, Witi, and Webmasterworld’s Pubcon. Previously, he founded a contextual/behavioral advertising agency, which he sold in 2004. He sits on the board of directors for many organizations, including the TechBiz Connection.

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§ FOCUS: content management

10 reasons why Drupal is the best CMS for SEO

By Ben Finklea shorten the learning curve for new users and our website is the front developers. door to your business — it provides a first impression Here’s why Drupal is the best: of the organization, generates leads, and propagates Search engine-optimized URLs your brand message. However, looking Unlike WordPress, Drupal gives pretty will not get you to the top of the you complete control over URL search engine results page (SERP). That’s structure. Each item of content why we all use search engine optimization created in Drupal (called a node) can be (SEO), which, for today’s complex content given a custom URL, called a URL alias. sites, is very different from the HTML of You can even set it to automatically generyesteryear. ate user- and search engine-friendly URLs Drupal, the open source content managebased on content ment system (CMS) that runs WhiteHouse. The page title is the single type (blog post, page, user), title of the post, gov, MTV Europe, and most important on-page keyword, date, time, The Economist, is a thing you can do to or any other inforvery powerful system mation related to the that can be used for improve the SEO of node. In WordPress, large, complex sites, your website. you are generally and it’s the best platlimited to one type form that exists today of permalink URL for all posts. You can for SEO. I’ve seen clients triple their trafoverride it, but it’s much less specific than fic within a few weeks of switching from Drupal’s URL aliases. For years, Joomla a lesser platform. Drupal’s built-in tools was lacking in search engine-friendly URLs for automating SEO on massive amounts and the ability to fix them. It now offers a of content, along with granular control built-in “search engine-friendly” functhat gives you absolute power over every tionality, but it lacks the functionality and single site element, put it head and shoulcontrol over the URL’s parameters. ders above the rest, including Joomla and WordPress. Additionally, Drupal is the Custom content types & views most scalable, configurable system, and Without having to write any major improvements in usability will soon code, you can use the content construction kit (CCK) and Want to learn more? view modules to create new content types This August, SES San Francisco will feature and create advanced custom views for those several sessions on managing and developing great content, including “Content Marketing Optimization.” types. Common examples include news stories, blog posts, albums, books, and www.SESsanfrancisco.com tutorials, all of which can be created and

SES § July 2010 {San Francisco preview}

displayed in a variety of ways. While most content management systems require additional written code for creating these types, no programming knowledge is required to do them in Drupal. To make it even more search engine-friendly, it’s simple to create content silos using a free add-on called Views Attach. Create an automated query to create a list of relevant content and attach it to any other piece of content — all with a point-and-click interface.

Ease of editing & revisions Even the most professional companies make mistakes. Recently I found two spelling errors on CNN.com’s homepage, including the word “errors” (it was spelled “erros” for about an hour before the mistake was corrected). Drupal’s built-in version control allows you to save new versions of your web pages every time they are edited. This gives you the ability to revert back to old versions at any time. Want to try a new marketing message on your site? Type it in. Didn’t work? Revert to the previous page. Snap.

The organizational wizardry of taxonomy Drupal has a very powerful, built-in taxonomy (categorization) system that allows you to organize and tag content with keyword-rich terms. While care should be taken that each Drupal “vocabulary” be limited to certain content types, it is an infinitely flexible system. For example, you can use free tagging for types

[ DRUPAL continued on page 30 ]

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[ DRUPAL continued from page 28 ] of content like blogs or products, while your news or tutorial sections might have a list of categories that can only be selected from a dropdown that is defined by the webmaster. You can also have hierarchical categories, with single or multiple parent categories. But don’t get crazy and deep with it. It’s a good rule of thumb that no page of content is more than three clicks from the home page. The closer the node is to the home page, the more important Google thinks it is, and the higher that individual page will rank. Drupal’s advanced taxonomy features, combined with CCK and views, also allow you to rank for long-tailed keywords that make up a thorough SEO campaign.

Multiple user management Drupal is almost as well-known for its community as it is for being easily optimized. That’s because Drupal was designed for community-based websites, and has a strong user role and access control functionality. There are no limits to the user roles and access levels you can create and customize — for example, “anonymous visitor,” “authenticated user,” “editor,” “webmaster,” “admin,” and “moderator.” You can also keep the advanced user management features turned off — like if you have multiple blogs — and enable them later when your site grows. Page titles The page title is the single most important on-page thing you can do to improve the SEO of your website. Page titles, the line of text in the HTML of a web page that summarizes what that page is about, act as the welcome mat for your website. Page titles: tell visitors that they are in the right place display in the browser title bar hold important keywords so that your

page can be properly categorized by Google and other search engines display whenever someone bookmarks your site are often used by search engines as the heading of the search result

More than 650,000 user accounts have been created on Drupal.org, and more than 2,000 people have registered developer accounts. You can find hundreds of communitycontributed modules that help make Drupal a better experience. Drupal forums offer support and you can find other Drupal users in Drupal Groups.

Drupal can generate a page title automatically by using the site name and site slogan of the front page and the node title for indiFree as in beer vidual nodes, but for more complex content, Unlike other platforms, Drupal you may want to rearrange the automated modules (what we call plug-ins, page title for SEO purposes. Drupal’s page add-ins, or widgets — modular title module gives you full control over pieces of code that you can easily add to your page titles throughout your site. You your site) are free. That’s right. You don’t can define a pattern need a license or even that will create search a credit card to install More than 650,000 engine-optimized any of the functionalDrupal user accounts titles automatiity that I’ve mentioned cally as you create in this article. Just go have been created. new content, or take to Drupal.org, click on control by writing your own page titles the “download” tab, and grab anything you anywhere you can create content. need.

Better integration with Google Analytics Have you ever wondered how much your own clicking around and working on your website skews your analytics data? Not if you have a properly configured Drupal site. Using the free Google Analytics module for Drupal, you can dynamically show and hide analytics code based on several factors, including if the user is logged in as an admin. You can even not track certain sections of your site, not track certain user types (like people logged in as company employees), and cache the Google Analytics code locally, which will speed up your page load times. All within Drupal. No programming required. For free. Passionate and active community Drupal has a large community of users and developers who are very active and passionate about the CMS.

SES § July 2010 {San Francisco preview}

Getting started with Drupal SEO is easy Just download the Drupal SEO checklist module (http://drupal. org/project/seo_checklist), drop it into your sites/all/modules folder on your server, and turn it on from the modules admin page. Go through the simple, step-by-step instructions, and you’re well on your way to the best SEO experience you’ve ever had on a CMS. §

Ben entered the world of online marketing in 1995 when he founded a web design company from his dorm room at Texas A&M University. Since then, he has worked in various capacities in sales and marketing, from tiny start-ups to Apple Computer. He founded Sprysoft in 2001 SpryDev Online Marketing in 2005 to help other businesses sell online. SpryDev grew quickly and changed names to Volacci in 2008. Ben’s book, Drupal 6 Search Engine Optimization, was released in September 2009 and is available on Amazon.com.

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glossary advertising network: A service where ads are bought centrally through one company, and displayed on multiple websites that contract with that company for a share of revenue generated by ads served on their site. algorithm: The technology that a search engine uses to deliver results to a query. Search engines utilize several algorithms in tandem to deliver a page of search results or keyword-targeted search ads. anchor text: The clickable text part of a hyperlink. The text usually gives visitors or search engines important information on what the page being linked to is about. click through rate (CTR): The rate (expressed in a percentage) at which users click on an ad. This is calculated by dividing the total number of clicks by the total number of ad impressions. CTR is an important metric for Internet marketers to measure the performance of an ad campaign. content network: A group of websites that agree to show ads on their site, served by an ad network, in exchange for a share of the revenue generated by those ads. Examples include Google AdSense or the Yahoo Publisher Network. contextual advertising: Advertising that is targeted to a web page based on the page’s content, keywords, or category. Ads in most content networks are targeted contextually. cost per action (CPA): A form of advertising where payment is dependent upon an action that a user performs as a result of the ad. The action could be making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or asking for a follow-up call. An advertiser pays a set fee to the publisher based on the number of visitors who take action. Many affiliate programs use the CPA model. cost per click (CPC): Also called pay-per-click (PPC). A performance-based advertising model where the advertiser pays a set fee for every click on an ad. The majority of text ads sold by search engines are billed under the CPC model. cost per thousand (CPM): An ad model that charges advertisers every time an ad is displayed to a user, whether the user clicks on the ad or not. The fee is based on every 1,000 ad impressions (M is the Roman numeral for 1,000). Most display ads, such as banner ads, are sold by CPM. geo-targeting: Delivery of ads specific to the geographic location of the searcher. Geo-targeting allows the advertiser to specify where ads will or won’t be shown based on the searcher’s location, enabling more localized and personalized results. Googlebot: Google uses several user-agents to crawl and index content in the Google.com search engine. Googlebot describes all Google spiders. All Google bots begin with “Googlebot”;

Below you will find commonly-used terms that every online marketer should know. Keep this list handy! A

for example, Googlebot-Mobile: crawls pages for Google’s mobile index; Googlebot-Image: crawls pages for Google’s image index. inbound link: An inbound link is a hyperlink to a particular web page from an outside site, bringing traffic to that web page. Inbound links are an important element that most search engine algorithms use to measure the popularity of a web page. invisible web: A term that refers to the vast amount of information on the web that isn’t indexed by search engines. Coined in 1994 by Dr. Jill Ellsworth. keyword: A word or phrase entered into a search engine in an effort to get the search engine to return matching and relevant results. Many websites offer advertising targeted by keywords, so an ad will only show when a specific keyword is entered. link bait: Editorial content, often sensational in nature, posted on a web page and submitted to social media sites in hopes of building inbound links from other sites. Or, as Matt Cutts of Google says, “something interesting enough to catch people’s attention.” link building: The process of getting quality websites to link to your websites, in order to improve search engine rankings. Link building techniques can include buying links, reciprocal linking, or entering barter arrangements. meta tags: Information placed in the HTML header of a web page, providing information that is not visible to browsers, but can be used in varying degrees by search engines to index a page. Common meta tags used in search engine marketing are title, description, and keyword tags. pay per click (PPC): See cost per click (CPC). quality score: A score assigned by search engines that is calculated by measuring an ad’s clickthrough rate, analyzing the relevance of the landing page, and considering other factors used to determine the quality of a site and reward those of higher quality with top placement and lower bid requirements. Some factors that make up a quality score are historical keyword performance, the quality of an ad’s landing page, and other undisclosed attributes. All of the major search engines now use some form of quality score in their search ad algorithm. return on investment (ROI): The amount of money an advertiser earns from their ads compared to the amount of money the advertiser spends on their ads. search advertising: Also called paid search. An advertiser bids for the chance to have their ad display when a user searches for a given keyword. These are usually text ads, which are displayed

SES § July 2010 {San Francisco preview}

above or to the right of the algorithmic (organic) search results. Most search ads are sold by the PPC model, where the advertiser pays only when the user clicks on the ad or text link. search engine marketing (SEM): The process of building and marketing a site with the goal of improving its position in search engine results. SEM includes both search engine optimization (SEO) and search advertising, or paid search. search engine optimization (SEO): The process of making a site and its content highly relevant for both search engines and searchers. SEO includes technical tasks to make it easier for search engines to find and index a site for appropriate keywords, as well as marketing-focused tasks to make a site more appealing to users. Successful search marketing helps a site gain top positioning for relevant words and phrases. search engine results pages (SERPs): The page searchers see after they’ve entered their query into the search box. This page lists several web pages related to the searcher’s query, sorted by relevance. Increasingly, search engines are returning blended search results, which include images, videos, and results from specialty databases on their SERPs. social media: A category of sites based on user participation and user-generated content. They include social networking sites like LinkedIn or Facebook, social bookmarking sites like Del. icio.us, social news sites like Digg or Reddit, and other sites that are centered on user interaction. spider: A search engine spider is a program that crawls the web, visiting web pages to collect information to add to or update a search engine’s index. The major search engines on the web all have such a program, which is also known as a “crawler” or a “bot.” title tag: An HTML meta tag with text describing a specific web page. The title tag should contain strategic keywords for the page, since many search engines pay special attention to the title text when indexing pages. The title tag should also make sense to humans, since it is usually the text link to the page displayed in search engine results. universal search: Also known as blended, or federated search results, universal search pulls data from multiple databases to display on the same page. Results can include images, videos, and results from specialty databases like maps and local information, product information, or news stories. web 2.0: A term that refers to a supposed second generation of Internet-based services. These usually include tools that let people collaborate and share information online, such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, and folksonomies.

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