aimClear Search Marketing Blog

Over years of conference coverage, we’ve learned that sometimes it’s best to hold onto special sessions for a bit… let the fruits of knowledge ripen… let the excitement of the expo experience tone down before unleashing the insightful splendor into the blogosphere.

That said, it’s now time to revisit one of the last sessions from the last day at SES Chicago. The crowd sitting in on Marketing to Marketers was small, quiet, but eager to learn (and begin). Without a moment’s notice, the panel up and chucked the jumbo room for an intimate round-table audience participation Q&A at Kitty O’Shea’s. Drinks included. No joke. Read the rest of this entry »

So here’s kinda what was going on with “news” at the end of 2009: the news stations and newspapers were dying continuing to have a difficult time adjusting to the fact that there is “an Internet.” Specifically, the fact that the Internet has reprogrammed consumers to expect get news updates by the second, streamed directly to their phones, all for, uh, free. Also, everyone and their mother’s cagefighting vice-barrister has an opinion on how newspapers and other media outlets should retool and monetize. And oh, it’d be great if these once unparalleled news platforms could stop being the butt of the jokes we all love to hear… and tell. Read the rest of this entry »

Chris Boggs is the Director of Search Engine Optimization at Rosetta, an interactive design agency.  He’s also the Associate Editor of the SearchEngineWatch forums,  has served on the SEMPO Board of Directors since 2006 and is well respected amongst search thought leaders. 

I had a chance to score a couple of moments of Chris’ time, at SES Chicago 2009, to discuss what was covered in the session he moderated, “Meaningful SEO Metrics: Going Beyond the Numbers.” He shared his perception of hot SES buzz this time around. Topics he notes included “structured data,” personalization and the one that has grown near and dear to him recently, client communication. Read the rest of this entry »

Jonathan Allen, Search Marketing Specialist at Incisive Media, Director of Search Engine Watch and Co-Founder of Moblog:tech was kind enough to share a few moments of his time with us on day 3 of SES Chicago 2009. Check out the coverage below.
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So you’ve paid close attention to the SES Chicago 2009 coverage of PPC sessions, you’ve cleaned up your SEO and monitored analytics. OK, but how about the session dealing with the piece at the core of your website’s performance? We’re talking about information architecture here, and without it potential customers visiting your site will be quickly lost.

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We invite SES Chicago attendees to  join us today at 12:45PM. I’ll have the pleasure of moderating the Facebook Rockstars RoundTable: Marketing For the Other Internet session.  350 million fanatically engaged users in one place means understanding Facebook’s no-search-engines-allowed community walled garden system of “organic” and paid visibility is now essential. Shell-shocked brand managers unite! We’ll share how to plan, pilot and ramp successful Facebook programs.

Join kick-ass  social marketers Addie Conner, Director of Interactive Marketing, Avenue 100 Media Solutions, Melissa Mackey, Search Marketing Manager, Fluency Media and Muhammed Saleem, Director of Social Media Strategy, ChicagoNow. Read the rest of this entry »

[This post continues aimClear's ongoing coverage of Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2009.] Your company’s Facebook account is an entirely different animal than your mom’s. Companies have a lot more at stake when it comes to social media. Research, strategy development and a clear plan for measurement are a crucial prerequisites to engaging customers in online social space. Read the rest of this entry »

SEO copywriting requires the genius of savvy wordsmiths. Keyword research, a clear targeted strategy and creativity are essential elements to successful content. Sage copywriters: Byron White, Chief Idea Officer, ideaLaunch and Heather Lloyd-Martin, CEO of SuccessWorks shared their top wordsmith-tips to maximize search campaign performance during the Copywriting Boot Camp panel at SES Chicago 2009, moderated by Rebecca Lieb, VP, U.S. Operations, Econsultancy.

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Greetings from Chicago. The weather outside is frightful but we’re rockin’ here at Search Engine Strategies!

Setting up social media profiles is the easy part, but did you choose the right platforms for your business and how will you engage the community? Industry experts: Sean Carton, Chief Strategy Officer, idfive; Jeanniey Mullen, Chief Marketing Officer, Zinio; Heidi Cohen, President, Riverside Marketing Strategies; and Brian Boland, Performance Solutions Manager at Facebook dished out to-dos for companies eager to engage with the community on the SES Social Media Checklist panel . The session was moderated by Anna Maria Virzi, Executive Editor of ClickZ.

Regardless of which social media channels companies delve in to, developing the brand’s social strategy for genuine engagement must be the big-picture-focus. Whether selling goods, acquiring leads or providing a service– read this before you build or expand your company’s social medial profiles. Read the rest of this entry »

However, you can make money from your website when properly advised & optimized  by your web analytics, as Jim Sterne so correctly pointed out at SES Chicago 2009. Many of us have access to some sort of analytics for web properties we’re involved with, but how many of us really use the data effectively?  More importantly, are we making real money from analytics insight?  Is there more to life than just the conversion?

The session How To Turn Your Web Analytics Into a Money Making Machine was totally educational, not just because it provided answers, but because it proferred the types of questions we should all ask when pulling up our analytics dashboard over morning tea.  Read the rest of this entry »