Search Marketing Expo

Earlier this month, we shared the email addresses of about 400 SMX Advanced attendees with five of our sponsors when we shouldn’t have. We apologize sincerely for having done so.

When someone signs up for an SMX event in the United States, we ask if they are willing to share their postal address with selected sponsors. This option is NOT selected by default. Instead, a registrant has to deliberately enable it – make a conscious choice to share their postal address.

About 350 people did this. But rather than share only postal addresses, we also sent some sponsors their email addresses by mistake.

About 50 other people were registered by our events management company, rather than filling out the online registration form themselves. This happened in a few cases such as group registration, people paying by check and for a very small number of speakers who didn’t enroll themselves personally into the registration system (including our conference chair, Danny Sullivan). In these cases, the option to share postal addresses was selected, when it shouldn’t have been. Email addresses for these people were also shared.

We’ve contacted all the sponsors that received addresses, and they’ve agreed to make no further use of them. No one should get any further mailings due to our mistake.

Over the past three years since Third Door Media was founded, we’ve literally spent days discussing how to handle email addresses in a manner that makes good business sense but also keeps the trust of our customers.

Our policy has been to never sell or share email addresses with third parties except for those who attend Search Marketing Now webcasts – and this is clearly stated before they sign-up. Other than that, email addresses only get shared if you attend an SMX event and you allow a vendor to scan your conference badge, which transmits your email. We’ve felt both these cases stuck a good balance of sharing with permission.

Sharing the 400 email addresses as we did was wrong, and we’re embarrassed it happened. While it doesn’t correct that wrong, we also maintain over 20 different newsletters and contact lists that collectively contain over 50,000 addresses, and we’ve never shared any of those with third parties. We hope that careful control over the long term will restore trust with any who may have lost some with us because of this mistake.

Join us for workshops that take a deep dive on search engine optimization (SEO) or issues confronting in-house SEM professionals at Search Marketing Expo - SMX East.

The workshops — In-house SEM Exchange and Bruce Clay SEO Training — will be held October 8, immediately following SMX East on October 5-7.

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

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

In-house SEM Exchange is:

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

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

Find out more about In-house SEM Exchange here!

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

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

Topics covered include:

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

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

Register Now and Save!

You save when you register for SMX East and either the In-house SEM Exchange or SEO Training. You pay just $1,695 for an All Access SMX East pass and either workshop. Just want to go to the workshop? Sure, you can do that too.

Save with pre-agenda pricing when you sign up now. These will be the lowest rates available.

Register today!

The best way to speak at our SMX East SEM conference happening Oct. 5 to 7 in New York is to suggest a great session idea, and you have one last week to do it.

Send your ideas in using our Session Pitch Form. The form is open through June 30. We’ll use the ideas to help craft the final agenda.

When the agenda is live, we’ll also have some further speaking spots available (Want To Speak At SMX East? Here’s How explains more). But the best way to increase the odds of speaking is to have suggested a great session.

Just want to attend, not speak? Register now and get discounted pre-agenda pricing!

Search Marketing Expo – SMX has teamed up with online marketing agency NETexponent to offer the SMX Affiliate program. Publishers who join the SMX Affiliate program will earn 6% commissions on sales of eligible conference passes.

The next eligible conference is SMX East, October 5-7 in New York City. NETexponent will manage the SMX affiliate program, recruiting members and assisting them with marketing and commission tracking. The base rate for commissions is 6% commission for sales referred through affiliates’ own websites. Higher commissions are available for top partners. Eligible conferences include SMX East, SMX West and SMX Advanced. International conferences are not commissionable at this time.

Interested in becoming an affiliate? Visit the sign-up page or email us at SMX@NETexponent.com.

Lowest Rates Now Available! Register Today for Search Marketing Expo - SMX East

The dates are set and registration is live! Search Marketing Expo - SMX East is scheduled for October 5-7 in New York City. Get exceptional content, invaluable connections and essential conveniences that make SMX conferences famous.

Whether you are just starting out in search or looking for advanced level tactics, work on an in-house SEM team, hail from an agency or own your own business, SMX East has sessions just for you. The agenda for this year’s program will be posted late July – in the meantime check out the 2008 agenda for a sample of what to expect.

Attend SMX East for:

• Exceptional content so compelling, you’ll want to implement what you’ve learned before leaving the conference. Super-charged sessions on PPC, SEO, local search, search friendly design and social media marketing will help you succeed today, tomorrow and in the future.
• Invaluable connections made possible by the ultimate mix of structured networking opportunities and social events. Meet new contacts, reconnect with colleagues – SMX makes it easy to interact and exchange ideas with other industry thought leaders.
• Essential conveniences to help you juggle your every-day responsibilities while maximizing your conference time. Always available and free Wi-Fi; hot lunches, snacks and beverages all day; access to all presentations and tools to pre-plan your custom itinerary – SMX has got you covered.

Program by Search Engine Land. The SMX East program is created by search marketing authorities Danny Sullivan and Chris Sherman, the editors of Search Engine Land. We’re confident you’ll be satisfied with what you learn and the experience; we guarantee it.

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

Want to speak at our SMX East conference that’s happening in New York City on October 5-7, 2009? Here’s everything you need to know about doing it!

For each show, we usually have two different calls for participation.

First, we ask for session ideas. This is the very best way to increase the odds of speaking. Suggest a great session, and if it makes it to the final agenda of a show, there’s an excellent chance you’ll be one of the speakers.

Second, after a show’s agenda is posted, we also do a formal call for speakers. This allows people to indicate particular panels they’d like to speak on.

Session pitches accepted now through June 30

SMX East is a general purpose search marketing event for people of all levels. The pitch should be about 2 to 7 paragraphs long. We don’t need an essay, just a general idea of what the session would be about, along with some specifics about what you might cover speaking as part of that session. You can suggest other potential speakers, but that’s not required.

Also send some background about yourself, your company and the type of work you do. We don’t need a resume nor a lengthy bio. Just a few sentences to describe yourself.

If your session idea is accepted, you’ll get a pass to the entire SMX event. Travel and accommodation are not provided.

What to pitch? Something interesting or unique about search marketing. We especially favor session pitches strong in tactical advice. Also, virtually all sessions at SMX feature 3 or 4 speakers, so keep this in mind when pitching.

What not to pitch? A session about your particular product or service. A session that features only you speaking on a particular topic.h

Want to pitch? Use the Session Ideas Pitch Form (please don’t email Danny or Chris).

Agenda posted Monday, July 6

We expect to post the SMX agenda by July 6. If you were accepted to speak as part of the session pitch process, you MIGHT be notified by this time. If not, hang in there until speaking openings are posted.

Speaking pitches accepted July 6 through July 27

If you want to speak on a specific panel, this is the time to make your pitch. Most speakers will get between 12-15 minutes for their presentation, so please keep this in mind. If we have late breaking openings, the form will reopen (and we’ll likely do a blog post about it)

Speaker acceptance notices

We expect to tell everyone who pitched if they were accepted or not by August 3, 2009.

Ready to pitch? Remember, we’re only accepting pitches for proposed sessions at this point, so use the Session Ideas Pitch Form to tell us what you’d like to see at SMX East. If you want to speak but don’t have a session idea to pitch, wait until the speaking pitch form opens on July 6th.

If you’ve been waiting to register for SMX Advanced, now is the time. As of this morning, there were 10 tickets left. Register now online or call (877) 242-5242 to secure your spot.

Once the tickets are sold, we’ll create a waiting list and contact people on that list if/when spots become available.

If you already have your ticket for SMX Advanced, we’re looking forward to seeing you next week! Remember that the opening Meet & Greet reception kicks things off Monday evening at 6PM. Pick up your conference badge and materials and join us in the Bell Harbor’s Odyssey Museum to say “hi” to old friends and meet new ones.

There’s still time, but not much.

Register now or you may miss out on SMX Advanced, the year’s most anticipated conference programmed exclusively for experienced search marketers. There are now less than 30 tickets left for this exclusive event in Seattle, June 2-3.

Still deciding? Here are some helpful links:

• Check out the complete agenda
• See who’s speaking
• Take a look at the networking opportunities

Don’t delay – capacity at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center is limited. When these 30 tickets are sold, registration will be closed.

Register online or call (877) 242-5242 today!

The thought leaders of the search marketing industry are converging on SMX Advanced June 2&3 in Seattle - will you be one of them?

Capacity limited, less than 40 tickets left. Register before the weekend and secure your seat!

In just two short weeks, the thought leaders of search engine marketing will pack Seattle’s Bell Harbor International Conference Center for the most anticipated conference of the year: Search Marketing Expo – SMX Advanced.

Will you be one of them? Capacity at SMX Advanced is extremely limited. Less than 60 tickets are available. Register today!

Here’s what you’ll get:

• Sessions stuffed with innovative tactics, tips and discussion on SEO, paid search advertising, social media and SEM business issues. Check out the complete agenda and join the Search Engine Land editorial team for two days of learning, sharing and networking with other advanced search marketers.
• Exceptional keynotes and speakers who aren’t afraid to share strategies, techniques and thought provoking opinions.
• The ultimate networking experience, with right mix of structured opportunities and social events.
• Essential conveniences including free WiFi access, hot lunches and snacks and beverages all day.

Register online or call (877) 242-5242. You’ll be satisfied with SMX Advanced. We guarantee it!