SMX East 2011 Full Conference Agenda
Day 1: September 13, 2011

SMX Boot Camp Track

SMX Boot Camp: Keyword Research & Copywriting For Search Success (#smx #11A)
The first step to success with any marketing campaign is to know your message. With search marketing, that means knowing the search terms that are being used by your target audience. And though it sounds obvious, it helps to actually use those words in your web pages! This session covers the importance of textual content to search engines and how with some forethought, you can create HTML title tags and body copy that works to generate search traffic which also pleases your human visitors.

The Big Picture Track

Which Way Google? (#smx #11B)
Google’s going through an extraordinary time. It faces anti-trust investigations in the US and the EU. Competitors worry more and more about it, as the company seems to continually expand into new areas, such as social. Some consumer groups worry about privacy issues and data collection. Some marketers worry that the company might be too powerful a “gatekeeper” of traffic. Yet the company remains popular with consumers. Can Google navigate the challenges it faces and come through living up to its “Don’t Be Evil” motto? Our panel explores more.

Enterprise & In House Track

Enterprise PPC (#smx #11C)
Paid search offers many benefits for large organizations: increased sales, enhanced brand awareness – even channels to counter competitors. But managing enterprise paid search campaigns can be a nightmare, especially when different departments think they should “own” the process. This session explores the challenges of running an enterprise-level paid search campaign, and how to get all stakeholders in alignment to assure the maximum return possible.

Best of SMX Advanced Track

Google Survivor Tips (#smx #11D)
Although Google says only 12% of all websites were affected by its recent "Panda" update, many legitimate websites felt the sting of new ranking algorithms. But fear not: If your site was "pandalized" you can get back into Google’s good graces by following the tips and tactics our panelists present during this session.

SMX Boot Camp Track

Solution Spotlight by Optify (10:45-10:50)
Solution Spotlights are brief introductions to relevant products and services offered by SMX exhibitors and sponsors.

SMX Boot Camp: Link Building Fundamentals (#smx #12A)
Ever since Google created PageRank more than a decade ago, every good search marketer’s motto has been "I link, therefore I am." Though linking seems easy, it’s a far more subtle art than most realize, and there are right and wrong ways to conduct your linking campaign. In this session, we’ll look at how to reach out and get quality links, how to craft anchor text to build authority, and how to avoid commonplace mistakes that will hurt your web credibility (and search engine rankings).

The Big Picture Track

Solution Spotlight by Brafton CustomNews (10:45-10:50)
Solution Spotlights are brief introductions to relevant products and services offered by SMX exhibitors and sponsors.

The Great Correlation vs. Causation Debate (#smx #12B)
All SEOs know that making changes to your site can have a significant impact on rankings. The challenge is in understanding what changes actually cause ranking changes, and which changes merely correlate with rankings (e.g. they’re coincidental byproducts of change). In this lively session expert SEOs who’ve dived deeply into understanding search algorithms debate correlation vs. causation and make their cases for the types of ranking factors that do (or don’t) have significant meaning.

Enterprise & In House Track

Solution Spotlight by Searchmetrics (10:45-10:50)
Solution Spotlights are brief introductions to relevant products and services offered by SMX exhibitors and sponsors.

Enterprise SEO (#smx #12C)
Large organizations face unique challenges when it comes to SEO. Multiple websites, perhaps running on multiple content management systems, in different countries and languages… the list goes on. And with increasingly strict content guidelines, it’s crucial for organizations’ to coordinate and integrate their SEO efforts across the enterprise. In this session, speakers who have had hands-on experience managing large-scale SEO efforts share best practices and offer practical advice for maximizing site visibility – and avoiding disasters.

Best of SMX Advanced Track

Solution Spotlight by blekko (10:45-10:50)
Solution Spotlights are brief introductions to relevant products and services offered by SMX exhibitors and sponsors.

What Every Paid Search Marketer Needs To Know About Google +1 (#smx #12D)
Google’s new "+1" experiment allows searchers to publicly show what they like, agree with, or recommend on the web. And not just for algorithmic search results, but for ads as well. Google is using +1 results to make results more personalized for individuals – but Matt Cutts also said "we’ll look at it as a potential signal to improve search quality as well." How will +1?s affect things like Quality Score or CPCs? Is this the next step forward in retargeting for ads? Come hear our panelists take a deep dive into the new program.

SMX Boot Camp Track

Solution Spotlight by Trada Inc. (1:45-1:50)
Solution Spotlights are brief introductions to relevant products and services offered by SMX exhibitors and sponsors.

SMX Boot Camp: Paid Search Fundamentals (#smx #13A)
Paid search allows you to generate traffic from search engines by purchasing ads, usually on a cost-per-click (CPC) / pay-per-click (PPC) basis. This session covers the basics of how to purchase placement from the major search engines, including best practices for success with your ads.

The Big Picture Track

Solution Spotlight by Servio Media (1:45-1:50)
Solution Spotlights are brief introductions to relevant products and services offered by SMX exhibitors and sponsors.

Panda-Proofing Your Content (#smx #13B)
Many people were surprised when Google’s Panda update apparently penalized their rankings. Google has made it clear that quality content is key–but what exactly does that mean? And how do you create panda-proof content? This session explores the various types of content sites should be creating, including sales pages, blog posts and white papers; how to repurpose existing content and slice it up for social media, and many other techniques.

Enterprise & In House Track

Solution Spotlight by ClickEquations (1:45-1:50)
Solution Spotlights are brief introductions to relevant products and services offered by SMX exhibitors and sponsors.

In-house PPC Pitfalls: Vendors, Data, Communication (#smx #13C)
In this session in-house PPC veterans talk about how to avoid the pitfalls they see happening in-house. Hear the war stories, capture the lessons and implement the right things to maximize your efficiencies.

Best of SMX Advanced Track

Hard Core Local SEO Tactics (#smx #13D)
Successful local SEO is largely a matter of proper blocking and tackling. But what can you do to gain an edge beyond following the boring "claim your Places Page, make your address and phone numbers consistent, etc." advice? This session explores creative approaches to local SEO and tactics that go well beyond blocking and tackling.

Sponsors & Partners Track 

What’s this?

Search, Social & Mobile – Top Trends To Budget For In 2012

It’s that time again! Planning and budgeting season for 2012 is in full swing. As such, digital advertisers need to be on top of the key digital media trends in search, social and mobile advertising to ensure their budgets are aligned with the key initiatives that will dominate the brand positioning in the next 18 months.

Join us for this SMX panel, during which we will talk to Fortune 500 digital advertisers about what they believe will be the top trends in search, social and mobile marketing for the coming year. Get insight into the marketing strategies and focus from these experts and learn how to apply their ideas to your online business.

This panel will answer these questions and more:

• How much will budget grow in search, social and mobile in 2012?
• Where to focus social media spend – Facebook , Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn?
• Will social signals make links more or less important for SEO?
• What impacts to brand and ecommerce will mobile have in 2012? Is this the year of mobile?
• Will local deal providers, such as Groupon and LivingSocial, drive more mobile commerce?
• Will tablet computing challenge laptop/desktop, and how should your website adapt to this and mobile search?

Moderator: Craig Macdonald, CMO, Covario

Speakers:
E.L. Linde II, Senior Marketing Manager- Web Marketing, IBM
Matt Smith, SEO Manager, Dell Public & Large Enterprise – Online Marketing, Dell
Louis Cohen, Senior Vice President – Search & Affiliate Marketing, Citibank
Denise Collins, Sr. SEO Strategist, Covario

This session is sponsored and produced by Covario. It is open to all SMX East attendees, including Expo+ Pass holders.

The Big Picture Track

NO SESSION

SMX Boot Camp Track

Solution Spotlight by Slingshot SEO (3:45-3:50)
Solution Spotlights are brief introductions to relevant products and services offered by SMX exhibitors and sponsors.

SMX Boot Camp: Search Engine Friendly Web Design (#smx #14A)
“I’m not designing my site for search engines,” is a common designer objection to SEO suggestions. But when search engines collectively have more users than either Internet Explorer or Firefox, how can you afford to ignore how they interact with your site? Search engines are like the third major browser, and if your site breaks for them, it breaks for all those potential visitors from search engines. Attend this session and learn how to create search engine friendly sites that are equally appealing to human visitors.

Enterprise & In House Track

Solution Spotlight by Sedo (3:45-3:50)
Solution Spotlights are brief introductions to relevant products and services offered by SMX exhibitors and sponsors.

In-House SEO Operations: How Things Get Done (#smx #14C)
In this session we’ll talk about SEO operations (the systems, templates, worfklows, etc.) when doing SEO in-house. This session will be less about SEO tactics and tools you hear about, and more about the integral workings of in-house SEO from idea to launch, and how the nitty-gritty details don’t get lost along the way.

Best of SMX Advanced Track

Solution Spotlight by Raven Internet Marketing Tools (3:45-3:50)
Solution Spotlights are brief introductions to relevant products and services offered by SMX exhibitors and sponsors.

Use Searcher Personas To Connect SEO To Conversion (#smx #14D)
We all know that audience engagement doesn’t start at a web site. It starts at the search box. And it’s not enough to rank well for high volume queries. To be successful, you have to rank well for the right queries and then convert searchers once they click from the search result to your site. In this session, we’ll show you a clear process that takes business goals and search data and turns them into a blueprint for creating a user experience that starts at the search box and ends with conversion.

Sponsors & Partners Track 

What’s this?

The Future of Search – Search + Social + …

According to SEMPO’s 2011 State of Search Marketing Report 54% of agencies and 29% of companies utilize Social Media as part of their Search Marketing activities. How has social media changed the search landscape forever? Will this incorporation continue to grow? What other new channels, strategies and activities will search professionals utilize in the future to optimize their results? Come to this panel discussion to listen and join the debate of what the future holds.

Moderator: Jason Heller, CEO, Agiliti

Speakers:
Loren Baker, VP of Services, BlueGlass
Jay Berkowitz, CEO, Ten Golden Rules
David Kidder, Co-founder and CEO, Clickable
Stefan Tornquist, VP of Research, Econsultancy

This session is sponsored and produced by SEMPO. It is open to all SMX East attendees, including Expo+ Pass holders.

Evening Forum With Danny Sullivan
The audience is the panel in this session. Search marketers share thoughts, ideas and knowledge. The session is moderated by Search Engine Land editor-in-chief Danny Sullivan, and the audience shapes the agenda.