SMX West 2012 Full Conference Agenda
Day 1: February 28, 2012

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.

Trends In SEO Track

Getting Personal, Part 1: How Google & Bing Personalize With Social Connections (#smx #11B)
The “new normal” search results are personalized. By default, both Google and Bing tailor results based on things they know about the searcher. This session looks at how Google taps into Google+ for its new Search Plus Your World service and how Bing uses Facebook to create “Liked Results” and in other ways. The session will also explore how other social signals may be used, including the importance of social authority.

Paid Search Track

Maximizing Paid Search Campaigns With Google’s AdWords Extensions (#smx #11D)
Ad extensions expand a standard text ad and provide additional information such as:

• an address and phone number (location extensions and call extensions)
• more page links (ad sitelinks)
• product images (product extensions)
• and recently new social extensions that associate an AdWords campaign with a Google+ page.

Local & Mobile Track

Hardcore Local SEO Tactics – Driving Online & In-Person Traffic (#smx #11C)
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 offers creative approaches to local SEO and tactics that go beyond blocking and tackling.

SMX Boot Camp Track

Solution Spotlight by Raven Internet Marketing Tools (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).

Trends In SEO 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.

Getting Personal, Part 2: How Google & Bing Personalize With Search History & Geography (#smx #12B)
Our look at the "new normal" of search personalization continues, examining how both Google and Bing use search history and geographical location as a way to customize the results that searchers see. Learn how making a good impression may help make a lasting impression in both search engines.

Paid Search Track

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

Best Practices With adCenter For Bing & Yahoo (#smx #12D)
Now that Bing and Yahoo have a combined estimated 30% market share, you know you can’t ignore this appealingly large source of traffic – but you’ve also heard that you can’t just clone your AdWords campaign and expect to get good results. What are the key differences between AdWords and adCenter? What adCenter features are unique and powerful? What kinds of features should you be taking advantage of to maximize your ad campaigns on Bing and Yahoo? How does your campaign on Bing differ from what appears on Yahoo? Come to this session to find out.

Local & Mobile Track

Creating Conversion Friendly Mobile Landing Pages (#smx #12C)
Most mobile searches are for places or things people want right now. But if you’re not creating and optimizing landing pages for mobile searchers, you’re more likely to generate frustration and anger than to get a conversion. This session looks at how to create effective mobile landing pages and the nuances that make them different from conventional landing pages.

SMX Boot Camp Track

Solution Spotlight by 7Search.com (1:30-1:35)
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.

Trends In SEO Track

Solution Spotlight by Page One Power (1:30-1:35)
Solution Spotlights are brief introductions to relevant products and services offered by SMX exhibitors and sponsors.

Does Google Favor Brands? An In-Depth Look (#smx #13B)
Does Google love brands so much that they almost seem guaranteed top rankings, even if they sometimes violate Google’s publisher guidelines? Some believe so. This session looks at the issue and how anyone might be able to prove themselves as an important brand to Google.

Paid Search Track

Solution Spotlight by Mongoose Metrics (1:30-1:35)
Solution Spotlights are brief introductions to relevant products and services offered by SMX exhibitors and sponsors.

Power Tools For The Paid Search Pro (#smx #13D)
Building great PPC campaigns takes a lot of time, creativity and tools. In this session, we’ll look at free, nearly free and homegrown tools used by expert PPC managers, and examine 15-20 simple tools that solve a particular task and can save hours/days. We’ll also review some fairly unknown tools which help you every step through creating/managing PPC campaigns – from discovering and selecting keywords, building word lists, analyzing competitors, creating and managing both text and display ads, charting, bidding, ad testing and reporting.

Local & Mobile Track

Solution Spotlight by Bruce Clay, Inc. (1:30-1:35)
Solution Spotlights are brief introductions to relevant products and services offered by SMX exhibitors and sponsors.

Solving Problems & Seeing Success In Google Places (#smx #13C)
For local businesses, Google Places can be really beneficial, but there are a host of challenges to overcome – duplicate listings, bulk uploads, spam reviews from competitors and other issues. This session explores the tools that exist to help overcome these road bumps, and case studies where marketers have successfully figured out how to use this powerful offering from Google.

Plus Session Track 

What’s this?

Are You Ignoring Display Advertising? If So, Are You Crazy?

If you’re ignoring display advertising, you’re leaving money on the table. Adding display to your service mix is easy…and lucrative. Want to generate more leads and decrease costs? In this session, we’ll teach you all you need to know about the new world of display advertising and we guarantee you’ll go back to the office with a brand new power tool on your marketing belt.

We’ll also show you how Acquisio used its new display retargeting functionality to increase its own lead volume by 50%, while simultaneously decreasing its overall CPA by 20% in the first week.

Speakers:

Alexandre Pelletier, Marketing Director, Acquisio.

Brian Stempeck, VP of Business Development, The Trade Desk

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

SMX Boot Camp Track

Solution Spotlight by Optify, Inc. (3:30-3:35)
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.

Trends In SEO Track

Solution Spotlight by Covario (3:30-3:35)
Solution Spotlights are brief introductions to relevant products and services offered by SMX exhibitors and sponsors.

Don’t Panic! A Hitchhiker’s Guide To Surviving SEO Changes (#smx #14B)
The SEO’s life isn’t easy. In addition to major updates like Panda, Google says it’s now making as many as 500 changes to its algorithms each year. Apart from algorithmic changes, personalization means different results for everyone, sometimes in non-subtle ways. Attend this session and you’ll learn to adapt and thrive in the constantly changing search engine optimization (SEO) universe.

Paid Search Track

Solution Spotlight by Acquisio (3:30-3:35)
Solution Spotlights are brief introductions to relevant products and services offered by SMX exhibitors and sponsors.

Retargeting & Remarketing: The New Behavioral Ads (#smx #14D)
Some call it retargeting; others call it remarketing, but if you aren’t doing it you’re squandering both money and opportunity to build stronger relationships with your customers. Retargeting involves understanding user intent via search, and then subsequently advertising to each individual with a combination of search, display or other online ads beyond search, reinforcing your messaging and increasing the likelihood of conversion. Sounds complicated, but recent developments have made it relatively easy to launch and run remarketing campaigns. Our panelists will show you how.

Local & Mobile Track

Doing Check-ins & Offers Right (#smx #14C)
Check-ins and social offers can be great for raising awareness, gaining new customers and boosting loyalty among existing customers. But they can also be disastrous to the bottom line if not implemented properly. This session explores the mechanics of check-ins and offers, when they’re appropriate for a business (and when not) and who the key players are, with plenty of time for Q&A about these burgeoning new channels for marketers.