PPC-Advice.com

After two days of intense information uptake via osmosis, I had already typed my fingers to bony stumps hacking out what seemed like an endless stream of status updates on Twitter @gprzyklenk and @marketwire and recaps of each day on this blog.  Finally, day three of Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2009, and what would be my last day at the show.  Lucky for me, I got out of Chicago on a delayed flight, several others couldn’t say the same due to a massive blizzard that struck the entire Midwest and Eastern seaboard.  I’m thankful I stayed for day 3, because unlike other shows, the information didn’t stop as crowds thinned out. Read more…

Today was a day that I could never relive in my head, even if I tried.  I should’ve known better to think SES Chicago Day 1 was an anomaly, especially after keynote speaker Peter Morville described the internet as “information gushing towards your brain like a firehose aimed at a teacup.”  Well Peter, if you thought the internet was overwhelming with information, how about a conference dedicated to internet marketing.  Day 2 just took it up a notch, grab a raincoat and some rubber boots. Read more…

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 7 years, or 2 years which seems more popularly accepted, you would be blind not to notice the impact social media and networking sites have had on society.  Some say product purchasing decisions are slowly migrating from search to social, forgoing the researching and evaluating phases for instant gratification and credible influence.  So why are online marketers finding it so hard to determine the net effect of their social marketing efforts on a handful of web 2.0 sites? Read more…

Day two started right where Day one left off, with tons of more informative sessions.  Unfortunately, we only have two people from PPC-Advice.com covering the conference, which means we can only cover 2 of a possible 5 simultaneous tracks, hopefully next year we can get more people to come along.

Speaking of next year, the organizers of the show have already scheduled next year’s Silicon Valley show for outside of the valley, but within the bay Area.  Next year, SES will be coming from San Francisco, and no one could be happier about that than me.  Apparently, organizers, sponsors, speakers, and the engines themselves have all agreed – San Jose is hard to get to, has zero night-life, and is about the same distance from the major engine’s HQ’s in the valley.  Sweeeeeet. Read more…

Despite Google pulling back their rumored $2M Google Dance budget for 2009, SES San Jose attendees showed up in throngs (and thongs) to SearchBash 2009, hosted by WebmasterRadio.FM.  And what a bizarre party it was, complete with official “Alice in Wonderland” theme, beachballs, naked women in body paint, and free-flowing open bar to boot.  Judging by all the tired faces and subdued enthusiasm this morning, it looks like the party was a great success. Read more…

Given the recent economic downturn and attendance numbers in a downward spiral over the past year or so, turnout for SES San Jose, the granddaddy of all online marketing shows, was surprisingly optimistic.  Not only are all major search engines, agencies, and tool providers on hand for the festivities, experts from all walks of marketing disciplines are presenting on their specialties.  It’s the perfect storm, in the perfect weather, at the perfect time for optimizing online marketing. Read more…

The first reaction I’m probably going to get for writing such a hot-button topic is, “Garry, why’d you talk about my company”.  Don’t you worry, it’s not your company, or my company, or any company, it’s most companies.  Face it, if you knew the questions to ask, skills to look for, business processes to change, you’d be retiring at forty in the Caribbean or embarking on your fourth start-up.  Finding and keeping top online marketing talent is tough, mainly because of the things you can’t change. Read more…

The honor of interviewing a world-renowned Web Analytics expert such as Avinash Kaushik doesn’t come along every day, so I’m pleased to present a little preview into what marketers can expect at SES San Jose in August.  Avinash’s official title of “Web Analytics Evangelist” at Google really beguiles his true dedication to our industry:  he’s author of a best-selling book Web Analytics an Hour a Day, his blog Occam’s Razor is a first-stop on my daily online reading list, he speaks at countless conferences across the globe, and manages to sustain a frantic pace on Twitter.  Plus he’s a really approachable and helpful guy. Read more…

With all the talk lately about new and emerging technologies, social spheres, and potential easy wins in online marketing, it’s hard to decipher the signal from the noise.  A shaky economy doesn’t help matters, because many companies are moving to either increase short-term gains or foster long-term strategy and right the boat.  Fragmented advice is easy to come by, so I present to you one cohesive strategy of online marketing with a few tactical real-world examples of how you might implement change. Read more…

As a precursor to SES San Jose, Charlene Li, author of “Groundswell” and keynote speaker at the upcoming show and Matt McGowan of Search Engine Strategies will be offering a free webcast entitled “How to Integrate social media into your business strategy”.  If attending sessions at Search Engine Strategies in Toronto two weeks ago taught me anything, it’s that most businesses don’t “get” social media… at all.  So I expect everyone to sign up for the free webcast, which is scheduled for Wednesday July 8th at 1PM EST/10AM PST.  Click here to register.

If you haven’t already done so, sign up for the main event of all search marketing shows, SES San Jose 2009 right now.  I’ve been to New York, Toronto, and San Jose last year, and although all have their respective merits and local experts that can teach you a ton of tactics and valuable insights, SAN JOSE is the place to be.  If you go to one show and one show only, go to SES San Jose.  Okay, enough with the shameless, albeit honest, plugs for SES.