We’re back from the valley of the jolly IT giants. Last week a number of Metamenders attended the largest and most influential annual search conference, Search Engine Strategies San Jose. The four day (+1 day for training) had over 70 unique topic tracks and was attended by over 7000 people. For any search marketing agency, a conference of this size is important to attend and, for individual search marketers, the learning experience is a kin to a fourth-year university course.
Because the search marketing industry is built on communication, ideas or community memes tend to work their way into speakers’ notes and general discussion. Every conference thus has its unofficial theme. The only difference this year is the level to which search marketing has become entrenched in the overall advertising mix. The vibe at the conference felt more triumphant, more grounded and very much more important. This year’s unofficial theme was SEM as THE cornerstone of online marketing efforts.
The practice of search engine marketing has changed substantially over the decade the industry has existed. With a larger number of venues to perform services in and a wider range of services to offer, search engine marketing agencies have grown to become virtual gatekeepers to the greatest benefits of the Web. We are thus experiencing an interesting and important shift in the business of being search marketers.
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