SEO Blog

I am sitting high above Times Square stealing a precious few minutes to get this post up. The largest and most influential search engine conference, Search Engine Strategies, is taking place a block and a half away at the Hilton Midtown. This is the billionth search marketing conference I’ve been at but I have a feeling it is going to be one of the most interesting. A lot is taking place behind the scenes in the search industry and, if all goes according to the very loose plan I’ve devised, much will be revealed this week.

Here’s a bit of what I am following this week:

- The Microsoft/Yahoo thing,

- Google closing the DoubleClick deal (and thus acquiring DoubleClick’s SEO firm Performics),

- The extraordinary breakthroughs we expect for our sister company Enquisite and their paid-search independent third party verification product PPC Assurance,

- The trajectory and future plans for SES conferences,

- What exactly is happening with Ask.com

- Whatever else comes up…

Metamend’s representatives will be getting in later this afternoon so I have a bit of free time before assuming my duties helping them any way I can. That’s a good thing from where I sit… There is so much to do and put in place before anything substantial can get done.

We hate it when our successful friends get the shorter end of the stick. Yahoo is shedding some serious talent. Among that talent is a good friend of mine and one of the stars in the SEO community.

Know anyone looking for THE In-House SEO expert? Jessica Bowman, widely considered the úber-expert on In-House SEO, was laid off from Yahoo on Monday.

I’ve been sitting on this one for a few days until Jessica made an official announcement herself. She dropped the news this morning at her SEM / SEO In-house Blog saying,

“As you know by now, life at Yahoo! wasn’t pleasant this week and I’m happy to report that that their in-house SEO program is now so good, that I was laid off!

I knew that my job would be done when an in-house evangelist wasn’t needed anymore. On the way out I got hugs from engineers… it was a job well done.“

Jessica was hired by Yahoo earlier this year to plan, promote and execute SEO techniques on various Yahoo properties. According to other sources I have in Yahoo, she did an amazing job but her position was not considered “bare-bones essential” for the continued operation of the company. (Ever wonder why a search engine might need a SEO?)

One always worries when the tradeshow floor appears smaller.

Have you ever wondered how much money it takes to throw a large convention like Search Engine Strategies or WebmasterWorld’s PubCon?

While the actual cost for both events are closely guarded business secrets, experienced observers have come up with estimates ranging from, “… more than you’ll ever earn” to “… a hell of a lot”. Either way, staging these conventions can run into a seven figure spend as there are always hundreds of major and minor details demanding the kind of attention that can only be lavished with cash.

The next question is obvious. How does the organization throwing such an event recoup its costs or make enough of a profit to make the endeavour worth the effort?

When dealing with enormous outlays of cash, it is important to have an assured base of income. That’s where the tradeshow part of industry conventions comes into play. The majority of the money comes from the rental of space on the tradeshow floor by vendors and sponsorships paid by advertisers. That’s why one always worries when the tradeshow floor space appears slightly smaller. Fewer vendors means lower income and a lower income means a tighter bottom line.

Last week, a contingent of Metamenders traveled to San Jose to take part in the industry’s largest annual Search Engine Strategies conference. SES San Jose is a special event on the hectic convention circuit as it brings the best of the search marketing community together in the home of the major search engines, the Silicon Valley.

The intensity of shows like SES can not be adequately described. Exhausting, exhilarating, challenging and enlightening, SES is comprised of 60-unique sessions and several evening events. With over 8,000 other search marketers walking the streets in a four-block radius of the convention, it is easy to believe for five very long days that the search marketing industry really is the core of the world.

It is important to bear in mind that, though being treated to both an intellectual and physical feast of delights, everyone who attends such conferences is working from the moment they wake up until the moment they go to sleep each night. The same can be said for the Metamenders. We worked hard at the conference with some of the contingent taking client meetings and others surveying as many sessions as possible.