Happy Holidays to all.
On another note, my blog is being overhauled due to some tech issues, with bugs being fixed and more content restored. Check back as I start posting here more often.
Thanks,
Rob
Happy Holidays
December 28th, 2011DFW Search Engine Marketers Meet Tonight – SEO and PPC In-house versus Outsourcing
August 11th, 2009The DFW Search Engine Marketing Association will be hosting its monthly meeting on “Executing SEO and PPC – In-house versus Outsourcing”.
This pane will be moderated by Tony Wright, DFW Search Engine Marketing Association president, and includes:
* Simon Serrano – Match.com
* Tory Smith – Travelocity
* David Wright – Click Here
* Mark Barerra – Vizion Interactive
* Gautum Kapur – ISHIR Digital
* Dan Sturdivant – Enversa
The event will be held at The Renaissance Hotel in Richardson, TX.
To purchase tickets for the event, go to http://dfwsem.memberlodge.org.
More info at http://www.dfwsem.org.
DFW Search Engine Marketers meet in Richardson tonight
May 13th, 2009The next DFW SEM Association meeting is tonight, and local search engine marketers will meet to discuss brand and reputation management in search and social.
The meeting is at the Renaissance Hotel in Richardson, TX, and starts at 6:30.
Visit the DFWSEM web site for more information, or follow @dfwsem on Twitter.
Optimizing for Local Search – featured at April 22, 2009 DFW SEM meeting
April 13th, 2009The next DFW SEM meeting will be held at the Renaissance Hotel in Richardson, Texas. The program features a presentation on local search optimization. Visit the DFWSEM site for more details.
DFWSEM Association meets this Thursday – keyword research is the focus
February 16th, 2009The next DFWSEM Association meeting is this Thursday at the Renaissance Hotel in Richardson, in the Telecom Corridor. Christine Churchill and Shelley ellis will be speaking on the topic of keyword research.
In case you haven’t noticed, meetings are now going to a monthly format. This means more networking opportunities, more information on search, and more update on what is going on in the search engine marketing landscape.
Look forward to seeing you there.
DFW SEM meeting w/ Brett Tabke was a great one
February 4th, 2009Just want to drop a word here about Brett Tabke’s presentation at the last DFW SEM Assoc. meeting. The group is picking up momentum in terms of attendance, diversity of attendees and organizations, and content, and is because of the great volunteers in the organization, and also presentations like Brett’s. Brett gave an overview of his insight of *all* presentations given at the Las Vegas WebmasterWorld, and the result was a very interesting view of the big picture of search and social, along with some incredible details about where the algos are going. It doesn’t hurt that he brought swag for all the attendees either.
To kick off his talk, Brett described how the WW crew recorded and videotaped *every* presentation, and how he went back and watched *every* one of them, kind of like a coach reviewing game film. His presentation to DFW SEM featured some of the big picture trends that evolved out of the show, and I must say it was very compelling from many different angles – broad scope, sentiment around engines, and even some tactical revelations.
All feedback I’ve heard from attendees was highly positive, and there is no doubt that the Austin Pubcon in early March is one you won’t want to miss. I would dare say – and my DFW SEM board colleagues agree – that it may very well be the best SEM event for the price anywhere in the US.
Forrester Names iCrossing best in both SEO and Paid Search
January 27th, 2009Forrester Research has issued their 2009 Search Wave report, which assesses top search engine marketing agencies on their full-service SEM capabilities, using the standard industry definition of both paid search, and natural search engine optimization.
iCrossing came in at #1 for not just one component, but for both paid search and search engine optimization, beating out all other agencies in the comparison.
Here is a quote from the 2009 Forrester Research Wave Report:
“iProspect, iCrossing, and 360i lead the pack… In fact, iCrossing bests the others in both paid search and SEO because of its open bid management platform, its use of market mix models to aid enterprises in paid search planning, and its heritage of optimizing dynamic sites for natural search results.”
iCrossing has made the full report available online – click the link below to read the full evaluation:
Forrester Research Names iCrossing Best in Both Paid and Natural Search
As a search channel strategy director for iCrossing, I can say that we are very proud of this distinction. Congrats to the iCrossing team – well deserved!
iProspect, 360i, IMPAQT, Razorfish, Reprise Media, and OneUpWeb were also among the firms evaluated in this research report.
DFW SEM meets Thursday, Jan. 15 Brett Tabke of WebmasterWorld speaks
January 14th, 2009The next DFW SEM Association meeting is tomrrow night at the Renaissance Hotel in Richardson. The speaker will be Pubcon organizer and WebmasterWorld publisher Brett Tabke, who will be discussing search engine marketing, and also Pubcon Austin in March.
Corporate and individual memberships are available at the door, and the general public is welcome.
Go to the DFW SEM home page or blog for more information.
Interview with Smart Business Online, talking search engine marketing and SEO
December 18th, 2008I was recently interviewed for a sidebar article in Smart Business magazine, a unique publication that customizes articles for 20-plus major markets, and is targeted at business executives. The interview in the link below was run as part of a bigger feature in the print edition. My uderstanding was that this was released across multiple markets, but I have inculded a link for the Dallas version below.
http://www.sbnonline.com/Local/Article/15671/71/0/3_Questions.aspx
Search Engine Marketer Journal 2008
December 18th, 2008My latest post for MediaPost Search Insider is up, and covers a number of columns I wrote in 2008, along with additional commentary. Generally I try to write about roads less traveled in the search engine marketing space, which forces me to often think about search in a different way. One example of this was the search eninge activism columns I wrote about earlier in the year. Clearly we have a unique approach to search going on here, and the number of people recognizing the value is growing, as more people become aware of the power and trust that major search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and MSN carry.
Again, overall I try to go for topics that have less of a voice, but that doesn’t preclude me from jumping in on major topics like the recession, conferences, SEO, etc. I think the topics speak for themselves, and I’m looking forward to another year.
Google SEO starter guide
November 13th, 2008Google has just released a 22 page PDF document outlining recommendations for basic web site optimization principles. The guide covers a number of basic elements, such as titles, meta descriptions (yes, meta tags are not dead), no follow link attributes, and more.
Download the PDF here: http://www.google.com/webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf
and read the full release info on the Google blog here: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/11/googles-seo-starter-guide.html
Google has pushed back on this type of information for years, and overall, I think it validates value of what a good SEO can do for a web site, and it validates the practice overall. Good SEO not only helps webmasters be found, it helps the search engines identify relevant content.
Texas Domainers and Dev Convention – Gaylord Texan Nov 3-6
October 23rd, 2008Gabriel Baker is hosting the first Texas Domainers and Developers Convention at the Gaylord Texan fromNovember 3 – 6. Several hundred people are expected to attend, and it features a number of speakers over the four day event. There will also be a silent and live domain auction, with a list of many Texas oriented names onthe block.
Discounted passes and additional information is available at the official site: http://www.tdadc.com/
Dallas Pay Per Click Management Event – for beginners to experts
October 9th, 2008DFW Search Marketing Association to host search advertising discussion on October 15, 2008 at the Renaissance Hotel in Richardson, TX
Dallas, TX /October 9, 2008 – Search engine advertising is growing in use. This year alone almost 40% of all online advertising dollars are spent on search display ads, according to a recent survey by the IAB. On October 15 at 6 p.m., the DFW Search Marketing Association will be hosting a panel discussion on “Pay Per Click Management”. Focused on the needs of beginners and advanced users, this two hour session will cover a range of topics on how to successfully create and manage a search engine advertising campaign.
“This will be the first time that our organization has focused an entire event exclusively on the use of PPC,” says Tony Wright, President of the DFW SEM group. Jeff Martin, a board member of DFW SEM will be moderating the discussion. “This promises to be a rich environment of information and ideas from some of the leading search marketers in Dallas,” says Jeff.
The networking event starts at 6:00 PM, and the speakers will begin at 6:30 PM, ending at approximately 8:30 PM. The event is open to all DFWSEM members and non-members, including marketing professionals and the general public. The event is free for existing members and $30 for non-members.
Meeting location
The Renaissance Dallas-Richardson Hotel (http://www.richardsonrenaissance.com/) is located at 900 East Lookout Drive, Richardson, Texas 75081. The hotel is in the Richardson Telecom Corridor, on the east side of 75 Central Expressway, approximately one mile south of George Bush Tollway. The hotel phone is 972-367-2000.
About the DFW Search Engine Marketing Association (DFWSEM)
The Dallas/Fort Worth Search Engine Marketing Organization (DFWSEM) is dedicated to education and promotion of the Dallas/Fort Worth search engine marketing industry, conversing various topics related to search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click search (PPC), as well as other emerging media. The group meets quarterly at the Renaissance Hotel in Richardson, Texas, and is open to anyone interested in search engine marketing, including in-house marketers, independent consultants, and agencies. Initially founded in 2003, DFWSEM is the oldest and longest running local search engine marketing group/meetup in the country. Member agencies include DexterityMedia, Vizion Interactive, iCrossing, Range Online Media, Key Relevance, MarketNet, AffGoo, Creative Support, Did-it, SearchDex, WrightIMC, Lead Maverick and Bridgepose. For more information, visit http://www.dfwsem.org.
DFWSEM is sponsored by Lead Maverick (http://www.leadmaverick.com).
