SMX East 2011 – Part 1

SMX East 2011 conducted from the 13th of Sept. to 15th of Sept. in New York had the agenda focusing on the following categorized topics Day-wise:

The complete agenda can be viewed on http://searchmarketingexpo.com/east/agenda

My main area of interest was organic search  hence I attended  the sessions focused on SEO.

An SEO conference is a platform for multiple sessions and it is very difficult to make a choice of what to attend but the main highlights and takeaways of what sessions I attended are as follows:

Day 1 – 13th Sept. 2011 

The Big Picture Track - The Great Correlation vs. Causation Debate Presented by:

· Eric Enge, Stone Temple Consulting

· Micah Fisher-Kirshner, Become, Inc

· Mitul Gandhi, seoClarity

· Kristine Schachinger, SitesWithoutWalls.com

· Tony Wright, WrightIMC

• Correlation is: A mutual relation between two or more things where one has a measurable effect on the other.
• Causation is: A relationship in which one action or event is the direct consequence of another.
• In every Causal relationship there is a Correlative One, but there is not a causal effect in every correlative one
• We sometimes perceive something to have an effect but it may not have an effect as that can be a misperception.
• The only way to eliminate false positives are is to measure test everything over a period of time with a wide array of data.
• Almost everything in SEO is correlative not causative.
• In causal relationships, you can directly measure that A does CAUSE B
• In correlative relationships, you can only measure the STRENGTH of the effect of A on B
• Correlations are a place to start not an end. Have a sanity check and and question its sensibility before coming to conclusions.
• Before testing be sure of what is the return on your investment to collect and test this data?
• Make sure that you are considering all important variables in time and do not rely only on snapshots in a short time span.
• Be sure you have enough data and factors to run a linear regression
• SEO is on a time line on a linear position. A single trend is not a pattern or a causal relationship.

The Big Picture Track 

· Justin Briggs, Distilled

· Horst Joepen, Searchmetrics

· Heather Lloyd-Martin, SuccessWorks Search Marketing

· Chris Silver Smith, KeyRelevance

• Only 12% of websites in Google index were affected by Panda update – Matt Cutts
• We are content marketers if we have a blog or a site.
• “Panda isn’t simply an algorithm update. It’s a platform for new ways to understand the web and understand user experience.” (Vanessa Fox)
• “It’s not a new algorithm – it’s a new factor.” (Danny Sullivan)
• “It is easier to reliably detect social spam than link spam.” (Stefan Weitz and Maile Ohye)
• Combination of automated metrics and human factors;
• It’s a method for modelling webpages and websites which have certain usage profile combinations, scoring those combos, then using the scores to rank pages. (Chris Silver Smith)
• When you produce cheap content then it is not meeting any goal
• Create Quality content – Search Engines do not pay your bills your customers do.
• Stop asking what Google wants. Find out what your users want.
• Evaluate your content assets
• Plan the Repurpose of content
• Develop an  editorial calendar
• Watchdog the quality
• Leverage it when properly planned and evaluate
• Get everyone on the same page about SEO content. This could be a quick discussion - or an in-house training. Consider what works best for your team

Enterprise & In House Track 

· Laura Callow, intuit

· Simon Heseltine, AOL Inc.

· Erika Mamber, Demand Media

· Ulli Muenker , Bloomberg

• Use SEO as one of the fundamental building blocks in everything you do on your website.
• Ensure SEO is a part of the DNA of your organization.
• Build buzz and cultivate mindshare.
• Tailor the buzz for the relevant audience and add your spin
• Make it actionable
• Be seen, be heard, be involved
• Educate, Elaborate, Excite, Empower, Evangelize
• Share the SEO why behind the what, because understanding builds a sense of ownership
• If opportunity cost > available resources + cost of vendors Then hire vendors Else don’t hire vendors
• Ensure your team works according to an accountable system for delivery. Boil up to meet company / business objectives and vision