We are excited to introduce a new blog series called “Grant’s Rants”, where The Search Agency’s Director of SEO, Grant Simmons, rants and raves about the current search marketing landscape. You can expect short videos about Google’s algorithm updates, search marketing conference recaps, search marketing news, and some British humor on a weekly basis.

This week, Grant rants about Penguin 2.0 from the comfort of his car. Here are his thoughts on Google’s recent algorithm update and the effect of Penguin on marketers.

Having moved to the UK from the US four years ago I can say with confidence that the most difficult part has been trying to completely understand the foreign culture. There have been many conversations that I’ve just simply not had the ability to stay involved in; I got lost on the word “knackered”  and I didn’t understand who these “punters” were at the local pub – did they just go around kicking things? But eventually it all began to make more sense; I remembered to look the other way when crossing the road and randomly started to greet people by saying “Hiya” (this is not exclusive to martial arts parlance, apparently).

The bizarre part, however, isn’t so much about how you adapt, but comes mid-adaptation, when you look back to your old home and find it strangely misaligned with your expectations. I had an experience like this recently when I tried to send money to a friend of mine in the States. In the UK the banking industry really seems to have its act together; someone just needs to give you their account number and their sort code and you can transfer them money online, instantly, for free.

After four years of this, there was an understandable level of indignation when I found out my only options were either a $25 fee to make a “wire” transfer from bank to bank, or a 10-14 day waiting period to schedule a cheque to be sent out. Unfortunately my friend didn’t have PayPal either, which might have simplified the matter.

A couple weeks after we had worked out the issue and he had received his bank-issued cheque, Google announced a money transfer service using Google Wallet for Gmail in their 2013 I/O, which basically allows Gmail users to email money, making it as simple to send funds as it is to send a picture. As bad as the timing was for me and my friend, I found it welcome news to know that when/if I do eventually move back home I’ll still be able to transfer money with ease, whether it’s to pay the landlord quickly or just to pay back your organized friend who plans group events (or to actually get paid back if you’re that organizer). It’s a good feeling to know that you’re not restricted in moving money; that you don’t have to concern yourself with either abiding by a transfer time period or paying to get around it.

In all truth, it’s about time the US caught up in this area; if the banks aren’t able to do it then it’s great that a company like Google can. It hasn’t fully rolled out in the US yet but that should be happening over the next few months. Supposedly you don’t actually need a Google account to receive money either, which is good because that would probably detract from its appeal slightly. Transfers are instant and free between Google Wallet accounts, although transfers take up to 10 days between bank accounts. So still not quite there yet, but it’s a step in the right direction.

As for the security aspect, the service would offer the ‘Google Wallet Purchase Protection’ that would cover against all unauthorised payments and means no account information would be shared over email, according to the director of product management for Google Wallet, Peter Hazelhurst.

I know that I’ll definitely be looking into this feature the next time I need to transfer money in the States and I look forward to hearing about its reception from users. Hopefully, by the time I move back, there will be one less thing that I’ll need to re-familiarize myself with.

I spent last week at SMX London, a gathering of European search marketers and brands, learning and contributing to the development of better search and social practices and process.

The conference was abuzz with Google news, due to Matt Cutts’ (Google web spam team lead) announcements and the Google I/O conference taking place halfway around the world. And as an active participant in Twitter, I thought it would be valuable to share some of these live tweets to give insights into the presentation themes, all in bite–sized twitter chunks!

Note: I ended up being the most prolific of twitterers according to this cool infographic from vccpcontent.

Keynote – A Key Role For The Search Professional: Company Insight Wizard

@jimsterne talked across a broad range of data topics, narrowly avoiding the term “big data” by focusing on the necessary insights to become a “Company Wizard of Data” – Jim’s insights on data management, data segmentation and data presentation got a lot of nodding heads and follow ups to answer the question; “how do I prove the worth of what I’m doing?”

Here is a select stream of my tweets during Jim’s presentation:

• Mechanics of data management is complex
• Data needs to be segmented to live together
• “You don’t have to know the question before you start storing data” – you can store and answer the questions that evolve
• How to be a great analyst? #1 Understand the problem
• HITS metrics – How Idiots Track Stuff – need better. Need specific goals with measurable results
• There are only 3 business goals 1) Make money, 2) Save money, 3) Make customers happy
• Data problem categories: 1) Repeatable, 2) To be solved, 3) Something to add to knowledge base for later
• Segment the segments. Create offers. Decide medium. Create creative. Test. Test. Test.
• Knowledge. Intelligence. Intuition. All enhanced by wine ☺

Key takeaway is no matter how you dig into the data, ultimately you’re paid for your insights and opinion. HAVE AN OPINION!

From Authorship To Authority: Why Claiming Your Identity Matters

Authorship and authority were key components of the panel I had the pleasure of presenting on. Our panel consisted of Maile Ohye from Google, a popular and spunky speaker and face of Google webmaster videos, Chelsea Blacker of Blueglass UK, Jim Boykin, an Internet Ninja, and yours truly, representing Essex lads everywhere.

Maile talked a lot around how Google is looking a “web of people” as well as a “web of things”… was certainly interesting to see and hear a Google view on web ‘connections’ as handshakes to ensure identities could gain visibility.

Of course, the whole panel worked within the backdrop of Matt Cutts’ announcement on previous Monday: “We’re [Google] doing a better job of detecting when someone is sort of an authority in a specific space…and trying to make sure that those rank a little more highly if you’re some sort of authority…”

Here is a select stream of tweets from my presentation:

• @NosHeini Connect known entities to known identities. Not only links, build authority w/ trust by creating well-identified content
• @kevgibbo Content is King – Authority Content is Kingier!
• @louisventer Credibility comes from great content
• @Tony_DWM When you make worthy content, you will gain your +1s, likes, tweets, shares
• @louisventer focus on your area of expertise
• @shahinfard Your digital footprint is important to how search engines and people see you.
• @SandeepVadgama Matt Kong Cutts (@mattcutts)
• @scotthague 5 rules for authorship 1. Claim & connect. 2. Build credibility 3.  Build your footprint 4. Follow the rules 5. Engage
• @CharlieGirl3009 Great presentation from @simmonet with gorilla Matt Cutts
• @soanders “Claim & connect all available profiles to enhance your Authorship. Now!” @simmonet with hat

Takeaway from the panelists:  Authorship will continue to be important (and perhaps become more important) for rankings, search results’ display visibility and click through rate! You can view the presentation here.
Killer Content Remains King, Queen and Ace

Next up on stage was a great mix of agency, tools, and search engine reps talking about the ever-popular topic of “Killer Content.”

It was great for a number of reasons:

1. Vincent Wehren from Bing was very transparent on key ranking factors
2. Chris Bennett gave some great case studies around “content marketing”
3. Dixon Jones from Majestic SEO had some great content marketing tips (and jokes)
4. Jonathan Stewart talked about ‘hero’ content as being key to content marketing success

@vincentwehren

• Search engines are learning, using ‘good’ content signals ie popularity – links, social signals, click signals = trust signals
• Recommending responsive as better user experience.
• Search Engines are smart. Understand content through user signals

@Dixon_Jones

• If you create something useful, might have reach and “halo effect / opportunity” of new content
• Olympics “best thing England has done since the war” – from a content standpoint
• 1) you cannot be your own advocate 2) be prepared 3) create a plan 4) engagement is key

@jonaths

• 3 types of content > 1) offsite 2) on site 3) hero
• Hero content – and timeliness (are key)

@chrisbennett

• don’t be a one hit wonder – content needs to be a process, strategy
• be multifaceted in content marketing not all about links, traffic & branding too (and more)
• Make your content interactive – Not just interactive infographics, but video, etc.
• Using content to solve internal problems too! Internal content marketing = better communications

Star of the Show was definitely Justin Sanger whose intense performance was worthy of The Globe Theatre. Good information, presented as if the end of the world depended on it.

Some Twitter reaction:

• Justin Sanger is very Andy Warhol
• marketing implications of #Facebook #Graph – search social & crm converging
• @justinsanger is aligned with engagement as “closing loop” signal of search experience & (my words) satisfaction of search query
• @danielbianchini 30% of reviews will be fake by 2014, whilst 98% of reviews are coming from 2% of Yelpers. @justinsanger
• Wow @justinsanger is intense! The end of the world is nigh. And it’s starting with search apparently #SearchArmageddon
• Awesome, a little scary, but very engaging. RT @Robert_Deans: @simmonet I love his presenting style, it’s awesome @justinsanger
• FB is still nascent – not enough “people signals” yet
• A person’s Facebook page is their curated personality – they won’t post something they are not proud of – @justinsanger
• Only 7% of WOM activity is currently happening online. Pretty small amount.  #socialmedia
• @CharlieGirl Oscar winning performance from @justinsanger
• @nmvalente Enough said by @justinsanger

For more twitter insights and fun, follow me @simmonet or Google+

The recurring-revenue business model is certainly not a new one.   Newspapers, magazines, country clubs, cable television, and the infamous Columbia House Music Club (12 CDs for the price of 1!) have all used various forms of subscriptions to earn a steady, predictable revenue stream from their customer base.  And the allure of this pricing structure is rather obvious.   Companies can significantly reduce their total marketing expenditure if they don’t have to acquire, and then re-acquire the same customers to make the same purchase.   Customers that are willing to commit to a particular brand or service gain the convenience of not having to repeat the purchase process as well as a perceived discount on their total cost of ownership.

One of the biggest challenges facing marketers of subscription-based businesses comes in valuing new customers.  Unlike a retailer that typically measures marketing effectiveness by comparing their advertising or promotional cost to the revenue earned on an individual sale, a subscription business has to compare the customer-acquisition cost to an expected lifetime value of that customer.  Will this new customer stay on for 1 month, 3 months, or longer before churning?  This valuation becomes even more complicated for freemium sites or any company that uses a “lite” or trial version of their product to acquire new customers.  These businesses must first determine what percentage of trialists will upgrade to the paid version, and then project an expected lifetime value of these subscribers.

Despite these challenges, the margins earned on these annuity revenue streams have led to a new boom in subscription businesses, particularly on the internet.  According to Brian Lee, founder of ShoeDazzle, recurring-revenue retail businesses work best “when the product is a necessity or when it’s an absolute passion.”  Consumers can now sign up to have anything from beauty products to gourmet snacks to curated boxes full of hip items to baby toys to razor blades delivered on a monthly basis.

The Search Agency has extensive experience developing search marketing strategies for a wide range of subscription businesses.  With so many retailers, data aggregators, and service providers experimenting with recurring-revenue pricing systems, we recently published a new white paper on search marketing for subscription businesses detailing the various offshoots of this popular business model, the unique challenges marketers face in profitably acquiring new leads and customers, and seven paid search best practices.

Download your free copy and leave a comment with other examples of innovative subscription businesses you’ve come across… or the worst CD you ever received from Columbia House or BMG music club.

Last week I attended iMedia’s Agency Summit, where agency professionals gathered to discuss agency evolution and media progression.  With a focus on big data and the balance between strategy and media technology, this year’s summit presentations and panel discussions were grounded in a conversation around the integration (or lack thereof) between creativity and data.  Presenters highlighted the thesis that there is still a long way to go before we can call the marriage of data and creative a success, and offered recommendations/predictions of how the two will successfully come together in the future.

All of the panel discussions, master tracks, and spotlight presentations offered valuable information and insight into agency evolution and progression in 2013. Below are my top 5 takeaways from this year’s summit:

• Dan Hill, Ph.D., President of Sensory Logic & Author of “Emotionomics” gave a compelling presentation on “Neural Marketing and Facial Coding”.  Dr. Hill is a pioneer of using facial coding to create emotional metrics and he postulates that many of today’s ad copy tests fail because they do not account for respondents’ emotions.  He also offered an interesting statistic:  the emotional part of the brain sends 10X as much data as the rational part of the brain.
• We heard from new digital intelligence platform companies, such as Burt and Abakus, who are working on projects that will transform agency business in the coming years.  The presentation from Abakus was particularly impressive, as the speaker provided an easy-to-understand overview of how the company incorporates Game Theory into its attribution model.  Abakus’ main takeaways were:  Data is king (start capturing user-level data – track everything), challenge the status quo, think incremental or marginal value, and get buy-in early.
• When discussing its ShareGraph^TM, an audience intelligence solution layer, the speaker from RadiumOne shared a compelling statistic:  A company’s next customer has an 87% likelihood of being connected to a current customer.  Therefore, understanding the connection points between consumers is of the utmost importance to acquiring new customers.
• Participation in the iMedia summit involved scheduling 10-minute speed-dating-type one-on-one meetings with technology or solution providers.  The 10-minute block of time provided just enough time to learn more about various solution providers’ innovations and points of differentiation.
• The chance to connect, exchange ideas, and get to know colleagues from other digital agencies was my favorite part of the summit.  With free time in short supply, it was great to be able to relax with other agency attendees at the summit.

With data and creativity serving as the overall theme of iMedia’s Agency Summit, Doug Weaver, CEO of Upstream Media, offered relevant advice for agency professionals: “The two most powerful words we should ask ourselves are ‘So What?’ as it forces us to pursue meaning; from meaning comes point-of-view and from point-of-view comes leadership.”  His words provoke agency leaders to continue innovating and pushing our businesses to the next level. Truly inspiring!

Yesterday was Mother’s Day in the US, and that should mean all mothers got to relax and unwind. But if the day involved constantly checking photo streams and status updates online, like most days do for the modern family, then it may not have been the case. Why? Well, a recent survey by TODAY Moms found that Pinterest is making nearly half of mothers stressed.

It seems that endless images of perfect parties, fabulous interiors and healthy meals are causing anxiety as mothers feel they cannot live up to their role in this idealised world. They feel inferior because they aren’t creative enough or crafty enough; they don’t have time to bake the perfect birthday cake or batch of cookies. Mothers are putting undue pressure on themselves to live up to being the perfect woman who makes those wonderful craft projects, wears those amazing outfits, and decorates their children’s bedrooms so fantastically, as presented to us on Pinterest.

The thing is, Pinterest isn’t the only social media network that’s responsible for a mother’s anxiety. The images people share on Facebook and Instagram often present an overly-fabulous view of life that can make all of us feel a little anxious. We are constantly faced with images of families having fun, beautiful birthday parties and fabulous weddings. You question whether you are having that much fun. Are your holidays as glamorous? Are your weekends that active or cultural? Was your wedding that fabulous? What we don’t see is the reality of what was going on at the time, and of course it’s not always as perfect as we imagine. These images are a snapshot in time and often carefully selected as the picture to appear on a social network.

The stress brought on by Pinterest can be seen as part of a larger range of anxieties arising from the use of social media, which may collectively be referred to as Social Media Anxiety Disorder (SMAD). This is not a medically recognised condition yet, although this is surely just a matter of time. There is some discussion around when the term was coined, although many attribute it to Julie Spira, author of ‘The Rules of Netiquette.’

So, how do you know whether you have SMAD? This can manifest itself in a number of ways but can largely be seen as an all-consuming and unhealthy obsession with what’s happening on social media. Have you ever posted something on Facebook only to keep checking back every 10 minutes to see how many likes or comments you have? Have you ever pinned a picture on Pinterest and worried that no-one has repinned it? Have you tweeted from your bed last thing at night before you sleep, or checked emails on your phone from your bed as soon as you wake up? If any of these sound familiar you could be suffering from Social Media Anxiety Disorder.

So what can you do if you think you have Social Media Anxiety Disorder? Here are 5 possible ways to help you switch off:

1. Take some time away from social media each day. Even if it is just for an hour or two, go offline and enjoy some time without tweets, status updates or pins.

2. Get back into the habit of sending post rather than posting online. Make the effort to send actual birthday cards, thank you notes and letters instead of messages via social media.

3. Arrange to meet up with friends for a coffee, or call them if they live far away, rather than tweeting or emailing them.

4. Read a book or a magazine. Take 10 minutes to sit in silence with a drink and read, preferably not on an electronic device!

5. Rather than playing games online with your friends invite them over for the evening and enjoy playing a game around the table with good food and drink.

There are so many ways you can get away from the all-consuming social media networks and the anxiety that can sometimes be associated with them. Keep things in perspective; realise that no-one is living the perfect Pinterest life, even if that’s what they may present online.

Celebrate Mother’s Day with the best gift of all… better SEO! Here are a few SEO treats for mommy bloggers:

1. Say it with flowers

Your mom always told you to “tell it like it is” so this Mother’s Day, give back by engaging with your audience. Say it with blog-like blooms; a post, a tweet, comment, reply or favorite inspiring quote.

The key is not to be the wall flower.  Your readers (and wannabe readers) want to hear what you have to say… so don’t disappoint, inspire and connect, and grab that +1 (and perhaps a rosy review) or a job well done!

2. Life is a box of chocolates

No mom refuses a box of delicious Belgium chocs, but as Forrest Gump famously said, “you never know what you’re going to get!”

Use that thought to provide something unique and a nice surprise for your audience. Instead of the story or tip you were going to tell, why not mix it up with a video, slideshow or “breaking news’ special?

Everyone likes a surprise in their chocolates, so give ‘em a taste that will have ‘em craving more!

3. Hand-drawn card

Remember how you felt getting or giving the home-made or school-made card that normally featured a big red heart and enough glitter to put Lady Gaga to shame? That’s because it was crafted by hand, with love, and delivered with a genuine smile. Maybe it wasn’t a Hallmark special, but it gained a special spot on the fridge until at least Halloween! Find a special spot in your reader’s hearts by creating a special piece of content that connects emotionally. Give genuinely and you’ll find you’ll loved just as much as that big red heart!

4. A night off

Every mom deserves a night off, but it’s true you can’t always find a babysitter for a night out or a night in. Your Mother’s Day time off doesn’t need any teen sitter angst or $25 out of pocket, simply use technology to give yourself some  time. Grab Hootsuite (free) and schedule a post or two while you soak in the tub, sip your wine, or catch up on that TV series you never have time for!”

Scheduling posts isn’t something that replaces a well-planned editorial calendar, but it does show search engines your blog is still alive and well, allowing you to enjoy the comfy chair and a DVR full of Downton Abbey.

5. Breakfast in bed

It doesn’t matter how messy the kitchen is afterwards, the gratitude in an extra hour in bed far outweighs the burnt toast, spilled OJ, and knife down the garbage disposal.

The perfect gift for the busy mom comes in the form of that same “breakfast in bed” feeling as you extend an invitation to a friend or colleague to guest post. Having a different voice once in a while can provide additional discussion points, inspire interaction and drive additional engagement; all while someone else is doing the work!

Don’t feel guilty as you lay back nibbling the equivalent of blog bacon, you deserve a day off once in a while!

Don’t forget the most special woman in the world this Mother’s Day! The gift of a few SEO tips, is the gift that keeps on giving!!

 
Connect with Grant on Google+Grant Simmons+

Google knows what you want. And more importantly it knows what you want NOW! Not soon, or tomorrow, or even next week. No, Google knows what you want now. And if you let it, it will tell you. Of course, what I’m talking about – Google Now, is nothing new. It launched officially over a year ago, but back then only Android users on Jellybean could benefit from being told that their journey to work would be disrupted by delays. Although, if you live in London like I do, you probably don’t need Google to tell you that… Anyway, now the service is available to a number of other devices, including iPhones and iPads, through the Google Search app.

The difference between Google Now and other previous Google launches, is that Google Now actually takes search as step further by predicting what you want, based on its ability to learn about your search behaviour. A few colleagues in the office have been talking about Google Now and how it learns where they live, where they work and other rather worrying/exciting (delete where applicable) aspects of your life.

Of course, at the moment Google Now is in its infancy and so its application might not seem that impressive. I’ve just downloaded the app on my iPhone and all it’s telling me is the weather (21 degrees – which I could probably tell by being outside) and how long it will take me to get to work. Nothing that impressive, or even worrying. It’s also possible that for some, Google Now will actually be terrifying. It could be seen as an invasion of privacy or eerily predictive. And perhaps it could be seen as almost too useful – for those who are always late for meetings, Google Now means they’ll have no excuse for getting stuck in traffic!

Also, as with most recent Google products, it appears as though users will only get the full benefit of Google Now if they are also using other Google products such as Gmail, Google+ etc. Another case of Google nepotism, which I think could, unfortunately, see it struggle to take off in the way you’d hope.

But its potential is fascinating, not just for the general consumer, but also for search marketers. From a marketer’s point of view, Google Now could be perfect as it means Google is providing unparalleled levels of results for users’ search needs, especially in the local field. Thus providing plenty of search result areas, or ‘cards’, that marketers can capitalise on. Though it would beg the question – how does a company ensure their website is suggested by Google if that consumer isn’t actually typing anything into Google? It’s a challenge most search marketers should be salivating over though.

For me, one development which can’t come soon enough, and could really change the landscape, is push notifications. Depending on your OS this might not seem like a big deal, but if Google starts pushing my iPhone to notify about things I need – based on my previous search history – that would be great. For example, if I buy festival tickets this year, Google Now might decide to let me know about the weather forecast at the festival site before I leave through a notification. Then I’ll know whether to pack my wellies or sunglasses or both before I leave.

So, while Google Now might not be quite as ‘Now’ as it claims and it still needs some development to ensure it lives up to its potential, it won’t take long before its recommending hotels to stay at and restaurants to visit after you book your next holiday. What will be interesting to see is how search marketing will have to adapt and strategies will have to be adjusted to ensure a site is top of the list in Google Now’s recommendations.

Whereas “never” is too definitive because the reality is any site has the potential to recover from Penguin, “may” is the optimal word in the title of Ben Pfeiffer’s article, “You May Never Recover From Google’s Penguin”.

Sure, you can rationalize the definitiveness of the “never, ever” scenario, with a nod to Taylor Swift singing “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”, but this is SEO, not a pop song about a relationship breakup.  SEO is not a “never, ever” type of scenario.

Coming back from a Google penalty may mean making big changes, but I’m optimistic enough to say that a strong focus on user experience and value-add for visitors presents an opportunity to rebound (are you listening Taylor?) and get back in with Google.

It’s true there isn’t much of a leg to stand on in terms of success stories from penalty recovery because there hasn’t been much in the way of recovery noted outside of strong brands.  But before you go kicking out one of the three legs of the ole’ SEO stool, consider the challenge every site now faces (post-Penguin): the assessment (and possible removal!) of copious links and the rebuilding process required to replace them organically, over time.  This equates to dismantling years of hard link-building work that is going to be costly, time-consuming and feasibly impossible to repeat. It’s likely that the sites which have recovered from Penguin had relatively strong link profiles, brand awareness, and other authority signals to begin with, so they were able to move past the update as compared to their competitors.

Maybe there is a reality check that’s relevant in Ms. Swift’s break-up song after all:

Then you come around again and say,
Baby, I miss you and I swear I’m gonna change
Trust me, remember how that lasted for a day

Metaphorically speaking, many SEO folks were “gaming” the system and Google, much like Swift, had had enough.  Penguin was Google’s way of putting a foot down (in the form on an algorithmic kick) to get many back in line.  Let’s face it, varying-shades-of-gray-to-black hat SEOs had it coming, right?  Even given a rightly deserved swift kick, it moves practitioners toward a longer-term strategy of building a quality website with an understanding that there are no (easy) shortcuts when it comes to playing by Google’s rules.

Wait a second, this really is sounding like a relationship…

You go talk to your friends, talk
And my friends talk to me.
But we are never ever, ever, ever getting back together

The reality for anyone suffering from the Penguin penalty is that webmasters need time to evaluate, revamp, and rebuild.  In the end, providing a quality user experience with content that satisfies the searcher intent, establishes topic authority and inspires strong engagement signals (and yes links) is the new roadmap to repairing your, shall we say, rather public breakup with Google.  You heartbreaker, you.

The Search Insider Summit (SIS) conference is an opportunity for brands and digital experts to collaborate in a relaxed atmosphere, with informative and entertaining panels, keynotes and product presentations. This year, I attended as a speaker for the panel, “Social Search Engine Optimization and Search 3.0″.

When I attend events, I don’t normally go with the expectation of learning, though I do generally return with a few nuggets of information. SIS was no exception:

1) Brands love Product Listing Ads (PLAs) – Most brands saw dramatic increases in click-throughs and sales, though some saw challenges in bid optimization and understanding of PLA ranking algorithm. Williams Sonoma brought up a specific case where a $4,000 set of pots and pans showed up for a generic search on “all clad cookware”, noting that probably wasn’t a great connection of search intent to product selection intent. Google’s panelist noted that there may be some other criteria at play.

2) Speaking of search engines, a very informative panel of Google, Yahoo & Bing folks led by BIA/Kelsey’s Rick Ducey gave great insight into some of the (current trends and) future of search, with most highlighting mobile devices as key strategies, and all talking of “context” and “intent” as being key drivers of improved relevance of results. Joan Arensman of Google drove most of the discussion, but as a fellow attendee said, based on their market share, they probably should have had 70% of the stage.

Jason Dailey of Bing and I chatted at the round table immediately following the panel presentation, discussing platforms vs. intent and how context relates to both.

3) Privacy was one of the bigger talking points.  With logged-in users, hidden (by search engines) data and ongoing legal concerns, search engine representatives agreed that privacy is a short term problem and, in the longer term, no-one will really care.  This was based on benefits being greater than any perceived privacy concerns – with the caveat of real, recognized and realistic benefits.

4) Mobile. Mobile. Mobile. It’s the year of mobile…again. At least from an advertiser standpoint. Many panels and speakers talked about how mobile means a better understanding of the immediacy of intent and a better controlled environment, as mobile  user experience is often more  focused with less buttons and choices. Michelle Evans of Ruby Tuesday restaurant group doesn’t even send mobile users to their primary website anymore because they get much better engagement and results through mobile-only experiences.

5) Big data reared it’s head many time. Leading to one of my tweets that noted:

It really was a polarizing topic with some folks noting it’s over use, others saying it’s a business necessity, and others waxing about the future *mandates* big data management, aggregation and actionable insights

—

And finally, I can’t succinctly put into words the great folks that attend and the many conversations I have with large consumer brands, data providers, tool platforms and search marketing folks. No matter how good a conference’s agenda may be the attendees are often a great source of industry, marketplace and trend insights. I spoke to Larry Kim of Wordstream – probably the smartest guy there – and Rob Garner, author of “Search and Social”,  Derek Tucker – a great marketer – of Corel, folks at Kayak, Home Depot, Havas, Performics, Resolution Media, RKG, Kenshoo and many more. Key was the desire to share knowledge, whether competitor, prospect or client, attendees were there to learn, share & support the success of online marketing. And then the sun came out.

If you didn’t make it to SIS this year, check out this video of the Social Search Engine Optimization panel. I hope to see you there next year!

Video streaming by Ustream
 
Connect with Grant on Google+Grant Simmons+