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:

Day 1– 13th Sept.
2011
Day 2 – 14th Sept.
2011
Day 3– 15th Sept.
2011
SMX Boot Camp Social And Vertical Search SEO
The Big Picture The Big Picture Analytics & Conversions
Enterprise & In-House Technical SEO SoLoMo
Best Of SMX Advanced Paid Search Paid Search
Sponsors And Partners Sponsors & Partners and Site Clinics  Site Clinics

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 

Panda-Proofing Your Content
Presented By:

· 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 

In-House SEO Operations: How Things Get Done 
Presented By:

· 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

Author

  • Bharati Ahuja

    Bharati Ahuja is the Founder of WebPro Technologies LLP. She is also an SEO Trainer and Speaker, Blog Writer, and Web Presence Consultant, who first started optimizing websites in 2000. Since then, her knowledge about SEO has evolved along with the evolution of search on the web. Contributor to Search Engine Land, Search Engine Journal, Search Engine Watch, etc.

September 19, 2011
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