IndustryJust in time planning for SES Chicago 2008

Just in time planning for SES Chicago 2008

If you are like me, then you are a master of just-in-time planning. While Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2008 won’t be held until December 8-12, if you register by tomorrow – Friday, Sept. 26 – you can take advantage of the “recession special” and save up to $600.

Kevin%20Ryan%20SES%20Chicago%202007.jpg So, if you were already planning to attend, register now and save some dough. If you haven’t made up your mind yet, look over the conference agenda below pronto.

SES Chicago is the only major search engine marketing conference and expo in the Midwest. And, with more than 70 conference sessions, strategic development workshops, keynote presentations, Orion panels, and training workshops, I’ll bet you find plenty of content that was designed for you – whether this is your first SES conference ever or the fifth one that you’re going to attend this year.

This is especially true if you are involved in retail marketing. There is a Retailer Track on Tuesday, Dec. 9, and a Vertical & Retail Track on Wednesday, Dec. 10.

I’ve been optimizing SES schedules for clients and Search Engine Watch readers for years. And there are plenty of sessions at SES Chicago 2008 that everyone should attend, including:
• On Monday, Dec. 8, attend the Conference Welcome/Orientation and Opening Keynote from 9:00 to 10:15 a.m. and the “Orion Panel: CEO vs. SEO” from 1:45 to 2:45 p.m.;
• On Tuesday, Dec. 9, attend the Morning Keynote Presentation from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. and the “Orion Panel: Why Does Search Get all the Credit?” from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.; and
• On Wednesday, Dec. 10, attend the Morning Keynote from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.

But, there are four to five concurrent tracks over the four-day conference and there are three concurrent training workshops on Friday. So, attendees of SES Chicago 2008 will need to make some choices about what to attend.

For first-time Search Engine Strategies attendees, here are the conference sessions and training workshops that I’d recommend:

• On Monday, Dec. 8, attend “Search Industry Update” from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., “Measuring Success in a 2.0 World” from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., and “Search and Packaged Goods” from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., and “Landing Page Testing & Tuning” 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
• On Tuesday, Dec. 9, attend “Introduction to Search Engine Marketing” from 10:30 to 11:45am, and “SEO Tools” from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m.
• On Wednesday, Dec. 10, attend “Search Advertising 101” from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m., “Getting Vertical Search Right” from 12:45 to 2:00 p.m., “Blogging for Business” from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m., and “In House: Lessons Learned & Victories Won” from 4:00 to 5:15 p.m.
• On Thursday, Dec. 11, attend “How to Speak Geek: Working Collaboratively With Your IT Department to Get Stuff Done” from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m., the “Ad Copy Continuity Clinic” from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m., and the “Site Clinic” from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• On Friday, Dec. 12, consider attending the “Search Engine Optimization Workshop” from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and the “Optimizing for Universal Search” workshop from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

For veteran attendees responsible for pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, here are the SES conference sessions and training workshops that I’d recommend:

• On Monday, Dec. 8, attend “Search Industry Update” from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., “Measuring Success in a 2.0 World” from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., “Is There Life Beyond Google?” from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., and “Landing Page Testing & Tuning” 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
• On Tuesday, Dec. 9, attend “Advanced Keyword Research” from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m., and “Managing Automated PPC Bid Management” from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m.
• On Wednesday, Dec. 10, attend “Advanced B2B” from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m., “Search Advertising Tools” from 12:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., “Ads in a Quality Score World” from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m., and “Advanced Paid Search Techniques” from 12:45 to 2:00 p.m.
• On Thursday, Dec. 11, attend the “Contextual Ads & Ad Sense Clinic” from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m., the “Ad Copy Continuity Clinic” from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m., and “Brand & Reputation Management” from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• On Friday, Dec. 12, consider attending the “Search & Analytics Workshop: Using Analytics to Increase Search Effectiveness” from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and the “Advanced AdWords” workshop from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

For veteran attendees responsible for search engine optimization (SEO), here are the SES conference sessions and training workshops that I’d recommend:

• On Monday, Dec. 8, attend “Universal & Blended Search” from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., “Measuring Success in a 2.0 World” from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., “Igniting Viral Campaigns” from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., and “Semantic Search: How Will it Change Our Lives?” from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
• On Tuesday, Dec. 9, attend “Usability & SEO: Two Wins for the Price of One” from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m., and “Advanced Link Building” from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m.
• On Wednesday, Dec. 10, attend “SEO Through Blogs & Feeds” from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m., “Video Search Engine Optimization” from 12:45 to 2:00 p.m., “SEO Friendly Flash” from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m., and “The Next Wave for Online Video” from 4:00 to 5:15 p.m.
• On Thursday, Dec. 11, attend “How to Speak Geek: Working Collaboratively with Your IT Department to Get Stuff Done” from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m., “Affiliate 2.0: New Distribution Value Using Search & More” from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m., and “Black Hat, White Hat & the Best Kept Secrets to Search” from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• On Friday, Dec. 12, consider attending the “Link Building Tactics, Tools & Techniques” workshop from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and the “Viral Marketing & Link Baiting” workshop from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Of course, veteran SES conference attendees already know how to navigate the conference agenda. They may want to check out the Issues Track on Tuesday, the Social Media Track on Wednesday, and the Local Track on Thursday. The point I’m making is there are plenty of conference sessions, strategic development workshops, keynote presentations, Orion panels, and training workshops to help them take their skills to the next level.

You’ll also see a couple of sessions “reserved for late-breaking topic.” Every year that I’ve been attending Search Engine Strategies – which goes back to the spring of 2002 – there have been unexpected developments in the search industry. So, use the optimized schedule above to get the folks in finance to approve your plans to attend. But, even I expect to be “calling audibles” when I get to SES Chicago 2008.

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