Wow! It must be that miraculous time of year again. Throngs of leaping AIMCLEARians have hit the road to share from conference podiums. Merry Morud, Manny Rivas, Megan Rivas and I will fly 81,720 miles* over the next 37 days, to speak at online marketing conferences all over the world.   Our  schedule for the next 5 weeks or so could best be described as somewhere between exhilarating, adrenaline charged and (at least somewhat) daunting. Here’s the action packed schedule:
SEMpdx SearchFest | February 28, Portland, OR
First up is Portland, OR. I’ve had the pleasure of speaking at SEMpdx SearchFest since 2008 and keynoted last year. Merry also has deep history with the PDX crowd. Straight up, we love you Portland! <3 I’ll be thrilled to take the podium with my esteemed colleague, Merry. This is going to be a rocking panel.
From 9:30 – 10:45am, we’ll shred social data at the regal Governor’s Hotel downtown. The session is called “Need Attributable Conversion, Links, Social Signals & Community Building?” For years now AIMCLEAR speakers have been preaching, “sure as SEO practitioners MUST buy search PPC, social marketers must buy paid-organic content amplification ads. Next year, everyone in the world will be using these techniques.”
This reality has come true as punctuated by Facebook’s bold announcement that organic distribution has waned and marketers need to buy social ads. Plan on reliving this in other channels. Twitter and LinkedIn are already following suit. Attend this session and learn:
- How to master social distribution and demonstrate online marketing KPIs.
- To discover and implement internet-wide targeting hacks. Facebook ads-like targeting is not Internet-wide and it’s about time marketers take advantage.
- How to dominate semi and paid organic social amplification ads to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+ to achieve massive marketing benefits. This is huge!
- To utilize editorial calendars to systematically amplify content to increase traffic, sales, content and SEO KPIs.
- How Facebook is a prime example what has and will come in other social channels.
Moderated by Lisa Williams of Search Discovery, this session is for ultra-marketers who want to understand new social distribution hacks.
AIMCLEAR‘s next touch at SearchFest takes place from 11am – 12:15pm. The session is called “Trending Visual with Instagram, Pinterest & Twitter. Our very own own Megan Rivas will join another great friend (and marketing savant) Matt Siltala of Avalaunch Media. This dynamic duo will dive into a session detailing the visual shift toward channels like Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and what recent developments mean for marketers. Sure, having visually appealing content is a good idea these days, but what matters is what you DO with it.
Megan will outline how marketers should assess their own business objectives to develop audience targeting and optimization for discoverabilty across the visual channels, as well as share best practices to feed engagement. Furthermore, the session will include case studies and tips for marketers and business owners to increase their business through these channels. Megan has tons of experience with Pinterest, both in B2B and B2C. Check out her posts about Pinterest marketing tactics on the AIMCLEAR blog.
AIMCLEAR‘s Social Content Distribution for SEO: The New Link Building | March 10, San Jose, CA
AIMCLEAR has teamed up with Third Door Media once again to bring you another pre-SMX full-day workshop. This installment will take place one day prior to SMX San Jose. So, if you’re coming for SMX West, arrive a day early. A number of iconic brands have taken this training, including Amazon, GoDaddy, Travelocity, Macy’s and numerous others. Merry Morud and I will work together again as co-presenters for the whole day.
Combining paid and organic tactics is how content gets distributed on social networks and how links get built in this post Penguin/Panda world…now that search engines use social signals in organic results. These days social media networks charge for comprehensive distribution. Attend this workshop offered exclusively at SMX West and learn to use paid/organic social media to generate:
- Links from high-authority sites
- Authentic social signals from powerful users
- Content distribution by amplifying it to targeted users
These tactics embody some of the least contested and most valuable online marking opportunities today. Learn to maximize your investment in content creation and drive targeted traffic that yields conversions, likes, and follows with social distribution.
SMX West | March 11-13, San Jose, CA
This will be the fifth SMX West I’ve spoken at and I love it more each year. Conference Co-Chairs Danny Sullivan and Chris Sherman are truly foundational thought leaders in the online marketing industry and inspirational to me personally. Manny Rivas, AIMCLEAR‘s storied Online Advertising Director, will also present. Manny’s spoken at SMX events all over the world including Munich, Sydney, San Jose, Seattle and New York. Here’s the schedule for our speaking at West.
On March 12 from 3:30 – 4:45pm, I’ll present on the “Life After Not Provided” panel (#smx #24A), part of the SEO Track. Google pulled the notorious rug out from under marketers by suddenly fast-tracking its move to encrypt search data, resulting in the omnipresent [not provided] in reports where referring keywords used to be. But all is not lost! In fact, there is a lot to be gained from consulting a wider variety of data sources, especially in a Hummingbird world where topics and utility outweigh keywords. Come hear our panel of experts as they share tips on how to efficiently pull together data to inform your search marketing strategy.
Our moderator is Pamela Parker, Contributing Editor for Search Engine Land. We’ll be joined by fellow panelists Laura Ann Mitchell, Digital Marketing Strategist, Intel; Ken Shults, VP of Analytics, Global Strategies; and Benjamin Spiegel, Director, Organic Search Operations, Catalyst (@nxfxcom).
Next up is Manny Rivas on March 13 from 9 – 10:15am. As part of the Specialty Search Track, Manny will take the stage for the YouTube Success Stories For Marketers (#smx #31D) panel. The moderator will be Greg Finn, Chief Marketing Officer, Cypress North. They’ll be joined by speakers Saunder Schroeder, VP of Business Development, 97th Floor, and Grant Tilus, Inbound Marketing Specialist, Collegis Education.
YouTube is the second leading search engine, so you absolutely need to have search-optimized videos. But beyond video SEO, there are other opportunities available to marketers who want to reach customers by way of online video. This session offers case studies, tips and tactics for easy ways leverage your online video assets.
Ad:Tech Australia | March 18-19, Sydney, Australia
Can you honestly say your website’s content earns enough socially driven traffic, KPI/CPA conversion, critical social signals, inbound links, focused likes and follows? The answer for many marketers, even after massive investments in social media and creating excellent content, is a resounding NO! There’s a reason for this. An ever increasing percentage of the organic social media page is actually paid inclusion. On-page “units” look organic, but are actually paid. Social media distribution in Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter used to be mostly free.
Content placed on your walls and feeds was seen and rebroadcast by many people without marketers needing to pay a dime. Today, revenue-hungry social platforms have learned to monetize the distribution of “organic” content to the benefit of their shareholders. In many cases users who have already liked your page don’t see your posts! It’s a stark reality, but marketers must pay to play using “ad” units that tightly mimic previously free organic units.
The good news is that it’s relatively inexpensive to “re-enable” organic features and dominate. No matter how successful your content strategy is, it’s only touching a small percentage of highly interested users that are incredibly willing to engage. This must-attend session, “Using Social PPC to Dominate Audience Targeting & Customer Acquisition,” will provide crucial information. We hope to see you there (1:20 – 2:00pm).
RIMC | March 28, Reykjavik, Iceland
I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be speaking at the eleventh annual Reykjavik Internet Marketing Conference (RIMC). Taking place at the gorgeous Grand Hotel, the fundamental theme this year is “Big Brands Online.” Emphasis will be placed on social media and how that affects corporate marketing.
The conference is aimed at corporate executives who seek information regarding crucial innovations that have come about in online marketing. Marketers travel from all over Europe and elsewhere to attend this conference in the magnificent Icelandic city. At 4pm I’ll join associate Bas van den Beld, Founder, State of Digital, and good friend Chris Sherman for the “Big Brands Online – Dialog” wrap-up roundtable session. I’ve had the privilege of taking the podium next to Chris since 2008 in many cities all over the world. Working with Chris Sherman never loses its sheen for me.
The European Search Awards | March 28, Reykjavik, Iceland
It will be my distinct honor to present an award in this international competition, honoring and celebrating the very best in SEO, PPC, Digital and Content Marketing in Europe.
Last November I was incredibly humbled to win the US Search Personality Of The Year award in Las Vegas during PubCon. The US Search Personality of the Year Award “recognizes a talented and inspiring practitioner who has revolutionized the search industry in the United States.”
This year’s 2014 European Search Awards will be presented at a prestigious dinner at the Grand Hotel Reykjavik at 6:30pm, in association with Reykjavik Internet Marketing Conference (RIMC 2014). Pass the Champagne, please!
ClickZ Live | March 31-April 3, New York
While the name is new, the conference is legendary. ClickZ Live is the evolution of SES Conference & Expo. SES established itself as a leading conference for digital marketers and now takes on the identity of the digital marketing publication, sister brand, ClickZ.com. The transition mirrors ever-evolving revolutions taking place every day in the digital marketing business.
On April 2 from 10:30 – 11:30am, I’ll offer a solo session entitled “Paid/Organic Social Psychographic Content Distribution! Conversion, Social Signals & Community Building.” The session is more detailed than a typical conference panel and themes remain the same:
- Organic, semi-organic and paid-organic social amplification to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & Google+ page posts for marketing benefits.
- How to use editorial calendars for programmatic content amplification for traffic, sales, content and SEO KPIs.
- How to use FB as the analogy for successful marketing in other social channels.
- Radical new targeting hacks.
So, that’s AIMCLEAR‘s globetrotting story. If you’re going to attend any of these wonderful events, please give us a shout and let’s connect. Safe travels and we’ll see you in the hotel lobby for a nice glass of wine afterwards.
*According to Web|Flyer Mileage Calculator
Airplane Image © dell – Fotolia
