CRE8 Conference

I will be speaking at the CRE8 Conference in Orlando, Florida next Wednesday, April 15th. The conference goal is to help attendees improve marketing and creative effectiveness. I will be speaking about SEO and SEM: Getting Found Online. Attendees include Adobe, Apple, Boeing, Disney, and Microsoft. It is taking place at the Disney Coronado Resort. My main thesis is that design and search are both essential, and without either component, the other will suffer. From a strategic standpoint, companies need to invest in a high quality design that supports their business model and use search marketing to drive traffic to their website. The concept is simple, but many companies learn this lesson the hard way. It is important to understand that high-end design and good search marketing can coexist, but there needs to be a plan at the outset. In addition, SEO is not a one-time event. It is an ongoing commitment to usability and content. I look forward to meeting everyone at the conference.

eM8 Atlanta

On Wednesday I moderated the Search Marketing Panel at eM8, the eMarketing Association's conference in Atlanta.  Joining me on the panel were Lee Blankenship and Brian Ussery from Search Discovery, Lindsay Blankenship from Razorfish, and Jonathan Nelson from Primedia. The audience included e-marketing managers from around the country. My lead question to the panel was about how advertisers should treat search marketing in the current economy. The answer was that search becomes even more important in a slower economy. People become more price sensitive in a recession and shop around. Therefore, marketers must maintain relevancy and awareness through paid and organic results. Measuring the impact of search traffic is also important and requires strong analytics and reporting capabilities. Thanks to Kevin Lee for inviting me to moderate the panel.