Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2008: Video Search Engine Optimization

December 10, 2008
Filed Under General | 1 Comment

Moderator:
Anna Maria Virzi, Executive Editor, ClickZ

Speakers:
Ed Kim, Chief Executive Officer, Red Bricks Media
Greg Jarboe, President & Co-founder, SEO-PR
Steve Espinosa, Director of Product Development & Management, eLocal Listing, LLC
Gregory Markel, Founder/President, Infuse Creative, LLC
Barbara C. Coll, CEO, WebMama.com Inc.

I didn’t get to attend this session due to other conference activities.

However, I did learn that Greg Jarboe is working on a book about Youtube (I’d love to contribute or read an early version if you are reading this btw). I look forward to seeing it.

I’d encourage people to check out my highly ranked post “How to do Youtube Video View (Search) Optimization” in addition to other posts about this session.

Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2008: Search Engine Marketing and Consumer Packaged Goods

December 10, 2008
Filed Under General | 1 Comment

Moderator:
Mark Jackson, Search Engine Watch Expert & President/CEO, VIZION Interactive
Speakers:
Brian Lipman, Interactive Marketing, ConAgra Foods
Randy Peterson, Search Marketing Innovation Manager, Procter and Gamble
Beth Uyenco, Global Research Director, Microsoft’s Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group
Eli Goodman, Search Evangelist, comScore, Inc

Matt Wilburn, Senior Director, CPG, Matt WIlburn and Beth Uyenco went over example of how CPG companies are starting to use search. I missed Eli’s position of the session and Brian Lipman discussed the Hunt’s response to the tomato scare earilier this year and talked about the importance of cycle time. Randy Peterson’s talk was very similar to the 2007 Consumer Package Goods session.

Matt Wilburn, Yahoo!

Search Marketing for CPG Brands - Search provides scale and relevance for CPG brands percomScore study.

Is there brand equity in search results? Yes! Brand awareness rises 160% for items in search results

2009 need – greater accountability! 98% said a lack of standardization in reporting of internet statistics

Metrics that Matter – If you can’t tie odd knots, tie a lot of them…

Accountability will drive adoption of search…digital shows better ROI than broadcast

Beth Uyenco, Microsoft:

How search fits into the digital lifestyle of CPG’s primary shoppers

Moms are experienced and tenacious “Searchers”

86% feel that search engines are the best way to find information – compare prices, find retail locations, gather production information, product reviews, find sales, coupons and incentives

Women prowl for ‘good deals’ – how can we get them smart before the cart?

While the Internet has changed the shopping game, but its just trickling down to CPG…

Price leveler, ratings/reviews, trusted sources

Toilet paper surprisingly is researched at a high level

Randy Peterson, P & G

Presented 10 myths

70% of CPG searchers believe you are not a leading brand if you are not on page one of the search engine results page for the product type

Position matters and evidence is increasing that this increases brand recall

Reduce prices through improved quality scores.

Competitor isn’t there, why do I need to be?

Lipman
Rapid Response SEM Process: Identify the issue, Understand the issue, Respond

Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2008: The Convergence Combo: Advertisers, Agencies, Automation… Oh My!

December 8, 2008
Filed Under Blogging, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media | Leave a Comment

Moderator:
Greg Jarboe, President & Co-founder, SEO-PR

Speakers:
Craig Macdonald, VP of Marketing & Product Development, Covario Inc.
Ellen Watson, Relationship Marketing Manager for Child Care Brands, Kimberly-Clark Corp.

This is a live session blog from Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2008, please excuse any typos and/or fragments. Thank you!

Ellen Watson - Kimberly Clark:

Paid search strategy requires balance:
Budget, Volume and Traffic Quality

2007 Strategy at Kimberly Clark was like this:
Fixed Budget
Max CPC set
Campaigns optimized for conversions

Sacrificed:
Impression share
Average position
Branded terms vulnerable

2008 Strategy now looks like this:
Maximize impressions share
Compete aggressively for top terms
Maintained good conversion

Required:
Increased budget
Regular monitoring

Agency partner priorities:
Forecast annual budget
Managed bids daily
Changed reporting to include new metrics
Adjusted match type, ad copy, landing pages to maintain performace

Global Search Lessons Learned:
US engines sufficient for North American campaigns
Server location is a big issue for international and localized sites – ip address of the site should be in the same country as the address of the server, but local may require a large investment in IT infrastructure

Craig McDonald, Covario:

The New (economic) Reality:
PPC growth at 5-10% level (down from 35%+ growth)
Need to get more from SEO
NO headcount increases in foreseeable future
Squeeze 15% cost improvements out of programs
3 month payback periods, max

The Role of Technology
Paid Search – campaign management automation
Natural Search – automation of audits and tracking and performance
Comprehensive Search Management – SEO/ content convergence, Automation PPC program impact on natural search results

There was then a lively question and answer session on spending in organizations.

Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2008: Universal & Blended Search Engine Conversation

December 8, 2008
Filed Under Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Yahoo! (YHOO) | Leave a Comment

Moderator:
Kevin Ryan, SES Advisory Board Chair & CEO, Motivity Marketing

Speakers:
Dr. Larry Cornett, VP, Consumer Products, Yahoo! Search
Mike Grehan, Global KDM Officer, Acronym Media
Chris Blakely, Director, Client Services, comScore, Inc.
Todd Schwartz, Group Product Manager, Live Search, Microsoft Corporation
Jack Menzel, Senior Product Manager, Google

This is a live session blog from Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2008, please excuse any typos and/or fragments. Thank you!

Mike Grehan:

You need to think differently.

Vertical creep is pushing organic results down the page.

Eye Tracking shows that people are not scrolling the way that they used to.

This creates a problem, you need to be at the top of the listings.

Local business center creates opportunities for local businesses.

New paid search results like paid results.

Chris Blakely – comScore:

Leverage comScore search data shows traction of universal search efforts.

Feature sets of search expanding. 48% of searchers are seeing different types of blended search results from their queries.

Lower clicks on sponsored links with the exception of ecommerce and travel.

Organic search strategies need to evolve from that standpoint.

Jack Menzel – Google Product Manager Universal Search:

Universal search has the following elements:
Comprehensiveness – Images, Maps, News, Products, Video, Books and more
Relevance – Run every query against every index, decide what to show only after we collect all of the data
Presentation – Summarize the content in the most efficient way possible.

Recently, there have been made into search results pages.

Better Ranking – Universal search is just a subset of ranking.

What’s next?
Keep improving relevance
Help users explore
Improved results summary

What does this mean for web masters?
- Publish the best and high quality content that you have.
- Take advantage of prominent new verticals

Todd Schwartz – Group Product Manager - Microsoft Live Search:

Evolution of Search:
Search - Directories, Keyword Trends, Rich Semantics, User Experience
Market - Immature, Closed Trends, Open Item????
Consumer – Search, Keyword Trends, Actions

Deliver, Simplify, Implement

Showed Samsung lcd tv model – showed elements of a shopping review, rating and engine - an interesting change

Showed weather and Barack Obama examples

More engagement
Better reach
Higher ROI
Update Product and Business Info
webmaster.live.com

Larry Cornett – Yahoo! Search:

Transformed from a static experience to a complete information in one search

Showed several Blended examples using Yahoo! Search:
Kyle Orton – Chicago Bears fantasy sports
Movies – including times and local listings
Beyonce – music videos on the search page
Sushi in San Jose
Barack Obama
Puppy

Richer, more relevant links…

Searchmonkey – publishers collaborate, meaning behind the link, richer experience, relevant and personal, etc.

Yelp is a Searchmonkey partner. (How does this affect Yahoo! Local?)

The infobar – Steve Jobs example

Share structured data: Publishers > Searchmonkey > Tell your users

Why is blended search important?
Unmatched opportunities and control for publishers
Key step for building a smarter search engine with structured data
gallery.search.yahoo.com

ifbyphone Raises $4.6 Million in New Round of Venture Capital Funding

November 17, 2008
Filed Under General | Leave a Comment

Congrats to Irv Shapiro and his team! I’ve had a close up look at what the ifbyphone is doing and I like what I see. Mike Pruyn at Communicano dropped me this note saying that “Ifbyphone is a tech start-up that specializes in building elegantly simple telephony-related software applications for SMBs. The company has two of the most downloaded business applications on the Apple iTunes App Store. Last week, FierceMarkets recognized the company as one of its Fierce 15 award winners” and stated this was for release today…

IFBYPHONE SECURES $4.6 MILLION IN NEW ROUND OF FUNDING
Infusion of Venture Capital Insures Continued Expansion Despite Economic Downturn

CHICAGO–Nov. 18, 2008—In the middle of an economic slowdown and a drought in venture capital funding, Ifbyphone said today it has secured $4.6 million in a second round of institutional funding from five venture capital firms.
Ifbyphone is a hosted telephone application platform company that provides small and medium-sized businesses with telephony features that enable them to create phone solutions that enhance customer conversations, increase sales and lower costs.
The funding round was jointly led by Apex Venture Partners and Origin Ventures, who also invested in Ifbyphone’s first round of institutional funding. They were joined by Spring Mill Venture Partners, i2A and Blue Crest Capital Finance, L.P.
“We view this new round of funding as a strong endorsement of our growth and expansion strategy,” said Ifbyphone founder and CEO Irv Shapiro. “It positions us extremely well to continue our expansion during these complex economic times.”

“We are very excited to be a part of the Ifbyphone investor group,” said Ken Green, co-founder and managing partner at Spring Mill Venture Partners. “We believe that Ifbyphone represents the next great wave of Internet-enabled business services, allowing small and medium-sized businesses access to capabilities previously only available to their larger competitors. This kind of service offers an opportunity to level the competitive playing field.”

To learn more about Ifbyphone’s affordable suite of online telephony applications, such as voice broadcasting, Smart Toll Free Numbers, Google Analytics Call Integration and interactive voice response (IVR), visit http://www.ifbyphone.com.

# # #
About Ifbyphone
Ifbyphone is a hosted telephone application platform company that provides small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with tools to enhance customer conversations, drive sales, and lower costs. Leveraging Ifbyphone’s extreme usability, developers and marketers can quickly create solutions ranging from simple click-to-call links to sophisticated call-routing and interactive-marketing systems. Ifbyphone’s solutions are available directly to SMBs and through a network of resellers. For more information, click to speak to a sales professional or visit the Ifbyphone Web site.

About Origin Ventures
Origin Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in early-stage companies. The firm invests capital and leverages its entrepreneurial, marketing and management expertise to help facilitate the growth of early-stage companies. The principals of Origin Ventures have been involved in successful entrepreneurial activities since the mid 1980s.

About Apex Venture Partners
Apex Venture Partners is a national venture capital firm based in Chicago. With more than 20 years’ experience financing early stage IT businesses, Apex has invested in more than 140 companies since inception. The partners at Apex look for companies that have unique products or services that address large potential markets in which customer needs are not being addressed.

About Spring Mill Venture Partners
Spring Mill Venture Partners is an early stage venture capital firm focused on investing in strong management teams in high-growth information technology and life sciences companies located in the Midwest region. We take an active role by providing the strategic and tactical assistance that early stage companies need to grow and prosper. More information is available at www.springmillvp.com.

About i2A
The Illinois Innovation Accelerator Fund (i²A) is an innovative $10 million early-stage investment fund which invests in companies primarily in technology-enabled products and services, new media and education products and services, and consumer and retail products. The fund’s goal is to provide the first external professional capital raised by companiesand nurture them through their early stages of growth. Visit www.i2afund.com for more information.

About BlueCrest Capital Finance, L.P.
BlueCrest Capital Finance, L.P., a U.S.-based commercial finance company, provides debt-financing solutions to development-stage companies in a broad range of industry sectors including IT, Communications, Hardware, Software, Semi-Conductor, Electronics, Energy, Medical Device and Life Science. The team, which has been together continuously since 1998, pursues debt transactions in the $1 million-$25 million range and has consummated approximately 900 transactions with total commitments in excess of $1.9 billion.

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Formerly Chicago GSB

November 17, 2008
Filed Under General | 1 Comment

The University of Chicago Booth School of business, formerly Chicago GSB

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, formerly The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business sent this note earlier this month.

I am very pleased to announce a remarkable gift of $300 million to the University of Chicago for the benefit of the Graduate School of Business by University Trustee and alumnus David G. Booth, MBA ‘71, his wife Suzanne Booth, and their children, Erin and Chandler Booth. This is the largest donation in the University’s history and the largest gift ever in support of any business school. In recognition of the Booth family’s extraordinary generosity, the Board of Trustees has voted unanimously to name the school the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

I don’t have any comment on this at this time other than Ted Snyder would be wise to take action on the issues in this blog post about business school rankings in determining how to use these funds and needs a multi-million dollar communication plan for the world’s experienced recruiting community so that this brand does not cause alumni great harm.

Speaking Of Facebook - It Needs Change Management of Customer Service

October 9, 2008
Filed Under Change Management, Customer Experience, Online Recruiting, Social Media | 3 Comments

There has been some discussion today of Facebook’s business model.

Forget about monetization, can Facebook survive without any useful customer service improvements? While 98% of the service works great on autopilot, there is absolutely zero customer service for the things where you do need help. I don’t mean bad customer service, I mean there is absolutely no customer service for certain issues. Read more

Hurricane Ike Suggests Need to Modify Saffir-Simpson Scale Hurricane Measurement Metrics

September 14, 2008
Filed Under Change Management, Metrics, Social Media | 2 Comments

Estimates of damage from Hurricane Ike and the reported death toll continue to rise far beyond what would be expected from the last Saffir-Simpson Scale reading of “a category 2 hurricane.”

Hurricane Ike’s larger than category 2 impact suggests need to modify Saffir-Simpson Scale hurricane measurement and communication metrics. It is heartbreaking to see and hear the stories of people who wouldn’t evacuate before the areas on the Texas coast because Hurricane Ike was “only a category 2 hurricane”. The reports and pictures from airborne helicopters indicate massive hurricane property damage and, unfortunately, loss of life from Hurricane Ike. I dedicate this post to these victims.

This begs the question, could this loss of life been reduced with better communication of risk to the people in the areas of projected impact, causing them to evacuate?

Places like Galveston, Bolivar, Crystal Beach, Gilchrest, High Island, etc. had lower evacuation rates than during Hurricane Rita. This could have been much, much worse if it hit a more densely populated area. But the loss of any life is undesirable (and potentially is preventable).

A friend of mine who lives on the Gulf Coast has repeatedly suggested to me that there is a need to have “less media hype” and “more factual metrics” when hurricanes approach. As you know I think about metrics a lot in terms of the Internet and business processes and I started thinking about this issue and the implications of it.

The last National Hurricane Center report before Hurricane Ike made landfall in Texas contains the following two paragraphs:

DATA FROM NOAA DOPPLER WEATHER RADARS AND RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT
INDICATE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 110 MPH…175 KM/HR…
WITH HIGHER GUSTS. IKE IS A STRONG CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE ON THE
SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE AND COULD REACH THE TEXAS COAST AS A CATEGORY
THREE…MAJOR HURRICANE…JUST BEFORE LANDFALL. STRONGER WINDS…
AS MUCH AS 30 MPH HIGHER THAN AT THE SURFACE…COULD OCCUR ON HIGH
RISE BUILDINGS.

IKE REMAINS A VERY LARGE HURRICANE AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND
OUTWARD UP TO 120 MILES…195 KM…FROM THE CENTER…AND TROPICAL
STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 275 MILES…445 KM. DURING
THE PAST HOUR…HURRICANE FORCE WIND GUSTS HAVE BEEN REPORTED ON
GALVESTON ISLAND AND REPORTS FROM NOAA AND AIR FORCE RECONNAISSANCE
AIRCRAFT INDICATE SUSTAINED HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ARE JUST OFFSHORE
GALVESTON ISLAND.

I’m not certain how many years ago the National Hurricane Center started reporting Hurricanes in this format with the “hurricane force winds extend outward from the center ### miles” and “tropical force winds extend outward ### miles”, but I find that information useful as there is a significant correlation to size of the hurricane and the impact of the storm surge and geographic area that are affected. This is therefore extremely useful data, but it’s locked up in giant blobs of text that don’t allow it to be communicated effectively.

I’d like to therefore propose and suggest that the National Hurricane Center make the following modification the to Saffir-Simpson scale to the following new format:

Saffir-Simpson Scale number – hurricane force wind miles from center number – tropical storm force wind miles from center number

Hurricane Ike would have therefore been the following at landfall:
2-120-275

It is my opinion that this would be a much more useful as the overall radius of the hurricane force and tropical force wind fields would be communicated effectively and consistently instead of in inconsistent references. One could argue that you should use the circumference to make it more dramatic, but not all tropical cyclones are perfectly symmetric so I prefer usage of the existing communicated metric radius.

This humble blog post is clearly just the first of many conversations to openly discuss hurricane scale and metrics and creating this needed reform. The reform itself is more important than the exact final form of this reform prior to the start of the 2009 hurricane scale and metrics season. I look forward to seeing comments and other blog posts.

I look forward to someday having a clearer metric that can save more lives. Thank you for your participation in making this a reality!

Chicago Cubs Pitcher Carlos Zambrano Throws Cubs First No Hitter Since 1972!!!

September 14, 2008
Filed Under Chicago | Leave a Comment

Wow!!! Go Cubs!!! Magic number is now 7!!!

DEPAUL EARNS #2 GRADUATE AND #7 UNDERGRADUATE RANKING IN ENTREPRENEUR MAGAZINE’S ANNUAL “BEST SCHOOLS FOR ENTREPRENEURS”

September 11, 2008
Filed Under Change Management, Customer Experience, Entrepreneurship | 4 Comments

As an alumnus of DePaul University and a member of DePaul’s New Venture Challenge judging team since inception, I’m pleased to see this ranking!!!

However, high rankings on entrepreneurship education alone is not sufficient, the next steps are:
1) To build a transparent, quick and efficient marketplace for entrepreneurs, experienced and passionate management teams and startup capital.

2) Modify the focus toward commercialization of businesses in the model outlined above, ultimately success is measured by the number and quantity of companies that they’ve enabled to scalable, not just lifestyle growth curves. I look forward to participating in this journey.

Here’s the full announcement…

DePaul University’s entrepreneurship program opened the new academic year on a high note Sept. 10 with news that it has again been recognized among the finest in the United States in Entrepreneur magazine/Princeton Review’s annual “Best Schools for Entrepreneurs” ranking.

DePaul moved up three places to second on the list of best rated graduate entrepreneur programs in the national rankings, which are posted on Entrepreneur’s Web site and will appear in the October issue of the magazine. The university placed seventh in the undergraduate entrepreneur education category and was the only Illinois university ranked in that category.

“DePaul offers students exposure to thousands of successful entrepreneurs in a large urban setting with sophisticated financing services available,” the magazine noted. “Entrepreneurial supporters are extremely active in sharing knowledge, resources, contacts and expertise. The program provides very supportive administration and infrastructure through the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center.”

Entrepreneur partnered with the Princeton Review, a leading educational services provider, to solicit surveys from 2,300 undergraduate and graduate program administrators to determine the rankings. The survey covered three areas: academic offerings and requirements; student enrollment and faculty quality; and “outside the classroom,” which examined student organization, mentorship and scholarship opportunities. An advisory board of entrepreneurship educators also provided evaluations of the surveyed programs. Based on the data and review, a total of 50 programs (25 undergraduate and 25 graduate programs) made the list of the best.

“DePaul’s rankings are a tribute to the academic excellence of our program and the quality of our faculty,” said Harold Welsch, Coleman Entrepreneurship Chair at DePaul, who founded the program. “Using their education and start-up experiences, faculty members help students look to the future and identify viable business opportunities. They share their experiences with the students willingly and with great enthusiasm.”

Founded in 1982 at the College of Commerce, DePaul’s entrepreneurship program has grown to encompass 12 undergraduate and graduate courses taught by 16 faculty members. The faculty represents a mix of distinguished scholars of entrepreneurship and successful entrepreneurs.

Courses cover business plan development, entrepreneurial strategy and management, new venture financing, business growth, creativity, innovation and technological change, among other topics. More than 600 students take undergraduate and graduate courses in the program annually. Students have opportunities to participate in a number of mentorship and internship programs, as well as entrepreneur organizations, including Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization, MBA Entrepreneurs Club, Social Entrepreneurship Club and Students for Entrepreneurs.

The program is supported by the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center, which manages education and outreach programs designed to stimulate the start-up and growth of entrepreneurial firms. The center also sponsors Launch DePaul, an annual year-long business plan competition that awards cash prizes and business start-up services for the most promising business plans submitted by students and alumni.

“We believe that today’s students need practical learning opportunities that extend beyond the classroom,” said Raman Chadha, director of the center and a member of the entrepreneurship program faculty. “The Coleman Center creates these opportunities by working with faculty to connect DePaul students with successful entrepreneurs, help them launch ventures and provide real-world experiences. Students are able to immediately apply what they learn in the classroom, acquiring wisdom that only comes with these opportunities. The entrepreneurial spirit at DePaul has never been stronger.”

The magazine’s “Best Schools for Entrepreneurs” top 10 graduate programs were:

1. Babson College
2. DePaul University
3. University of Southern California
4. The University of Arizona
5. University of South Florida
6. University of Illinois, Chicago
7. University of California, Los Angeles 8. Drexel University 9. Chapman University 10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The top undergraduate entrepreneur programs were:

1. University of Houston
2. Babson College
3. Drexel University
4. University of Dayton
5. University of Arizona
6. Temple University
7. DePaul University
8. University of Oklahoma
9. University of Southern California
10. Chapman University

To view the full rankings, go to: http://www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges/.