Archive for the ‘Conferences’ Category

So we had Global Thoughtz members down in San Jose for the past week attending sessions and talking with vendors, bloggers and search industry experts.  One of the highlights was getting some feedback from Google’s Matt Cutts on big brands and black hats at a session.  A video snippet can be found over on SEO Space; Matt Cutts on big brands and black hats.

Overall not a bad show.  We’ll be posting more on the show over the next week.

We’re all familiar with the main search engines conferences that take place out there with the top three being Search Engine Strategies, Search Marketing Expo and Pubcon.  Of the big three, only Search Engine Strategies features a conference in Canada.  That conference being SES Toronto that takes place in June.

Really that is the only major search engine conference to take place in Canada.  Yahoo Canada feature a couple of events in Canada throughout the year, and MSN does the same.  However the lack of search related conferences in Canada is a bit of a concern.  What are the reasons for this?  Here are a few of our theories.

1. Canadians Are Not Interested in Search - well  at least not compared to our friends to the south of us.
2. Canadians Simply “Fly South” for the Conferences - with a number of conferences taking place on the sunny west coast of the US in places such as San Jose, Santa Clara and Las Vegas, many Canadians simply attend these shows as opposed to SES Toronto and the like.
3. There Are Simply Not Enough Search Engine Related Conferences in Canada - this is very true.  I would like to see more search conferences in Canada.  In fact cities such as Kelowna, BC, Calgary Alberta, Halifax, NS, Vancouver, BC, and Montreal, Quebec would be great cities to host such an event.

For now, we’ll have to attend the US shows and events such as SES Toronto.

Search Engine Strategies Toronto takes place from Jun 16-18th this year.

• Organized by two of the world’s leading search authorities, SES Toronto Conference Chairman, Andrew Goodman and SES Global Content Director, Kevin Ryan.
• Delivers real-time actionable information you need to grow your business through search engine marketing;
• Teaches the ins-and-outs of search engine marketing from top search experts and the search engines themselves;
• Provides a unique setting to network with fellow marketers and search engine industry professionals and discuss the trends in search engine marketing;
• Grants access to the world’s most comprehensive gathering of search engine marketing & optimization-related solutions providers and potential partners & affiliates;
• Get the latest event information at the SES Blog.

Search Engine Strategies Conference & Expo Toronto 2008 features presentations and panel discussions that cover all aspects of search engine-related promotion.

Speakers from Europe, the United States, and Canada are traveling to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to take part in Internet Marketing Conference (IMC) on September 11–12, 2008.

All aspects of doing business online will be covered: web analytics, strategy, content, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, e-mail marketing, social media, on-site behavioral targeting, multivariate testing, and much more.

The target audience for the conference includes marketing executives, sales executives, web analysts, Internet marketers, and all other occupations that see Internet as key to business success. The motto of the conference is that it’s by experts, for experts, and for those who’d like to become experts.

Speakers and panelists include Eric T. Peterson (Web Analytics Demystified), Jeremiah Owyang (Forrester), Tom Leung (Google), Bob Page (Yahoo!), Jason Burby (ZAAZ), Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo (Capulet Communications), Robbin Steif (Lunametrics), Xavier Casanova (Liveclicker), and Jonghee Jo (Victoria’s Secret). More speakers will be announced soon.

IMC has had a total of more than 2,000 participants since it started. It is the longest-running conference produced by Europeans about Internet marketing and has been held in such cities as New York City, Las Vegas, Vancouver, Montreal, Copenhagen, Berlin, and Stockholm.

The conference is being brought to Vancouver in cooperation with IIMA (The International Internet Marketing Association), an organization that helps marketers understand the value and potential of marketing on the web.

Twingly, Earthbound Media Group, and Web Analytics Demystified are some of the sponsors you will meet at the event.

For more information, visit www.internetmarketingconference.com or contact Lennart Svanberg at +46 708 54 15 06 or info@internetmarketingconference.com.