Day 1 – Conference

Track A
Introduction To Search Engine Marketing
Who are the major search engines? How can their editorial listings send you "natural" or "organic" traffic for free through search engine public relations or search engine optimization efforts? How can you purchase top rankings or placement through search engine advertising opportunities? This must-attend session for beginners provides an overview of key concepts.

Track B
RSS, Blogs & Podcasts: Successful Syndication Tips
Syndication technology (RSS) makes it easier to build an audience for your content, because your readers or listeners become subscribers using non-intrusive "feed readers." An overview of the growth of RSS plus a special focus on podcasting. This session will also include tips on blogging and podcasting for (a) profit; (b) credibility and reach.

Track C
Local Search: A Growth Industry
Local search and navigation is very popular with users. Search engines like Google, local review juggernauts like Yelp, traditional listings companies, and media companies large and small, are simultaneously barging onto the local scene to capture user attention. Several industry players and analysts offer their update on the state of the art, explore chicken-egg frustrations, and attempt to glimpse the future of local search.

Track A
Keyword Research: Purpose, Tools, and Tactics
How many keywords do you need in your paid search account? What keywords are your customers searching for? How do customers find products after they reach your site? How to target the right terms in your paid and organic search marketing, and where these keywords should be used.

Track B
Site Clinic
This interactive session takes volunteers from the audience and examines their web sites live to provide general feedback about improving them to gain more traffic from search engines. Panelists may also provide general takes on usability and navigation, and overall online commerce strategies.

Track C
Marketing to Women Online
If women make up a high proportion of your customer base or readership, then you need to know how women search, navigate, and interact online. Are there specific behavioral patterns to be aware of? What balance to strike in site design and content tone? Research and case studies to help your company stay relevant to your target audience.

Track A
The Canadian Search Landscape
What search engines are leaders in market share? What regional differences in search engine usage do we see within Canada? What vertical areas of search are growing? Representatives from major ratings and traffic analysis services share stats and info. Search engine representatives also comment on trends.

Track B
Big Ideas for Small Sites & Small Budgets
Have little or no money for search marketing efforts? Fearful you'll never get found since those with large advertising budgets can spend their way to the top? This session provides strategies and advice for small businesses and others looking to be found in search engines without breaking the bank. It also examines search marketing efforts you may have been neglecting.

Track C
Search Engine Friendly Design
How can you build a web site from the ground up that pleases both crawler-based search engines and your visitors? Discover how "search engine friendly" design can tap into free traffic from search engines. This session is geared towards an intermediate audience. It will cover some of the core principles of search-friendly design as well as contemporary user experience trends and how they might impact search engine placement.

Track A
Search Advertising 101
Paid search is a form of search marketing that provides a method of placing text ads near search results, in return for payment. Every major search engine offers a paid search program. Learn what's available in this session that is especially geared toward beginners, with details on programs from major providers. Particular focus on Canadian offerings from the major search engines.

Track B
Converting Visitors Into Buyers
Getting visitors to your web site is only half the battle. To be victorious, you need them to convert into customers by making purchases, signing up for services or fulfilling whatever are your goals. Learn about making this conversion. The latter part of the session takes volunteers from the audience and examines their web sites live to provide general feedback about changing them to improve visitor conversion.

Track C
Search User Behavior
How do searchers interact with search engines? New research is constantly coming out revealing how searchers act. This session explores the latest studies and findings to provide tips and tactics for search marketers to consider.

Track A
Meet The Crawlers
Representatives from major crawler-based search engines discuss their services and take questions from attendees. Focus on key webmaster site status & communications tools such as Yahoo Site Explorer and Google Webmaster Central.

Track B
My SEM Toolbox
Several search marketers share a variety of tools and services they find useful in performing SEO and SEM.

Track C
Linkbaiting and Widgets: Viral Bag o' Tricks
Getting folks to willingly point to your site requires ingenuity as well as underlying quality. (As Godin might say, all marketers are liars, but there had better be a free prize inside. Or something like that!) Master linkbait creators and widget makers share advanced viral marketing, and PR tactics to get other websites to point to you early and often, so your 15 minutes of fame can be recursive.