2009 July | Certified Knowledge

SES San Jose is one of my favorite shows of the year. The proximity to Google & Yahoo give it an air of authority with a large search engine presence. The proximity to Silicon Valley and it’s plethora of startups leads to creative atmosphere. When you add the two, mix in the worldwide attendees and speakers, you end up with a fantastic show.

This year, I’ll be speaking three different times at SES. Each is a bit different.

Day 1 (8/10) 10:30-11:30 – Intro to Search Engine Marketing

Just after the opening keynote, I’ll be speaking for an hour (I’m the only speaker) on the basics of SEM. This is perfect for two types of attendees:

Those who want to get started with SEM
Executives who want to understand the basics to communicate with their marketing department

I will cover information about how people search, the role of ads, the basics of account organization, and then walk through some possibilities open to you. This session should give you enough understanding of SEM so you can get more out of intermediate (and possibly advanced) PPC sessions throughout the week.

Day 3 (8/12) 11:30-12:30 – Ad Copy & Landing Page Clinic

This is not an official session. I’ll be hanging out in the expo hall with a computer, large monitor, and your questions. This is a group Q&A where we will take live search queries (mostly ones suggested by you so you can see your ads) examine the ads and landing pages and make suggestions of possible enhancements. If you don’t want to put your website up on the monitor in front of everyone, you can learn a lot by just watching the the other ads and landing pages on the screen and listening to the discussion. This clinic is useful for any experience level. A free flow conversation that will take us anywhere we want, but should help your CTRs and conversion rates.

Day 3 (8/12) 2:15-3:30 – Advanced Keyword Research

This is a typical SES panel: 1 moderator & 5 moderators each take 10-15 minutes to stuff your brain with new ideas for keyword research. Along the way we will talk tools (both free & paid) to help you find new keywords, tips & tricks for those tools, and maybe even a presentation that talks about the types of words & queries to help you think more strategically about your keywords.

Hope to see you at SES

As usual, I’ll be at SES all week. I already have some meetings scheduled, but also have some free time. So either come see me speak, send me an email if you’d like to chat formally, or just say ‘Hi’ at one of the many social gatherings that take place during the week.

You can still save $200 if you register by tomorrow: Search Engine Strategies San Jose Info

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by brad

links for 2009-07-21

3:05 pm in PPC Marketing Blog by brad

Yellowbook Shows Opt-Out Incompetence : The Deets

Interesting set of comments. Found via: http://localmn.wordpress.com

(tags: yellow+pages)
137 Small Business Twitter Tips | Small Business Trends

(tags: twitter)

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by brad

Google Follows Their Own Trademark Rules > Allows ‘Google’ to be used in ad copy

8:23 am in Google AdWords, PPC Marketing Blog by brad

Google recently changed the rules for how trademarks can be used in search ads when the ad is displayed in the US on a Google.com search.

The new rules state that you can use the trademark in ad copy if:

You use the word in a descriptive or generic way (such as using Apple in an ad copy if you’re an orchard farmer)
If you refer to the trademark owner (this is one of the ‘fair uses’ of trademarks) in one of these manners:
- Resale of trademark goods or services (Best Buy using Apple iPod in ad copy to sell iPods)
- Sale of components or replacement parts of the trademarked term (Bose selling iPod sound decks)
- Informational sites – sites that the primary purpose is to provide non-competitive and details about the product or services (this is open to interpretation)

Google has always had a clause that you cannot use the word ‘Google’ in your ad copy. So, I was wondering with these new rules, would they allow the use of Google if you meet one of the above criteria?

I conduct the Advanced Seminars for Success™ that are approved by Google. Therefore, I was wondering what would happen if I tried to use the word Google in ad copy. Well, after a couple emails and ad copy review, I can confidently say that Google is following their own rules:

2009-07-14_124733

When you have ad copy approved that contains trademark terms (and you’re not the trademark holder or an account that has not received express permission to the use trademark) then you will see the (limited) next to the ad copy which designates it will only be shown on US Google search. If you mouse over the question mark you will see this information: