Shifting SERPS & Social Media Branding Lessons

August 18, 2010
 

SES San Francisco is taking place this week and the conference is expected to draw 8,000 attendees. Many of them will be learning about SEO for the first time. The search space is very different today than it was when I started decades ago. So, is it harder to get to the top of the SERPs today, and how bad will it become? Bruce, Susan and Virginia consider how personalization, blended search, changing technology, and increased competition have changed the search marketing industry.

Joshua Titsworth, digital marketing specialist at science search engine Innovadex, talks to Virginia about his experience with personal branding and influence generation among the search marketing industry. His story is a model for anyone looking to make a name for themselves or get noticed in a niche. He began by learning about the industry, then began blogging for JoshuaTitsworth.com and other blogs to get his name out, and then became an active participant of communities including Twitter, Seriously Obsessed Search Geeks, and a Search Engine Journal contributor. Then Joshua made a big scene by entering a contest for a ticket to the BlueGlass LA conference and then posting a video of himself proving just how much he wanted to attend the conference. By building up levels of engagement and then getting noticed in a big way, Joshua increased his reach and influence.

Maryann, Susan and Virginia round out the show with a look at how failure is a helpful tool in the journey toward success. Google is recognized as the search powerhouse and a technology giant, however the company hasn’t been without its fair share of failures. Of course, flops are an accepted side effect of innovation and trial-and-error, however, Susan thinks that one of Google’s weaknesses is that the company lets the ball drop on acquisitions.