There’s no denying that mobile marketing is the wave of the future. More and more people use their smart phones to locate products, stores and info on the go. Reaching people in this state of location-based immediacy is a retail marketers dream.

The time for mobile marketing preparation is now if you want to be in the game. Start your research into mobile marketing’s big news of the week right here.

1. The FCC’s National Broadband Plan

This week the Federal Communications Commission unveiled its plan for improving broadband access in the U.S. The FCC’s plan aims to extend broadband access to all Americans and relies heavily on mobile broadband networks. You can download the FCC’s 376-page National Broadband Plan, review the executive summary or check out analysis of the implications of the plan and what it might actually achieve as far as access, speed, mobile innovation, and community support. (As an aside, it’s interesting to note that the FCC is leveraging mobile apps to find mobile broadband dead zones.)

2. Google AdWords’ Tips for Mobile Ads

The Google AdWords blog has been publishing posts in its Go Mobile! series, and this week’s post focused on ways brick-and-mortar businesses can reach mobile searchers looking for local products or services. The four tips covered in the post are: control how your business appears in organic search results; reach more potential customers near you; drive local action with location extensions; and put it all together. The post describes each process and points to additional resources.

3. Making Mobile Apps that Stick

I’m a pretty heavy app user so I may be biased, but mobile apps are a great way to make an impression, prove your usefulness, and gain brand loyalty. In an interview in advance of next week’s SES New York, where she’s scheduled to be a speaker, Cindy Krum, author of Mobile Marketing: Finding Your Customers No Matter Where They Are, talks about the benefit of mobile apps. From the SEO advantages to budget requirements to common characteristics of the most popular apps, the info gleaned in the interview can be summed up in two words: Action. Able.

4. Deciphering Mobile’s Alphabet Soup

Like all technologies, the mobile arena has its own glossary of jargon and acronyms. Cindy Krum makes another appearance on my top-5 list as she explains the ABCs of mobile, from QR to NFC and beyond. Most of this stuff is in the future for the U.S. market, but once the future’s here they’re going to change the face of marketing.

5. The Future of Mobile Ads Gets Personal

Here’s an example of mobile marketing’s next steps. The recently released Point Inside app for iPhones and Android-based phones lets retail businesses in malls promote events and sales to shoppers who are inside the mall. Shoppers win because they know what deals are being offered in the stores around them. And advertisers win because they can serve their ads to location-relevant shoppers with smart phones — which can be a sign of discretionary spending.

Top 5 Mobile Marketing Reads of the Week was originally published on BruceClay.com, an SEO tools provider.

Today is SEM Synergy’s 100th episode anniversary and we celebrated live on the air! It was exhilarating and exciting and rewarding and fun and people were hanging in the chat room and Bruce was answering questions on air and people called in to the show and there was so much love going around I think I’m still on cloud nine!

Breathe, Virginia…

Seriously, thanks to friends and listeners for all the kudos and support, and thanks for listening to the show because that’s what makes it worth doing!

If you tuned in to the show today, you heard Bruce, Susan and I talking about how Rhea Drysdale (who you may know as co-founder of Outspoken Media or from her frequent SEM conference speaking gigs or as next week’s SEM Synergy guest!) defended “SEO” from being trademarked.

CC BY-SA 2.0 SEO trademark denied!

When the SEO community learned of Rhea’s story, they immediately snapped into action to donate the out-of-pocket legal costs that had piled on Rhea and Jonathan Hochman, another trademark opposer. You can find a recap of the full story (among other juicy delicious news and articles) in yesterday’s SEO Newsletter.

While we’d like to think that such an undeserved trademark claim to a common term like SEO would never have gone through, nobody knows what could have happened if Rhea and the opposition hadn’t acted when and how they did.

The issue now is that this trademark application is not the first of its kind, and it won’t be the last. (Here’s a trademark application for SEO that’s currently in the queue!) Anyone else think it would be ridiculous to watch this happen again? How can we be sure someone will come to our rescue next time?

Some have proposed that SEMPO, the industry’s professional organization, should take up the cause. Bruce, who sits on organization’s board of directors, explained on the show today that he’ll be bringing the issue up with the board to see what might be possible. I think we can all agree that it’s time to ensure SEO is treated as a generic term in the public domain, so it seems it’s time for some legal advice.

From a little sleuthing I found this Wikipedia entry (sophisticated, I know) on public domain for trademarks:

Terms can be deemed “generic” in two ways. First, any potential mark can be deemed “generic” by a trademark registry, that refuses to register it. In this instance, the term has no secondary meaning that helps consumers identify the source of the product; the term serves no function as a “mark”. Second, a mark, already in use, may be deemed generic by a court or registry after the mark is challenged as generic—this is known as “genericide”. In this instance, the term previously had a secondary meaning, but lost its source-identifying function.

I’d think that the second option would only be applicable if “SEO” was already a trademark, which it’s not. So that leaves us with the first option, which is to trust that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office won’t let anymore of these applications though. And if the USPTO opens the doors to another, it may come down to another individual reaching into their personal pocket to champion the security of SEO once again.

Let’s not let that happen again. At the very least, can we agree to rally around the issue if it ever comes back up? Can we promise not to let another individual tackle the issue alone? And of course I’ve gotta ask, any trademark lawyers in the house?

How Can SEOs Avoid More Trademark Trouble? — SEM Synergy Extras was originally published on BruceClay.com, an SEO tools provider.

SEM Synergy this week will be live, and Bruce Clay will be talking to callers and answering questions on the show! People that hang out in the WebmasterRadio.FM chat room during SEM Synergy each week (and really, why aren’t you there?) know that I’m asked “Is this live?” about once per episode. How excited am I to be able to say “YES!” this time around?!

SEM Synergy, our weekly radio show and podcast here at BCI, is actually going live for a very special reason: our 100th episode! (Pay no attention to the episode count on iTunes. It’s a little thrown off because the episode from SES San Jose 2008 was eaten alive by technical issues…)

In the 99 episodes that have happened since the first show came together in April 2008, we’ve been privileged to interview some of the SEM industry’s most respected authorities — privileged not only because our industry’s experts are fun, witty and beyond bright, but they’re also exceedingly generous with their time and knowledge! (And if you needed more proof of the SEO community’sgenerosity…)

I mean, I’m always amazed when I consider the SEM Synergy library is chock full of brain nuggets from the likes of Avinash Kaushik, Matt Cutts, Vanessa Fox, Danny Sullivan, Bryan Eisenberg, Tamar Weinberg, Michael Gray, Marshall Simmonds, Dr. Ralph Wilson… oh heavens, I could go on, but that’s what the archives are for. A serious gold mine of expertise, if you want my opinion. Thanks to all our guests, both past and future, for donating their time and minds to the show!

We really hope you’ll be there as we celebrate our milestone and continue in the industry’s tradition of education and sharing. It’s going down live this Wednesday at 3 Eastern/noon Pacific. And just so you know, there are quite a few ways you can join the party!

• Call WebmasterRadio on the phone at 866-916-3423
• Call WebmasterRadio on Skype at webmasterradio.fm
• Join the WebmasterRadio chat room
• Send a Twitter message or reply to @SEMSynergy

See you there!

100 Episodes of SEM Synergy! was originally published on BruceClay.com, an SEO tools provider.

Are you in the mood for some videos? My collection of odds and ends from surveying the Web this week came up heavy on the videos. Nevermind the stats that people have been viewing fewer videos online lately, according to comScore. I bet we can edge that number back up with this blog post alone!

At SMX West last week, Jennifer Lopez of SEOmoz and Dana Lookadoo of Yo! Yo! SEO interviewed a handful of attendees with a series of five questions. I was honored to be asked to join in, though completely petrified at the prospect of being stumped on camera. Note the visible sigh of relief as I answer each question. Otherwise, it’s super entertaining to hear these notable Internet marketers’ answers!

One of the featured interviewees in the video above is Ian Lurie, who, among other things, is the blogger at Conversation Marketing. On his blog, Ian takes a cue from Lindsay Lohan, who is suing E-Trade for using a character named Lindsay in their Super Bowl commercial. To avoid Ian’s litigious wrath, avoid all words that contain the letters “I”, “A” and “N” in succession. Thankfully, my name squeezes through the censors by a hair!

Ready for another video? Bruce sat down with WebProNews while at SMX West to talk about everything SEO under the sun. Attracting links, driving conversions with social media, the inner workings of local search, the effect of page speed, and optimizing for personalized search are all on the agenda in this 20 minute interview. If you’ve ever wanted to pick Bruce’s veteran SEO brain, watching this interview may just scratch that itch.

Microsoft Advertising released a whitepaper on the effectiveness of digital advertising for brand campaigns. Microsoft’s research proves a connection between the amount of time a user spends with an online ad and that user’s interaction with the brand, including visits to a site, pages viewed and time spent on-site. Not bad to have this research at your disposal when a client wants to know “Why SEM?”

While we’re on the subject of ads, Huffington Post has compiled a gallery of Google ads that bring on the lolz. Looks like eBay’s the market leader for auctions on virgins, lost children, and wives. I believe it. (Susan thinks this issue was addressed years ago, but stay on the lookout for AdWords oddities!)

Next video! What is the state of the Internet, you ask?

JESS3 / The State of The Internet from JESS3 on Vimeo.

After weeks of hyping an upcoming product that would revolutionize the Internet forever, Cisco announced it was upgrading its routing system to “CRS-3″. SiliconANGLE gives us a recap of industry analysis, and from the look of it, no one’s all that impressed.

The jet packs are here! The jet packs are here! Thanks to Martin Aircraft’s persistence, for just $86,000 you may soon be able to have your own personal flying device. Just a matter of time before hover crafts and sky highways, I tell you! [Yay, we're finally in the future! --Susan]

If you lost your iPhone, would you consider it a tragedy? Ever cuddle up with your iPhone before bed time? According to a survey of 200 students, 75 percent of iPhone owners have an inappropriate relationship with their phone. That’s crazy talk. I mean, just the other day my iPhone and I were at lunch and you’d never believe what we saw a Nexus One and its owner doing! In public!

Susan’s posted her SES New York liveblogging schedule and we’re both excited to hear what the day 3 session Spotlight on Fashion: Blogging for Style will reveal. Here’s one real-world example of fashionable tech: a Vivan Tam designed digital clutch. It matches so well with my pretty, nifty things aesthetic.

As does IdeaPaint. Talk about nifty! IdeaPaint is paint that lets you dry erase. Make every surface in your home or office your creative drawing board — literally! I’ve ordered up the free sample and will let you know once I try it out!

Here’s another special offer worth sharing around. Search & Social Spring Summit is coming up in Tampa, Florida on May 3 and 4. Susan attended last year and found the intimate event to be one of the best search marketing conferences she’s ever attended. The team at Search & Social wants everyone to be able to enjoy this high-quality educational experience, so they’re offering a 15 percent discount on the conference pass when you use the discount code for Search Engine Journal readers. I guarantee every penny is worth it.

If that wasn’t enough, it just so happens that Tampa is #44 on The Daily Beast’s list of America’s craziest cities! Did your city make the cut?

After you’ve found the answer to that question, take a moment to answer a few more in the name of feeding the hungry? FreeRice asks you questions, and for every one you get right, 10 grains of rice go to the World Food Programme. You can even pick your category: art, chemistry, English, geography, languages and math. To be honest, it’s so much fun you might actually forget it’s for a good cause. [The language options are good to see how much high school French you remember. Surprisingly, I can still tell my ils from my nous. --Susan]

Here’s another warm and fuzzy. As Susan noted when she shared this with me: zombie elephant! The elephant baby that zoo staff believed had died in its momma’s womb made a surprisingly lively entrance into the world this week. May you grow humongous and prosper, little pachyderm!

And for your final video I present a little story we can all relate to:

Where the heck did that come from?! Have a great weekend!

Friday Recap: Pop-Up Video Edition was originally published on BruceClay.com, an SEO tools provider.

Look out, Big Apple. Search Engine Strategies is coming to town. As always, Bruce Clay, Inc. will be there with blue shirts and plenty of knowledge to share. We’ve got a bunch of ways to do that this year.

First up, on Monday, start the conference off right with SEO training. It’s an all-day class taught by Bruce and you get to take home a copy of the book I spent a year of my life on, SEO for Dummies All in One. Bring it with you to the rest of the conference and I’ll force my broken crippled hand to scribble something trite in it.

At the conference itself, you can visit our booth (#1217) or you can catch one of Bruce’s three speaking opportunities. I’m thinking the White Hat, Black Hat: Unconferenced session at the bar is going to be unmissable.

As for me? I’m liveblogging this time around and you’ll find my schedule below. Use it wisely to plan treats, bribes and icepacks for my hands.

So, to recap…

Training:

Mon. March 22 Search Engine Optimization Training

Bruce will be speaking at:

Tues. March 23, 4:00 – 4:20 p.m.: Theater Presentation in the Americas Hall 1 exhibit hall – “What to Look For in an SEO Vendor”

Wed. March 24, 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.: SEO Super Tools

Wed. March 24, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.: White Hat Black Hat: Unconferenced (This is a first-time, unique session, taking place in a bar.)

We’ll be in booth #1217 in the exhibit hall.

And I’ll be here:

Day 1: Tuesday, March 23

Day 2: Wednesday, March 24

Day 3: Thursday, March 25

SES New York 2010 Liveblog Coverage was originally published on BruceClay.com, an SEO tools provider.

Just a quick note of congratulations to Bruce Clay and the newly elected SEMPO Board of Directors for the 2010-2012 term.

Bruce has been a passionate advocate of SEMPO’s mission of education, research and awareness during his first term on the board, and I know he is thrilled to have the opportunity to serve the search engine marketing industry for a second term.

SEMPO’s 2010-2012 Board of Directors:

Chris Boggs, Director, Search Engine Optimization, ROSETTA Massimo Burgio, Founder, Chief Strategist, Global Search Interactive Bruce Clay, President, Bruce Clay, Inc. Dave Fall, SVP Product and Operations, Clickable, Inc. Rob Garner, Strategy Director, iCrossing Mike Grehan, VP and Global Content Director, Incisive Media Motoko Hunt, President, Japanese Search Strategist, AJPR Kevin Lee, CEO, Didit Kristjan Mar Hauksson, Director of Search, Nordic eMarketing Dmitriy Minenko, Online Specialist, Search Engine Marketing, Tourism British Columbia Jeffrey Pruitt, CEO, Acendant Margaret Willette, Search Marketing Manager, Intuit Michael Y. Xu, SVP, Beijing Gridsum Technology Co., Ltd.

CC BY-SA 2.0

Congrats again to the new SEMPO board, who take the reigns to drive SEM knowledge and growth beginning March 18.

Read more about SEMPO, its research, its member benefits, and its plans for the future in my interview with SEMPO’s current president, Sara Holoubek.

SEMPO Announces New Board of Directors was originally published on BruceClay.com, an SEO tools provider.

On today’s episode of SEM Synergy, Susan, Christopher Hart and I covered a range of Internet marketing topics, including our SMX takeaways (check out our special edition SMX West SEO Newsletter!) and the nationwide battle for Google Fiber.

We also talked about where the Bruce Clay, Inc. team will be in the coming months. From coast to coast to way down under, there are a number of events Bruce and crew are looking forward to being a part of.

Search Engine Strategies New York

Bruce will be a speaker at several sessions at this conference, taking place March 22-26 at the Hilton New York. Susan will be liveblogging the event, so look for her blogging schedule to hit the blog later this week. Bruce Clay, Inc. will be setting up shop in the expo hall in booth #1217, where you’ll be sure to see Chris Hart’s smiling face.

And along with in the booth, you’ll find Bruce all over the conference. On Monday, March 22, Bruce will present a one-day SEO training class. On Tuesday, March 23, Bruce will explain “What to Look For in an SEO Vendor” during a theater presentation in the exhibit hall.

And Wednesday, March 24 is sure to hold more must-see moments than I can count when Bruce speaks on SEO Super Tools and White Hat Black Hat: Unconferenced. The latter is a new take on a search conference classic, bringing the white hat/black hat debate and advice outside the conference hall and into the bar. Madness is sure to ensue. [Same old "debate", now with more tequila! --Susan]

ad:tech San Francisco

The digital marketing conference ad:tech is about to get its world rocked with a full-day SEO training class taught by Bruce. The conference taking place in San Francisco April 19-21 starts with a bang as Bruce presents a live, one-day, soup-to-nuts class on search engine optimization methodology and best practices.

We’re really excited about this opportunity to bring SEO awareness to an audience and conference that has traditionally been light on SEO education. Considering SEO’s growing place in the marketing mix, the attention is well deserved.

SEO Training in the U.S.

In May, standard and advanced SEOToolSet Training will be hitting both coasts of the United States. East Coasters can attend the three-day standard course happening May 3-5, the two-day advanced certification course taking place May 6-7, or both! This class will be held at the Garden City Hotel in Long Island, New York. West Coasters can get the same full-spectrum SEO training treatment from May 10-14 in Simi Valley, California at the Posada Royale Hotel.

SEO Training in Australia

Bruce Clay Australia will be presenting one-day SEO training classes across Australia in the coming months. Course attendees will walk away knowing the keys to site relevance, keyword research, site architecture, and spam avoidance. In Brisbane on April 7, head to the Novotel Brisbane; in Melbourne on May 12, check in to the Stamford Plaza; or visit Sydney’s The Menzies Sydney on June 9.

So that’s where you’ll find the Bruce Clay, Inc. crew in the next few months. If we’re coming to a neighborhood near you, be sure to stop by and say hi or just sit back and enjoy the show!

Bruce Clay, Inc.’s Upcoming Appearances was originally published on BruceClay.com, an SEO tools provider.

In the Internet marketing industry, we’re all constantly pushing ourselves to learn more and grow what we know. It’s not unlike what you want for your own children — education and opportunities that build a foundation for future success.

Turns out the search community is interested in sharing just such opportunities with students, a.k.a. the future of the world. Right now Google, Bing and the White House are all running contests and programs for children and young adults that promote learning and education in fun and creative ways. If you think your child might be interested in taking pictures, developing software or code, or hearing the President deliver the high school commencement address, check out the following opportunities.

Earth Day Photo Contest — Open to Students of All Ages

Contest: Youth ages 5 and older are invited to submit their original photos which celebrate Earth Day. Entries will be divided among four age groups: 5-10, 11-13, 14-17, 18+.

Prizes: The grand-prize winning photo will be displayed on the Bing home page on Earth Day, April 22. The winner of each age group will get to go to the Microsoft Campus and attend a Bing editorial team meeting. Also, first, second and third place winners will all receive an HP Pavilion desktop and monitor and a digital photo software package for their school.

And there’s more! Each day during the voting period, Bing will donate $5.00 for DonorsChoose.org to the first 20,000 people who vote. And voters get to designate what classroom projects will benefit from the donation. Everyone truly wins!

Entry Period: March 29-April 11

Voting Period: April 13-19

Web Site: http://earthdayphotocontest.com/

Juicy Ideas Competition — Open to College Students

Contest: Eligible college students are invited to answer the question “How can you use data to help your community?” by developing a software application. This contest is open to college and university students within a 50 km radius of Google offices and datacenters. Teams must consist of three to five students.

Prize: The grand-prize winners will receive an Android-powered phone and an all-expenses-paid trip to Google’s Mountain View headquarters.

Entry Period: March 29-April 11

Web Site: http://juicyideascompetition.appspot.com/

Summer of Code — Accepting Applications from Mentor Orgs Now

Program: Every year Google funds a three-month student mentoring program, pairing students with organizations to work on a coding project together. Student developers partner with a group running an active open-source software project.

Who Wins: Everyone involved! Students gain exposure to real-world software development situations and a resume-worthy experience in their field of pursued interest. The mentor organization gets to bring in and identify new developers. And more open source code is released for anyone to use.

Application Period: Mentor organizations may apply by March 12. The student application period opens March 29.

Web Site: http://code.google.com/soc/

Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge — Open to Public High School Students

Contest: Okay, so this one’s got nothing to do with search, but it’s definitely a student contest. And the White House’s marketing efforts are worth learning from. Public high schools are invited to submit an application of four essay questions focused on personal responsibility, academic excellence and college readiness. To supplement the application, a school can also submit a two-minute or shorter video as well as data on attendance, graduation rates, and other key indicators.

Prize: President Obama will deliver the commencement address to the winning school’s graduating class.

Entry Period: February 19-March 15

Voting Period: TBA – The White House and Department of Education will select the six finalists. The public will then be invited to vote for their top three choices on the White House Web site.

Web Site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/Commencement

Attention Students & Parents! Search Contests & Programs that Pay Off was originally published on BruceClay.com, an SEO tools provider.

In the Internet marketing industry, we’re all constantly pushing ourselves to learn more and grow what we know. It’s not unlike what you want for your own children — education and opportunities that build a foundation for future success.

Turns out the search community is interested in sharing just such opportunities with students, a.k.a. the future of the world. Right now Google, Bing and the White House are all running contests and programs for children and young adults that promote learning and education in fun and creative ways. If you think your child might be interested in taking pictures, developing software or code, or hearing the President deliver the high school commencement address, check out the following opportunities.

Earth Day Photo Contest — Open to Students of All Ages

Contest: Youth ages 5 and older are invited to submit their original photos which celebrate Earth Day. Entries will be divided among four age groups: 5-10, 11-13, 14-17, 18+.

Prizes: The grand-prize winning photo will be displayed on the Bing home page on Earth Day, April 22. The winner of each age group will get to go to the Microsoft Campus and attend a Bing editorial team meeting. Also, first, second and third place winners will all receive an HP Pavilion desktop and monitor and a digital photo software package for their school.

And there’s more! Each day during the voting period, Bing will donate $5.00 for DonorsChoose.org to the first 20,000 people who vote. And voters get to designate what classroom projects will benefit from the donation. Everyone truly wins!

Entry Period: March 29-April 11

Voting Period: April 13-19

Web Site: http://earthdayphotocontest.com/

Juicy Ideas Competition — Open to College Students

Contest: Eligible college students are invited to answer the question “How can you use data to help your community?” by developing a software application. This contest is open to college and university students within a 50 km radius of Google offices and datacenters. Teams must consist of three to five students.

Prize: The grand-prize winners will receive an Android-powered phone and an all-expenses-paid trip to Google’s Mountain View headquarters.

Entry Period: March 29-April 11

Web Site: http://juicyideascompetition.appspot.com/

Summer of Code — Accepting Applications from Mentor Orgs Now

Program: Every year Google funds a three-month student mentoring program, pairing students with organizations to work on a coding project together. Student developers partner with a group running an active open-source software project.

Who Wins: Everyone involved! Students gain exposure to real-world software development situations and a resume-worthy experience in their field of pursued interest. The mentor organization gets to bring in and identify new developers. And more open source code is released for anyone to use.

Application Period: Mentor organizations may apply by March 12. The student application period opens March 29.

Web Site: http://code.google.com/soc/

Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge — Open to Public High School Students

Contest: Okay, so this one’s got nothing to do with search, but it’s definitely a student contest. And the White House’s marketing efforts are worth learning from. Public high schools are invited to submit an application of four essay questions focused on personal responsibility, academic excellence and college readiness. To supplement the application, a school can also submit a two-minute or shorter video as well as data on attendance, graduation rates, and other key indicators.

Prize: President Obama will deliver the commencement address to the winning school’s graduating class.

Entry Period: February 19-March 15

Voting Period: TBA – The White House and Department of Education will select the six finalists. The public will then be invited to vote for their top three choices on the White House Web site.

Web Site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/Commencement

Attention Students & Parents! Search Contests & Programs that Pay Off was originally published on BruceClay.com, an SEO tools provider.

SMX West was a rollercoaster of highs, lows, twists and turns. The highs of adrenaline-fueled excitement, the lows of getting the lowdown from the search reps, and the twists and turns of going with the flow during such an activity-filled week.

Liveblogger clearly gone mad…

I was on that ripping ride of a rollercoaster for three days, and while it was a blast and a half, I’m glad to be back on the ground where I can process everything that just happened. While reviewing my liveblog coverage of SMX West I was struck by three major points worth highlighting.

Search Community Still on the Fence about Microhoo

An opening keynote by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer assured that discussions of Microhoo were everywhere all conference long. Ballmer didn’t give away much info himself in regards to the partnership, other than some high-level speculation:

I see the opportunity for a number of game changers. It’s really important to have momentum and progress with a differentiated point of view. Total game changer? We’ll get there. But the world is so dynamic we’ll find opportunities for game changers. The business model of search, we haven’t figured out how to remake it. But we think there’s lots of opportunity for growth on the business side as well as the technology side.

During the session Microsoft + Yahoo: What’s It All Mean?, we learned more about the details of the deal, some possible outcomes of looming questions, and the upsides and downsides for marketers regarding many of the changes.

And at The State of the Search Union keynote, this conversation seemed to cover all the bases:

Chris Sherman: What’s the reaction of clients across the spectrum?

Misty Locke: They’re excited, not only clients but also the search managers at her agency. It allows her to shift strategy, so instead of 70/20/10 it’ll be 60/40. The opportunity is big around reach and the additional volume this will bring. One question will be will Microsoft still bring us some of the highest conversion rates once Yahoo! comes in. Bing Cashback has been a big opportunity for her clients.

Avinash Kaushik: Competition is a good thing. It gets people to innovate and do better and not get stale. The way each engine works and the kind of people that use each engine is very different. You should have a strategy for SEO for each engine, a portfolio strategy because you will find more customers and find your dollars more effectively.

Vanessa Fox: She’s waiting to see how the partnership shakes out. She doesn’t know how Searchmonkey and BOSS will work when Yahoo! doesn’t have its own index. Yahoo! did have a play for innovation and for startups, so she’s reserving judgment until the partnership settles in.

Super Site Speed Speediness

CC BY-ND 2.0

Speed, speed and more speed was a recurring theme throughout the conference. One session aimed to tackle the issues of speed in depth: The Need for Speed: Google Says It Matters. The session’s panelists, including Google’s Maile Ohye, presented compelling statistics about why load time matters to users; where to focus initial efforts to get the biggest bang for the fewest bucks; and a number of tools that help diagnose a site’s speed issues.

Lately Google has been aggressively pushing a message that a site’s speed should be optimized. So SEOs and webmasters have been wondering, “Is speed a ranking factor?” Ohye answered this question during the session (paraphrased):

As of today, speed or performance is not a factor in organic ranking. If performance becomes a signal, we expect to notify webmasters. But, hint: Google is pushing the importance of speed.

She also pointed to AdWords Quality Scores and its consideration of page load time as a model similar to what might be used if and when Google uses speed as an organic ranking factor. Bottom line: make sure your site is as fast as it can be. Like, yesterday!

Exciting New Options for Online Advertisers

New opportunities are rarely in short supply when it comes to search marketing, though I was struck by platforms I’ve talked about and learned about before that just haven’t taken off yet. I believe that the early adopters in these spaces could reap the benefits while the rest of the advertising world catches up.

Facebook Ad Tactics for Search Marketers: Facebook has the highest daily reach of any site and also takes the cake for time spent on a single site. Audience targeting is super granular, and consumers can be reached at any point of the conversion funnel. Plus, while adoption is still scarce, the costs are often much lower than on platforms like Google or Yahoo!

Mobile Paid Search Ads: Real Opportunities: A panel of mobile experts shared their tips for mobile search PPC optimization, Google’s various mobile PPC offerings, advertising for smart phones vs. feature phones, and pitfalls to avoid along the way.

Not Your Father’s AdWords: The New Google Ad Formats: We all know that Google rolls out new features faster than a liveblogger’s fingertips, but I had no idea there had been so many recent changes to Google AdWords. Ad Sitelinks, local ads, product ads and comparison ads, and emerging solutions for performance attribution all hold significant promise.

So site speed, Microhoo and ad opportunities were the three takeaways of SMX West from my perspective. What were yours?

3 Takeaways from SMX West 2010 was originally published on BruceClay.com, an SEO tools provider.