TopRank Online Marketing has been fortunate to present at the Direct Marketing Association annual conference for 4 years in a row and a 5th appearance several years before that. (See photos from DMA07 here) Over 10,000 marketers attend the DMA show making it the largest marketing conference in the world and with this year’s show being held in Las Vegas, it should be another great event.

The DMA has traditionally been known as an organization steadfast in marketing principles and rooted in traditional marketing education but has made quite a bit of progress in the online marketing space with it’s Search Engine Marketing Certification program and upcoming attention to social media.  In fact, this year’s DMA08 show includes online marketing sessions on:

• Affiliate marketing
• Consumer generated content
• Blog marketing
• Email marketing
• Pay-per-click advertising
• Online public relations (TopRank)
• Search engine optimization
• Social networking
• Web analytics

That lineup of conference programming is really filling out and offering companies that “get” direct marketing, an opportunity to really dig in to many aspects of internet and search marketing you could only previously get at events dedicated to SEM.

People speaking on Internet and search marketing topics at DMA08 include: Heather Lloyd Martin of Successworks, Graeme McLaughlin of BCAA, David Berkowitz of 360i, Olivier Lemaignen of Intuit, Randy Peterson of Proctor & Gamble, Dave Lloyd of Cisco, Paul Bruemmer of Red Door Interactive, Craig Macdonald of Covario, Duane Forrester of Microsoft, Jeremy Schoemaker, Stephan Spencer of Netconcepts and Andrew Beckman of Location3 Media.

I do plan on a bit of blogging during the week, so hopefully I can get a few interviews in along with session liveblogging.

On October 16th, Matt Bailey and I will be presenting a series of Search Engine Marketing primer workshops (actually, mostly Matt) on SEO, blogs and online PR.  Post conference workshops are smaller and give attendees and speakers a much better opportunity to get specific and get into meaty Q/A.

Matt will be talking about SEO and Blogs and I’ll be focusing on none other than online public relations. But of course, I couldn’t leave out some aspect of blogs as marketing and PR tools since they can be applicable to just about any digital marketing effort.

If you’re attending the DMA08 conference in Las Vegas this year, be sure to check out these post conference intensives. I suspect many attendees will be able to justify the expense of at least part of the conference just by the information we’ll be providing. Here’s more info on the session I’m presenting:

Search Marketing and Online Public Relations
The future of organic search optimization is heavily influenced by the effect of combining SEO and online public relations tactics. Online marketers stand to gain a distinct competitive advantage by leveraging media consumption trends and understanding how SEO and PR intersect through optimizing news content such as press releases and online newsrooms. Learn results-focused PR tactics such as pitching bloggers and online media as well as proactive online reputation management and PR analytics.

Date/Time 10/16/2008 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Room LV Hilton Conference Room 7-8

There’s obviously a lot more going on at DMA08 than search and internet marketing with hundreds of sessions, keynotes, pre and post conference events and special activities.  You can read our past coverage of DMA here and while I don’t think there’s anyone officially blogging the event, there is a frequently updated news feed at MyDMA365.

Please let me know in the comments below or via Twitter if you’re attending and we can have a DMA08 Tweetup!

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2008. | DMA08 Las Vegas Internet Marketing Roundup | http://www.toprankblog.com

I serve on the operating committee of that organization as does Heather Lloyd Martin of SuccessWorks, Mike Moran of IBM, Andy Wetzler of More Visibility, Jeanette Kocsis of Harte Hanks, Amanda Watlington of Searching for Profit, Doug Garfinkel from Epsilon, Detlev Johnson of Position Technologies and Lisa Merizio Smith from the DMA.

To give direct marketers who read Online Marketing Blog a sense of what the SEMC is up to in regards to SEO and social media education opportunities, I decided to do a few interviews with those opcom members that I could find at the conference on day one.

Heather Lloyd Martin – President of DMA SEMC

Click here to view the embedded video.

Mike Moran – IBM

Click here to view the embedded video.

Jeanette Kocsis – VP Harte Hanks

Click here to view the embedded video.

Detlev Johnson – VP Position Technologies

Click here to view the embedded video.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2007. | Interviews with DMA Search Marketing Council | http://www.toprankblog.com

The DMA06 conference is getting rev’d up with pre conference sessions Satuday and Sunday. The new search engine marketing certification program started on Saturday with Jeannette Kocsis, VP of Digital Marketing at Harte-Hanks, presenting on “Introduction to Search Engine Marketing” and I followed up with “Search Engine Basics”.

Unfortunatley, I was not able to sit in on Jeannette’s session, but Amanda Watlington said there was great feedback. Here’s the description of the module:

Introduction to Search Engine Marketing: Explore search engine marketing and what it takes for a marketer to achieve search engine marketing results. Learn how to identify ethical search engine marketing practices and how search engines define spam. Learn how to shape the business case for search marketing for your business, and how to staff this valuable marketing function.

Next up was my session:

Search Engine Basics: If you have ever wondered how a search engine builds its database, adds new sites to its index or chooses which results to show, this is the session for you. Learn to identify paid from algorithmic search listings and where search listings appear beyond the search results page. You will also learn how the search marketers’ efforts can impact what the user sees on the page.

There were about 100-130 people in attendance. Rather than rows of chairs they had round table seating, which I liked, it’s just different than I’m used to. Michael Bloom from the DMA did a short introduction and then Amanda Watlington did her bit about the certification program. Then it was my turn for about 2 hours.

If you’ve presented at conferences, you know it’s typically 15-45 min max and then Q/A. Doing a 2 hour presentation is a bit of a different animal and a good test of the speaker’s depth of knowledge and ability to hold an audience. I was uncertain how it would go and I’m happy to say it went pretty well. When you look into a crowd as you’re speaking, you can tell if they’re engaged or not by how they’re looking at you, how much they’re taking notes, body posture, etc.

I’ll be looking forward to hearing from the DMA on the feedback attendees provided. The whole thing was recorded as well so participants in the certification program will have access to it as well as to the presentation (95 slides).

Today Matt Baily presents his module:

Site Indexing Challenges and How to Fix Them: Is your site beautiful to behold, but invisible to search engines? This program focuses on the specific page elements and design technologies that can prevent a site from being included in a search engine database. You will learn how to identify the barriers and what must be done to overcome them.

Who will then be followed up by Detlev Johnson:

Search Engine and Directory Submission/Inclusion Tactics: Want to know how to get your Web site indexed in the search engines using the newest and best practices? This session will outline the newest tactics available for ensuring rapid and complete site submissions. Learn how to get your site included in Google using Sitemaps and explore the many features of Yahoo! Site Explorer as well as other highly effective methods.

All in all, a good start to the conference. On Monday I will be participating on a panel with Amanda and Stephan Spencer: Blogs, RSS and Podcasting. Amanda is covering information about the overall market along with blog optimization tips and Stephan provides a large amount of blog optimization and RSS how to’s. My presentation will present an integrated strategy and case study of blogs, SEO and public relations.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2006. | DMA-06 SEM Certification Kickoff | http://www.toprankblog.com

A lot of buzz in the SEO community lately has been focused on the value of creating compelling content as if it’s a new idea. Writing web site copy that satisfies both search engines and users is nothing new to Heather Lloyd-Martin. She’s been an active proponent since the late nineties.

I first came across Heather’s copywriting wisdom a long time ago when explaining the Internet to potential clients was still common and the idea of Internet marketing and optimizing web sites for better search engine rankings was gaining popularity. Since then, Heather has been a very influential force in educating search marketers on the value of copywriting for the web, for SEO and most importantly, for conversions.

If you’ve been to search conferences, Heather is easy to spot. She’s either speaking or you can just pick out the most friendly, positive person in the room. I volunteer with Heather on the Search Engine Marketing Council of the DMA where she is President have been impressed with her leadership and enthusiasm.

On to the interview!

I remember first hearing of you in 2000 when reading the Rank Write Roundtable newsletter that you moderated with Jill Whalen. That seems like such a long time ago. Tell us about your background – how did you get involved with SEO copywriting?

Hehe, it does seem like a long time ago! I have always been involved in marketing and copywriting on some level. Before I started writing for the Web, I had written copy for book jacket covers, created text for brochures, penned product specs…if it was writing, I did it! I quit my “real job” in 1995 to be a full-time online writer ‚Äì and never looked back!

When Jill and I “met” online, I was writing Web copy for some sites (some big-brand, some small business,) and freelancing for Entrepreneur Magazine. Jill wanted her client’s copy to sound good and read well ‚Äì and she knew that writing good content (not just stuffing it with keyphrases) was key. But really, nobody was discussing “SEO copywriting and conversion” back then. It was all getting hits to a site.

“SEO copywriting” wasn’t even a keyphrase in Wordtracker way back in the day….I first checked in 2000 or so, and the phrase didn’t receive any hits! We’ve come a long way!

What are the typical challenges you most often encounter on search engine optimization writing projects?

I see a lot of super-scary keyphrase-stuffed copy with no benefit statements ‚Äì and absolutely no conversion flow. Sometimes, the text doesn’t even have links to a purchase page. But it would have lots and lots of keyphrases.

There’s also the challenge of a client insisting that they have a main “money keyphrase,” and they want all their optimization around making that term #1. When that happens, I explain the “keyword long tail,” and help them set up tracking so they can get some real data. Jen Laycock wrote a great article about the “keyword long tail” and SEO expectations. And Matt Bailey’s article about the keyword long tail is also very good. I’ve sent both to clients as reference articles.

Really, the challenges are minor, tho.’ Once my clients understand why and how they need to fix their copy, they take care of it. We may have to have a few discussions with IT and legal to get everyone on the same page, but it all works out. It’s a very good thing.

What are some of the most common misconceptions you hear in regarding to writing search engine friendly copy?

That SEO-friendly copy is “too long,” is “keyword stuffed” and “won’t help conversions.” I used to hear these complaints much more often a few years back. Now, I think that folks have realized that their content really can help them gain search engine (and conversion) success ‚Äì and it’s a necessary component to the optimization process.

Unfortunately, what I notice now is what I call the “Easy Bake Oven” approach to SEO copywriting. Writing for conversion isn’t emphasized at all – instead, it’s all about writing exactly 250 words, throwing in a few keyphrases, and sticking it all in HTML. If it could only be that easy! It’s sad, really, to see SEO shops promise “original copywriting” when they don’t employ experienced copywriters on staff. The purpose of copywriting is to help people take action. It’s about getting inside your customer’s head and figuring out what their pain points are ‚Äì and then overcoming those objections with the copy. It’s writing in a tone and feel that resonates with your customer, helping them get to know and trust you. If your text is all about the keyphrases, and not about your customer. it’s not going to sell the way you want. It’s that simple.

What do you think about some SEOs that emphasize things like keyword density and latent semantic indexing, etc? Do those concepts really apply to good web copywriting?

I think that some understanding of LSI and keyword density is a smart thing to have ‚Äì there are some great research papers on LSI that provide fantastic information. Having said that, copywriting is a creative endeavor designed to make a company’s product or service compelling. Yes, it’s important to know how the search engines work ‚Äì crucial, in fact. But “writing to sell” is more than just understanding LSI and sticking words into the text. It’s using the right words that resonate with your target market. It’s getting inside your prospect’s head and creating text that converts ‚Äì while still keeping a keyphrase focus. It’s about getting people to take action ‚Äì now.

It’s a unique skill to be able to write copy that is compelling to readers and at the same time employs a keyword strategy. Bob Bly recently wrote an article in DM News, “Why I Don’t Believe in SEO Copywriting” that seems to subordinate the need to consider search engines when copywriting for the web. I’ve always thought it was a matter of skill to be able to write effectively for both readers and search engines. What do you think?

Ha! Bob penned that after I wrote an article for him about SEO copywriting. Yes, I understand Bob’s point, and he is right in a way. Writing copy solely for the purpose of search engine positioning is bad news. The text sounds stilted, it typically doesn’t convert well, and it doesn’t reflect well on a company’s brand.

At the same time, SEO copywriting *is* an important skill. After all, if you are an online copywriter and you don’t understand how to write for the engines, you are doing your clients a disservice. Why shouldn’t appropriate pages be written with SEO copywriting best practices in mind? Otherwise, you’re forcing your clients to edit the pages for keyphrases later – and that doesn’t always work.

If you do it right, you’re not putting your client’s conversion needs on hold in an attempt to gain better rankings. Far from it. Copy can still be seamless and brilliant with keyphrases. The key is – the writer needs to be talented to make it work. Otherwise, the text does sound like a bunch of disconnected words strung together. And that’s a problem.

You’ve written an e-book on SEO copywriting. What made you decide to write the book? Is it more for SEOs, for corporate marketers and copywriters or for all of the above? What’s the most important reason someone should buy the book?

I decided to write the book because there wasn’t anything about SEO copywriting on the market. Jill had written a short guide about keyphrase editing ‚Äì but there wasn’t anything that said, “Here’s how to write the content from scratch, pen a Title, and edit an XML document.”

That, and I knew that a lot of small businesses really wanted a “do it yourself” resource. I had people asking me if I had written a book they could purchase ‚Äì or if I planned to write a book. Finally, I thought ‚Äì “OK, OK, I can do this. I should write a book!”

It took me about 3 years to write 123 pages (and that was writing off and on.) Although I had a love/hate relationship with it at the time, I’m thinking of working with a publisher and releasing another version of the book. Stay tuned for that‚Ķ

The book is geared towards someone with copywriting (especially Web writing) experience, who just wants to learn how to mix SEO copywriting into their skill set. I’ve had people from large corporations buy it, as well as lots of SEOs and small businesses. The book leads the reader through the entire SEO copywriting process ‚Äì from choosing keyphrases, to writing the text, penning a Title, and a chapter on “overcoming common SEO copywriting challenges.” So, it’s a complete “how-to” guide, and goes into depth on quite a few issues.

Plus, many of my fellow SEO experts were kind enough to provide interviews and case studies, like Danny Sullivan, Detlev Johnson (if you haven’t seen Detlev’s SearchReturn newsletter, check it out at www.searchreturn.com) Jim Banks, Greg Boser and Andy Mindel from Wordtracker. I am very grateful to those guys ‚Äì their help was invaluable!

You’re the President of the Search Marketing Council of the DMA, you speak often at industry conferences like Search Engine Strategies and you run a consulting business. When do you sleep? What motivates you to be so active in the industry?

Sleep, sleep…what’s that? Seriously, I love what I do, and I love having a variety of things *to* do. Speaking and travel are such treats for me. Yes, it can be a pain to be on the road a lot – especially during “back to back” conference time. But being on stage is almost like “play time” – even if it takes days of preparation and I stress out like crazy before stepping on stage. And conferences are always very fun.

My DMA work is part of “giving back” to the industry. I work with them because I feel that I have a responsibility to educate folks about best practices and help people understand how search fits into their marketing mix. Granted, working with the DMA and other folks on the SEMC is fun, and the DMA has provided me with some great opportunities and a chance to try out some new skills. But “fun” mixed with “giving back” is a very cool combination.

And my clients are wonderful folks. I’m truly blessed to be working with the people I work with.

The DMA Search Engine Marketing Council (SEMC) which was previously the Association of Interactive Marketing (AIM) has some ambitious objectives. What is the key mission of the SEMC?

Our key mission is to be the primary search marketing resource for the direct marketing community. It wasn’t that long ago when the Direct Marketing Association was only running one ‚Äì maybe two – search marketing panels during a three-day conference. Now, each conference has multiple search marketing panels, plus site labs. We’re educating the marketing community about search, as well as writing best practice guides and producing Webinars for the general community. Other things are in the works, too. It’s exciting to see.

Dina Freeman from Yahoo!, Amanda Watlington from SearchingforProfit.com, Kevin Lee from Did-it.com and Detlev Johnson from PositionTech have been loyal friends and colleagues since the AIM days ‚Äì and have spent their free time working on the Council. They have really helped the SEMC grow into what it is today ‚Äì and we’re still growing!

Every time I see you, you’re a very happy camper. Do you ever get grumpy?

Oh, yeah. You bet. I’m a writer, so by nature I can be incredibly mercurial. At the same time, my mood “set point” tends to be set fairly high. Fortunately, I can shake off grumpy moods fairly quickly and gain perspective. Life is too short to stay cranky for long periods of time. And drinking lots of chai tea lattes helps, too.

Thanks Heather!

Tags: Heather Lloyd-Martin, SEO, copywriting, web copywriting, seo copywriting, DMA, SEMC, search engine optimization

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2006. | Interview with Heather Lloyd-Martin of SuccessWorks | http://www.toprankblog.com

MOREVISIBILITY PRESIDENT ANDREW WETZLER APPOINTED TO MEMBERSHIP CHAIR, DMA SEMC COUNCIL

New York, NY, December 7, 2005 – The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) announced today it has appointed Andrew Wetzler, president and co-founder of MoreVisibility, membership chair of its Search Engine Marketing Council (SEMC).

"I’m pleased to have the opportunity to serve as membership chair of this important committee," said Wetzler. "As the direct marketing discipline evolves, more marketers are turning to interactive methods. Search marketing is being more widely embraced as a crucial element of an effective integrated marketing mix. Serving on DMA’s SEMC will allow me to help drive the segment’s growth and maximize its potential as one of the leading direct marketing channels."

DMA’s SEMC promotes ethical industry guidelines through the creation and promotion of  best practices. The Council’s member constituencies include marketers, media properties, and search engines. Through active education, DMA’s SEMC helps organizations to understand search engine marketing’s value and effectiveness and to discover strategies for integrating search into their overall marketing plan.

Wetzler co-founded MoreVisibility in October 1999. The company has since then grown to become one of the leading, most respected firms in the Search Engine Marketing and Optimization industry.  Prior to MoreVisibility Wetzler spent ten years at Andrew Wetzler & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in training marketing professionals to effectively utilize multiple channels and improve campaign performance.

An expert in direct marketing, Wetzler developed a course for the American Management Association on Direct Marketing and Inside Sales Program Development, which he instructed for seven years. He is a frequent speaker within the direct marketing community and is an author of numerous articles on related topics. Andrew holds a B.A. in Economics from Tulane University.

"Andrew’s experience in search engine marketing combined with his extraordinary vision and wide network of associates will drive the SEMC to the next level," said Heather Lloyd Martin, chair of DMA’s SEMC and CEO , SuccessWorks. "His advanced marketing and business development skills make him uniquely qualified to lead the charge in membership development for this industry-shaping council."

For more information on DMA’s Search Engine Marketing Council please visit http://www.the-dma.org/ or contact Matthew Waters at DMA, telephone: 212.790.1406.

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About the DMA

The Direct Marketing Association is the leading global trade association of business and nonprofit organizations using and supporting direct marketing tools and techniques.  DMA advocates industry standards for responsible marketing, promotes relevance as the key to reaching consumers with desirable offers, and provides cutting-edge research, education and networking opportunities to improve results throughout the entire direct marketing process.  Founded in 1917, DMA today has more than 4,800 corporate, affiliate, and chapter members from the US and 46 other nations, including 55 companies listed on the Fortune 100.  
 
In 2005, companies will spend more than $161 billion dollars on direct marketing in the United States.  Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures are expected to generate $1.85 trillion in increased sales in 2005, or 7% of the $26 trillion in total sales in the US economy (which includes intermediate sales).  All together, direct marketing will account for 10.3% of total U.S. GDP in 2005.

Tags: DMA, SEMC, search marketing, search engine marketing council, andrew wetzler

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2005. | DMA Beefs up Membership with Andrew Wetzler | http://www.toprankblog.com