Mark your calendar to attend the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit Toronto, April 23-26, 2012. If you are responsible for the results of your company’s website, social media, ecommerce, web intelligence, data strategy, audience research and/or measurement, then this is a must attend event for you.

Hear case studies from companies such as Nissan, AOL, ESPN, Johnson & Johnson, Monster, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and many more.

To learn more visit the website at http://www.emetrics.org/toronto/

Announcing our Second SEMPO Ottawa Meetup on October 13, 2011

SEMPO Ottawa is one of the newest networking groups of SEMPO Canada and our growing list of members include Search Engine Marketing professionals who are self-employed, working in-house and at agencies.

We are thrilled to announce an upcoming SEMPO Canada Google Event in Ottawa. SEMPO Ottawa is inviting everyone in the marketing industry, as well as digital professionals – and anyone interested in Search, Mobile and Canadian trends to attend this amazing event. Students are also welcome!

Mobile Marketing: It’s still not too late to be early!
Presenter: Nectarios Economakis, Google Canada

Mobile marketing is definitely on the move and moving very, very quickly. In fact, Mobile is ramping up faster than any other marketing technology in history. Mobile devices are quickly becoming (if they aren’t already) the “go-to” shopping companions for millions of shoppers because these devices are portable, personal, interactive, local and dynamic.

Come meet Nectarios Economakis of Google Canada and learn about what is driving the rapid growth of mobile, the key trends you need to be aware of and how you should be taking advantage of mobile right now. You’ll also learn some valuable facts about Canadian mobile trends as well as fascinating insights into Canadian’s mobile search habits. This is a presentation that will help put you on the road to being a more effective mobile marketer.

Agenda

6:00PM – Event Registration & Networking
7:00PM – Nectarios Economakis Presentation (and Q & A session)
8:00PM – SEMPO Ottawa Meetup & Networking

Cost: $10.00/per person

SEMPO Members (free)
Just pay in advance and we will reimburse you at the event. You must be listed on the SEMPO Member Directory.

If you are not a member, join SEMPO now and attend for free. Plus receive all the benefits of a SEMPO membership for 12 months! Be sure to select the Canada Chapter when you sign up.

When: Thursday, October 13, 2011 6:00 – 9:00PM
Where: Hard Rock Café 73 York Street, Ottawa

Hashtag: #sempoottawa

Event Sponsors: WebFuel & McGill Buckley

Space is limited. Register for this event now!

Online registration is available until: Tuesday, October 11th (or until all tickets are sold out).

5 Compelling Reasons to Attend IMC Vancouver October 3-4, 2011. And if you are SEMPO Canada members, save an additional $100 to attend IMC Conference. Get in touch with me to get your promo code: alex@emarketing101.ca

1. Get the latest online marketing and advertising trends and insights from people and organizations leading the way:
· Gary Fearnall, LinkedIn Canada
· Paula Gignac, IAB Canada
· Michal Lorenc, Google Canada
· Alfredo Tan, Facebook Canada

2. Get up to speed with Content Strategy and a framework for managing the content landscape.

3. Learn from fellow marketers, communicators and community managers how social media and community development go hand in hand providing the opportunity for more meaningful conversations and connections.

4. Get introduced to new advertising opportunities that allow for improved targeting; learn the essentials of re-targeting; and how ad exchanges and demand side platforms can deliver top results.

5. Get inspired by some of the most innovative thinkers of our time. Learn firsthand lessons from a top international agency and one of the most “liked” brands in North America and what it took to launch an award-winning, multi-platform campaign.

Join us at the Internet Marketing Conference – IMC Vancouver October 3-4 where over thirty leading experts and major brands share their wisdom on:

Content Strategy:
Understanding the Content Landscape
Content Marketing: Managing, Measuring, Evaluating

Social and Mobile Marketing:
TV Goes Social
Geo-Social Media
Innovation in Cross-Platform Marketing

Community Strategy:
Re-defining “Community” in a Digital World
Community Communications Case Studies

Trends, Insights and Performance
The Human Side of Marketing Analytics
Campaign Success Metrics and Attribution
Digital Marketing Trends
Mobile Marketing and Commerce for 2012

Campaigns and Commerce:
Ad Networks, Exchanges and Re-targeting
Conversion Optimization Strategies
Social Commerce and Advertising
Optimizing the Customer Experience

Explore, discuss and debate the best digital strategies. With four tracks and 25+ sessions you can customize the agenda to best fit your needs.

Two weeks ago, June 29th, we had the first ever SEMPO Canada Search Summit in Vancouver organized by SEMPO Canada and Google Canada teams. We were discussing this idea with Google Canada team for several weeks, everybody was agreed that through the year Vancouver doesn’t have any major Internet marketing events except annual IMC (Internet Marketing Conference) in the fall, and finally we came with the date that was acceptable for both teams.

I was one of organizers of this event, mostly responsible for finding the place to host this event and setting up the venue. We had only three short weeks to set everything up and it put a lot of pressure on those involved in preparing presentations and venue, marketing and selling tickets for this one-day conference. With a help from Sophia Shakia, our volunteer event coordinator, we were able to get a great deal from Empire Landmark Hotel at 1400 Robson St., which offered us to rent a big ballroom with catering service for reasonable fee. We spreaded information about this conference through all local online marketing meetups, SEMPO Canada’s LinkedIn group, and our personal contacts and at the end we were had more than 100 people registered. This event was free for SEMPO members and Google clients in the area, for the rest of the public tickets were offered at $99 that included breakfast and lunch as well.

The main goal of SEMPO Canada Search Summit was to provide local search marketers with opportunity to explore new Search Marketing strategies through presentations prepared by both Google and SEMPO experts and let them opportunity to communicate face-to-face with Google team, ask questions, get quick reviews of sites and ad campaigns.

SEMPO Canada team made opening presentation with a quick review of SEMPO and SEMPO Canada working group, about organization’s mission and goals, global reach and recent activities here in Vancouver. It also presented 2011 State of Search Market report.

Google Canada team made several presentations about latest innovations in search introduced by Google, and latest trends in mobile advertisement and Social Media, just one day after Google+ social network was officially launched.

Q&A session in the afternoon lasted for almost 40 min. and everybody was given a chance to ask a question directly to Google team members. Some of the attendees were able to get their Google AdWords accounts reviewed on the spot

General feedback from most of the people show us that Search Summit was a great success, which we hope will become a regular annual event for search marketers working here in Greater Vancouver area. It was obvious how excited Google team was about the results of this event which makes me to believe we can expect the same event to be organized in other Canadian cities and here in Vancouver again next year.

SEMPO Canada team is also very happy to report about signing 22 new SEMPO members which is a great news for Canadian Search Marketing industry. We hope these new members will become an active supporters for organization. We are going to follow up with all new members soon to make sure they are informed about all local events organized by SEMPO Canada and actively participate in them.

We are very excited to invite you to the first ever SEMPO Canada Search Summit in Vancouver (BC) organized by SEMPO Canada and Google Canada teams, which will happen in Vancouver on June 29 at the Empire Landmark, 1400 Robson Street.

SEMPO Canada Search Summit will explore successful strategies for Search Marketing, presented by both Google Canada and SEMPO Canada experts. Learn how important the “Three Be’s” – Be Found, Be Engaging, and Be Accountable – are to a successful marketing campaign. Discover latest innovations in search, including Advanced Search Formats, Location Extensions, Click to Call Ads, Longer Ad Headlines, Sitelinks. Get better understanding about Search Marketing industry through perspective and insights as seen through the eyes of both agencies and advertisers. Learn about latest trends in mobile advertisement and Social Media.

Date: June 29th 2011, 9:00am – 5:00pm.
Location: Empire Landmark Hotel, 1400 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC
Cost: $99 per ticket. Price also includes continental breakfast, buffet lunch and two coffee breaks.
SEMPO members can attend this event for free. Please login to your SEMPO account to get your free registration.

If you are not a SEMPO member yet, do not miss this great opportunity to join a growing global community of search marketing professionals and make your contribution to this fast expanding industry!

Join SEMPO now for only $125 and attend this exciting event for free, plus receive all the benefits of SEMPO membership for 12 months, including discounts to search marketing events, training at SEMPO Institute, access to library and free webinars!

For more details and registration for this event please visit SEMPO Canada Search Summit page.

We need volunteers!

SEMPO Canada will be having a booth at the conference, so we are looking for volunteers to help with setting up the booth and work on it promoting SEMPO Canada to conference attendees.

We also need people to work at registration tables to serve attendees with registrations, badges, etc. Please reply if you are willing to help us with hosting this event, we will really appreciate this.

Please spread the word about this great event through your blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Thanks & look forward to seeing you there.

SEMPO Canada team