One morning in late July in the midst of my morning routine to start my day, I turn to my wife and say, “I need to go to California next month for SES.”  Being as far away from the Marketing field as one can be as a Personal Banker, she replies, “What is SES?”  That is the question of the day.

Fast forward a month as I walk down a wide, dimly lit corridor, I see in the distance, becoming larger and more massive with every step, a sign, which could only be compared to an express way billboard to say the least, that read, “Search Engine
Strategies 2007 San Jose Conference & Expo.”

Not being new to the Search Engine Marketing industry, I had an idea of what to expect, but still, my wife’s question continued to gnaw at the back of my head, “What is SES?”  Here is my perspective on this profound question.

I will need to break it out in to a couple of distinct parts; the first part being the SE part of SES, namely the Search Engine. There are many different Search Engines out there these days and the list is continuing to grow.  This is one of the things that surprised me regarding this SES conference.  In walking through the Expo, I could not throw a stick in any direction without hitting another Search Engine claiming, not necessarily to be the best, but that they can do more than their competition who, of course, are also claiming that they can do more. 

Who are these Search Engines, though, and what more can they do? Merriam-Webster.com defines a Search Engine as “Computer software used to search data (as text or a database) for specified information; also a site on the World Wide Web that uses such software to locate key words in other sites.” 

From my own perspective as a searcher, Search Engines are resources to help the consumer find information; a map to guide one through the information superhighway.  Myself, being very directionally impaired and won’t cross the street without my GPS, am very happy and thankful for tools that the Search Engines provide as both a consumer as well as a Search Engine Marketing manager.

Moving on to the second S of SES; the Strategy part.  Even with the surprisingly large number of Search Engines, it was even more surprising the small number of search agencies attending the conference. I have been in the Search Engine Marketing field now for about three years and in that time have had the pleasure of working with multiple agencies.  A great many of those agencies were not represented at this particular SES.  I am not saying there is anything wrong with that.  In fact, that may be strategy in itself in terms of separating themselves and not just falling into the mix of an already large crowd of specialists and  simply waiting for the right SES conference to truly display their wares.  In any case, those that did attend showed a positive outlook of what they could offer.  The bottom line is simply easing the work load of their clients while increasing profitability; a simple concept which definitely works if done properly.

Now, when you put SES all together, you get a masterful array of search marketing knowledge, tips and tricks, contacts, prospects, and information on the newest technologies.  That is what SES is; it is an assortment of individuals who become
part of a team with a common goal to teach, to learn, and to grow.