I had the opportunity to attend the Search Engine Strategies conference the week of August 16th in San Francisco, and now, approximately a week later, as I review the conference materials, my mess of scribbled notes, and the slew of tweets highlighting those nuggets of information shared by various speakers during the show, I find myself in a reflection mode. What did I learn? What value did I take away from the conference? To sum it up, the key message that I walked away with, is that the space is changing… and QUICKLY, and as marketers, we need to adapt, test, and innovate if we are to help define future strategies.

Contradicting myself on the message of change, I might argue that search in a vacuum is stable. SEO and SEM are the cornerstones of online marketing for advertisers, providing visibility in from of active shoppers and decisions makers, and mostly translating into a strong ROI. Yes, there are some changes happening in the space, such as the merger of Microsoft and Yahoo, but its fundamentals remain consistent with the last few years. For paid search its about driving a strong ROI via campaign management tactics including bidding, targeting, match types, ad copy, landing pages, keyword selections, etc. For SEO, fresh, relevant content remains a priority whether through direct sites or emerging social sites.

The dramatic shifts are in what can influence search, and even what is coming to be defined as “search”, and these will continue to alter the online space in the weeks, months, and years ahead. The continuing rise of social media and mobile usage is creating increases in touch-points that users reference when making a purchase decision, and even how people purchase. Development of conversion attribution models are redefining success criteria for individual placements, and attempting to determine the value of each level of engagement. Social media is beginning to redefine the idea of a conversion beyond just that of a lead or sale generated, by creating different levels of engagement with customers, which may not be a sale today, but could turn into one tomorrow. Social media also means that people are talking – frequently – to each other, about each other, about what they like, about your brand, about your competitor brands… and others are listening. This growth of online “word of mouth” is unsettling for some marketers, and exciting for others, but in either case, it is creating a need for technologies and solutions to help monitor and listen to what’s being said, in order to develop a strategy around how to interact. Mobile technologies are changing the physical aspects of where search and online activity in general can happen, and adoption of these means more and more people looking for information while on the go. Display media targeting refinements are allowing advertisers better target and re-target consumers, which is causing a resurgence in the vehicle as an ROI based tactic, but also leading to privacy concerns, and what some conference speakers referred to as “creepiness” levels. And all of the above are influencing how users make purchase decisions, and how they “search”.

The opening keynote of SES San Francisco, delivered by Jeffrey Hayzlett, did a nice job setting the tone for the content of the conference. During his speech, he discussed his experiences at Eastman Kodak, and the experience of modernizing the brand in the face of new technology development. In his address he called for marketers to initiate healthy debate in order to bring about change, to set clear conditions for satisfaction, and to actively test and try new things.

As the space continues to evolve, testing is key. Not all opportunities will be applicable to all business types, and not every vehicle will be successful just because perhaps it’s popular, but through testing and measuring, advertisers will be able to determine what does work, which can then lead to expansion of similar strategies . And keep in mind that in some cases, early adoption of opportunities means ability to test cost effectively, before demand drives up cost.

This is an exciting time for the industry, and while some of the sessions of the conference were the usual, to-be-expected “101” types of discussions, there were also thought provoking discussions surrounding what’s emerging in online that I found value in. Having been in the industry for the last 10 years, I didn’t find myself walking away from the conference with the laundry list of the “must try” tactics that is so often evident among the first-time conference goers, BUT, I did walk away with a renewed passion and energy for the online marketing industry, and the changes taking shape that are likely to redefine the space as we know it, and a commitment to continue to educate myself and those I work with in what is new, and . After all, isn’t one of the best aspects of being part of the online marketing industry the fact that things constantly change, and no day is like the last?