The next Vancouver SEM meetup will be on March 8, 2010. We talk about Search Marketing, PPC, Social Media, CMS, SEO tools and so much more. If you want to learn about Search, this is the place to be every month. I will be there along with the official organizer, Jose Uzcategui, from The Vancouver Search Engine Marketing Group:

Announcing a new Meetup for The Vancouver Search Engine Marketing Group!

What: Vancouver SEM Monthly Meetup. Mark The Date: Presenter TBA

When: March 8, 2010 6:00 PM

Where:
Ceilis Irish Pub
670 Smithe Street, Vancouver, BC
Vancouver, BC V6B 1E3

Our presenter and topic for our first meetup of 2010 are set. We’re just finalizing a few technicalities.

Mark the date and we’ll be posting details soon

Learn more here:
http://www.meetup.com/VancouverSEM/calendar/12102380/

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It is with great pleasure and excitement that I announce a new Search Engine Marketing project with SkiBanff.com to promote Sunshine Village Ski Resort & Mountain Lodge as well as their numerous family ski vacation packages in Banff, Alberta, Canada. As part of my role, I will be working closely with Don Beaulieu, Director of Sales & Marketing for Sunshine Village.

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It is with great pleasure and excitement that I announce a new Search Engine Marketing project with Layer 7 Technologies in Vancouver (BC) Canada to promote their XML Gateway & SOA Security Solutions Worldwide. As part of my role, I will be working closely with Eric Lowe, Marketing Manager for Layer 7 Technologies as well as Dimitri Sirota, Director of Sales & Marketing.

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The very talented Darren Barefoot & Julie Szabo are launching their second book on Social Media on November 24 in Vancouver and the entire geek community in Vancouver & BC is invited to this book launch & party. The social media handbook is called Friends with Benefits (Because these dead trees aren’t going to sell themselves.) and from what I heard from the ones that read the book already, it is a great handbook for anyone involved in Social Media. I am sure the party will be as great. Hope to seeing you there.

For more info, please signify attendance on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=197667080394&ref=nf

Here are the details anyway:

Date: Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Time: 7:00pm - 11:00pm
Location: Autumn Brook Artists Gallery
Street: 1545 West 4th Avenue

More info on the event:
One of the many benefits of being our friend…

We would love you to join us for the launch of “Friends With Benefits”, our book on social media marketing.

We’ll do a brief talk at some point in the evening, followed by a short reading from the book. We’ll also be available to personally inscribe the many, many copies you’ll surely be purchasing to give out as Christmas gifts.

Sundry details:
* Appetizers will be served
* Convenient cash bar
* Autographed copies of our book will be available for purchase for $20
* There’s lots of street parking around, or you may want to consider parking on Granville Island and walking up to the gallery. Otherwise, the location is served by many lovely bus routes.

For more info on this event, you can also communicate with Darren at

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Did I ever tell you how much I love my CMS? I run it for both eMarketing101.ca and francouver.ca, my social networking site for all francophones living in Vancouver. Both of them are run through ExpressionEngine (EE) and once a year, you can learn from developers & users alike. My friend & chief EE developer Travis Smith from hopstudios.com will be there as well as many others from which you can learn from. Here are all the details.

Friday, October 02, 2009
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Pravda Studios, Seattle, WA

Register Here
http://eeroadshow.eventbrite.com

Come join us for a day-long series of sessions on ExpressionEngine, our favourite content management system.

Summary of Sessions
8:30-9:30 am
Breakfast and Registration

10am-11am
“Introduction to ExpressionEngine - From The Man”
by Leslie Camacho

11am-noon
“Making Money Selling EE Add-Ons”
by a great group of panelists

Lunch and hang out time

1pm-2pm
“Deploying and Maintaining ExpressionEngine Using Version Control”
by Jason Hudnutt

2pm-3pm
“Performance Tuning ExpressionEngine”
by Matt Perry

3pm-4pm
“10 Ways to Improve Your ExpressionEngine Site Development”
by Ryan Irelan

4pm-5pm
“Five Minute Demos”
by You!

Cocktail reception

Full Session Details…

Location
1406 - 10th Avenue, Suite 200
Seattle, Washington
http://www.pravdastudios.com
See the map...

Have a Question?
Just ask...

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Recently I talked about Wordstream a new “kick-ass” keyword tool for PPC management. I just been told today that they recently launched a free version of the keyword tool: http://www.wordstream.com/keywords/

It seems better than wordtracker, and it is free.

And here’s a 1-minute video that shows how it works: http://www.youtube.com/v/gV-VB3P7frU

Try it out and comment back here if you like it.

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Take advantage of the early bird prices for IMC Vancouver on September 16-18 if you purchase your ticket before Friday Sept 4.

* IMC Vancouver 2009 will cover each of the important methods of marketing online in order to get the highest quality of traffic to your website.
* Learn the new industry best practices in converting more of your site visitors to: Spend more time on site, achieve better sales and user signup conversion, and better site engagement overall.
* IMC is a conference not only to get the best industry insight but also to meet and connect with those that are the writing the new rules of marketing in Internet Marketing today.

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My good friend Dmitriy Minenko from Tourism BC just got a new book and he advised everyone in the last SEO meetup to read it. It is called What would Google do? and it is basically an explanation of what Google stands for, where they are going and what kind of values you MUST embrace if you want to succeed with Google as your main generator of business. Fascinating stuff, as always. 

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C’est avec grand plaisir que je viens de conclure une entente avec le Massif de Charlevoix pour la promotion de la station de ski & ses nombreuses options d’hébergements. Dans ce projet de search marketing pour la saison 2009-2010, je vais travailler en étroite collboration avec Hélène Moreau, Directrice, Ventes, Marketing & Service à la clientèle ainsi que Frédéric Gonzalo, Vice-président, marketing et communications. 

Si vous voulez obtenir plus d’informations sur le Massif de Charlevoix ou désirez organiser un groupe pour l’hiver prochain, veuillez communiquer avec Hélène Moreau à . Elle vous dirigera dans la bonne direction. 

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I just got some fresh news about the schedule for IMC - Internet Marketing Conference on September 16-18 in Vancouver (BC) Canada. Find some announcements below and even more on the Internet Marketing Conference (IMC) website.

This year the IMC conference features speakers from the three largest and most influential websites today: Google, Yahoo & Facebook. The IMC is also pleased to announce the following lineup of amazing keynote speakers:

* September 17: Google’s analytics evangelist Avinash Kaushik, and author of the best-selling book Web Analytics: An Hour a Day. Considered by many as the one of the foremost speakers in the field of analytics today. He has fantastic insight on how each website visitor should be treated as a valued customer and how to improve the performance of any website.

* September 18: Facebook’s newly appointed Canadian representative Louise Clements, will give the attendees exclusive insights and knowledge from Facebook’s active, and rapidly growing online community. Facebook is the fastest growing web-property in the world it is ranked number three after Google & Yahoo). By understanding how to use Facebook to market yourself & or your company, you will have the ability to better leverage this new and exciting social networking channel.

IMC Vancouver features in total over top 40 speakers from: Yahoo, Google, Bell Canada, Overstock, Aircell, BazaarVoice, Vancity, Tribalddb plus many more of the Internets top companies. Join us for the most exciting line up of speakers, workshops and panelists ever at IMC Vancouver 2009.

Social Media, Blogging, Email, iPhone, E-commerce etc. are some of the hottest, and most important, topics in Internet Marketing today. As the Internet grows in importance as a communication channel for your business, it important to understand how to move away of the diminishing returns that TV, Radio and Newspapers are delivering. Learn how to get your company to take advantage of this new, and rapidly changing, way that media is being consumed.

* IMC Vancouver 2009 will cover each of the important methods of marketing online in order to get the highest quality of traffic to your website.
* Learn the new industry best practices in converting more of your site visitors to: Spend more time on site, achieve better sales and user signup conversion, and better site engagement overall.
* IMC is a conference not only to get the best industry insight but also to meet and connect with those that are the writing the new rules of marketing in Internet Marketing today.

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It is with great pleasure and excitement that I announce a new Search Engine Marketing project with Banffcentre.ca to rent their conference facilities & sell their leadership development programs in Banff, Alberta. As part of my role, I will be working closely with Christopher Lamothe, Senior Web Specialist for the Banff Centre.

If you are looking to organize a conference in the nicest scenary available, you will love the banff centre conference facilities. If you want more information about The Banff Centre, please contact Christopher Lamothe at . 

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On September 16-18, Alexandre Brabant, co-chair of SEMPO Canada Search Marketing Association will be attending the Internet Marketing Conference in Vancouver (BC) Canada. Look for the SEMPO Canada booth and drop by to ask us your questions about search marketing. You will find everything you need to know about starting your own search marketing campaign from people who eat, sleep and breathe search marketing. Many members from the local search marketing community and members of SEMPO Canada will be there. The Internet Marketing Conference Vancouver will be held at the Four Seasons in Downtown Vancouver (BC) Canada, 791 West Georgia Street. in Vancouver (BC) Canada.

More about The Internet Marketing Conference experience:
Speakers and participants from Europe, the United States, Canada, and Asia are traveling to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to take part in Internet Marketing Conference (IMC). All aspects of doing business online will be covered from web analytics, strategy, content, search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), e-mail marketing, social media, on-site behavioral targeting to multivariate testing, and much more will be covered.

Learn how to acquire and retain customers by optimizing your marketing:
The program will mix presentations with discussion panels and networking opportunities. Meet those who have dared, pioneered, and succeeded. Learn from other’s mistakes. Whether you’re an advertiser, a marketer, or a business analyst, our goal is to provide you with valuable and actionable knowledge.

Newbies and seasoned Internet marketers will find something they can take back to the office. IMC is produced by experts, for experts, and for all of you who’d like to become experts. Over the past nine years, it has been held in eight North American and European cities.

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Here is another PPC learning event with discount if you are a SEMPO member.

If you are a SEMPO Member, the discount code for your group is:

sempo10

and is good for 10% off any of the ticket options (which equates to ~20% if they register for both days since we already offer a $50 multi-day discount). Every attendee will still receive the $50 AdWords credit for EACH day they attend, issued by Google after the seminar via email.

The url for registration is: http://www.bgtheory.com/adwords-seminar-for-success-toronto-2009/

The event name is:
AdWords(tm) Seminar for Success - Toronto

The event is at:
Hilton Garden Inn Toronto Airport
3311 Caroga Drive
Mississauga, Ontario, CA L4V 1A3
8:30 am - 5:00 PM

8/25/09 AdWords 301: Advanced Account Optimization focuses on best practices for Keywords, Ad Copy, and Landing Pages in addition to a deep dive into Quality Score, the Content Network, and Geographic Targeting. This day is jam-packed full of tips and techniques you can functionally use to improve your accounts overall performance.

8/26/09 AdWords 302: Advanced Conversion Optimization concentrates on how to increase your conversions and your profits! Topics include Bidding Types and Strategies, Tracking Conversions, Split Testing, and Account Organization. The information included in this session can have a positive, dramatic impact on your bottom line - this is a must attend event!

If you have any questions about this PPC learning event in Toronto, please ask Leslie Clark:

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It is with great pleasure that I receive yesterday a press release from Acquisio, a tool that I use and love, about the recent agreement with Emovendo and their software, PageVester. I believe this latest addition to their already outstanding product will put it in its own class.

Please find the full press release below.

- Combination Will Provide the Industry’s First and Only End-to-End Paid Search Productivity Suite -

Montreal, QC, Canada - August 10, 2009 - Acquisio inc., a leading provider of Paid Search Management Software, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all assets of privately held Emovendo, including its flagship product, landing page application PageVester (http://www.pagevester.com). The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We’re thrilled to announce the latest addition to our offering. This is an important milestone. Our customers will soon be able to gain control over the part of their marketing campaigns which has been in the hands of IT for so long, the infamous landing page” says Marc Poirier, Co-Founder of Acquisio.

“This technology allows marketers with absolutely no design or IT skills to assemble professional looking, dynamic landing pages, complete with forms, validation rules, and so much more. The application is also fully integrated with salesforce.com and can automatically feed it with every new captured lead”, explains Martin Le Sauteur, CEO at Acquisio.

Marketers using the Acquisio SEARCH platform will now have complete control over the entire cycle of their clients’ marketing campaigns. Alexandre Pelletier, founder and former CEO of Emovendo, says “Not only does PageVester allow users to rapidly build and deploy professional landing pages, it also supports the creation and management of A/B tests with Google Website Optimizer”. A/B tests allow marketers to present alternating versions of the same page to its site visitors in order to determine which one provides the best ROI.
Marc Poirier adds “Tweaking ad copy and bids is essential stuff, but it will only take you so far. You need to work on post-click activity. This is where PageVester comes in. It delivers instant value to its users by simplifying landing page creation and A/B test implementation.”

About Acquisio
Acquisio is the creator of Acquisio SEARCH (http://www.acquisio.com) a Software-as-a-Service solution designed specifically for on-line advertising agencies managing pay-per-click campaigns on Google, Yahoo and BING. Acquisio’s set of applications empowers campaign managers, allowing them to spend less time building and launching campaigns, and spend more time on strategy and intelligent campaign refinement.
# # #

Contact:
Marc Poirier, Chief Marketing Officer
Acquisio inc.
450.465.2631 x210

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I recently got a demo from a product called WordStream, a search marketing tool that can be used for a range of keyword and PPC management processes, and I was really impressed by its capabilities. I just want to share a few thoughts here to invite people to check it out. Where the tool sounds really helpful is in keyword grouping and organization, which is a crucial elements of PPC account categorization. Larry Kim, founder of Wordstream, claims this is the most overlooked process in both paid and organic search.

Like most search marketers I know, I use Excel for organizing my keywords. WordStream is meant to replace Excel, but it’s not a spreadsheet. It’s a dynamic, Web-based database that lets you not just group related keywords but also set rules so the software can automatically sort new keywords into the right groups as you expand your research.

Here’s how it works. First you upload your keywords into a private database.  The product offers a few options on how to do this:

* Use the keyword suggestion tool
* Paste keywords into a text block or upload a file
* Use the “advanced” options which pull keywords from your log files and Web analytics.

Next you segment your keywords down from one big list into high-level groups and then smaller subgroups to get a branching tree structure (what Larry calls “a keyword taxonomy"). Yes, you can do this in Excel but the cool thing about WordStream is that it has tools that suggest groupings based on keyword frequency/traffic volume. In the screenshot below, you can see that you can create multiple groups at once. When you create a “bird food” group for example, the software instantly groups together all the keywords that contain both “bird” and “food” including plurals, misspellings, etc. I can see this being a huge timesaver.

WordStream also includes a JavaScript tracker (like the Google Analytics tracker code) that adds new keywords to your database as visitors find your site. (It also tracks conversions.) The idea is to continuously expand your keyword research while refining your organization by creating more specific groups and subgroups.

The point of creating these tightly related groups is two-fold:

* To turn keyword groups into ad groups for PPC:  Larry’s theory is that starting out with a highly organized keyword structure makes your ad groups more likely to get high Quality Scores, because you can better target more closely-related keywords with more relevant ads and landing pages.
* To create SEO-focused content pages: Using WordStream you can easily break down the lists of keywords you want to rank for into specific groupings, and target those terms by authoring one themed content page for each group.

And WordStream provides integrated tools for doing this work: just select a group and do something with it, like publishing an ad group or creating Web content.

There are a few other features of note including a negative keyword tool for scrubbing your keyword lists and workflow tools to help diagnose possible problem areas and suggest optimization approaches. I think the main selling point for search marketers will be the ease of creating keyword groups from very large keyword lists, as well as the continuous expansion capabilities.

Anyway, here are a few links to learn more about WordStream!

* Free Trial
* Request a Demo
* Online Video Tutorial

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