Don’t miss the upcoming DFWSEM meeting on 13 Jan at the Renaissance Hotel in Richardson. Our topic of discussion this month is SEO Back to the Basics. Panelists include long-time search marketers Christine Churchill of KeyRelevance, David Host of GetLegal.com, and Rob Garner of iCrossing.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of increasing search engine traffic to a web site. This month’s topic covers SEO from the beginning and our experts give practical advice on proven techniques that work and won’t get you in trouble with the search engines.

Christine Churchill, President of KeyRelevance will be discussing a short history of search along with some interesting facts about the phenomenal growth of search in the past 10 years. David Host, Director of SEO for GetLegal.com and Rob Garner, Strategy Director for iCrossing.com will cover “On Page Factors” and “Problem Areas” and “Simple How-Tos” in their presentations.

We look forward to meeting you. Please register in advance so we can get a headcount for snacks.

Register here for the meeting.

The 2008 Texas Domainers And Developers Convention is an event not to be missed! Held at the Grapevine Convention Center, it promises to be THE event of the year for the web development and domain industries in the South. Activities include:

* 4 DAYS OF EVENTS
* A BARRAGE OF SPEECHES AND SEMINARS
* PREMIUM LIVE DOMAIN AUCTION
* SILENT GEO DOMAIN AUCTION
* TEXAS HOLD’EM POKER TOURNAMENT
* NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES
* OVER $5K IN RANDOM PRIZE DRAWING
At the 2008 Texas Domainers And Developers Convention you will enjoy meeting with and learning about numerous major provider companies.

You will enjoy meeting like minded professionals from all over the United States and beyond!

Four days of fun and excitement are waiting for you at the 2008 Texas Domainers And Developers Convention.

We will be giving away over $5,000 in great prizes through free random drawings for convention goers!

Rest assured with the fabulous infrastructure and technology available to you, you will be able to keep in touch with your business while at the convention.

We still have many wonderful sponsorship opportunities available and can help you bring your company into the eyes of a large audience!

http://www.tdadc.com/

Automate Paid Search

Set up and manage campaigns across all search engines from a single interface
Create automated bid rules to improve return on ad spend without daily, manual intervention
Adapt keyword bids according to strategic success events beyond simple click-through rates
Correlate paid keywords with your internal on-site search to expand and refine keyword lists and optimize destination URLs
Improve unaided brand awareness through search engine marketing

Improve Relevance

Improve your conversion by using A/B and multivariate testing on your landing pages, banners, forms and any other Web site content
Geo-targeting– how to target content based on the location data you already have in your Web analytics tool
Segment targeting– how to create segments that make sense for your business
Email testing– improve the results of your email campaigns by determining which actually convert best in real-time

Space is limited so register today to reserve your seat.  Here is the direct link to register with the schedule: http://events.omniture.com/register/seminars/us2008/index.html

Admission is free for association members, and $30 for non-members. Association memberships may be purchased at the event, $175 for corporate and $75 for individuals.

Meeting Location

The Renaissance Dallas-Richardson Hotel is located at 900 East Lookout Drive, Richardson, Texas 75081. The hotel is in the Richardson Telecom Corridor, on the east side of 75 Central Expressway, approximately one mile south of George Bush Tollway. The hotel phone is 972-367-2000.

http://www.google.com/maps?q=900+E+Lookout+Dr,+Richardson,+Texas +75082,+USA&sa=X&oi=map&ct=title

These half-day workshops will provide you with the practice, applications, and hands-on exposure you need to become a top performer in your field.  Workshops include:

o    Search Engine Optimization Workshop »

o    Landing Page Testing Hands On: Developing Your Action Plan »

o    The SEO Toolbox Crash Course: 131 Competitive Webmaster Tools »

o    Making Pay Per Click Pay – Best Practices in Pay Per Click Advertising »

DFWSEM Members enter TR10DWF and SAVE 10%

Friday, September 26, 2008
Fairmont Dallas
1717 North Akard Street
Dallas, TX 75201

http://www.dfwsem.org/presentations/DFW_Organicjuly16meeting.pdf

http://www.dfwsem.org/presentations/DFW_PPCjuly16meeting.pdf

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DALLAS, Jul 10, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The board of the Dallas/Fort Worth Search Engine Marketing Association (DFWSEM) is perplexed at the recent announcement that Google would soon close its Dallas sales location.

“Bottom line, North Texas is a great place to do search engine marketing. We believe it’s the best place in the country to do search marketing,” said Tony Wright, Vice-President and spokesman for DFWSEM. “According to our internal survey at DFWSEM, our members represent more than $100 million spent annually in search engine advertising, and much of that money goes to Google. And while our membership is large, it’s only a fraction of the actual amount being spent or allocated from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I just don’t think the guys in Mountain View have ever been to Dallas and don’t know what they are missing.”

DFWSEM is currently the largest local search organization of its kind in the world, with close to 300 members and a four year history of providing networking and education for some of the brightest minds in the search engine marketing industry. According to a 2007 members survey, the group is responsible for the allocation of more than $100 million in search media dollars annually. DFWSEM considers this a very conservative estimate of the North Texas search engine advertising spend, and reflects a selected number of local corporate and agency spends, and does not take into account the vast number of small to medium sized businesses with substantial search budgets.

“In Dallas we have more industry leading search engine marketers than any market outside of New York City,” said Wright. “With all of the brand power, brain power and money that is controlled in Dallas, it is absolutely a mystery to me why Google would choose to close this office. Not to mention that Dallas is the absolute best choice for a Southern office because of the ease and cost-effectiveness of traveling anywhere in the country in less than 4 hours.”

DFWSEM members are proud to have worked with the competent and friendly team of Google sales professionals that will soon be forced to make the decision to either leave Dallas or leave Google.

“Our association members have worked with many different vertical Google sales offices across the country, and the general consensus is that the Dallas Google office was one of the best, if not the best team to work with,” said Rob Garner, DFW SEM president. “The Dallas Google office has supported the association and the North Texas search industry from the beginning, and their presence will be greatly missed.”

In order to show our appreciation, all current Google members are invited to attend the DFWSEM’s quarterly meeting on July 16 at the Renaissance Hotel in Richardson, Texas for a night of networking and education. There will be many search engine marketers present that are sure to have opportunities for those Googlers that choose to stay in Dallas.

About the DFW Search Engine Marketing Association (DFWSEM)
The Dallas/Fort Worth Search Engine Marketing Organization (DFWSEM) is dedicated to education and promotion of the Dallas/Fort Worth search engine marketing industry, conversing various topics related to search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click search (PPC), as well as other emerging media. The group meets quarterly at the Renaissance Hotel in Richardson, Texas, and is open to anyone interested in search engine marketing, including in-house marketers, independent consultants, and agencies. Initially founded in 2003, DFWSEM is the oldest and longest running local search engine marketing group/meetup in the country. Member agencies include DexterityMedia, Vizion Interactive, iCrossing, Range Online Media, Key Relevance, MarketNet, AffGoo, Creative Support, Did-it, SearchDex, WrightIMC, and Bridgepose.

Past presenters to the DFWSEM Association include Google, MSN, Idearc Superpages.com, ClickTracks, MIVA, Business.com, The Dallas Morning News, Dan Thies, AffGoo, Stephen Malouf, WebTrends, Catherine Seda / Seda Communications, Shari Thurow / Grantastic Designs, Vizion Interactive, Agency.com, ClickAssurance, iMediaConnection, and many others. The DFW SEM Association welcomes requests to speak to the group at info@dfwsem.org.

Sponsorships
DFWSEM is sponsored by LeadMaverick ( www.leadmaverick). For additional sponsorship opportunities, see below.

DFWSEM on LinkedIn
You’re invited to join our group on LinkedIn. Open to members and non-members. Click the link below to join. (open to all DFW area professionals interested in SEM). http://www.linkedin.com/ groupInvitation?groupID=51948&sharedKey=5251E65726B4. (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser’s address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)

Joining DFWSEM
Corporate memberships are $175 for the first year and include three seats to monthly DFWSEM meetings, and individual DFWSEM memberships are $75 for the first year. Additional seats for a Corporate membership are $50/year. For more information, visit http://blog.dfwsem.org.

The DFWSEM Association also maintains a blog to keep members and non-members informed of upcoming events. Visit http://blog.dfwsem.org for more information.

Sponsoring DFWSEM
DFWSEM Association members cumulatively represent over $100,000,000 in annual search engine ad spend, and sponsorship is a great way to get your message in front of this group of decision makers and key influencers. To find out how to sponsor a monthly meeting or other opportunity, contact Tony Wright at tony.wright@wrightimc.com.

DFWSEM Association Board of Directors
President, Rob Garner, iCrossing; Vice President, Tony Wright, WrightIMC; Chairperson, Christine Churchill, KeyRelevance; Vice Chairman, Web, Bill Hartzer, Vizion Interactive; Secretary, Jeff Martin, CardsDirect.com;; Vice Chairman, Mark Jackson, Vizion Interactive; Vice Chairman, Dan Sturdivant, The Leadstream; Vice Chairman, John Bagwell, Bagwell Marketing.

DFWSEM Speakers Bureau
Many members of DFWSEM are actively speaking at various interactive marketing conferences, including SMX, Search Engine Strategies, ad:tech, and WebmasterWorld, among many others. If you are looking for someone to speak about search engine marketing related topics, or would like to interview a member, feel free to contact the group for more information at 214.210.6793.
SOURCE: Dallas/Fort Worth Search Engine Marketing Association

WrightIMC for DFWSEM
Tony Wright, 972-516-3853
tony.wright@wrightimc.com
www.dfwsem.org

You may still nominate board volunteers who are not currently dues paying members  – all they have to do is pay their dues to take their board seat upon confirmation.

We will be accepting nominations via email at rob [DOT] garner AT icrossing  [DOT] com until the end of the day, July 14, 2008. Once the volunteer board is determined, the elected board members will vote on roles at a separate board meeting.

Thank you for your continued support of DFW SEM. Let me know if you have any questions, or need additional information.

Rob