Top 5 Things I learned at Search Engine Strategies Conference, NY

I always wanted to be at Search Engine Strategies (SES) Conference but it never happened. However, this time I managed to get in as press. It was certainly worth driving in rain and dark to be at SES New York. At the conference, I met some amazing people including Jonathan Blum, Bill Larson, Brad Hill, Mary Whited, Trent Washburn, Lauren Chaney, JoAnna Dettmann, and Jennifer Stevens. Here are the top 5 things I learned at the conference:

1. Companies still spend a lot of money on glossy pamphlets and hand outs etc. even though many attendees throw them away within minutes.
2. Its not (always) about great content but (sometimes) about developing great network. Jonathan Allen’s video became a hit because he added 50 influential people in the video and leveraged their personal network to spread the message. The content of the video was just plain and simple.
3. Google continues to be the primary driver of e-commerce related search, however Facebook and Twitter recommendations can be pretty powerful as people take personal recommendations seriously. Btw, we bought our SLR based on twitter recommendation from another blogger – didn’t have time to search different models and compare gazillion features.
4. Personalized coupon recommendations on cell phones (based on location and user profile) is not going to happen any time soon.
5. Social Media is over taking SEO. Now, Facebook has same traffic as Google.

Here is my interview with Rand Fishkin.

* Disclosure: I got a press pass to the event.