SMX East 2018: Here’s What You Need To Know
Nov 02, 2018
10 min read
Even if you have a fleeting interest in SEO, you’d already know what ‘Search Marketing Expo (SMX)’ is. If you live under a rock and don’t exactly know what it is, don’t worry we’ll give you a brief before diving deep into what this special event had in store.
So, what exactly is ‘SMX’?
SMX is the brainchild of the most authoritative and respected voices in the SEO & SEM industry - Search Engine LandMarketing Land (which is just Search Engine Land themselves but focusing entirely on SEM).
We all know how dynamic the SEO industry is and how confusing it can be for marketers to figure out, with little to no direction from Google, the exact strategies that will land them on the top of search engine results.
‘The SMX Conference’ was created to change all that in 2007. It is an year-long series of events held at different venues with an aim to bring the best of the best in SEO & SEM together and share their views about the future of this dynamic industry with deep insights you’ll not be able to see or hear anywhere else. It is undoubtedly the best place to go for some fresh search engine marketing wisdom to tackle the search engine challenges you face every day in your business life.
We just loved it!
And we dig SMX! Our co-founder and Business Head, Gaurav Sabharwal, recently went to attend the ‘SMX East’ event in Manhattan, New York at ‘Jacob K. Javits Convention Center’ (23rd October to 25th October) and came back a lot wiser when it comes to understanding the latest in SEO & SEM and the whole marketing industry in general.
Here’s what he had to say about it -
‘“It was my 2nd time going to an SMX event and it just gets better with each passing year! The industry insights I got to hear, the expos I attended, the industry leaders I personally met and the overall networking experience there doesn’t even come close to other SEO events and conferences and every bit of information I soaked in at the SMX East will definitely help us serve our clients a lot better in the time to come”
Top Highlights
Out of a bunch of industry leading keynotes, here are a few top highlights of the event that you should definitely have a look at as they will greatly help you plan your SEO strategy for 2019 -
Bing is going to be more important than ever for SEO
Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, had organized two opening keynotes on 24th October about their future plans for SEO (featuring Christi Olson & Frederic Dubut) SEM (featuring David Pann, general manager of global search business at Microsoft).
Source: Search Engine Land
Talking about the SEO-related keynote first, the search experience Bing is striving to provide us is intelligent, personalized, pervasive, predictive and conversational. And the primary interface they are focusing on is voice. With the help of their digital assistant Cortana, they plan on increasing their search engine capabilities marginally and help searchers in new ways that no one has ever tried before, not even Google.
You can read more about this keynote here.
Source: Search Engine Land
On the other hand, the SEM related keynote which was presented by David Pann was huge. With Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Linkedin, they are trying to make use of the massive social professional networking platform by letting marketers target three attributes from Linkedin in their Bing search Ad campaigns. The three attributes being company, job function & industry. Considering the fact that the user base of Linkedin in 550+ million strong, this new roll-out will put the 26.2 billion acquisition to good use and give a lot of advertising and targeting advantage to bing marketers.Also, Bing is actively working on an AI-driven solution called Bing Advisor designed specifically to give valuable insights to marketers that would help them greatly in planning their marketing campaigns.
You can read more about this keynote here.
Source: Search Engine Land
The opening keynote on 25th October was of the other search engine - Google, presented by Jon Diorio, group product manager for Google Ads.In the keynote, Jon Diorio talked about a lot of upcoming updates that would make advertising via Google Ads a lot easier but impactful for advertisers.
The updates are as follows -
Click-to-message Ads updates
- Texts that users send from click-to-message ads can now be delivered directly to advertisers via email. This would kill the need for advertisers to provide their phone number in order to use message extensions.
- Advertisers can now set up automatic replies to respond to users immediately with preset messages.
Store Visits in Google Analytics out of beta
To enable marketers to track the offline impact of their marketing efforts on other digital channels beyond Google Ads, Store Visits data will be rolling out in Google Analytics in a coming few weeks to all eligible advertisers. Along with that, Google is also releasing a few store visits tools with the help of Data-driven attribution and Smart Bidding that would help them greatly in determining what is bringing them the most foot traffic.For more information, you can read the keynote here.
Source: Search Engine Land
No SEO event is complete without talking about probably the most important ranking factor for Google - Backlinks. The next highlight is all about that and a lot more. In a keynote presented by a panel of experts including Ali Brenner (Senior SEO Manager, Sapient Razorfish), Lisa Baron (CMO, Overit) and Paddy Morgan (Co-founder, Aira), they talked about writing the type of content that attracts links and each one of them had their own 2 cents to share. Here are the types of content that people love to link to, according to Ali and Lisa -- Evergreen Content
- Content with exclusive data
- Content with engaging videos, images or comparison
- Content that has a story behind it
- Content with actionable insights
- Content with simple words & catchy structure with hooks
If you can not make such type of commitment, we would suggest you follow their Youtube channel because there’s a lot that is yet to come.
Interested to know more about what happened at the ‘SMX East’ event? You can have a look at their agenda to know exactly what happened when and who made it happen.
A Closer Look At The Importance Of Dental Marketing
Dentistry has now become a competitive industry and is a wonderful profession to work for. But, just like other industries it also has its fair set of challenges. One of the major challenges faced by most of the dentists is acquiring new patients. No matter you are one of the best dentists in the city, but without new patients coming to you on a daily basis, your practice is not fulfilled. Fortunately, a well-designed and effective advertising and marketing strategy can make your services stand out from others. Dental marketing is a process that can help dentists get more patients by raising visibility and creating awareness for their services. Let's take a closer look at the importance of dental marketing : ENGAGE NEW PATIENTS If done correctly, dental marketing can bring new patients to your office. There are several ways the dentist can accomplish this. One of the best effective ways is posting constantly on Social media platforms and making the use of local SEO to get your services out there. Another effective technique is making the use of social media advertising to reach more patients. You can use Facebook for its paid advertising feature to target specific groups of people in your locality or town. PROMOTING DISCOUNT AND OTHER OFFERS If you want to offer discounts, special offers and other rewards on any dental service during specific days of a week, there is no other better way to spread this message then posting on Social Media platforms. You can also make use of effective marketing programs to alert group of people. Undoubtedly, dental marketing can greatly benefit the profession of a dentist. APPOINTMENTS REMINDER Sometimes a patient may make an appointment on phone but fails to make it. Most people either forget while others might postpone the appointments and this results to a number of cancellations made by patients at the end of each month. Fortunately, with the help of marketing programs dentist can reduce monthly cancellations. These marketing programs come with advanced features like automatic text messages and email reminders. ESTABLISH TRUST AMONG PATIENTS The top and foremost priority of any business is to create a reputable and trusted brand. Social media is a beautiful thing and using effective dental marketing techniques helps dentists to develop trust among their patients. Post images, offers, discounts, status updates and videos on matters that can interest people. You should also share helpful blogs and articles that are relevant to your practice. This will keep your clientele looking forward and engaged to your next post. To sum it up, a marketing strategy can make or break a business, this is the reason why it is essential to develop an effective and well-designed marketing campaign for your business. To know the other benefits of the marketing campaign, contact us! ...
read more
New Office for Saffron Edge
It has been a long yet exciting process of getting a brick and mortar office in New Jersey, but we have succeeded in finding a fabulous location that is about 30-minutes west of New York City. S3 is located in Fairfield, New Jersey which is in Essex County. The Deepavaal Brook is behind us and the Passaic River in front of us. We are able to see Deepavaal Brook from the office window, giving us a nice break from looking at our computer screens all day. The Deepavaal Brook gets its name from either the Ojibbeway or the Ioway Native American tribes, or also known as American Indians. The word means deep fall though it’s just a babbling brook by us. S3 Office The building is very cozy and quaint and the neighbors are very warm and welcoming. The office is divided into three different sections, Alicia sits in the front, Stephanie sits in the middle section in the far left-hand corner (because she has no indoor voice and insists on speaking loudly even at 8:00 in the morning), and the back office is reserved for the conference table and meetings. We make more coffee than we’d like to admit and tend to move around a lot (a treadmill desk is sounding better and better). More about our location We were very lucky to obtain this space as it is centrally located to numerous stores, restaurants (many of which we’ve already tried) and we’re in the middle of a large business sector where we have started calling upon the businesses to provide our service. Our Landlord Our landlord is a very sweet 70-something-year-old gentleman who has been extremely generous. The office is quiet, the area is clean and it’s a joy to come into the office in the morning. Taco Tuesdays We’ve become quite addicted to a small Mexican restaurant with a funny name that is located less than a block away from the office, yes, we do still get it delivered. Something Alicia is very proud of since she is half Mexican! It is not uncommon for us to have “Taco Tuesday” twice a week (Taco Wednesday’s, Taco Friday’s, you get the idea), the team in India knows to ask us for things on Taco days since we’re in such good moods. Our newest mission involves finding the best homemade ice cream shop in the area, more on that next month. Office Decor As for decorating the office, that has been quite a journey. Thankfully Alicia is a natural because Stephanie would be (happily) sitting on the floor with her laptop until somehow office furniture magically appeared. Trying to decide on an aesthetic that is both pleasing yet reflective of the personalities of those who work in the office has been an interesting tightrope to walk, but yesterday we finally put the finishing touches on the office, woohoo! We have the furniture built, the pictures in frames, and the decorative pieces placed perfectly in their designated spots (all chosen by Alicia of course). And all done just in time for our first high-profile client visit this Friday! All in all, we’ve worked together to create a fun and motivating work environment that we can honestly say we look forward to coming to every day. ...
read more
Empower Your Startup: Build a Powerful SaaS Brand
According to Forbes, maintaining a consistent and appealing brand presence across all platforms can boost revenue by up to 23 percent. Effective SaaS branding is crucial for any successful business, as it involves more than just a logo and communicates the company's identity to the t audience. The throbbing beat of branding is at the heart of every successful Software as a Service (SaaS) enterprise. More than just a logo, it encapsulates a company's personality, mirroring its identity to a discriminating audience. This essay navigates the intricate regions of SaaS branding, emphasizing its critical importance for emerging companies and seasoned organizations seeking a modern identity. Effective branding emerges as the key to building enduring relationships and fostering resonance with the target audience in the fiercely competitive SaaS industry, where differentiated recognition is crucial. Beyond the visuals, SaaS branding gives a firm life by telling its narrative and identifying its market position. Entrepreneurs are frequently engrossed in the search for the perfect logo, sometimes delaying crucial components of their SaaS go-to-market strategy. While a visually attractive logo is crucial, greater concerns for early-stage organizations outweigh it. Individuality, scalability, technological soundness, and a persuasive explanation take precedence over logo nuances. Focusing on these essential traits ensures that the brand strategy stands out, resonates effectively, and can evolve with the firm. Finally, the emphasis should shift from perfecting the logo to creating a holistic brand identity that reflects the company's culture and communicates with its target audience. To improve the saas growth strategies and saas social media marketing, entrepreneurs must integrate these elements seamlessly. Understanding saas ltv calculations becomes imperative for crafting a brand strategy that not only attracts but retains customers over time. It is not merely about flashy visuals but about creating a brand that reflects reliability, value, and longevity. Components of a Successful Brand Strategy for SaaS Startups: Storytelling: Storytelling is a potent tool that focuses the brand narrative on the ideal customer, fostering a connection. The Nike example demonstrates how relatable stories can make a brand memorable and build customer loyalty. B2B companies can adopt a similar approach, crafting stories that resonate with their audience and conveying their unique values through best saas website designs. Graphic Language: B2B SaaS brand language employs visual elements like color, typography, shape, and imagery to convey brand values. Stratus HR's use of the circle shape exemplifies how graphic elements can reinforce a brand's people-centric values. A consistent graphic language paints a cohesive brand picture across various mediums, enhancing brand recognition. Consistency: Consistency across design and messaging is paramount for building trust, especially in B2B markets where trust is critical. As seen in Meta's rebranding, inconsistencies can erode trust and create a false narrative, alienating the audience. Developing a brand style guide ensures uniformity and provides a roadmap for consistent brand representation. Human Element: People crave routine and familiarity; consistent brand delivery builds loyal relationships. Discord's brand style guide, with specific instructions and visual examples, exemplifies how to maintain consistency while allowing for creative autonomy. What is SaaS Branding? SaaS branding goes beyond features and pricing, promising quality, reliability, and value. A strong brand presence allows best SEO SaaS companies to stand out, build trust, and establish a connection with their target audience. The impact of branding extends across the entire business funnel, influencing awareness, consideration, conversion, retention, and expansion. Advantages of Investing in SaaS Branding: Mindfulness: A compelling brand story expands the reach and establishes top-of-mind mindfulness. The brand becomes a reference in the assiduity, adding visibility adding visibility to the saas dashboard and contributing to the effectiveness of a SaaS marketing plan template. Consideration: A strong brand character helps overcome incipiency enterprises. Facilitates the ending of significant deals, erecting trust in the SaaS business, including popular saas products. This is crucial for gaining attention in the competitive SaaS conversion rate optimization landscape. Conversion: SaaS companies with strong brand recognition experience advanced conversion rates. Brand thickness contributes to the success of both online and offline selling conditioning selling conditioning, making it easier to convert prospects into customers, especially in the context of saas lead gen. Retention: A robust brand identity mitigates the impact of product or service issues on client churn rates. Trust erected through branding helps retain guests indeed during challenges. This is essential in maintaining a positive reputation in saas reviews and preventing negative feedback that could lead to customer attrition. Expansion: Pious guests and brand lawyers come, driving word-of-mouth referrals. Contributes to business expansion as satisfied guests attract new guests. fresh Benefits of SaaS Branding Network: A strong brand facilitates connections in the assiduity. Participation in podcasts, webinars, and conferences expands the client base. Inbound Marketing: A well-defined brand strategy attracts prospective guests. Maximizes openings and reduces marketing costs through effective inbound marketing. Dispatch Marketing: A strong brand increases the chances of entering responses from prospects in dispatch marketing sweats for SaaS reporting. Builds a more engaged followership for dispatch juggernauts. Backlinks: An established SaaS brand attracts further backlinks organically. Enhances online visibility and credibility through increased link- structure, benefiting from technical seo for saas. Defining SaaS Branding Strategy: Do's and Don'ts Name Do: Choose an intriguing and appealing name that complements your brand identity. Prioritise a .com domain for online presence, and consider naming your company after a top-alphabet letter for greater visibility. You may express your brand's identity through a consistent and recognizable tone of voice. Don't: Underestimate the significance of a memorable and easy-to-pronounce name for your target audience. Visual Identity: Do: Develop a visually appealing identity that coincides with your brand story and improves the entire consumer experience. Invest in graphic designers to guarantee that your brand stands out and does not become diluted by industry trends. Don't: Rely entirely on industry trends to develop a recognizable brand; instead, aim for originality. Content: Do’s: To demonstrate authenticity and personalize communication by putting founders at the center of content development. Integrate content marketing as a critical component of your SaaS sales strategy, using a variety of media like saas marketing case studies to tell your company's narrative. Don't: Ignore the necessity of clear brand rules while creating content. People: Do’s: Recognize workers' critical role in expressing the brand internally and internationally. Motivate and actively include employees in the business's growth path, incorporating company culture into the brand. Don't: Ignore the importance of staff involvement in establishing brand image. A successful SaaS branding strategy is built on a careful synthesis of these factors, assuring a memorable name, a captivating visual identity, compelling content, and a staff that embraces and promotes the brand's ethos. Remember to build your SaaS brand around the principles of the marketing flywheel, fostering continuous engagement, customer satisfaction, and advocacy to drive sustainable growth. Conclusion: Branding for SaaS arises as a comprehensive journey that combines storytelling, graphic language, consistency, and the personal touch. A well-crafted SaaS brand strategy is more than just a differentiator; it is a conduit for trust, loyalty, and long-term client connections. A company's strategic integration of these factors drives it beyond simple existence, preparing it for success in a dynamic and ever-expanding market of b2b saas lead generation. As SaaS evolves, companies that can negotiate the subtleties of branding set themselves apart and lay the groundwork for long-term success and resonance in the competitive environment. In summary, SaaS branding is more than simply an identity; it is a compelling narrative, a captivating visual language, and a personal connection that pushes a firm to long-term success utilizing SaaS seo services. ...
read more
Subscribe to our newsletter
Get fresh stories, case studies, and
advice
from successful creators and industry experts.