Eric Odom

I’ll be attending Search Engine Strategies here in Chicago on December 3-6. This is the first time I’ve gotten the chance to attend an SES, so I plan to milk it for all it’s worth.

The entire event is loaded with good content and a lot of chances to interact with others in the industry, but there are several events that I look forward to the most.

Seth Godin will be speaking on Tuesday morning (we also get a free copy of his book, Meatball Sundae), so that slot is certainly a “can’t miss it” kind of thing. I also plan on attending the following.

The Human Equation: Giving Back Internet Style
The World Wide Web has changed how we do everything, including give back to our fellow man. What does the nonprofit world look like in the Web 2.0 world? Technology has grown by leaps and bounds since the dawn of the internet as a communication vehicle. It has changed the way we give back, communicate with our constituents and provided a means for creating a platform for the community to support itself. Learn from experts in the space about the latest developments in community and technology for the non-profit sector.
Moderator:
* Greg Jarboe, President and Co-Founder, SEO-PR
Speakers:
* Darian Rodriguez Heyman, Executive Director, Craigslist Foundation
* Ben Rattray, Founder & CEO, Change.org
* Nan Dawkins, Founder, RedBoots Digital, Serengeti Communications
* Angela Siefer, Executive Director, Grassroots.org

Orion Panel: Universal, Blended and Vertical Search
Search result multiplicity is not a new phenomenon, but recent advancements will guarantee the world of search and marketing will be changing forever. Before you attend this week’s optimization and best practices sessions, hear from industry gurus about how search, marketing and information seeking is changing the industry that follows the search.
Moderators:
* Kevin Ryan, Vice President, Global Content Director, Search Engine Strategies and Search Engine Watch
* Kevin Heisler, Executive Editor, Search Engine Watch
Speakers:
* Mike Grehan, Founder and CEO, Searchvisible Ltd.
* Andrew Goodman, Principal, Page Zero Media
* Brad Goldberg, GM, Search Business Group, Microsoft Corporation
* James Lamberti, Senior Vice President, Search and Media, comScore, Inc
* Jim Müller, Tech Lead, Universal Search, Google

Organic Listings Forum
Pose questions to our panel of experts about free “organic” listing issues, plus participate in this session that allows the audience to share tips, tools and techniques. There’s no set agenda, so this is an ideal session to discuss any major recent changes with organic listings.
Moderator:
* Danny Sullivan, Editor-In-Chief, SearchEngineLand.com
Speakers:
* Mike Grehan, Founder and CEO, Searchvisible Ltd.
* Mark J. Rosenberg, Esq., Sills, Cummis, Epstein & Gross P.C
* Erica Schmidt, Global Director of Search, iProspect

Big Site, Big Search
How do you cope with doing search engine optimization for a company with tens of divisions, hundreds of products, thousands of web pages and seemingly no way to bring order to the chaos? Where do you begin with the SEO process? This panel looks at problems and solutions unique to those running big sites or from big companies and brands.
Introduction by:
* Kevin Ryan, Vice President, Global Content Director, Search Engine Strategies and Search Engine Watch
Speakers:
* Bill Hunt, CEO, Global Strategies International
* Amanda Evans, Senior Search Consultant, WebMama.com, Inc.
* Olivier Lemaignen, Group Manager, Global Search Marketing, Intuit
* Randy Peterson, Search Marketing Innovation Manager, Procter and Gamble

Sitemaps: Oversold, Misused or On The Money?
When Sitemaps were launched, they were touted and hailed as the tool for submissions. This panel composed of SEOs and search engine representatives will examine the promise and the delivery on it from two perspectives.
Moderator:
* Danny Sullivan, Editor-In-Chief, SearchEngineLand.com
Speakers:
* Amanda Watlington, Owner, Searching for Profit
* Vivek Pathak, Infrastructure Product Manager, Ask.com
* Jeremy Clem, Manager, Natural Search, DoubleClick Performics
* Trevor Foucher, Google

SEO & Development - Get It Together!
In this session you will learn why your Web development and marketing teams need to make nice. The audience will hear first-hand from a firm performing development and SEO under one roof. The discussion will include the client advantages/challenges presented.
Moderator:
* Chris Boggs, Manager, Search Engine Optimization, eMergent Marketing/BRULANT, Inc.
Speakers:
* Geoff Karcher, President/Owner, The Karcher Group
* Sage Lewis, President, SageRock.com
* Colton Perry, SVP of Technology, NetPlus Marketing

CSS, AJAX, Web 2.0 & Search Engines
As the web moves into its second generation, sites are making more use of CSS, AJAX and other advanced and interactive design techniques. But how are the largely Web 1.0 search engines reacting to these, from an SEO perspective. This session explores issues and solutions.
Moderator:
* Anne Kennedy, Manager, Managing Partner, Beyond Ink
Speakers:
* Shari Thurow, Founder and SEO Director, Omni Marketing Interactive
* Shyam Jayaraman, Software Engineer, Infrastructure, Google
* Eric Richmond, VP, SEO/Technology, 360i
* Vivek Pathak, Infrastructure Product Manager, Ask.com

Images and Search Engines
Now that paid search has become an integral component of the marketing mix, marketing managers need to plan for the impact it will have on other media such as television, direct mail, websites and email. In the session the audience will hear real world examples of hoe SEM can successfully intersect with traditional media as well as its impact on website design and market intelligence gathering.
Moderator:
* Anne Kennedy, Manager, Managing Partner, Beyond Ink
Speakers:
* Liana Evans, Director of Internet Marketing, KeyRelevance
* Shari Thurow, Founder and SEO Director, Omni Marketing Interactive
* Chris Silver Smith, Lead Search Strategist, Netconcepts, LLC

I’ll stop in to a few other areas as well, and I’ll certainly spend some time in the expo hall. But for now the above is the basic game plan.

Can’t wait!

-Eric Odom