……………………………..and Other Stories

My first job in the online marketing industry was at BTLookSmart, a $100m joint venture between BT and the San Francisco based LookSmart.

I started in 2000 as the Shopping & Travel Editor reviewing 55 websites a day for insertion into the LookSmart Directory.

After a couple of very happy years BT pulled out in 2003 and a few of us stayed on as LookSmart UK.

By that time I was revenue manager and we were selling PPC links on MSN.co.uk

In late 2003 LookSmart decided to pull the plug on the London office after MSN decided to drop the deal.

We had three months to wind the office down.

Below are some photos I took on the last day.

I had the privilege of being asked to turn out the lights…….

View From My Window

All Gone

Tidying Up Loose Ends

Tears…

No Tears…

What Are You Staring @?

Time’s Up!

Dunno if it’s an urban myth but I just heard a story by the printer about a guy who was being interviewed for a job in search engine marketing.

The prospective employer asked him to prepare a presentation on “Pay-Per-Click”.

Obviously in need of a hearing aid, the guy turned up with a presentation on “paperclips!”

Wonder if he got the job?

Listening to the BBC Radio 1 Chart Show just now (re-living my youth) something one of the DJs said really struck me.

Referring to a new boy band, young Reggie said:

“If you’re listening online right now, go to any search engine and type in their name, check out their site and let us know what you think.”

The words “any search engine” seemed very deliberate as if they’ve been told not to mention the G verb on air.

Think that’s the case or is Reggie simply  “informed”?

Written a couple of pieces on the adCenter Blog and the Analytics Blog

Keyword Research Tips With Tor Crockatt

How Loyal Are Your Visitors? - Assessing Website Engagement Using Web Analytics

Enjoy!

Jon Beeston has pinged me with some UK-specific research on search spend over here in Blighty.

Good news for Microsoft is that their spend is up 0.5% on Q4 2007!

Check out the rest of the Efficient Frontier Search Report Here.

I recorded a webcast at Haymarket’s offices in Hammersmith last week:

Topics include:

• Universal/blended search – present situation and potential
• Social search – is it a serious alternative to Google?
• Social media – is this/should this be driving traffic and is anyone making significant money?

Featuring a range of industry folk including me,  Flemming Madsen from Onalytica, BSkyB’s Scott Gallacher and Neil McCarthy of Latitude.

The webcast will be available from Wednesday, April 30 at 12pm BST.

Register Here to Watch!

A few weeks back I commented on some comments about adCenter on Kieron’s Blog.

The adCenter Community Team do check out other people’s blogs & forums, as well as our own, so we can get a sense for the pulse in the advertising community, what people are saying, how they feel about our products and services and, most importantly, how we can improve.

Kieron emailed me back and asked for an interview - so here it is!

Guy Phillipson from the Interactive Advertising Bureau does a really great job in showcasing some of the products and services available to marketers via “Search”.

Sponsored by Latitude, I found this little gem by clicking on a banner (who’d of thought eh?) on the Media Week website.

Kudos to Marketing Magazine for bringing this kind of initiative to the marketing masses.

              Marketing Digital Masterclass - Search

Next week I’ll be in Dublin for Search Marketing World 2008. The inaugural conference last year was a great success. A short, sharp injection of searchification with a keynote from Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land and tracks for the newbie and advanced search marketer alike.

Chris Sherman is officiating this year and I’ll be speaking on a panel with Google and Yahoo! getting quizzed on all sorts of interesting topics I’m sure.

So if you’re reading this in Dublin register here. If you don’t live in Ireland why not take advantage of a great one day conference and enjoy a few pints of the black stuff while you’re there!

The Irish Independent have written a great article to introduce the conference….

….and not a single Search Engine Marketing Blog among them

Check out the Observer’s Chart and tell me what you’d like to see in there?

The Policeman’s Blog is a favourite of mine!