We are only days away from Search Engine Strategies New York and its shaping up to be a great event. I am personally very excited about returning to New York as an exhibitor and speaker. More about that later.

The networking events are first class as usual and this year SES has put together a pub crawl to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Being from the Emerald Isle myself it was fun to help orgnaize the route and the bars. Its very likely that due to the crowds it may be very difficult to get a drink!! However the fun and games involved in getting round the ‘course’ should make attendance a must. The pub crawl leaves the Hilton at 7.00 p.m. immediately after the SES networking event.

We will reconvene at the Hilton (at a time to be announced on the night) and of course hangovers are completely banned on the 18th as there are way too many great sessions to attend!! I have always been fascinated by the green beer they serve here on St. Patrick’s day.  I wonder if SES will provide green ibuprofen the next day!! I would avoid the green beer it looks highly suspect and I hear green dye poisoning is worse than a hangover…just ask my daughter - when she drinks the dyed drinks (non alcohol!) - she goes bouncing off the walls!!!

A special thanks to our client Maps.com the world’s largest online map store for allowing us to use their map making software.  For your New York City Map visit their map store. 

My dear friend Kaay Grosso has been a tireless advocate for the women and girls of a tiny village of Nawantale in Uganda.  I recieved this e-mail from her today and its message is one of hope in a place where there is little else.  Please consider donating to this worthy cause.  Kaay travels to Uganda and sends regular updates to all the supporters here in the US.  We have so much and all we do is complain and want more.  Let’s just take a moment to consider the possibility of what a $10 brick can do for the future of these girls.

Here is Kaay’s E-Mail:

Fifty village women of Nawantale, Uganda are writing “Washing Without Water, Cooking Without Soap” to raise money to help build the school they so desperately need.  What would you do if you had to feed your 4 children tomorrow, but first you had to send them to find enough water to bathe while you scour your small  garden for potatoes and greens to cook?  First, you had to choose between bathing or using the meager supply of water you have while you wait for more to cook your recipe for matoke (banana stew with sauce) in the only cooking pot you own?
 
Nandi, Martha, Esther, Sylvia and fifty other women ask you to help them use their new English literacy skills to raise money to publish their book “Washing Without Water, Cooking Without Soap.”  Won’t you help?
 
You all know me…Mom Kaay Grosso!  My Board and I are tirelessly getting the word out about this village, its desire to help themselves (even in their terrible poverty), AND these women who will write their recipes about cooking when they have no water.  Without water, they cannot wash the food, cannot wash their hands free of germs.  When the children come home with cans of water, they have no soap to wash when they bathe!  It’s a terrible, awful truth these women live in every day!
 
We need to help them get access to water, and help them regain food and germ-free security!
 
Each story brings hope!  Each recipe is a “Brick to Build a School!”  Won’t you help the women and me build the school they want?  Go to www.nawantale.org and meet Nandi!  View Nandi’s video about “poverty in Nawantale hindering education for girls!”  Help Nandi and her friends write this book!  These young and older “wise” women will turn their poverty around if you can give them support.
 
Tell your female friends about “Washing Without Water, Cooking Without Soap” today!  Please go to www.nawantale.org and donate.  We women and men can use our strength, our connection, our empowerment to boost these sisters half way around the world up!  They are writing their way out of desperation!  Won’t you help us?
 
Sincerely,
 
Mom “kaay” Grosso, Director
The Uganda Community School Project, Inc.
nawantale@yahoo.com
www.nawantale.org

This is a really fun video and the informatiton is pretty accurate too. 

Click here to see the full PPC Rap Video

This has got me thinking maybe I should pen an Irish ballad about organic SEO in time for St. Patrick’s Day.  Many Irish ballads are quite sad so I should wait for the next Google update to put me in the mood.

In this excellent article Computer Weekly explores the subject of Online Reputation Management and asks the question “is it ethical?” As a company that has handled a number of different Online Reputation Management campaigns I have often asked myself the same question.

I believe that you decide whether or not to handle an online reputation management project much in the same way as you decide on which other clients you work with. I have been asked to handle multiple reputation management projects and have walked away from many.

Many SEO’s are probably wondering whether they should they offer this service and to whom. When we are approached by a potential reputation management client we look at the facts. What is being said, how often its been said and by whom. If there is a common theme which is being repeated in many different places then that is a red flag.

In the past we have handled a reputation management project where the negative comments were extreme. However, when we did our research they were all coming from the same IP and could be traced back to one of their competitors. Although on the face of it they seemed to deserve their negative reputation when we analyzed the situation they did not. My advice is to follow your gut, do your homework, and apply the same ethics that you apply to the rest of your business.

The bottom line is that Online Reputation Management is good solid organic SEO incorporating web publicity. Along the same principal that I have of not doing SEO for porn sites - I won’t do reputation management for a company I believe deserves their reputation.

The Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization SEMPO has announced the 2008 board of directors nominee list. As you can see my name included. I would be honored to again serve on the SEMPO board if elected.

The actual voting is internal only to SEMPO. The voting period will open on Wednesday, February 6, 2008 at 5 PM GMT (12 PM ET) and will close on Friday, February 15, 2008 at 10 PM GMT (5 PM ET). The 2008 Board will consist of 13 individuals who will each serve a two-year term.

I have been invovled with the SEMPO Institute since its inception and its been a great experience to see it come to life.  This is a great interview by Lee Odden of Top Rank Blog with Terry Plank Dean of the SEMPO Institute which covers the history and mission of the institute in a very clear, concise and accurate manner. 

Click here to read the full interview. 

In a poll by GSINC  Dana Todd founder and president of Sitelab  has been voted the top person in search for 2007.  Congratulations Dana and congratulations to your favorite charity The Jenna Druck Foundation.   Dana has been one of the most influential people in my career and she is a true professional .   Her role with SEMPO alone and the SEMPO institute has made a huge difference to the industry.  Add to that her vivacious and fun personality and I think she will win again next year.  Go Dana!! and a big hand clap from Fionn and the team at Elixir Systems

My new Search Engine Watch column went live today.  The title of the column is ‘Business of Search.’  As the name suggests I will look at topics related to running a search marketing agency.  My first article is entitled ‘SEM Agency: Uphill Battle?  Please give it a read and let me know what you think.

Here are some recaps of the Igniting Viral Campaigns session at SES Chicago this week.

Top Rank Blog

Web Pro News 

Real Estate Marketing Blog

I will post a more detailed account of the session when I get back from my travels next week.

I will be doing a presentation on behalf of the SEMPO Institute in Tempe AZ on December 13 from 3:30 until 5pm. The presentation is entitled ‘How to Plan and Implement a Successful Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Campaign.’ The location for the event is SRP Information Systems Building, Flagstaff Conference Room 1600 North Priest Drive, Tempe, AZ 85281