It’s been nearly a month since I attended the PPC Summit (www.ppcsummit.com) in Los Angeles, but I wanted to write about it since the early bird deadline for the San Francisco conference is only two weeks away. This was my first industry conference and I’m extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to attend.
The two-day conference discusses paid search only and promises that attendees will “Make More Money with Pay Per Click.” This focus provides a clear directive for presenters and attendees alike: come ready to explore the capabilities and practicalities of paid search. In addition to knowledge gleaned from the workshops and panels, I came home with two thick manuals of presenter-provided slides and additional notes (so I can learn from the sessions I didn’t get to attend!) and an enthusiasm for the possibilities of the paid side of SEM.
One of the best elements was the mix of attendees: it was a fairly even split between in house advertisers and agencies. This made the agency presenters much more willing to share the secrets of their own successes. I’m told that at agency-only events, it’s nearly impossible to get attendees to share tricks and tips. Having access to case study examples that back up the effectiveness of the tips made it much easier to sell once I was back in the office.
Most of the sessions were workshops and the panels I attended were light on the presentation and heavy on audience participation. Being able to hear practical applications and discussions of actual problems and solutions was well worth the expense associated with the conference and having to be away from my family for several days. Not that the event was perfect. I would like to see some more intermediate and advanced discussion of a few topics that were only featured on the beginner track. I’d also like a more detailed look into subjects like reporting which were only touched on as part of other subjects. With an expanded schedule already in the works for 2008, I’m sure some of those topics will be addressed eventually.
Ultimately what matters is that I learned a lot, I came home eager to test the new tactics and strategies, and I got excited about paid search in a way I didn’t expect. As for the testing, while still too early to tell in some instances, most of the things that can be tested have improved the campaign performance for our clients.
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