Geek Speakers (Left Brain SEOs, Social Media)
David Mihm, President & CEO, Get Listed.org, Portland, OR (@davidmihm)
David is an online marketing consultant who creates and promotes search-friendly websites for clients throughout the U.S. and is the co-founder for GetListed.org. A recognized local search optimization expert, David serves as Advisory Board member of SEMpdx. His Local Search Ranking Factors is considered among the most important studies of Local SEO. David has presented at many conferences in the Local Search Industry, including multiple SMX Local/Mobile and the Local Search Summit. David speaks his mind at his blog, Mihmorandum, and at Search Engine Land.
Bruce Clay, President, Bruce Clay, Inc., Simi Valley, CA (@bruceclayinc)
Bruce has been a recognized leader in the search marketing arena since 1996 when, after a long career as a technical executive with leading Silicon Valley companies, he launched one of the first consulting firms devoted to SEO. He continues to lead the search industry by providing award-winning SEO training and certification courses. A prolific writer and frequent speaker at industry conferences such as SES, SMX, PubCon and ad:tech, Bruce is widely recognized as a search marketing expert and remains active on the board of SEMPO and in many industry organizations.
John Andrews, UpperLeftPlacement.com, Seattle, WA (@johnandrews)A Competitive Webmaster and SEO Consultant, John has been helping clients earn top rankings for their websites since 1996. With a strength in competitive SEO markets like healthcare information and technology, biotech, B2B and B2C, he specializes in helping in-house teams achieve world-class SEO results. John regularly consults for digital marketing agencies and web design firms on SEO strategy and tactics. With his passion for SEO, domain names, semantics, privacy, and the intersection of technology and society, John is highly regarded in the web community and has been invited to speak at many search marketing and Internet technology conferences. His SEO insider blog at johnon.com is on the must-read list of many of the top SEOs in the world.
Todd Nemet, Nine by Blue Seattle, WA (@nemet)Todd Nemet works with Nine By Blue helping on-line businesses develop search traffic acquisition strategies from both a technical and a content-oriented point of view.
Before Nine By Blue, Todd worked at Google for six years in the AdWords direct sales engineering team helping Google’s largest advertisers understand and implement Google technology like Google Webmaster Tools, Google Analytics, AdWords API, and YouTube’s APIs. He also managed the beta programs and support department for Google’s Enterprise division, becoming intimately familiar with Google’s search technology. He has been working with search engines in one form or another since 1994 at companies such as Inktomi and Verity (now Autonomy).
Todd has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University. He lives in Palo Alto, California.
Bill Hunt, President, Back Azimuth Consulting, Farmington, CT (@billhunt)Considered a top thought leader on global search engine marketing, Bill focuses on helping companies understand the voice of their customer by collecting data from various media sources to obtain customer insight and develop product innovation and messaging strategies. An internationally recognized search marketing speaker, press, industry analysts and corporate leaders frequently seek Bill’s advice about Enterprise and Global Search Marketing and Social Media strategy. He’s co-author of a best selling book, and writes a popular blog on search and social media marketing at http://www.whunt.com as well as a column for Search Engine Watch.
Andre Jensen, Owner, FreelanceSEM, Bend, OR (@searchgiant) Also known as “Andre the Search Giant”, Andre Jensen is a seasoned veteran in the Online Marketing industry. Andre has spent 13 years in Online Marketing with the last 9 years entrenched in the realm of Search Engine Marketing.
He has experience with globally recognized companies including Outrider, MarketLeap, Acxiom Digital, and Global Strategies which has given him multiple opportunities to work with Fortune 500 companies and guide a large part of in-house training and teaching. His experience and passion for teaching has brought him more into the spotlight as he regularly conducts Search Engine Strategies classes at CO Community College.
As Owner of FreelanceSEM.com, he provides Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing Services as an outsource solution for overbooked SEO/SEM agencies..
Kent Lewis, President, Anvil Media, Portland, OR (@kentlewis)As President of Anvil Media, Inc., Kent Lewis is responsible for managing operations, marketing and business development to achieve the search engine marketing agency's mission: to be one of the most respected search engine marketing agencies in the world. Current Anvil clients include Borders, Dr. Martens, gDiapers, Lucy Activewear, Moonstruck Chocolatier, Oregon State University, PC World, Planar, Trend Micro and Yesmail. Lewis co-founded SEMpdx, Portland’s search marketing trade organization, and is a recipient of Portland Business Journal's Top 40 Under 40 Award. A regular speaker at industry events, he’s been published in numerous books and publications. When Lewis isn’t working or hanging out with his family, he writes about his travels and life experiences on his blog, The Kent Lewis Experience.
Jeremy Sanchez, CEO, Global Strategies International, Bend, ORA founding partner of Global Strategies International (GSI), Jeremy is a passionate leader in the area of innovation and change management. GSI is an operating unit of Neo@Ogilvy with a focus on organic search and consumer insights. Jeremy and the GSI team are deeply integrated with a number of Ogilvy clients, including: IBM, Nestle, DuPont, MetLife, TDAmeritrade and Time Warner Cable. With over a decade of working solely in SEM and SEO, Jeremy has experience understanding the opportunities and challenges of marketing in today’s digital world. He’s worked as a consultant to dozens of Fortune 500 companies and has enjoyed long-term relationships with some of the biggest CPG brands in the world.
Marshall Simmonds, Co-Founder, Define Search Strategies, Boise, ID (@mdsimmonds)Marshall D. Simmonds is a pioneer and leading expert in the search marketing industry. He speaks at conferences worldwide and specializes in educating organizations on bringing search marketing in-house and into the daily work flow. Mr. Simmonds was responsible for building About.com into the most successful search engine optimized content network on the Internet. Acquired in March, 2005 by The New York Times he was named chief search strategist and is responsible for strategic initiatives, maximizing traffic and search engine exposure for NYTimes.com, Boston.com, IHT.com and About.com. In addition to his work with The Times, he co-founded DEFINE SEARCH STRATEGIES, an enterprise search consulting business, funded by The New York Times Company. Most recently he created SearchCLU the network diagnostic and search engine optimization tool. He currently advises and sets search strategy for companies such as Hearst Digital Publications, Time Inc Interactive, ESPN International, and TVGuide.
Shari Thurow, Founder and SEO Director, Omni Marketing Interactive, Elgin, IL (@sharithurow)A leading figure in the area of search-engine friendly website design, Shari has been designing and promoting websites since 1995. Her book Search Engine Visibility has been translated into French, Japanese, Korean, Polish, and Russian. Her new book, When Search Meets Web Usability, teaches how to bridge the gap between search-engine queries and websites. Shari has designed and successfully marketed websites in the fields of medical, financial, scientific/biotechnology, software/computer, online stores/e-commerce, real estate, manufacturing, art and interior design, marketing, insurance, employment, education, legal and web portal sites. Omni Marketing Interactive is a full-service SEO, web design, information architecture (IA) and website usability firm.
Jill Whalen, President, High Rankings, Boston, MAJill is the CEO of High Rankings, an SEO consulting agency in the Boston area. High Rankings offers SEO site audits, in-house SEO training, redesign consultations and Google Analytics set up and reporting, ongoing SEO and support. Whalen has been quoted as an authority by major publications including the Wall Street Journal, and Inc. magazine. She has also written search engine optimization articles for business websites including ClickZ and Search Engine Land.
Derrick Wheeler, Senior SEO Architect, Microsoft.com Bend, OR (@derrickwheeler)A fourteen-year veteran of the search engine optimization industry, Derrick has consulted with clients such as American Express, Capital One, T-Mobile, Kaiser Permanente, Expedia, Travelocity, eBay, and hundreds more. Now, as Senior SEO Architect for Microsoft he is responsible for developing and driving the SEO strategy for one of the largest, most-complicated websites on the planet, Microsoft.com. In addition, Derrick provides training and guidance to other Microsoft divisions to help institutionalize good search engine optimization practices. Derrick is a graduate of Washington State University’s Edward R Murrow School of Communication.
Mark Knowles, Pixelsilk, Bend, OR (@markknowles)
Over the last several years, Mark has focused his attention on combining CMS web technology and SEO into a software product. This effort has been the cornerstone for the creation and development of Pixelsilk, the first web content management system built with SEO at its core.
In addition to leading the team at Pixelsilk, Mark is President of Smart Solutions, a web development and marketing company and serves as an advisory board member to SEMpdx and Bend WebCAM. He uses his entrepreneurial spirit and relentless energy to build technology companies into multi-million dollar organizations.
Chic Speakers (Right Brain Creatives)
KEYNOTE: Jason Bagley, Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, OR (@mermacorn)As a copywriter and Creative Director for Old Spice, Jason has helped transform Old Spice from a stale, outdated brand to one of the most loved brands in America among men ages 12-30. The last 11 Old Spice commercials produced by Jason and his team have averaged over 6.2 million YouTube views each. And since its launch in February, “the Man your man could smell like” campaign has generated more than 1.4 BILLION impressions for the brand, including 130 million video views! The first-of-its kind Old Spice social-media response videos generated and unheard of 23 million views in just 36 hours. His recent Emmy-award winning campaign has become a pop culture phenomenon, and one of the most effective viral campaigns of the decade.
KEYNOTE: Mike Geiger, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, CA (@tastytruth)For more than 12 years Mike has been leading multidisciplinary teams in strategy, branding, production and development of cutting-edge new media and advertising content for clients including HP, Adobe, Comcast, Sprint, Got Milk?, Gucci and the NBA.
As Goodby, Silverstein & Partners’ first Chief Digital Officer, he oversees the production of all interactive and emerging technology projects and leads the charge in improving and expanding the agency’s digital offerings. Honored as one of Madison Avenue’s Top 20 ‘IT’ advertising professionals in 2009, Mike is a frequent juror at awards shows and a speaker at the CAT Conferences, the Clios, and Flash Conferences like FITC and OFFF. His talent has earned him numerous awards from prestigious shows including: One Show Interactive, Cannes Cyber Lions, Clios, The Art Directors Club, D&AD and FlashForward.
Julie Beeler, Principal, Second Story, Portland, OR (@2storypdx)Co-founder and managing director of Second Story, Julie is a distinguished creator of informative and entertaining interactive experiences. Having collaborated with outstanding cultural institutions like the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, and National Geographic, Julie’s approach to interactive media focuses on reaching diverse audiences and pushing the limits of technological innovation. Second Story’s creative genius of blending interactive art, entertainment, and education has garnered many of the industry’s top interactive design awards. Julie is a frequent speaker at various conferences and schools across the country and currently serves on the national board of the AIGA.
Ian Cohen & Cal McAllister, Creative Directors, Wexley School for Girls, Seattle, WA
(@cal_wexley and @IanWexley)
Scott Cowan, President & Randall Schoonover, Brand Content, The Great Society, Portland, ORScott and Randall have worked on plenty of big brands (Nike, Nestlé, Nissan) at plenty of big shops (JWT, C/D, W+K), but they prefer working at The Great Society to anything else they’ve done. More Captain & Tenille than Edge and Bono, they’re a natural team that tends to bring out the best in one another. The Great Society is a bit of a mutt -- part brand consultancy, part ad agency, part design boutique. It’s a kind of relationship counselor that exists to strengthen the bonds between good companies and the audiences that matter most to them.
Paige Perdue, Director, Digital Marketing, WD-40 CompanyPaige has held various marketing positions and served on numerous special teams since coming to WD-40 Company in 1994. Her most recent focus is in driving the company’s digital initiatives with particular emphasis on social media strategy and execution. Prior to her work at WD-40 Company, she worked in the advertising field, where her clients included: Heileman Brewing Co., Atari, Australian Tourism Commission, Bumble Bee Seafoods, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, Lightning Bolt Apparel, and San Diego Trust & Savings Bank. Paige considers herself a digital neophyte, always learning something new and rarely pretending to know anything.
Sarah Kotlova, VP, Strategy & Client Services, Geary Interactive, San Diego, CA (@sarahkotlova) A true specialist in interactive marketing, Sarah creates user-centric cultures for her agency and clients, bringing the voice of the customer in impactful ways into each marketing and advertising decision. Her objective: Change the world one user interaction at a time. Sarah builds brands and business online for Geary clients such as WD-40 Company, Hill’s Pet, Intel Classmate PC, OAG (Official Airline Guide), Covad, Webster Bank, and Philosophy. When she can drag herself away from the computer, she also enjoys travel.