The Search Marketing Expo – SMX Advanced conference took place in  Seattle, Washington recently. This two-day event, designed specifically for experienced online search marketers, provided key insights to the fast-paced world of SEO.

The Google Local Workshop

Google Local plays a key role in making sure the people in your community can find information about your business in Google search. This workshop was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about Google Local from several of the industry’s top minds, including several experts from Google.

Bing Becomes a Major Player

Lately, Microsoft’s Bing search engine has become a bigger player in the world of SEO. While it’s unlikely that Bing will dethrone Google as the premier search engine anytime soon, it should be part of your online marketing campaign. Bing is now being utilized as the default search engine in some phones, tablets and gaming consoles. Ignore Bing at your own peril.

The Current State of Link Acquisition

Link acquisition has a complicated history. Though some sources have discouraged putting an emphasis on this strategy, link acquisition has real value if done properly.

Link acquisition should not be a “dirty word” when it comes to an SEO campaign. The value of links is not going anywhere, according to Jason Giroux (SEO Analyst and Link Acquisition Expert) and Grant Brott (Local Search Marketing Specialist). Link acquisition is an essential part of improving your Web presence. While it’s true that bad links can severely damage a campaign, good links may be more useful than ever.  They continue to be an important component of Google’s methods of determining the quality and relevance of a website.

As always, user experience should be the top priority when it comes to link acquisition. Using white-hat SEO tactics is the way to achieve this.

Mistakes That Can Derail an SEO Campaign

“Mistakes That Can Derail an SEO Campaign” was a standout, “mind-blowing” panel discussion, according to Brott. Knowing what not to do can make a big difference in the success of your online marketing endeavors. This panel included many experts, again including Google employees.

Maile Ohye, Senior Developer Program Engineer for Google Inc., pointed out that the average mobile site takes seven seconds to load. When this is increased by one second, there are significant drops in page views and conversions as well as an increase in bounce rate. When optimizing your website, make sure that your mobile site isn’t neglected.

The Big Push for Mobile

“One of the biggest takeaways from the conference was the overwhelming importance of mobile in your SEO campaign,” Giroux said. “Mobile has become an essential factor much sooner than expected. A remarkably high number of visits are coming from phones and tablets. Google’s very own Matt Cutts spoke on this topic. Mobile cannot be ignored.”

Mobile devices and responsive design will only become more prevalent in the coming years. Adapting your online marketing campaign to fit this trend is essential.