• About
    • History of Dallas SEO
    • SEO Expert Witness Service
  • Contact
  • Topics
    • Bing
    • Blogging
    • Branding
    • Domain Names
    • Google
    • Internet Marketing
    • Link Building
    • Local Search
    • Marketing
    • Public Relations
    • Reputation Management
    • Search Engine Marketing
    • Search Engine Optimization
    • Search Engines
    • Social Media
    • Tech
  • Advertise
  • Email Newsletter

Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer on Search, Marketing, Tech, and Domains.

Semrush Free Trial

Home » Search Engine Marketing Events » 7 Things I learned at SMX West 2015

7 Things I learned at SMX West 2015

Posted on March 4, 2015 Written by Bill Hartzer

learning at SMX West 2015

Well, SMX West 2015 is almost over–well at least it is for me, as I’ll be headed out during the last day of this San Jose conference back to Dallas/Fort Worth after more than a week on the road speaking at multiple conferences. I spoke at the awesome SearchFest conference in Portland, Oregon on Friday, left Portland for California, and finally on to San Jose for SMX West 2015. I spoke about SEO Audits at SearchFest and then on the HTTP vs HTTPS panel at SMX West.

So, during the SMX West conference, I noted several different things. I always love meeting new people, especially those who are new to the industry and just getting started. I also noted that there are a lot of new faces. And, of course, I love seeing old faces, people I haven’t seen in years. A quick shout out to Debra Mastaler and Chris Sherman.

Here are 7 things I learned at SMX West this week. Most of them “interesting”, others more serious.

1. Gary Illyes from Google needs to lighten up a bit–and let Danny Sullivan joke with him. Seems as though Gary was a little bit too ‘uptight’ in my session today. But I’m sure that will take some time, as he gets to know that us search guys aren’t those “stuffy suits” that you find at other conferences.

2. If you redirect a URL within the same domain, 100 percent of the “link juice” and other ranking factors will pass to the new URL. Notsomuch with 301 redirects from one site to another or content on one domain to another. There are some cases where the ranking factors or “link juice” will not pass as much as it will internally on a site. If you 301 redirect http to https, as is the case that’s recommended in our session today, 100 percent of it will pass.

3. Windows Phone users generally don’t use cases on their phones. They simply don’t have the options that others have. Every Windows Phone user I saw or talked to at SMX West didn’t have a phone case. And that, apparently, is a good thing according to Duane Forrester of Bing.

4. You should make it a point to attend as much of the conference activities as possible. You never know when you’ll miss something important. Like being complimented by THE Duane Forrester of Bing.com, in front of hundreds of people. Apparently Duane thanked me for being his mentor in this industry. I am honored to have helped you out back over 10 years ago. Thanks, Duane!

5. April 21st is going to be a milestone in Search. That day will go down in Search history as the day that the first time Google publicly announced a big upcoming algorithm change, so far in advance. Mobile search is going to change on that day, apparently. And it might even affect mobile branded searches and mobile non-branded searches, as well. One SEO told me that that will be huge for affiliates. I won’t go into details here, but if mobile branded searches are affected by the upcoming mobile algorithm change, well, it will be interesting to see what happens on April 21st.

6. There are crawlers going around all over the place at SMX West, you never know when one will appear. As in the case of Jenny Halasz, who had one crawler appear right on her table during a session. It was alive, and crawling:

A giant spider just crawled across my table at #SMX. #freakedout but I can’t move b/c projector at end of my row!

— Jenny Halasz (@jennyhalasz) March 4, 2015

7. And finally, no matter how many contests I enter at conferences, I never seem to win the really great schwag. Like the XBOX One and Apple Watch given away. Oh well, maybe next time.

Filed Under: Search Engine Marketing Events



Listen to "Digital Marketing with Bill Hartzer" on Spreaker.

About Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer is CEO of Hartzer Consulting, LLC, an SEO Consulting firm that includes services such as search engine optimization, technical SEO audits, domain name consulting, and online reputation management.

Recent Posts

  • LinkedIn Links, Digital Marketing News, and SEO Questions Answered May 9, 2022
  • GoDaddy Ending Forwarding of Existing Shortened Links May 5, 2022
  • 7 Ways to Protect Your Domain Name March 31, 2022
  • Majestic Withdrawing from the Russian Market March 14, 2022
  • Sedo Suspends Parking for Domains Under .RU and .BY March 10, 2022
  • Someone Stole My Domain Name: Here’s What You Do March 7, 2022
  • Stolen Domain Name Patterns.com Returned to Owner March 1, 2022
  • Namecheap Terminating Services to Russian Customers February 28, 2022
  • Getting Started with TikTok Marketing for Your Business with Austin Armstrong February 17, 2022
  • How I Got 100 Million Views On My Google Maps Photos February 15, 2022
  • Is Google Concerned About Being Regulated? February 8, 2022
  • Podcast: Social Media Previews, Domain Name TLD Zone Files, and How Thieves Steal Domain Names January 21, 2022
  • Google Cameos Shutting Down February 17, 2022 January 21, 2022
  • Navah Hopkins Launches Navah Hopkins Consulting January 13, 2022
  • Class Action Lawsuit: Google is Paying Apple to Stay Out of Search Business January 5, 2022
  • SE Ranking Launches SE Ranking Academy December 28, 2021
  • Namecheap Releases 2021’s Most Popular TLDs & Domain Registration Trends December 23, 2021
  • Podcast: Disavow and Disavowing Links December 16, 2021
  • Webinar Dec 1, 2021: 5 Signs Your SEO Team Doesn’t Know What It’s Doing November 26, 2021
  • Winners of the 3rd Annual Public Interest Registry .ORG Impact Awards November 10, 2021

DFWSEM logo

Bill Hartzer is a Brand Ambassador for:



Industry Friends

I Love SEO
WTFSEO
SEO By the Sea
Jeff Lenney
Jeff Gabriel
Phil Drinkwater
Dixon Jones
Brian Hartzer
Navah Hopkins

Connect With Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer on Twitter
Bill Hartzer on Instagram
Hartzer Consulting on Facebook
Bill Hartzer on Facebook
Bill Hartzer on YouTube

Categories

  • Advertising (19)
  • Bing Search Engine (6)
  • Blogging (42)
  • Branding (12)
  • Domain Names (208)
  • Google (234)
  • Internet Marketing (25)
  • Internet Usage (84)
  • Link Building (53)
  • Local Search (39)
  • Marketing (178)
  • Marketing Foo (30)
  • Pay Per Click (3)
  • Podcast (17)
  • Public Relations (8)
  • Reputation Management (9)
  • Search Engine Marketing (44)
  • Search Engine Marketing Events (48)
  • Search Engine Marketing Firms (19)
  • Search Engine Marketing Jobs (33)
  • Search Engine Optimization (159)
  • Search Engines (204)
  • Social Media (189)
  • Tech (7)
  • Web Analytics (16)
  • Webinars (1)




Note: All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only, and are mentioned only to help my readers. All other trademarks cited herein are the property of their respective owners. Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement.




Hartzer Consulting



Website, Content, and Marketing by Hartzer Consulting, LLC.

Copyright © 2022 ·