What is Local Search Marketing?

What topics should we cover at an all day Search Marketing Summit at a Massachusetts University?

• Campuses are littered with bright students who are not motivated by traditional career paths. The related fields of search and social media can be good fits for students with interests ranging from statistics to creative writing. The problem, however, is that many campuses still treat Internet marketing as a single chapter to be covered in a gen-ed marketing class. We, a consortium of companies in the field of search (some small and some very big), would like to get undergrads excited about pursuing careers in search. We are planning a large event at a Massachusetts University. I'm curious to hear your ideas on what topics we should cover, and whether there are particular speakers you recommend we ask to speak at our event(s).

• Answer:

  I would address the ever changing landscape of search.  There are a lot of new and exciting ad products coming out from Google, Bing, and Yahoo!.  Take product listing ads for example.  This is the shiny new object for retailers and is already a billion dollar business for Google.  There are a lot of nuances to this product and companies will soon need to start staffing up to accommodate for the market demand.  Having entry level students that are informed in this area gives them a huge advantage in the job market.  iprospect is a large search agency with an office in Boston.  I would try reaching out to somebody there.  Good luck!