Search Engine Journal has meetup! We’ve partnered with Advice Interactive to put on the very first Local Social. If you’re in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area on August 21, 2013 please join us for dinner, sessions and conversation about the latest trends in internet marketing and how they can be leveraged for the DFW market.
This week we had the opportunity to sit down with Tony Wright, real-time expert and speaker at our Dallas Meetup in 11 days!
With more than ten years of hands-on and strategic experience in interactive marketing and a background in traditional and interactive public relations and journalism, Tony Wright, CEO and Founder of WrightIMC (www.wrightimc.com) has spent his career helping businesses of all sizes be profitable on the Web. Wright is a search marketing geek and also has extensive experience in online crisis communication and brand reputation strategy, including corporate blogging and corporate monitoring, most notably directing the online corporate reputation management strategy for American Airlines immediately following the events of September 11, 2001. Wright has twice served as President of the Dallas/Ft. Worth Search Marketing Association, and is a sought after speaker at industry events, including SMX, Search Engine Strategies, Pubcon and others. Find him on twitter @tonynwright.
What are you working on right now?
In addition to adjusting agency processes to adhere to the ever-changing nature of the Google Algorithm and working with clients on the “blocking and tackling” basics of interactive marketing, I’ve recently done some consumer research into the impact of consumer buying behavior in relation to a brand’s social or political stance. You can download our “Should Your Brand Take Stand” white paper, in which we surveyed more than 3,000 diverse consumers, at www.wrightimc.com. I am also extremely interested in the evolution of attribution and I have just started writing a book outlining a philosophical framework for interactive marketing.
Where did the idea for WrightIMC come from?
After spending time at large agencies, and then two smaller search-centric agencies, I found myself either having to get a job or start a company. That was five years ago.
What does your typical day look like?
Typically I deal with client strategy, employee training and keeping up with the latest trends. I try to find time to write in my book or do research on a topic of interest. I also have to deal with the HR, Financial and other aspects of the agency.
As an Online Marketing expert, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Read. Read everything you can and learn to discern the good from the bad. Take notes on your reading and when possible, try to validate lessons learned with real-life experience. And don’t limit your reading to interactive marketing material. I read literature, science, history and periodicals from other fields.
How do you bring ideas to life?
The simple answer is just do them. An idea is nothing without action. I’ve found just taking the first step is the way to get the idea to fruition – eventually.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
Attribution and the intersection of Paid and Earned media. The possibilities are endless, especially as the analog media world becomes digital.
What will you be talking about at the Meetup in Dallas?
I’m looking forward to speaking about Real-Time Marketing, attribution and I’m sure we’ll touch on the latest algorithm updates. I’m sure we’ll have a lively discussion about the state of the industry as well.
Three people we should follow on Twitter and why?
This is tough. I follow lots of people and think everyone should. There are so many diverse opinions. If you are in SEO, follow @mattcutts and @dannysullivan for sure. Probably the one I look at the most is @wsj because I like to know what’s going on in the world. I also like @anonymous. I know that’s four, but I could as easily have named a couple hundred.
Is SEO Dead?
No, SEO is evolving, and becoming broader. Daily we are becoming more than just algorithm chasers. We are responsible to our clients (internal and external) for advising them not just how to show up i the search engines, but how to make the most of their investment. That means being a business consultant, design consultant, development consultant – let’s just say we have to wear alot of hats. And the faster the SEOs can move away from tactical to strategic advice, the better off we are an industry.
Where do you see your career going?
I think that in 10 years this industry will have changed dramatically. I hope I never get so old that I can’t change with it. I want to be involved in internet marketing until either it’s not around or I’m not around.
Connect: (how can people connect with you via a link to your site, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) Send me an e-mail at tony.wright@wrightimc.com or follow me on twitter at @tonynwright
