Interview met iProspect's Fredrick Marckini

A wonderful opportunity arose the other day when Dave asked me to interview Fredrick Marckini founder of iProspect and very well respected search marketing expert.

Fredrick will be speaking at Search Engine Strategies 2008.

I was told he’d be expecting my call at 9pm UK time and to simply introduce myself and take it from there.
Firstly, let me say Fredrick came over as a really genuine and informed guy who instantly put me at ease by telling me “it’s your interview, ask what you like” So, I did:

I informed Fredrick that we have a mixed blog audience ranging from small businesses to large corporates and fellow Seo’s and that Dave was my mentor within the Search Industry. Fortunately, Fredrick had heard of Dave’s popularity and commented that he knew Dave was well known within the search.

"Fredrick, can you give us an advanced preview of your opening keynote?"

Search engine marketing is about so much more than paid search. In the U.K. in particular, and Europe in general, SEO lags paid search dramatically and companies are not paying as much attention to social search opportunities as they should. I plan to reveal some brand new numbers (from our business) that show the split between paid search advertising and natural/organic search engine optimization in more established/mature markets and then the same information in Europe, the U.K. specifically, and Asia which are newer to search marketing. I have some new best practices for 2008 to discuss and some ideas on how to extend a paid search campaign into international markets to realize efficiencies. I will discuss the major trends that are shaping the new advertising and marketing landscape including the iPhone, Digital Video Recorders, and how to leverage sites like YouTube to grow your brand and pump-up your other search marketing efforts. It will be a little bit like drinking from a fire hose, but I hope to keep it fast-paced and engaging.

Yahoo! has just rejected a $44.6 billion takeover offer from Microsoft Corp. What do you think is going to happen now? Any thoughts?”

I am one of the few who think this is the right move for both Yahoo and Microsoft, though Yahoo seems to be fighting the offer at the moment. I think Microsoft value proposition for a combination with Yahoo is strong. The one asset that no one seems to be talking about is the combined power of Yahoo and Microsoft’s email systems — together, they are a dominant force in email. Yahoo and Microsoft’s market share for search have experienced some erosion and I believe the two companies can be stronger together. Google is an incredibly strong competitor but Yahoo has a damn good search engine and always has. Yahoo has strength in certain Asian markets, too, that could keep a Yahoo/Microsoft combination in the fight as Asia comes online and the interest in all things Internet and search increase in these markets. I’m bullish on the union, but not yet certain that it will ultimately be realized. It might get uglier before it gets better, and that would be unfortunate. In my humble opinion, this is the right move for both companies if they have any hope of stopping or even slowing Google’s momentum.

De rest van het interview vind je hier: davidnaylor.co.uk