Gracious, precious, kind and extraordinarily intelligent people. A common language and interest shared with thousands of others over four days of intense action. Lots and lots of booze and other inebriates (did anyone else catch that smell from the trees near the south building at the GoogleDance?) ingested, most of it for free. Several career long friendships developed and enhanced. SES San Jose has ended but the memories and experiences are the type that will endure.

And what a week it was. Though there was a half day of the show left, by Wednesday night, after three days of meeting, thinking and drinking most of the participants, myself included, are left exhausted but exhilarated, tired in a triumphant sort of way. And everyone just wanted to party.

The last major party ended late Wednesday night, somewhere around the time publicists' researchers in NYC would be eating a pre-sunrise breakfast in their offices while reading the credit histories of the people they are preparing dossiers on. The parties, such as they were at such a time in the morning, broke up earlier than expected (as they all seem to in California) but, for the remainder of the night, 4500 – 6000 brainy search marketers caroused around the city of San Jose drunk on the communal vibe and the hundreds of metric liters of alcohol the legion of SES conventioneers have consumed. Such is the last official night of SES San Jose 2006.

The folks had a lot to celebrate. Search marketing has come a long way since the early days of algorithmic hide and seek. While paid search gets a lot of attention with in-depth expert sessions and luncheon interviews with Google and Yahoo advertising representatives, an increasing number of sessions addressed organic SEO.

And everyone is interested in search and search marketing. It was a madhouse in there, I tell's ya'. Thousands of business cards from thousands of industries exchanged hands every hour in a highly physical short-tail culture of viral marketing bugs. You couldn't turn around without accepting or giving one of your cards because wherever one looked, someone was there. Everyone was having fun, even if their conversations were serious. Except for those glued to their cell phones. For some reason, they always appear to look serious, even if their conversations are glib.

If you are one of those people who are really, really into search engine marketing, SES conferences are a literally a life changing experience. For those new to the industry, the wealth of information more than makes up for the immense expense of an all-access pass. For more experienced search marketers, SES shows are an opportunity to catch up with old friends, exchange campaign stories and spend some quality time with other people who speaking a common language. For all involved, the conference is a chance to learn and upgrade our skills. There are always several stories to find and even more stories to tell living amongst this mini movable city of a conference.

Search Engine Journal editor Loren Baker and I smiled at each other across the table, sharing one of those thoughts that you don't really have to speak out loud to understand. He and I had both had great conferences. The fact we are smiling across a table reserved by Paul Loeffier, the Senior Public Relations Specialist at Ask.com and shared with a number of our favorite bloggers who are sitting beside us helps but having survived SES San Jose thus far, the smiles said so much more. There were a lot of smiles around that table on the last night of the show.

Loren and I have both attended a number of SES events, though this was the first time he and I attended the same one at the same time. I had the same experience with a number of other writers and publishers I really wanted to meet. Almost all of them were there and I think I had the chance to meet almost everyone who was there.

Everyone I spoke with appeared to have had a great conference full of successes stories, positive interviews, deals opened, negotiated or closed, and many amazing first-impression encounters.

Incisive Media, owner of the conference, holds multiple events throughout the year, moving from city to city and country to country. The next large event is going to be held in Chicago in December with the New York City show following in April. There are some people in the industry who make a circuit of the events and, from a social aspect, it is easy to see why.

"You know Jim", Loren said, "after everything that's happened this week I'm having a hard time remembering the exact order of events."

That sort of thing happens when one spends a week enjoying virtually full access to any and everything with a too full schedule making finding a few spare hours to sleep improbable, if not impossible.

"…everything that's happened this week…"That friends, is an understatement rivaling, "Vista is probably going to be delayed again." I haven't experienced a year as intense as the past four days have been in a long time. Sleep deprivation mixes with alcohol better than cookies do with milk leaving one with a light headed feeling that simply doesn't go away. Perhaps that is why the meeting with Eric Schmitt was scheduled for late on the third day when reporters were all too tired to formulate the really tough questions they always wanted to pose but lacked the access to ask.

It all started on Sunday with the BoDog Poker party, hosted by Greg Boser of Web Guerilla. The room rivaled the grand ballroom at Versailles with a New Orleans balcony, a fountain-filled courtyard and was filled with the 'lite of the search marketing set. The far back corner was occupied by the scotch appreciation table, complete with a tuxedo clad aficionado to help us properly appreciate our selections. To the right of the scotch table, a full length mahogany bar served whatever our heartless livers desired, and lots of it. Small groups circulated in the open space between the bar and balcony sharing smiles of introduction, hugs of recognition and looks of incredulity when faced with a name they knew but had never actually met in the flesh. I met a number of people I've read and worked with over the years for the first time. Fortunately, most really do look like their byline images with the notable exception of Loren. In real life, he is much taller than he looks online.

Behind the dance floor stood my main attraction of the night, a full sized, full felt poker table with one of BoDogs finest ready to deal up some Hold-em and deal with most of our real-world inexperience. By the time the dealing was done, the drinks had been flowing like fountains and the average bets were getting a bit above our heads. Fortunately, the chips were free and no actual money was involved. Given how the game turned decidedly in my favor, things could have otherwise gotten ugly. The prize for eating everyone else chips was a home poker set that weighs in at an obviously expensive 10lbs. Greg and his clients at BoDog spared no expense to show the rest of the community a good time, proving conclusively that money can in fact buy happiness if it is spent on the right stuff in the right place with the right people. On Sunday night, Greg got it right in spades.

Monday (SEW coverage of Day 1)

Monday, saw the opening of the conference. By design, Monday's tend to be a bit mellower, allowing speakers and attendees to get over the jaggles brought by jet travel. Mellow does not necessarily mean simpler. SES divides its sessions into several "Tracks" that are meant to meet the varying levels of skill and knowledge of the 5000 or so attendees.

The Fundamentals Track covered more basic aspects of the industry with introductory sessions such as Search Term Research and Targeting, SE Friendly Design, Search Advertising 101, and Link Building Basics.This is a good place to be if you are new to search marketing and unsure of which other sessions or tracks to follow in subsequent days. Other Tracks covered; Stats and Research, Social Search, Advanced Advertising and, one sponsored by ClickZ.

A number of companies send employees from the IT or marketing departments to Search Engine Strategies conferences and these folks are usually pretty easy to pick out from the rest of the crowd. They are the ones who look like deer caught in the headlights of a fully loaded logging truck on a precarious mountain road, lost somewhere between their sanity and understanding. In the sessions, these are, for the most part, the ones frantically typing on their laptops, hoping to transfer as much knowledge to their keyboards as human possible under cramped and often standing room only conditions.

There is a massive amount of information about to be imparted over the next four days. It is physically impossible for any one person to actually see everything that might interest them. Nobody is able to be in two or more places at the same time, an unfortunate but practical limitation of existence in reality. There are however, two easy ways to deal with this problem, the wisest being the conference buddy system and the most practical being the burgeoning SEM journalism community.

Companies thinking about sending a representative to future SES conferences should seriously consider purchasing multiple passes for key employees and instituting a policy of information sharing sessions over a meal and drinks in the evening. I've attended a number of SES events and, aside from the instant sense of camaraderie between SEMs, the most outstanding feature of SES is the sheer volume of invaluable analysis available. It might be a bit expensive on the outset to send more than one person to SES but, in the long run, it is worth it. Medium to larger corporations sending someone from the IT or marketing department would likely do better sending a representative from both to complement each other's knowledge specialties and come up with easier and more holistic search marketing strategies.

Sending more than one person to any convention is expensive. For those who can only send one person, Search Engine Watch editor and SERoundtable founder Barry Schwartz organizes a small but highly dedicated team of writers to cover specific sessions and events each day. Links to SEW's coverage of daily sessions can be found beside each of the days mentioned in this article.

Search engine marketers work long, hard hours. That's why when they get together they party hard, for long hours. After a networking supper at Yahoo, attention turns to Ask's first party, held at the aptly named Club Fahrenheit, the only bar in San Jose that entertains it's patrons with a controlled alcohol fire. Ask.com is known for throwing a good party. They have good reason to. Playing second fiddle to third place Microsoft, Ask.com is tired of placing a constant fourth. They need to get and retain attention of the search marketing community with the goal of enticing marketers to become personal evangelists. As the week continued, Ask appeared to work harder than any of the other major engines to fulfill those goals but Monday night was a special one for so many people, it's difficult to imagine them not remembering Ask in the future with a fond smile.

Because of California's eleventh century liquor laws, bars tend to start winding things down around eleven thirty on week nights. That might make life easier for the police services and the serving staff but it also meant that the parties tended to end just when the crowd was just getting into it. There are a few watering holes that, for some unknown but highly appreciated reason, stayed open (for us at least), until 2 but those bars where few and far between. After the Ask party let out, a number of us found one and kept the gathering going until it was too late to care how late it was. Sometime around 3AM, the rational concept of 9AM seems too far away to take seriously. Search engine marketers play as hard as they work but, as with all things tech, a price is there to be paid, even if that price is not readily apparent when the orders are being taken.

Tuesday (SEW coverage of Day 2)

Tuesday came in like a lion, one of those lions that maul you in your sleep. Bleary-eyed SEMs skulking through the halls early Tuesday somehow managed to look, act, think and speak sharply. It never fails to amaze me how these people can do so much damage to themselves at night but still look fresh and totally together the following day. Tuesdays are a little more complicated than Mondays, organized that way on the assumption that the speakers and attendees are getting up to speed.The hallways were more crowded, in part because the last-minute arrivals had arrived but primarily because the trade-show floor opened.Have you ever been in an airplane hanger? How about Madison Square Gardens? Vast, open and yet constantly crowded, the trade show featured over 110 exhibitors and, at any given time, thousands of wandering SEMs.

This might be a good time to mention the pass system used by SES.There are three classes of conference passes, reds, greens and whites.Reds and whites are all-access, allowing the wearer to enter all sessions as well as the trade-show while green only grants access to the trade-show floor. Reds are for full-paid attendees and speakers,

whites for the press (that means me), and greens for the mildly interested and non-sponsoring exhibitors. The security team is instructed to enforce the color scheme rules and with few exceptions, access is strictly controlled.Now, as any really enterprising SEO knows, there is no such thing as a system that can't be broken for fun or profit or both. If one looked carefully, a number of green badges could be found in places their presence hadn't been planned for, keeping the helpful security staff on their toes in a real life game of cat & mouse hide and go seek. While I have an enormous personal interest in seeing SES conferences continue long into the future and I fully realize that future is dependent on raising enough money to pay the enormous bills, I have to admit my inner juvenile delinquent roots for the gate-crashers. Though it is only fair, their ejection from the learning session area is sort of sad to see.Anyhow, let's get back to the fun those of us who paid for it are having….

Tuesday is also the day most of the interviews with SES speakers are scheduled for and I have a fuller schedule than I expected. The interviews end up being more like conversations in which I was frantically scribbling notes. By the end of the day I will have gone through a full 8x11 pad of white paper.

Later in the day, I was fortunate enough to spend over an hour speaking with the ever gracious Gary Price from Ask.com. We have been meaning to meet each other for some time but the presence of a mutual friend, Tom Holt from Surfwax, gives us the chance. Tom, who had to leave early, develops applications that are often a couple years ahead of their time, making him an intensely interesting person to both Gary and myself. Our discussion ranges from an update on our mutual careers to the similarities between the various cities we each call home. As with most SES conversations, the thread often turns back to trying to interpret the business and future of search.

After Tom leaves, Gary tucks into one of the most comprehensive tours of the innards of a search engine I've ever had the pleasure of receiving. After showing me everything short of the actual Teoma algorithm, Gary left for a dinner with another search executive and I booted it across the street to dispose of my laptop and interview notes. There was something else planned for me and several thousand of my closest friends tonight…

There is one very special thing that kept the conventioneers going as the day wound down. Tuesday is the night of the highly anticipated Google Dance. A few years ago, before the advent of 2005's Bourbon Algo Update, (ever wonder how these things get named?), Google used to update itself on a fairly irregular schedule. That somewhat predictable update was nicknamed the Google Dance by SEOs as the search results could be expected to juggle themselves around for a couple of days. Being very clever fun loving kids, the bright young things at Google decided to throw a massive party on their massive Mountain View campus, the Googleplex, and call that party the Google Dance. That's how clever fun loving kids do things in California.

The Google Dance is a big event in the SEO/SEM community. How often do most people with IQs lower than 140 get to hang out on the Google campus after hours? The correct answer: Not bloody often my friends.Security is immensely tight at the 'plex, a situation that is compounded tonight by the presence of over 6000 people, bussed in at a huge expense that is merely a drip in the ocean of money this community has made for Google in the past year.

The line-up for started forming in front of the convention center around 5:30, a full hour before the first of thirty touring busses arrived. As it filled, the queue coiled around on itself, wrapping around the central fountain which provided the only relief from the heat for the thousands of well dressed people standing still under a burning Californian sun. Once the busses start loading, the line moves pretty quickly and efficiently, helped no doubt by the fact that nearly everyone in line is usually smarter than the next guy, except of course when they find themselves around a bunch of other very smart people.

The crowd is happy, satiated by having had their brains filled in-conference and appreciating the promise of full bellies at the open air barbecue Google is known to throw. Our bus is attended by two enthusiastic Google AdReps whose role appears to be a cross between airline steward and bar-room bouncer. As we board the bus, one of the attending AdReps, (who couldn't be older than 21 herself) checks everyone's IDs.

This brings us back to the subject of Californian liquor laws. No ID, no spirits, no arguments, no exceptions. Apparently there is a $20,000 fine for serving alcohol to anyone unable to offer photo ID, no matter how mature that person might appear. For the first time in recent memory, someone asks for my ID. I am more annoyed than flattered but I understand it is not the fault of our young attendants. I brought my ID with me and was therefore granted a sticky yellow wrist band, guaranteeing my right to drink freely.

The vibe aboard our bus was one of eager anticipation which grew as we slowly moved through Mountain View. Each building we passed featured a major name. Motorola, Cisco, EBay, Yahoo, Adobe, Battelle and NASA are some of Google's next door neighbors leading one to wonder who holds and schedules the annual block parties.

Our bus stopped a few yards away from the main entrance to the campus. As we exited, a cacophony of cheers rose. About thirty young Googleites were waiting for us, clapping and whistling as we passed up the flight of twelve stairs and into the central courtyard. They did this as each bus arrived. While it was a nice touch, there was a strange vibe that came with it, on that was felt throughout the entire event. It felt as if the Children of the Corn were making a motivational video for the SEM community to enjoy.

Being on the Google campus is a surreal experience at the best of times. Try to imagine what happens behind closed doors in this the most intelligent of all possible worlds. Unfortunately, imagination would have to suffice for the evening as the security presence was polite but amazingly effective. The idea of hosting 6000 people, (each of whom would trade their eyeteeth for a sneak peak at the Jagger Algorithm), in the belly of the world's most powerful information distributor must be a daunting challenge for Google's security chief, who likely has a PhD to go with all them muscles. Take it from me; Larry's desk was definitely not on the tour.

As a matter of fact there was no tour to speak of. We were able to see the central courtyard and the first-floor interior of the main building. The inside part of the party was held in the cafeteria space with the rest covering the vast courtyard.In the courtyard there was a large sandbox with one volleyball net strung across it. We had found the infamous Google Sandbox and, true to what one might think, there were about a dozen search marketers playing in it. A small contingent of Canadians, (led by myself) was looking for the street hockey equipment in the hopes of striking a quick game but due to fears of drunken Canadians on rollerblades and the potential for grievous personal injuries, the Googlites had wisely hidden them.

The Google Dance was an excellent experience as was simply being on the Googleplex. In a strange way, it is good to know that this place is a series of buildings populated by the nice, fresh faced young people who cheered us on our way up the stairs. Unfortunately, there is no one to cheer us as we leave several hours later but ourselves. Fortunately, by the time Google was done with us, we were all of very good cheer.Thanks kids.

Wednesday (SEW coverage of Day 3)

Bleary eyed and tired, Wednesday morning didn't have the energy to morph into any metaphoric animal so it lazed around until the last possible minute before springing awake to rush to the first appointment of the day. Wednesday ran a bit late all day but so did everything else.

Wednesday was also the biggest day at the conference. The day started with the banner session of the week, Danny Sullivan's onstage interview/conversation with Google CEO Eric Schmidt. (several formats found here)

When Eric Schmidt speaks, the world listens. Two police cruisers and a large police van covered both ends of the driveway while a satellite truck parked just off the street in front of the conference center. Two large black cars waited between the police cruisers as Google's Chief Exec entered the show.

Wednesday was also the day that two of my friends were speaking at SES for the first time. Most in business have had the opportunity to speak to colleagues or clients or another form of crowd. For search marketers, speaking at SES is like playing in the major leagues. The nerves generated before that last Chamber of Commerce speech pale by comparison. At SES, one is presenting in front of the cream of their colleagues, an intimidating scenario for the most awesome orators.

I am happy to report that both did quite well, as did another first time speaking friend who appeared on early Tuesday morning. As do most new speakers on the SES talent roster, all three found it an excellent experience.

Another awesome orator, Andy Beal, was onstage but running a bit late in his session. The moderator, Chris Sherman reportedly leaned over and whispered that Andy should offer "Drinks for Links" to the bloggers in the crowd as a way of summing up. He did and, at a future conference, can expect a bill for several dozen double-JD and cokes, depending on the proliferation value of this piece. That he now ranks #3 on Google for the phrase shows the link-love those at the show are happy to give him.

Wednesday was the last day of the massive trade-show that accompanies SES in every city so much of my time was spent on the floor. Over one hundred search related firms gathered with a lot of booth bling to throw around and a lot of business cards to pass out. There was no way I was going to be able to speak with everyone I wanted to but I was able to walk away with almost a dozen interviews both large and small. I was also able to have lunch with Greg Jarboe and speak to him about his new Press Release optimization venture NewsForce.

Towards the end of the day, I was invited to a dinner thrown by Ask.com for many of the most prolific search bloggers and columnists. Held at a downtown San Jose restaurant, the dinner was an intimate gathering of friends, hosted by Gary Price and the open and genial public relations directors of Ask.com. The table was a who's-who of search blogging with Lee Odden, Matt Bailey, Andy Beal, Rand Fishkin, Loren Baker, Jennifer Laycock and myself having a wide ranging conversation with five or six PR and Technologists from Ask.

The dinner itself lasts about four hours. The conversation was always interesting and stimulating, the food extraordinary and the company we all kept was generous and gracious. This was the dinner at which Loren (who happens to be one of my publishers) and I smiled at each other with the certain knowing, appreciative smile.

The Ask dinner party ended around 10 and several of us set off for the Webmaster Radio party hosted by Darren, Brandy and Bruce Clay. This, the last major party of SES was built to be huge. With sumo wrestler suits, free drinks (until just before I showed up), and a crowd wired from a week of amazing experiences, the party was in full swing by the time we arrived. Unfortunately, San Jose being in California, it ended shortly thereafter but was continued in several other bars, hotel rooms and, in the case with one group I was with, in a large downtown park. Day three ended around 3AM and for most people, it was the end of the line for the show. Everything ended on Thursday.

Thursday (SEW coverage of Day 4)

Toothpaste Thursday. Since the vast majority of attendees and speakers were scheduled to leave the conference on Thursday, a lot of hallway talk focused on the terrorism arrests and subsequent travel restrictions. No liquids, jells or lotions allowed on the plane. Everyone needs to arrive at the airport three hours ahead of schedule to guarantee getting past security on time. Rumors fly around saying we will need to pack our laptops in our carry-on baggage, a rule that sends ice down my spine thinking about how many ways my computer could be bent, spindled or mutilated.

Thursday is a slow day as it is only a half-day event. Many of the attendees have spent most of their mornings checking out of their hotels and into the airports. For me, Thursday was most disappointing in that I had to cancel a golf game with some old and new friends from the search marketing and search engine communities. Following the instructions offered by my friendly Expedia consultant, I arrived at the airport three hours early, a full 90-minutes earlier than if I had gone golfing as I originally intended. As it turns out, I was through security in under five minutes flat, left waiting for almost four hours (my plane was delayed) on the other side of the glass partition. The wait wasn't so bad though. About a third of the people waiting with me were from the conference as well and, since I was pointed towards Seattle, a few worked for Microsoft. That made for a couple of interesting conversations.

Another interesting thing from the San Jose airport was the police mounted upon Segways. I've never seen so many people react to the presence of a police officer with genuine smiles unless that cop is helping them avoid a mugging. The officer took it all in good humor, answering questions he has answered a million times before but denying anyone the opportunity to try his Segway.

Any Search Engine Strategies Show is an important event. The one in San Jose tends to be the biggest and most intense.Coming to one can be expensive but, given the amount of information obtained by attending, not being there can be even more expensive in the long run. Two days after the conference ended, I am still tired but exhilarated, happy and humbled, still delirious and slowly detoxing.

To everyone I met and spoke with, and especially to the hard working team that organizes these things, thank you friends. See you next time.