When first approached about Blue Glass LA, I knew nothing about it, only that Chris Winfield, Brent Csutoras, and Tony Adam were behind it. That in and of itself was credibility enough to attend, but the more I looked into the show, the better it got.

First off, most of the panels have only 2-3 speakers, making them more focused and less rushed, for the audience and the speakers. I am a big fan of this format because the hand picked speakers get more time to really teach. And as a regionally based show, the crowd should be more intimate.

This show seems much like Search Exchange, which I spoke at this past May and loved. It was a good opportunity to really get to know and network with people. Blue Glass LA is hoping for the same vibe, adding an LA twist.

I think this is going to be an awesome show for networking and education. Taking all of the best things about some of my favorite shows (like PubCon and SearchExchange) and putting them on the West Coast with a great crew. I can’t wait to see everyone in a few weeks!

New Breed of Show – Blue Glass LA is a post from: Kate Morris

Raven Team

A few weeks before PubCon, Jon Henshaw sent me the coolest shirt ever. I had the honor of getting a limited edition PubCon shirt before everyone else. I was stoked. Raven shirts are awesome. This one was much more so. They are always really comfortable and well designed.

Raven PubCon Design

Note the name of the designer. None other than Jon’s wife, Kathryn (awesome name spelling btw).

The issue with these shirts is that Raven didn’t make many. They ran out fast once they started giving them away, but I have a surprise. I have an extra one.

How to Win a Limited Edition Raven Tools PubCon Shirt

So it’s the guys shirt (read: Green) in XL. Sorry you don’t get to choose the size. This was a bonus shirt that was magically left over.

So to win the shirt, you need to comment on this post or write a blog post about what about Raven Tools is your favorite. Anything. My favorite comment or blog post will win. Don’t have a favorite because you aren’t using Raven? Umm, free 30 day trial much?

I’ll mail you the shirt and if you send me a pic, I’ll post it here. You have until Thanksgiving, November 26, 2009.

Raven PubCon Shirt Giveaway is a post from: Kate Morris

From @Chiropractic

I had an awesome time this year speaking with some fantastic people (Joanna Lord, Tim Ash, Brad Geddes, Chris Winfield, Warren Witlock, and Dan Zarella) and moderating even more. If you missed the SEO/SEM Tools panel, you will want to get with Jim Boykin and Jon Henshaw (preso is linked) about their presentations. Or just wait for the CDs to come out.

So without further ado, here are my presentation slides.

• Twitter Landscape: Hot Topics and Trends
• Landing Page Optimization

PubCon 2009 Presentations is a post from: Kate Morris

I was born prematurely and very sick due to my mom’s toxemia that she passed to me. The goal of the March of Dimes is to work toward identifying the reasons for premature birth and combat them. If a baby that is born prematurely can be carried to term, there is a marked difference in their ability to survive.

The March of Dimes is most known for their funding of the research that found the vaccine for polio. They have also funded research that developed surfactant, a solution that is sprayed into premature babies lungs to help them breathe because their lungs are not fully developed. They have also pushed for better health coverage for all children in the US (CHIP program) and the early identification of many diseases that can be treated at birth but are rarely tested for.

Another win has to do with mothers. The March of Dimes funds programs all over the nation to push for mothers to be aware of the risks of smoking and drinking during pregnancy, as well as the risk of using other drugs. They give out many grants to help teach women about the benefits of breast feeding, and most of all the need for Folic Acid. This product is now a required part of the US’s grain supply. A woman needs to have at least 400mg of it in her system at the moment of conception to aid in the development of a baby’s brain. Folic Acid has been shown to reduce the possibility of many types of brain development issues in fetuses.

Now, all of this is off the top of my head. I should go research all of this, but I think most of it is dead on. See I was the “Youth on Board” for the Killeen and Austin Board of Directors from high school through college. The March of Dimes has been a huge part of my life from the start.

See you all in Vegas!!

Favorite Charity: March of Dimes is a post from: Kate Morris

So if you want to know a little more about what goes into a Killer Ad, check this out.

Feel free to ask questions in the comments!

SMX London Presentation is a post from: Kate Morris

Today was the first of the two day eMarketing Summit put on by Innotech in Portland, Oregon.  As hard as I tried to talk Kate into visiting me so she could cover it herself, I just couldn’t tear her away from her beloved job and (maybe not as beloved) school work.  So please try and hold back your disappointment that this is not Kate blogging and I will try to deliver at least a mildly palatable read.  I’ll be covering more of the sessions over on my blog. But here I’ll limit myself to the opening session.

This first session was presented by James Rice and Mike Caplan of Ascentium titled “Experience Strategies: Maximizing Customer Engagement.”

They carried us through the progression the online world has taken in terms of usage and impact as well as covering strategies to manage the current climate.

One key concept that really came through was the fact that brands used to market to the customers and tell stories.  Today, the customers and the marketplace are helping to write these stories alongside marketers.  Brands have emerged as ‘flags’ of one’s identity.  Individuals use their brand associations to create and identify with lifestyles and peers.  Once, consumers were targeted strictly through demographic and psychographic means.  In today’s marketplace, where individuals have created micro-identities through their use of Web 2.0, a different set of strategies must be employed to gain their attention. And attention in today’s environment must lead to engagement in order to translate in a meaningful way to your brand/company/bottom line.

The first step to employ in gaining attention and moving towards engagement is to listen.  Understand how they want to and do express themselves as well as what triggers their level of receptivity.  Whether or not you choose to listen, consumers are having conversations about your brand, or at least your industry.  Take time to listen to what they are saying.  By listening you can grow to understand their actual needs and wants.  Another important thing to remember as well, is to listen to your competitors.  Among many benefits is the ability you will have to create a competitive advantage if you’re able to leverage what you are hearing.

The second step is the ‘acquisition of awareness’.  This can be done in a variety of ways.  One of the most popular methods currently is through social media usage.  But, be flexible.  Facebook most likely won’t be the ‘main’ social media platform in 18 months so be aware.  Advertising is another method of acquiring awareness.  They pointed out that until someone figures out how to tell a story without using the “30-second spot” that advertising will not go away.  It will continue to be a part of the landscape.  So, use it bravely, creatively and most importantly, relevantly.

The third step is to retain their attention through utility.  Provide them with value.  Provide them with a reason to look at you as a resource rather than ‘just’ another company.  Do your best to offer value beyond just a product.  Think back to your value proposition.  Where and how are you adding value?  Can you leverage any of this to become utility?

The fourth step is all about stimulating advocacy through customer commitment to your brand.  If your are consistently listening, offering utility and treating your customer well this will breed commitment to you.  This commitment will turn them into advocates for your initiatives, products and image.  Evangelism is another commonly used term for this third phase.

The fifth and final step is: Listen. Listen. Listen. Yep, you read that right. We’re back at step one again.  In order to maximize customer engagement you must maintain an infinite loop of all of the above.  Lather, rinse, repeat or so they say. [reminds me of Head and Shoulders for some reason - weird]

There are surely many tactics for each one of these elements.  How you tackle these objectives and adapt them to your organization is up to you.  But if you are listening, acquiring awareness, and providing utility to your customers, the level of commitment and engagement you will receive from your customers will surely increase.  Go forth and don’t forget to ask yourself in everything you do: How is this SERVING my customers?

Maximizing Customer Engagement is a post from: Kate Morris

Keyword Research and Selection
Large Scale Bid Management

PubCon South Slides is a post from: Kate Morris

If you have specific questions, comment and I’ll answer!! If I need to I’ll add it to the post.

Needed at PubCon South

• Business Cards (a must, kinda late to order, but you can always do one day turnaround and expedited shipping)
• Healthy Liver (6th street, need I say more? Okay, later)
• Thirst for Knowledge
• Passion for Music
• Love of Great Food (TEX-MEX!!!)
• Great attitude
• Flip Flops (it’s an Austin requirement)

Updated Weather: Average 72 for mid March. We are sitting in the 80s currently. Needless to say it’ll be warm most likely, but do please check the weather before you get here. We have a rule: If you don’t like Texas weather, wait. It’ll change in 20 mins. It can downpour at any moment and freeze the next. You think I’m kidding …

Update: Yeah, 60% chance of rain during PubCon South. Please pack an umbrella!

Clothing: Comfy. You want to look professional for the conference, but a suit is just going to make you look like a lawyer here. Not that this isn’t the norm in Web Marketing anyway.

Experiences

Restaurants – I’ll focus up North, there are tons more though if you are willing to travel a bit.

• Z Tejas – Right near the Renaissance, this is classic Austin Tex-Mex. Sit on the patio if you can.
• Manuel’s – Same as above, great Mexican, not as close, but still RIGHT THERE.
• Amy’s Ice Cream – It’s in the shopping area. Best ice cream in Austin.
• Texadelphia – Cheap. Greasy. Delicious. Texas Philly Cheesesteaks
• North by Northwest – Wonderful brewry with some of the best food I’ve had. Great sit down dinner, especially with clients, hint hint.
• Baby Acapulco – The best margaritas up that way. You are limited to 2 purple ones. Yes, that good.
• Iron Cactus – More Tex-Mex, right by NXNW, Austin staple. Another good sit down place.
• Kenobi – Great Sushi right by the hotel.
• Trudy’s – A little further away, but one of the best restaurants in Austin
• Eddie V’s – Never been here because I dislike seafood, but I hear it’s fantastic. Right by Z Tejas.
• Opal Divines

Bars – Sorry, most of the great ones are downtown – cab ride!

• West 6th
  • Union Park
  • J Blacks
  • Mother Egan’s
  • Little Woodrow’s
  • Molotov
  • Belmont
• Traditional 6th
  • Brown Bar
  • Dizzy Rooster
  • Gingerman
  • Pete’s Piano Bar
  • Whiskey Bar
  • Blind Pig
  • Maggie Mae’s
  • Logan’s
  • Barcelona
  • Spill
  • Shakespeare’s
• Warehouse District
  • Cedar Street
  • Fado’s
  • Speakeasy
  • Cuba Libre
  • Six
  • Saba
  • Malaga
  • Vicci

Tips

• Cab rides from up north to downtown can be pricey, so if you plan on seeing Austin, rent a car. But downtown parking is like any other city, sucks. Garage parking is average $7. But after 5:30pm meter parking is free if you can find one.
• For the tip above, you can just bribe SEOs who live in Austin to take you with them to cool places. Let’s see — myself and Taylor Pratt will be at PubCon. Other Austinite SEOs, who is going to have their car?
• The airport is no where near the city or the hotel. Sorry. We aren’t like other cities, but our airport does kick booty. If you missed awesome Austin restaurants like Salt Lick, they are in the airport and just as good.
• We double name our highways. Mopac = Loop 1 | Ben White = Hwy 290/71 | Research = Hwy 183 | Capital of Texas = Loop 360
• I’ll add more as I think of them.

PubCon South & Austin Insider Tips is a post from: Kate Morris

1. Barry Schwartz – Be on a specific schedule.
2. Lee Odden – resource pages seem to be the most popular pages
   • RSS and blog directories
   • Be passionate
3. Michael MacDonald – Be passionate and consistent
4. Jane Copland – Throw in something really silly aka Google One Box post on SEOmoz and use pictures
5. Andy Beal – Focus on the title of the post
   • Make it scandalous but SE friendly
   • Blend Keywords and Interest
   • Be cryptic
6. Write a follow up post on what goes popular
7. Capitalize on old posts that get popular

5 Tips for Making a Blog “Popular” is a post from: Kate Morris

Change the world with your product/service.

That’s not a small order, I get that. But think about it. What is the one thing every top SEO will tell you? Write good content, give people what they are looking for, etc. It all comes down to one thing, be the best. Don’t try to resell someone else’s product and then cry when you don’t rank first. I know that is an unfair example, but as I watch site review panels at PubCon all I see are sites doing the same thing about 30 others are doing.

How do you stand out when everyone else is selling the same product? Don’t just be an affiliate, don’t just open your own business, be different. If you are going to spend the time in your life doing something, make a difference. There is no reason to push something halfheartedly. Have passion. Believe in what you are doing. That will translate into great content and traffic.

You can “trick” the Google algorithm by just bypassing it. Be the best, change the world with your ideas. You don’t have to cure cancer or stop global warming. But when you are building your new business/site, go back to marketing 101 and ask yourself:

What do I offer that my competitors don’t?

If the answer is not immediate, get back to the drawing board. Take risks and try something new.

The Best SEO Tip Ever is a post from: Kate Morris