Philadelphians just let out a big breath. Finally the stars aligned. ‘80 and ‘08

Mayor Nutter and Phanatic

What an exciting close to the penant race.

Given that the cost per acquisition (CPA) through organic search is a fraction of most other media, Jeff Quipp had this observation.

For Clients:
If Sales/ROI = Increased Qualified Referrals + Improved Rankings
then:
Authority = Increased Qualified Referrals + Improved Rankings
then it stands to reason that:
Sales/ROI = Authority building = industry knowledge + authority building knowledge

Its really difficult (though not impossible) to have real success without the presence of both elements (industry knowledge and authority building knowledge). Accordingly, it requires a very close relationship between SEO and client, and IT WILL require client involvement. The more client willingness to participate as needed, the better.

photo credit: jaycoxfilm

So, if you find yourself as a client at Stage 1 or 2 and wishing you could secure more low CPA business, consider stepping up your level of activitiy in the SEO process. In the end, content is key, and only you have the necessary knowledge. It does require your involvement though!

I always stress to clients that the more involved they get in the process, the better the results they will see. They always seem willing at the initial sales meetings, but their enthusiasm quickly fades once the project starts. Success takes persistent effort. It is not a lottery game.

Matt praises WP 2.3 ; does a much better job of putting posts in one location even though can be seen in, for instance, home page and category archive. This is very important in not triggering Google’s duplicate content filters.

Matt stressed offering useful service like a demo or other training rather than just brochure-ware to score higher in index.

If you have a brick and morter location submit to Google Local business center. Free and will bring up map to your business.

Use a site map to help Google and other search engines spider you site.

Have navigation in HTML not Flash or JavaScript. Make it easy for search bots.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gscFgaMTm48]

Luckily my clients are not members of this union so I expect them all to post more actively to take up the slack caused by these slacker bloggers. We must keep the blogosphere growing.  Long live the blogosphere.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLR4OJb5suo]

I have been using a plugin called All In One SEO Pack for several months now. It is great for optimizing your titles for search engines and letting you tweak them further, generating META tags automatically and letting you define them. Best of all it helps to avoiding indexing of duplicate content.[a no, no for Google bot]

Here is a video tutorial that explains its use in better detail than I can write. Seeing it done makes learning easy. The Tubetorial series on Word Press tips is excellent. Note especially the section on per post customization; here you can make the title seen by the search engines more keyword focused than the one you might want for the title that humans read.

This past weekend was PodCamp Philly at Drexel University. Even though I only attended Saturday I made some amazing contacts and learned a few tidbits of useful information.

I had the opportunity to hear CC Chapman expound on audio recording devices and pod-casting techniques. He is one of the first pod-casters I followed with his excellent Managing the Grey. I used to live in Boston for a few years and his show came out of Babson Bentley College in Waltham. The very first podcast I became a fan of was The Hobson and Holtz Report. Another podcast about public relations. I guess PR people excel at talking in an engaging way.

Later at the after party at Victory Brewpub I had a chat with another early pioneer, one of the first video bloggers, Steve Garfield. His original show is The Carol and Steve Show which is a travelogue roundabout Boston with his wife. Very gracious and down to earth. That was a thrill. I tiped him off to using HitTail for tracking long tail terms searchers used to find his sites. Maybe he will discover interesting insights.

Check this video by Steve with Kathryn Jones about 35, her “compelling, character rich, plot driven, scripted webisode to be broadcast LIVE (starting Sept 19) over the internet” at Synchronis.tv. Kathryn is full of energy and is excited about this production that will be filmed with three Panasonic DVX100’s and switched live with a Tricaster Studio.

The session Thinking Like a Producer by Joel Mark Witt from the Maryland Zoo was informative and humorous. Especially filming the camel rides. [Does the Philly Zoo have that?] Take aways: tell a story, create a cinematic moment(change in style), know your audience. You will need release forms for on camera people. He pointed out that 95% of video pod-casting is in getting quality audio. People can put up with varying video quality but if they can’t make out what you are saying you are done for.

Chris Penn spoke at the session Social Networking 101. Social networking sites are software tools where people are the network. FaceBook is still mostly college students with strong collaboration groups. 300,000 new people a day! Be sure to read the terms of service agreement. Most state that they have rights to whatever you upload, so don’t put original artwork that you want to sell elsewhere.

The goal therefore is to get people to visit your own domain where you are in control. Get an email address, sell an ebook or seminar etc. So SN sites should be written with slant to entice the click. For branding reasons, keep your name tag the same at all your SN sites. People may just look you up on the same term at different sites.

People on mySpace are taking their network private so can’t access unless know one of the members. Twitter is good for interaction, get known.

Spoke with Larry Genkin, publisher of the excellent new magazine Blogger and Podcaster. You know an industry is coalescing when specialized trade magazine appear. Every attendee got a free copy of the glossy print version. Read it online.

Attended a session by Apple system engineer Michael Wolf on the new version of Garage Band. When I get my next PC, those gorgeous 24″ iMac’s, the first thing I want to delve into is Garage Band.

Oliver Picher, a PR expert I met recently before PodCamp, won an iPhone at the closing session raffle. Check out his report.

Whew! And I missed the live Best Damn Tech Show,Period production on Sunday.

Other wrap ups: Indy Hall , Flicker group, Search marketing Gurus

Day 2: bliptv

1. To Network and Forge Valuable Connections

At any point during PodCamp Philly you’ll share the room with at least one person (if not a dozen) who can offer you huge value or solve a significant problem for you as a podcaster. It may be a sponsor. It may be a promotional opportunity. It may be someone you can interview. Bring lots of business cards and be ready to network.

2. To Associate with the Podcasting “Movers and Shakers”Those who will attend PodCamp Philly are “in the trenches.” You’ll associate with people have “been there and done it.” These are ideal people to learn from and make connections with as you progress in podcasting.

3. You Can Present to Your Podcast Peers

Any attendee can organize a session to present ideas and/or facilitate a discussion. All you have to do is enter a title and description on the session list.

4. To Promote Your Podcast

PodCamp Philly is a great place to pass out cards and let you know people about your show. It’s a focused audience of podcast enthusiasts. You can also find other podcasters who will cross-promote your show to their own audiences.

5. To Share Your Ideas

PodCamp Philly is a very interactive event. Each session is an exchange of ideas. You have your own tips, tricks that can benefit others. Come and share your expertise and ideas with your podcasting peers.

6. It’s Free

There is no cost to attend PodCamp Philly. Compare that with other industry events and expos which cost hundreds of dollars. You can’t beat free. The event is paid for by our generous sponsors. Please visit our sponsor page if you’d like to contribute. To register, just visit the registration page and add your name and email to the list.

7. To Learn the Latest Tips and Tricks

PodCamp Philly is an ideal place to learn how to start your own podcast or to discover the latest tips and tricks for taking your show to the next level. The presentations offered will cover the whole spectrum from content production, technical how-to, business podcasting, marketing and monetization.

8. Philadelphia is the City of Brotherly Love

PodCamp Philly is all about sharing ideas and resources and building community. That the podcaster brand of broterly love.

9. You’ll Get Food and a T-shirt

As if the value you’ll get from the presentations isn’t already worth attending, there will also be free food and t-shirts for attendees.

10. To Enjoy the Energy of Philadelphia Podcasters

You can count on a unique mix of individuals and opportunities at PodCamp Philly.

Check out this video of a session at WordCamp 2007 in San Fransico, July 21. [unconference like blog philly sponsored by WordPress]

Jeremy Wright of blog network B5 did a great job moderating a panel on blog monitization. Its 50 minutes long so I will tell you some of the highlites for me.

A list blogger Darren Rouse made $150K in 2006 from his blog. In 2007 it is now possible for mere mortals to make a living from blogging. Still hard work but now doable.

One reason why is that advertisers are moving money into blogs in a big way. Proctor and Gamble will be spending $50 Million(yes with a M) on a social media ad campaign.

He cautioned though that the average blog with less than 30,000 page views/month will not earn a full time income from advertising. Most blogs still are best monitized as a promotional vehicle to get consulting projects, a job offer or speaking gigs.

Be careful with paid links, Google doesn’t like them. Be sure to use no follow setting so links thru works but page rank will not since Google might interpret that as bogus.

Every week make one part of your blog 1% better. Try something different even when you don’t know if it works. In fact blog about your experiments.

Be part of a community; get to know your fellow bloggers especially in your own area.
Don’t be isolated.

And lastly, never lose the passion. Write about what really interests you.