SEO for Dummies?

I would be happy to have coffee with you and bullet point a whole slew of SEO and online marketing options, but unfortunately I really don't schedule training type seminars right now because it conflicts with my paying consultations (paying client = priority schduling, LoL)

I'll be launching a new online marketing 101 site in a few weeks (hopefully with some other good news too!)

You can also read a whole bunch of blogs for online marketing:

(Mine, Shameless plug) www.socialmediasystems.com/blog

Lee Odden over at TopRank has a good list of online marketing blogs: http://www.toprankblog.com/search-marketing-blogs/

I am looking into hosting something in the near future.

In the meantime I highly recommend WebMasterWorld.com it has a plethora of information on SEO and a slew of other knowledge ranging from site building tips - legal considerations online. Great resource.

Lisa - welcome to Biznik. You have a nice website and a great idea. I'm reminded that several of the so-called "small frame" tai chi hand forms were created because tai chi guys were confined to boats and had to come up with something so they could continue their tai chi practice. That history is now lost on some practitioners who continue to practice in the same way even though they stand in parks to do it.

DD

There is a book called "SEO in under an hour a day" I forget the authors name. I read it last year and found it to be a great introduction to the world of SEO.

The book is "Web Analytics: An Hour a Day" by Avinash Kaushik.

It gets great reviews everywhere. In fact I have heard accounts of people getting jobs in analytics just after reading this book.

You can find it at Amazon here

Bill

LoL Bill, I've actually met someone who earned a job in analytics after reading that book.

Which didn't mean it was a good book, just that everyone else in the company was that ignorant of the subject.

It does have some good pointers on SEO for basic items , but is already very dated.

Very dated... and published June 2007.

Wow. A six-month half-life. That would put that book in the category of a rare-earth element like Californium. But it at least you can use it as a doorstop.

Wouldn't it be great if technology books came with disappearing ink so when info is out-of-date it vanishes, or at least moves to the appendix? Oh, wait. That would make it a website...

Heh. I'm imagining someone reading such a book on Amazon Kindle and suddenly seeing strikethroughs all over the pages!

Barry, when is your book coming out? I'm eager to get an autographed copy!

My fave SEO EXPO last year was Las Vegas PubCon. Google, Yahoo and Guru Panel Discussions were awesome. One theme was clear:

Search Engine Optimization basics are still required, but the strongest draw comes from content that is on-topic, organized and has true value for the website visitor.

To improve results, Google says they are putting more investigation into inbound and outbound LINKS to reveal the true contents and purpose of the website.

In such a competitive web market it's good to know SEO tools exist to improve website results.

This is months after the original post, but I'm having a workshop next Thursday if you're interested. Check it out: https://biznik.com/events/2008/5/8/simple-search-engine-optimization

Brian and I are discussing hosting another SEO workshop soon. He might teach the 102 class and I may do a 101. Not really sure yet :)

Joel's workshop on simple tips to boost your page rank on popular search engines like Google & Yahoo can be found at http://biznik.com/events/2008/5/8/simple-search-engine-optimization

Brian Rauschenbach's SEO workshop was really good. I actually canceled my own birthday party to attend (the workshop was on my birthday) and I don't regret the decision at all. His workshop is really technical though, so a few things were over my head. But in spite of that, I still got some valuable information and was able to use it on my website.