Day 2 of WebmasterWorld Pubcon opened with a keynote address from John Battelle, who talked about the evolution of search, from the days of DOS to the current dominance of Google.

We are now entering into the era of Web 2.0, where companies start to understand that the Web is a platform that can be used to drive business.

The fundamental shift that is taking place is the dominance of “intent over content”. Marketing has traditionally been content driven. Now, consumers place their “intent” into the search box to be able to find their content.

Web 2.0 is about leveraging the Web via new phenomena such as social media and consumer generated media to get in front of and engage your prospects. Web 2.0 calls for marketing to a conversation rather than a dictation.

Automotive Internet sales and marketing firm, Outsell, is a good example of conversational marketing in play. Outsell manages a “Live Chat” service for its auto dealer clients and consults with potential car buyers via instant messenger. By providing expert counsel to potential customers, Outsell has found that it is able to increase car sales by an average of one car per month.

This week, I attended a Yahoo! party at the Palms hotel in Las Vegas. The party was held in a private suite at the top of the Fantasy Towers with stunning views of the city and the Vegas “bling”.

As the number #2 search engine, behind Google, Yahoo is obviously very focused on gleaning information on why web browsers use Google over Yahoo.

Here are some reasons why Google is many users’ preference:

• The Google interface is clean.
  The Yahoo! home page is filled with information and options and requires more “work” for the user to find the search box. There is also more distraction.

• Google is first and foremost a search engine.
  Yahoo! is a news source, a shopping directory, a place to play fantasy sports etc.

It is true that Yahoo! offers more features than Google, but if my purpose is to “search”, I’m looking for a search engine that is simple and straight forward with results that are easy to navigate. I believe that the Yahoo! versus Google battle really is a usability issue.

The keynote speaker at Pubcon yesterday was Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, who spoke on”The Art of Innovation.” Kawasaki is a blogger and understands the lure of the Top 10 list, and proceeded to present a clear 10 steps to innovation.

Kawasaki made a valid point when he said “Part of being an innovator is being in denial”. A true innovator cannot listen to voices of opposition. History has shown that the most influential of inventions were opposed by non-believers. Most ground breaking inventions are fiercely opposed before they are ever accepted.

In 1977, Ken Olson, the Founder of Digital Equipment Corp said, “there is no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home.” Less than 30 years later, there is at least one computer in the majority of households.

Kawasaki himself told a personal story about his indecision years ago of whether to meet with a group of individuals starting a new business. “It’s too far to drive and I don’t see how it can be a business.” That company was Yahoo.

Get ready to be nickled and dimed
I was rather naive before arriving in Vegas, thinking that the usual services provided by hotels would be true in neon land. Don’t expect a coffee maker in your room or a complimentary continental breakfast. Even the hotel’s fitness room requires guests to pay additional fees. Everything is extra in Vegas; they’re not content to just take your money in the casinos.

Make sure your shoes are made for standing
Lines, lines, lines! Be prepared to waste a lot of time standing in line, checking into your hotel, waiting for a cab, registering for your conference, at the airport. Nothing moves quickly in Vegas accept your money from your wallet.

Don’t underestimate the need for sleep
If attending a conference in party town isn’t distraction enough, don’t think that the casinos are the only things that will keep you from sleeping. There’s always a bigger, better, shinier hotel being built. Be sure to check that the latest addition to Vegas” infamous strip isn’t being built right outside your hotel window. Construction in Vegas does not cease at night. If your room overlooks a construction site, you will hear the beep beep beep of the truck backing up and the rat tat tat of the jack hammer all night long!

This week, anyone who is anyone in search engine marketing is attending the WebmasterWorld Pubcon conference and expo in Las Vegas.

One of the main reasons that we attend conferences (aside from the opportunity to learn) is, of course, to network. With the new emphasis on social networking as an effective SEO tactic, becoming familiar with industry leaders is more important than ever.

Here is a list of the Top 10 people not to miss at WebmasterWorld Pubcon 2006.

• Danny Sullivan - Editor-In-Chief of SearchEngineWatch.com
  Sullivan is widely known as the “search engine guru” and a popular icon in the SEO industry. Sullivan will be delivering a keynote presentation at Pubcon on November 16 at 9 am.

• John Battelle - Chairman of Federated Media Publishing & Blogger
  Battelle is an entrepreneur, journalist and author who has founded several businesses, magazines and websites. Battelle will be delivering a keynote presentation at Pubcon on November 15 at 9 am.
• Matt Cutts - Software Engineer, Google
  Cutts talks about webmaster related issues in his blog.
• Lee Odden - President of TopRank Online Marketing
  Read Lee’s Online Marketing Blog.
• Brett Tabke - CEO of WebmasterWorld

My very first Pubcon! Despite the VERY long registration line, this conference has been a really interesting experience so far.

As an Account Manager, my role is to decide on marketing tactics that will best support my clients’ objectives and strategy. In most cases, this means driving traffic to the client’s website in order to generate leads and increase sales.

The sessions that I attended on Day 1 of Pubcon were all about tactics that could be deployed to help the client achieve their end goal.

Copy Writing
Effective copy can really make or break your business. It is your content that represents and builds your brand and it is your content that can give you a competitive advantage from an SEO standpoint.

When writing web copy, you must avoid the temptation to stuff keyword phrases haphazardly into the copy because it ends up sounding forced and unnatural. Optimizing copy is an art that carefully judges appropriate keyword inclusion and retains the feel and tone of the company’s brand.

Linking Strategies
You can never underestimate the importance of inbound links. The more credible links you attract to your website or blog, the more you are viewed as an authority by the search engines. Links are an excellent way to a) drive traffic b) increase search engine ranking and c) build brand visibility.

Next week I’m off to Las Vegas for the WebmasterWorld Pubcon Conference, November 13 - November 17, 2006.

If you are interested in learning more about search engine optimization, online marketing, blogs, social media optimization and how they all blend together with public relations, I’m sure I will be writing some posts on my findings right here.

Stay tuned!

Monitoring brand visibility is the first step in a brand protection program. Once you have identified negative and potentially harmful online coverage, how do you respond? The response obviously depends on whether the allegations are true or false.

If false or factually incorrect, contact the blogger or webmaster and politely notify him/her that the information is incorrect. Make sure you explain why the allegation is incorrect and, if possible, provide evidence. Then, ask for the post to be removed or the comment retracted. In most cases, the blogger will gladly remove the negative comment if notified of its factual inaccuracy. If you find that the blogger is not co-operative, post a polite but firm comment in response to the blog post explaining why the comment is inaccurate. Depending on the severity of the allegation, you may wish to consult a lawyer.

If the allegation is true, this is where consulting a team member with crisis management experience is vital. Always discuss and confirm external messaging before responding and never deny an allegation that you know is true.

Brand protection, traditionally known as reputation management, used to be a Public Relations tactic. These days, brand protection cannot be performed effectively without using online marketing tools and tactics.

The Internet and the evolution of social media such as forums, are making brand protection and monitoring a huge task. There are so many opportunities for a negative comment to appear and completely fly under the radar.

Here are some tools and tactics I use to monitor the visibility of a client’s brand:

Email Notification Services
Google Alerts & Yahoo Alerts
Enter a client name or keyword phrase to receive email notifications as online mentions occur.

RSS Feeds
Keep up-to-date on client visibility in the blogosphere by signing up for RSS feeds to blog search engines:
Feedster
Technorati
IceRocket
Google
Blogpulse

Type in your client’s name in the search box and then subscribe to the results page feed. Every time your client is mentioned in a blog post, you will be alerted via your RSS feed reader.

Many people are talking about blogging being an effective PR tool. The truth is, blogging can be a great component for a variety of marketing campaigns.

Marketers are beginning to see the value of Search Marketing as an addition to a traditional PR program. Blogs complete the circle. Not only can bloggers be pitched like journalists, but blogs in themselves are an excellent way of improving search engine ranking.

We are now encouraging clients to use a blog to manage their online newsroom at the very least.

Why?

Blog are dynamic and link oriented which means that they’re great for generating Google juice. The more that new content is added to a website, the more interested the search engines become. Since a blog is essentially a website that is continually being updated with content, it is an easy way to gain credibility with the search engines.