Pubcon, the search marketing event of the year, is happy to announce Hard Rock Hotel & Casino as

the officially recommended conference hotel for Pubcon Las Vegas 2013, which takes place at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

 

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is one of the most exciting full-featured resorts in Las Vegas, offering excellent amenities and a prime location in the heart of the entertainment capital of the world, and we’re delighted to select it as the recommended conference hotel of Pubcon Las Vegas 2013.

 

Pubcon attendees will find plenty of top caliber after-hours hangouts in Hard Rock’s wide variety of lounges and nightclubs, including its famous Center Bar and new Luxe Bar, and with nearly a dozen fine restaurants on-site, Hard Rock will be the official place for attendees to congregate and network after daytime events conclude and the Las Vegas nights heat up. The Hard Rock is also right next to the popular Hard Rock Cafe and to the Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas venue, where a number of successful past Pubcon networking events have been held over the years.

 

GET TO KNOW THE HARD ROCK HOTEL & CASINO BEFORE PUBCON LAS VEGAS 2013

 

 

Low reservation pricing and high quality rooms and rock-star suites are a trademark at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 attendees can book a wide range of accommodations either directly at the Hard Rock website or through numerous online travel-booking firms such as Expedia, Hotwire, Orbitz, Kayak (founded by Pubcon Hawaii 2012 keynote speaker Terry Jones), Hotels.com, Priceline, and others. The present hotel room landscape in Las Vegas makes booking with one of these firms or directly with Hard Rock the best way to get the lowest possible reservation rates, even better than any set price we could arrange.

 

In the past Pubcon Las Vegas has partnered with many top hotels to offer accommodations to attendees, including Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel, and the Las Vegas Hilton. For 2013 we’re happy to select Hard Rock Hotel & Casino as the official recommended hotel for Pubcon Las Vegas, which takes place during the week of October 21 – 25 at the massive Las Vegas Convention Center south halls.

 

Hard Rock’s 26 lush acres offer Pubcon attendees fantastic pools, the Reliquary spa and salon, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a variety of excellent shopping opportunities, and more than 1,500 rooms and luxury suites.

 

RECOMMENDED PUBCON LAS VEGAS 2013 CONFERENCE HOTEL

 

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
4455 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89169
(Google Map) (Bing Map) (MapQuest Map) (Wikipedia) (Vegas.com) (Hard Rock Property Map)

 

There are numerous taxi, shuttle, limousine, and car-for-hire options available to get from Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport to Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and we’ll be providing details here on the Pubcon blog in the coming weeks.

 

Pubcon Las Vegas 2013, the premier social media and optimization conference, looks forward to seeing you this October 21 – 25 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and at our official recommended hotel, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

 

Thanks,
Lane R. Ellis
Lead Editor
Team Pubcon

 

RELATED HARD ROCK CONTENT:

• Hard Rock Hotel and Casino website


Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

• Property Map
• Hard Rock on Facebook
• @hardrockhotellv on Twitter
• Hard Rock YouTube Channel
• Instagram Page
• Wikipedia Entry
• Vegas.com Entry

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Speaking opportunities are filling fast for Pubcon Las Vegas 2013, the search marketing event of the year, since we began accepting proposals from prospective speakers at the beginning of April, however there’s still time left to submit your own proposal if you act soon.

 

We are still accepting speaking proposals for Pubcon Las Vegas 2013, the premier social media and optimization conference, expected to be the largest and most well-attended Pubcon ever.

 

If you are a top-notch search, digital marketing, or social media speaker and would like to take part in a plenary session during Pubcon Las Vegas 2013, please use our handy session proposal utility and submit your speaking proposal for one of the world’s largest technology conferences:

 

http://www.pubcon.com/session-proposal.cgi

 

If you know of excellent speakers who would be a good fit for Pubcon Las Vegas 2013′s more than

130 search and social media sessions, please also let them know that we are still accepting session proposals.

 

Do you have a speaker you’d like to see at Pubcon Las Vegas 2013? Please let us know who you’d like to see this October in sunny Las Vegas at Pubcon, the center of the social media, digital marketing, and optimization universe.

 

For over a decade Pubcon has had the honor of featuring an impressive number of the best technology speakers, a strong and vibrant history that continued in full force at last year’s wildly successful Pubcon Las Vegas event, for which we received over 500 fine speaking proposals from which more than 200 were chosen for the more than 130 sessions in ten tracks that we had simultaneous on tap.

 

Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 will once again feature at least as many full sub-conference tracks filled

with cutting-edge sessions highlighting hundreds of the world’s best technology speakers. Even with more sub-conference tracks than other conferences typically offer, with the huge number of speaking proposals we regularly receive, we unfortunately have to turn away speakers who don’t get their proposals in early for Pubcon Las Vegas.

 

Submit your speaking proposal soon for Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 and ensure yourself the best chance of being chosen for a session at the world’s top new media and optimization conference this October in Las Vegas.

 

Because of the overwhelming number of speaking proposals we have had over the past several years,

Pubcon sessions have become hot ticket items, as the Pubcon agenda continues to lead the way for search and social media innovators, having grown on a steadily-built reputation as an important conference that both speakers and attendees enjoy and learn from.

 

If you are new to Pubcon and wondering if your speaking talents will fit in with our attendees, take a look at the list of our previous speakers, keynote speakers, and read our testimonials and conference wrap-up pages.

 

Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 on October 21 – 25 will be the largest and most energetic gathering of professional social media, search, and digital marketing business innovators we’ve ever assembled, and we look forward to hearing from experienced Pubcon speakers and first-timers alike before we stop accepting proposals.

 

Thanks,
Lane R. Ellis
Lead Editor
Team Pubcon

 

Related Information:

• Submit a speaker proposal for Pubcon Las Vegas 2013
• About Pubcon Las Vegas 2013

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Registration is now open for Pubcon Las Vegas 2013, the search marketing event of the year, which will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center, including at least one full day of a new Pubcon Masters Group professional intensive training program.

 

Expected to be one of the biggest, busiest and best weeks of search and new media ever, topping even Pubcon’s record-setting 2012 Las Vegas event, Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 — the premier social media and optimization conference — will bring together more great speakers, more cutting-edge sessions, more social media nightlife, a greater variety of tracks, and even more major industry exhibitors.

 

“Pubcon Las Vegas 2013, including our double Platinum sponsor Internet Marketing Ninjas, is going to be the biggest and most exciting gathering of new media and optimization trailblazers that we’ve ever put together, and we’re delighted to open registration today for the largest Pubcon ever at some of the fairest early-bird discount rates available,” Pubcon founder and chief executive Brett Tabke said.

 

Join thousands of the savviest new media innovators who will descend on Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 and make it the center of the social media universe for a full week this October 21 – 25, filling the massive Las Vegas Convention Center south halls.

 

Pubcon is famous for groundbreaking keynotes from social media stars such as Google fellow Amit Singhal and head quality control engineer Matt Cutts,  Emmy award-winning technology broadcaster and noted online personality Leo Laporte, best-selling authors Malcolm Gladwell, Guy Kawasaki and Robert X. Cringely, and other technology luminaries

such as Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, New York Times technology writer David Pogue, Zappos chief executive Tony Hsieh, Internet Brands chief executive Bob Brisco, Demand Media co-founder Richard Rosenblatt, Opera Software founder Jon Von Tetzchner along with many others, and Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 will offer a stunning new lineup of esteemed social media keynote presenters.

 

“With hundreds of the world’s top technology and online marketing visionaries speaking, Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 offers an unrivaled technology conference experience, and we’re confident that every attendee will take away more valuable new search and social media ideas, business solutions and actionable take-aways than ever before, all at surprisingly cost-effective rates,” Tabke explained.

 

“Pubcon truly starts off where other social media and optimization conferences end, and features a virtual who’s who of technology and Internet marketing, and during our biggest-ever Las Vegas conference in October we’ll have more in store for attendees than ever before in our decade-plus history,” Tabke said.

 

Registration for Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 is now open, so register today at our lowest early-bird rates and begin making your plans to attend the biggest social media and optimization event of the year as Pubcon returns to sunny and entertaining Las Vegas.

 

Supported by the industry’s leading businesses, speakers, exhibitors, and sponsors involved in social media, Internet marketing, search engines, and online advertising, Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 will offer

a week-long exploration of the future of technology from Google Plus and Pinterest optimization to the latest online marketing studies presented by many of the world’s top new media innovators.

 

Haven’t heard of Pubcon before? Not yet sure what Pubcon is and why you should join thousands of other search and social media innovators at one of the most important online marketing events in the new media and optimization world?

 

Check out a sampling of the impressive testimonials from some of the many thousands of attendees at last year’s major event and previous conferences, our introduction to Pubcon, “Share The Secret Success Of Pubcon,” our decade-plus archive of Pubcon history, our lists of previous speakers and keynote presenters, and “101 Reasons For Coming To Pubcon,” and then register to join us for Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 this October 21 – 25.

 

With so much social media immersion on tap, Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 is a unique must-attend event for both corporate Internet professionals and independent webmasters who are serious about

staying ahead of the curve in the quickly changing optimization and new media marketing industries.

 

Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 will feature an expanded slate of our popular Pubcon Masters Group training program and workshops, a day-long group of intensive educational training programs led by some of the industry’s most respected search and social media professionals, as well as a new networking badge option.

 

Over more than a decade Pubcon has gained a growing reputation as the conference of new media and optimization industry leaders with game-changing ideas that both attendees and speakers look forward to for its

top-notch learning and networking opportunities, and Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 will be bigger and better than ever before.

 

Registration for Pubcon Las Vegas 2013, featuring more than 200 of the key influencers who are shaping the future of the Web and new media, all speaking in diverse multiple topic sub-conferences with more than 130 great conference panel sessions, is now open and available at special early-bird rates that allow you to lock in our lowest prices by signing up today.

 

We look forward to seeing you among the who’s who of technology visionaries at Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 on October 21 – 25 in sunny Las Vegas.

 

Thanks,
Lane R. Ellis
Lead Editor
Team Pubcon

 

Related Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 Links:

• Register for Pubcon Las Vegas 2013
• About Pubcon Las Vegas 2013
• Pubcon Photos and History
• Follow @Pubcon on Twitter
• Pubcon on Facebook
• Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 Facebook event page
• Pubcon on LinkedIn
• Pubcon on Google Plus
• Pubcon on Pinterest

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The Convergence of Content, Social and Search with AOL Director Simon Heseltine.

 

As the web continues to evolve, content strategies, social media, and the search engines have become intertwined in the grand scheme of building an online presence. So what does Google think about SEO? In recent Google updates, we saw Google Panda take a look at the content quality of sites, reviewing crucial site elements like design, trustworthiness, speed, and depth of content. Google Penguin looked more at link profiles, quality of links, and diversity of link anchor text. According to predictions, the pending Penguin update will be even harder on links. And images for search? Google Image search was redesigned and traffic dropped 80% earlier this year.

 

So where does social fit in? Trust. People trust people that they know and they are likely to click on recommendations from friends. Mobile devices and social networks have changed the playing field significantly. 68% of mobile minutes are used while people are at home. Where tablets were completely new just a few years go, tablets are now the norm. Tablets are the perfect television companion, and 66% of people even use their tablets while watching television. People research the program, products seen on the program, and what other people are saying about the program on social media and in forums.

 

Social media is an outlet that you can utilize to boost engagement, perform customer service, increase brand awareness, and to drive people to your actual website. Retweets, shares, and likes are all useful in building up trust and authority. Engagement measures are essential to learning about your audience. What is driving people? What is working and going viral? are you putting the wrong type of content out there? Building a community is one of the most beneficial things that you can do for your company and for your brand. Know the what, when, and who of retweets: what content, when during the day/week/time zone, and who’s accounts to retweet from.

 

“The Perfect Comment.” What’s in a perfect comment? Do people appreiacte fact-based comments, original article criticism, perfect grammar? Do they use their full name, are they anonymous, using a nickname? Surveys show that humorous comments aren’t well received, while grammar and substance is valued. A focused, non-rambling comment is ideal.

 

So what about Google +? Personified search and social have emerged when you are logged in to Google and begin to search throughout Google. Bing utilizes Facebook for personalized search. With personalized widgets and evolving algorithms, social media is going to help you drive organic traffic. The search industry has already evolved significantly in the past 18 months, and it will continue to evolve further as time passes.

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Melanie Mitchell – Optimization in a Modern World. Melanie teaches us about learning how to overcome challenges and attract, engage, and convert customers.

 

So what are common challenges for businesses today? The organizational structure might not be up to date, consumer behavior has changed, and too much data is collected and analyzed without paying attention to who consumers really are.

 

The problem begins within the company. The consumer is not at the core, and other aspects of the business are the focus. Businesses need to know whats in it for them when they put the consumer first.

 

Define your audience. 66% of searchers are not sure which brand they want to buy from when they are researching. So how do you get in front of these people? Between natural search, paid search, social media, comparison shopping–buyers are all over the place and they put in the time and effort to buy what is best for them and their needs.

 

How do you intersect these mediums and hit the buyers at the right time with the right product? You need to truly understand your market and how to stand out in the industry.

 

Did you know that 16% of the queries google sees daily are brand new search queries? Searchers are changing the way that they search and what the want. Understand the value of a visitor, what traffic really means, how to gain more, how to ensure your investments are reaping benefits online. Link everything to dollars and “sense.”

 

Look at the content you have on the Internet. Do people care about it? Is it valuable? What content are people interested in within your industry? Do you offer it on your site?

 

Be realistic in your goals and in the promises that you deliver. This will enable clients to budget resources and time appropriately and will prevent you from under delivering. Communication is essential. Show them you rock- lay out the proposed ideas to every level of the company and get people excited about what you are doing.

 

The six point plan:

1. Create a core team. SEO intersects owned, earned, and paid media
2. Set priorities, goals and incentives.
3. Train, train, train!
4. Set internal company standards and processes
5. Provide tools


Melanie Mitchell, SVP of Search Strategy, Digitas

6. Measure and track

Consumer behavior has changed the way buyers are getting content and the goal is to not only get in front of them but to also get their attention in a good way. 46% of buyers who use social along the path to purchase also use search. Get brand advocates, optimize messages to attract specific audiences, understand who the consumer really is and what you want to accomplish.

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So you’ve built a website–now how do you drive traffic to it? Who will buy anything if they aren’t visiting to your site? A few years ago, store versus web sales became no competition – Internet sales are where it is at in modern commerce. Slow foot traffic gives you a new arena to explore and gain customers from anywhere in the world. Remember that crisis gives you opportunity!

 

What if you could replicate online what you do in stores and on the phone? Rather than just offering things for sale, put a personality online.

 

Be real online–embrace who you are and be true to yourself and your brand. People don’t buy from webpages, they buy from people. Talk like a real person! Show you’re real by showing your office. Show people you are a company and not just a brochure website with generic content. Link social media and show fans on your site, show that real people like and support your company.

 

How do you build authority off of your site? Leverage your relationships in the industry you are trying to break into. Publications covering you are a great way to build up your reputation and gain trust. Support events and network! Share your expertise and help out small groups looking for sponsors. Trade services or goods for coverage and support. But don’t just tell people you are an expert–SHOW that you are an expert.

 

So how do you do that? Create quality content!

 

Write complete and unique product descriptions. Don’t use supplier descriptions, make things unique to your brand and break away from the content that the competitors and manufacturers are posting. Differentiate yourself from competition. Tell them why to pick you versus the other guy.

 

Tell people what to buy. Recommend best products and your recommendations for products that outshine others. The brand that you are cultivating can recommend items to users based on their specific needs or concerns.

 

Follow the money! Spend your time on things that are generating revenue. Test to see what works- and use revenue as the ultimate tool. Show traits about you and your brand that users can relate to and build trust through common interests and hobbies.

 

Establish that you are an authority, create quality content,and follow the money. “Find your Steve!”

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Pubcon SFIMA Summit 2013 is coming up next week on May 14, and will feature not only a full day

of top social media, optimization, and online marketing sessions led by over a dozen leading speakers, but also two highly-anticipated keynote presentations.

 

Melanie Mitchell, Digitas senior vice president and search marketing practice lead, and Rob Snell, managing partner at online business and marketing firm Snell Brothers Consulting, will each give a keynote address during Pubcon’s SFIMA Summit.

 

Pubcon SFIMA Summit takes place on Tuesday, May 14 at the

Miniaci Performing Arts Center on the Nova Southeastern University campus in Davie, Florida, and a variety of hotel options are conveniently located nearby for those traveling to the Fort Lauderdale area.

 

MELANIE MITCHELL AFTERNOON KEYNOTE

 

Longtime Pubcon attendee favorite Mitchell will be presenting an afternoon keynote address during Pubcon SFIMA Summit. Mitchell has been at the forefront of search engine marketing for over 13 years, and was vice president of search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) at AOL.

 

“What I love most about Pubcon conferences is that people are truly there to learn, teach and help

each other,” Mitchell said. “Pubcon always attracts a fantastic crowd that I learn from and always walk away with a lot of actionable notes,” Mitchell added.

 

“Personally, I am fascinated by how the digital space continues to evolve and my keynote will focus on how to design your marketing campaigns for your audience, how to increase audience engagement and how to execute complex digital campaigns within your company for maximum impact. Overall, I am excited about the speaker lineup and tracks that are part of the Pubcon SIFMA Summit and I am already looking forward to a full day of attending sessions,” Mitchell noted.

 

ROB SNELL MORNING KICK-OFF KEYNOTE

 

Snell will be the featured morning kickoff keynote speaker at Pubcon SFIMA Summit. For the past 15 years Snell has been a leader in selling through the Yahoo Store service, generating over $10 million in Web sales for clients through his innovative marketing, skilled development and professional design work.

 

“In 2004, our family’s online dog supply business came off the tracks,” Snell said. “Sales growth stopped. Overhead skyrocketed. We took a hard look at our site, and made one simple, substantial change to how we sold online which more than doubled our conversion rate. That change, combined with ongoing improvements to our site, have resulted in over $15 million in additional sales — above our normal growth,” Snell noted.

 

“Not everyone is a retailer, but the reality is that every company has to sell something to someone. My Pubcon SFIMA Summit keynote will cover how to establish your bonafides as a subject matter expert, how to leverage that authority with compelling content by recommending products that are solutions to your customers’ problems, and finish with tips on how to increase your conversion rate to make more from your existing Web traffic. And you’ll see lots of pictures of rednecks with guns and some fine looking bird dogs,” Snell added.

 

WIDE SPECTRUM OF SESSIONS AND SPEAKERS

 

In addition to keynotes by Snell and Mitchell, the Pubcon SFIMA Summit will also feature a wide spectrum of sessions hosted by more than two dozen top speakers from the social media, online marketing, and optimization fields, as shown below.

 

Rob Snell Managing Partner, Gun Dog Supply	Melanie Mitchell SVP of Search Strategy, Digitas	Todd Malicoat SEO Faculty, MarketMotive.com	James Loomstein Sr. Consultant, Crown Partners	Michael King Director of Inbound Marketing, iAcquire	Kevin Lee Executive Chairman, Didit.com
Greg Boser President, BlueGlass Interactive, Inc.	Jason Kintzler CEO/Founder, PitchEngine	Matt Craine Owner and President, MattCraine.com	Rebecca Murtagh Chief Strategist / President, Karner Blue Marketing LLC	Loren Baker VP of Business Development, Copyblogger Media	Jim Boykin Founder & CEO, Internet Marketing Ninjas
Jacob Bohall VP of Marketing, Virante, Inc.	Jay Berkowitz CEO, Ten Golden Rules	Alan Bleiweiss Forensic SEO Consultant, Alan Bleiweiss Consulting	Simon Heseltine Director , AOL Inc.	Prashant Puri Co-Founder, AdLift.com	Dennis Yu Chief Executive Officer, BlitzMetrics
Ann Smarty Community and Branding Manager, Internet Marketing Ninjas	Bonnie Stefanick Search Marketing Manager, Internet Marketing Ninjas	Lisa Buyer President/CEO, The Buyer Group	Jonathan Goodman President, Halyard Consulting	Peter Leshaw Chief Strategist, iCanOptimize.com	Motoko Hunt President, Search Marketing Strategies, AJPR
Dave Rohrer Sr. SEO Strategist, Covario	Kim Krause Berg Usability Analyst/Founder Cre8asiteforums, Internet Marketing Ninjas	Paul Ryazanov Director of business development, Promodo	Bill Hunt President, Back Azimuth Consulting	Chris Boggs CMO, Internet Marketing Ninjas	Kevin Scholl Social Media Manager, Red Roof Inn
Steve Floyd CEO / Founder, AXZM	William Leake CEO, Apogee Results	John Lawson CEO, ColderICE Media

 

Check out the full lineup of top speakers who will be presenting during Pubcon SFIMA Summit, and the impressive session agenda.

 

PUBCON REGIONAL SFIMA SUMMIT 2013 DETAILS

• Session Lineup
• About the Event
• Keynote Speakers
• SFIMA Event Information Pages
• Reserve Your Spot
• Hotels near Nova Southeastern University

Register now at pre-show rates to join in the outstanding learning opportunities on tap at Pubcon SFIMA Summit in Florida on May 14. We look forward to seeing many attendees from our recently-completed Pubcon New Orleans 2013 event, as well as many who regularly make the trip to Pubcon Las Vegas in the fall.

 

Thanks,
Lane R. Ellis
Lead Editor
Team Pubcon

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Pubcon New Orleans 2013 concluded a highly successful week recently to near-universal praise,

especially when conference founder and chief executive Brett Tabke announced plans for a likely Pubcon return to The Big Easy in 2014.

 

Returning to New Orleans for the first time since 2005 and for our inaugural presence at the New Orleans Convention Center, energy levels were sky high among the thousands of attendees who participated in over 100 cutting edge sessions led by more than 150 of the world’s top social media, optimization, and digital marketing speakers.

 

The week got off to a rousing Louisiana start with an energetic all-star Monday Pubcon Master’s Group training program, featuring Michael Gray, Jeffrey Eisenberg, Andy Beal, Tim Ash, Dennis Yu, Dan Zarrella, Todd Malicoat, Brad Geddes, Krista Neher, Joe Laratro, Jabez LeBret, and Alison Zarrella, followed by an engaging kick-off networking event where attendees and speakers discussed industry trends and made plans for the upcoming Pubcon week.

 

PUBCON KEYNOTES ROSE TO OCCASION

 

Pubcon New Orleans 2013 featured three major keynote speakers, starting with a fascinating

Tuesday morning kick-off address by Obama For America social media strategist Michael Slaby, followed by insightful Wednesday and Thursday keynotes by Chris Pirillo, popular online entrepreneur and founder of digital culture company LockerGnome, and Dave McClure, renowned venture capitalist and founding partner at 500 Startups.

• “Michael slaby’s Pubcon kickoff keynote kind of blew me away. Mulling over applications to traditional marketing.” — @terkungamaboobo
   
• “Dave McClure killed it in his Pubcon keynote.” — @dodBdotB
   
• “Great keynote by Chris Pirillo this morning at Pubcon.” — @JohnWEllis

PUBCON SESSIONS BURSTING WITH NEW CONTENT

 

Pubcon New Orleans 2013 speakers delivered some of the most revealing insight ever into social

media, digital marketing, and optimization, including Jabez LeBret, chief innovation officer at Get Noticed Get Found, who is featured in a new Forbes article, and the insightful and entertaining Sage Lewis.

• “First two sessions on SEO trends very informative. New stuff just since Pubcon Vegas last fall. Great expert advice from the panel.” — @midwestwineguy
   
• “At Pubcon learning Pinterest optimization from a large man with a long beard makes Pinterest feel much more masculine. Thank you @mattsiltala” — @zzavoral

Even a tornado warning and torrential downpour during one day of the conference couldn’t dampen

the spirits of the technology professionals gathered for Pubcon New Orleans 2013.

• “Tornado warning shrugged off. Pubcon crowd too hardcore to care.” — @BankrateBrandpm

Pubcon Video of all sessions is available for purchase both for those who attended and as a stand-alone package for those who weren’t able to be there in person.

 

NEW ORLEANS NIGHTLIFE A GOOD MATCH FOR PUBCON CROWDS

 

New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, Warehouse District, and French Quarter were hopping with Pubcon

activity throughout the week, including all of our official Pubcon evening networking events. Many attendees told us that New Orleans was at or near the top of the list of the best locations Pubcon has ever been held.

• “Best Pubcon location for sure. New Orleans has it all and many of my U.S. friends are here!” – @trabit
   
• “I’m loving Pubcon New Orleans. Now I need to attend the one in Vegas.” — @chrisjohnston
   
• “Very much enjoyed Pubcon. It was worth the flight from Sydney.” — @MichaelTeasdale
   
• “On my way back home from my first Pubcon. Great sessions, and a great reason to come back to New Orleans next year.” — @gessweb

THANKS FOR ATTENDING PUBCON NEW ORLEANS 2013

 

Thanks to all of our sponsors, exhibitors, media partners, association partners, and especially to

you — for attending Pubcon New Orleans 2013. You helped make a week of social media and online marketing that was a phenomenal success. Special thanks go out to double platinum sponsor Internet Marketing Ninjas, and Pubcon founder and chief executive Brett Tabke for the tireless dedication and vision that have played an irreplaceable part in driving the phenomenal growth and unequaled quality that made Pubcon New Orleans such a successful conference.

 

Thanks also to those who worked tirelessly throughout the year to make Pubcon New Orleans 2013 a success, including director

of operations Jeff Randall for his extensive planning and detailed organization, evangelist Joe Morin for helping to spread the Pubcon magic far and wide, WebmasterWorld director of forum operations Neil Marshall for his immeasurable contributions since the very first Pubcon over a decade ago, head moderator Joe Laratro for his unsurpassed moderator contributions, office manager Elaine Diefenderder for her careful organization and registration help, Erika Thomas for her excellent conference coverage, director of special projects Erika Tabke for her extensive planning and support, and to Amanda Randall for once again overseeing conference registration.

 

UP NEXT: BRING ON PUBCON LAS VEGAS 2013 AND SFIMA SUMMIT

 

Make plans to join Pubcon at upcoming events including the May 14 Pubcon SFIMA Summit in

Florida, and our largest event ever, Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 on October 21 -25 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in the entertainment capital of the world. Look for registration to open in the coming days.

 

Pubcon New Orleans 2013 was a great success, as the vibrant and bustling activity of attendees and speakers seemed to play off the lovely energy of The Big Easy and intensify into a truly special week of social media and optimization learning and celebration.

 

We heard from many digital marketing and new media folks throughout the week who are already eagerly awaiting an even bigger Pubcon New Orleans 2014, next week’s Pubcon SFIMA Summit, and October’s massive Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 event. We hope to see you at one or all of these unique upcoming Pubcon events.

 

Thanks,
Lane R. Ellis
Lead Editor
Team Pubcon

 

RELATED CONTENT:

• About Pubcon New Orleans 2013
• Archived Session Grid
• Pubcon SFIMA Summit 2013
• Pubcon Las Vegas 2013

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Pinterest has been a hot and growing social network, and that momentum has certainly carried into 2013 as well. Optimizing your Pinterest presence is a great way to build links, attract traffic, and get your content shared. The beautiful thing about Pinterest is once users start pinning you, you are exposed to their personal networks and beyond, growing your visibility with each repin. Optimizing everything you put on Pinterest is an easy way to expand your reach.

 

Pinterest is a network based on images, so choosing the right images and pulling them from the right places is essential. Uploading your own images and pinning from your site isn’t always the way to draw users in, but it will help diversify your pins and maybe show users something different that they like. However, a caveat: you have to realize that these uploaded images provide no link value. Once you upload an image, you do have the ability to go in and edit the source URL, but pinning from actual websites will link your pinned image back to the site naturally. It’s important to mix these images in on boards with pins you repin from others. In addition, you should be pinning from various sites around the web rather than one or two places.

 

Like search engines, titling the images is important. The default image title of “IMG0043.jpeg” for a photo of cupcakes is not likely to rank for cupcakes, where a title of “Cupcakes.jpeg.” This title manipulation can help users find you simply by typing what they are looking for on Pinterest. But the title isn’t the only place to do this! Pinterest has made it mandatory for users who upload a pin to fill out at least something as a description. Do not let this valuable space go to waste! While you don’t need to write excessively (there’s a 500 character limit), you should at least fill in a keyword rich description to accompany the image and help correlate it to the terms you are aiming for. You’ll notice many images don’t have descriptions—that’s where users simply hit the space bar a few times to simply pin in a hurry. Take your time and let your images work harder for you! Utilize the comment space below images to take advantage of more places to add links and keywords related to the image, as well as hashtagging the keywords.

 

But it doesn’t stop there. Title your boards in a keywod-rich way. Board titles like “Cinnamon Desserts” and “Florida Beaches” are more search friendly than “Sweet Treats” or “Take Me Away,” respectively.

 

As Matt Siltala continues, Pinterest is a network that rewards activity. The more your image gets a repin, like, and comment will directly affect where your image will appear. Also, an image with a title on it is likely to be repined—but make sure the title is what the title says it is. There are few things more frustrating than repinning Top 10 Cleaning Shortcuts and getting redirected to a website with malware that has nothing to do with cleaning. In addition, Pinterest is similar to other networks where more followers have more power. Engage with others and you will likely attract follows, likes, comments and repins.

 

Remember, the key to social media is to engage users. Empower people to share your content, and Pinterest is a great place to elicit engagement.

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Currently, paid search comprises about 15 percent of ad spending for businesses in the U.S., and it will continue to grow. Campaign setting mistakes, keyword mistakes, ad copy mistakes and landing page mistakes are all areas where your PPC campaigns can likely be repaired and improved.

 

Campaign Settings Mistakes:

 

(Under the settings tab, there are many changes that you can implement)

 

Defaulting to a standard account is an error. Selecting the “All features” choice gives you more customization and is more robust.

 

Keyword matching options- opt out of including plurals and close variants. Google tends to favor broad match so having a more specific target will lessen your spend.

 

Ad rotation settings- select to rotate indefinitely. This will mean your high performing and low performing ads will be rotated.

 

Default to mobile devices with full browsers rather than the simple default mobile setting Google provides.Change mobile bid adjustments and it’s a percentage of the desktop bid, and change mobile ad copy.

 

“Default locations” is too broad as a setting, tweak to your specific areas in custom settings.

 

Keyword Mistakes:

 

Not enough keywords. Product related terms, brand related terms, problem terms, and solution terms. Have many terms in your account so that you cover products from multiple angles.

 

Not including enough negative terms is a flaw. Amp up the negative keywords in your ad campaigns to increase your campaign’s overall success.

 

Use the Google keyword research tool! Soovle can give you insight into huge sites and the commonly searched phrases. Clusty.com has modifiers to enhance your keywords as well.

 

The search terms report/search query report is extremely valuable and it shows you which ads are getting clicks.

 

Too many keywords in ad groups can lead to poor performing campaigns. Create specific themed ad groups, include 20-25 terms per ad group, and separate campaigns for search and content.

 

Not understanding your competitors is a fatal PPC error!

 

Ad Copy Mistakes:

 

No value propositions included in the ad copy is a detrimental AdWords practice.

 

No call to action – Using “Shop Now” instead of “Buy Now” can be more effective, text different calls to action.

 

Not filtering clicks is a mistake that should be adjusted and filtering should certainly be put into practice.

 

Providing no difference between you and the competitor is a huge mistake. Offer unique selling propositions, unique offers, benefit statements, calls to action and more to stand out in the eyes of searchers.

 

Very little ad testing. Perform tests! Get XYZ Online can be more successful than XYZ Sale! Test words like try, get, buy. Offer different things: free shipping, limited time offers. Test prices and no prices in ads. Ad testing tool: adcomparator.com.

 

Landing page mistakes: Having a complicated page is a no-no. Simplify and have the lead form on the page! Too much information is overwhelming. Having a price listed will likely begin a “price dance” where a user will try to look for a competitive rate. Additionally, bad images can be extremely detrimental to your paid search efforts and conversion rates.

 

Buying into quality score myths is a mistake, because it’s only calculated at the keyword level and may not be accurate for your entire campaign’s success.

 

Realize that your landing pages are shortcuts and use brain shortcuts to increase conversions. Provide clear and simple choices, and show prices in decreasing order.

 

Appeal to a specific group within your audience. Test different text and images and see where your traffic is not only come from, but ultimately converting.

 

Implement these tips for strengthening your PPC campaigns and Google AdWords and remember that testing new techniques is a great way to learn more about the audience you are attracting and what they are ultimately looking for.

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We all know that online marketing is an evolving industry and as it changes your tactics need to do so as well. So how do you stay on top of the search industry and social media? Jay Berkowitz has some great insights on how you can improve your campaigns to see marketing success in the growing worlds of search and social media.

 

Are you familiar with the ABCs of SEO? You might know the goal—which is usually to dominate the first page of the Google SERPs. With so much happening on the first results page in Google, with paid ads, maps, Youtube, Google shopping—there are various online outlets you need to consider to have a thorough presence on the web.

 

Specifically, the ABCs are:

 

Architecture (essentials such as clean design, meta tags, site map)

 

Back Links (other sites linking to your website)

 

Content (keyword research, fresh and new material added frequently, aim for 250 words minimum)

 

And because acronyms are catchy, there’s a second one to get familiar with to elaborate on these ABCs, which is GPS:

 

GREAT content (featuring linkable tools and features, avoid link farms). Pay attention to Google guidelines and the quality rater concept. Quality ratings come from sites that are attractive, relative, and have a certain level of trust are ideal. Design matters, such as how quickly your site is loading. Page speed is also an important element of your site to keep in mind. Google Webmaster Central outlines what it means to Google to be a high quality site. Refer to Google’s official resources if you are unsure of anything pertaining to your site. The resources are there and they are free!

 

PANDA! Panda was implemented by Google to try and provide better search results for users. Certain factors can keep the Google Panda on your side, which is essential in maintaining SEO efforts you’ve put it over time. High visitors, page speed, organic click through rates and where your traffic is coming from all have ties to Panda. Additionally, your site design holds value, and over-optimization can be detrimental.

 

SOCIAL signals, namely the Google+ authorship feature. Google+ is a Google entity and what you do within it will likely always contribute to your presence on Google. You’ve likely seen the search results with someone’s picture next to their content that they have created on their website or elsewhere on the web—this is linking a user with an authored piece within the web. Have social sharing enabled on your website!

 

Your website needs to be fully responsive, because increasingly more and more searchers access internet search from mobile devices. If your website doesn’t load quickly and doesn’t change to mobile-friendly framework, people are likely to bounce. Responsive design should be implemented so that it is adaptable on a desktop, tablet, and smartphone. Of course, Google has outlined best practices for this responsive web design technique, so listen to their two cents on it. Test a variety of keywords and see where you have the most success. Additionally, you should test what causes users to convert on your site with a variety of landing pages and slightly altered text.

 

Investing your efforts into Facebook can be beneficial, because with sponsored stories, suggested stories, and promoted posts it’s easy to place your page on newsfeeds of people outside of your network. Facebook can be very productive in helping you to see how you are being talked about within Facebook. Pay more attention to the people talking about you rather than simply your page likes.

 

Are you utilizing all 5 types of remarketing? PPC retargeting, Facebook retargeting, email retargeting, YouTube retargeting, and Drip remarketing should all be active and in place for your brand or for your client.

 

Have a content calendar and cascading strategy mapped out to keep you productive and on track for creating engaging content. Once content is created, cascade that same content through social channels, videos, press releases and any other outlet that will help spread your latest creation.

 

Remember the Three Es of Social Media:

 

EDUCATE. ENTERTAIN. ENGAGE.

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