Sesame at MozCon 2012: A Recap

In late July, Sesame Search Engine Optimization Specialists, Amy, Katie and Search Team Manager Jana joined 800 other online marketers from around the world to attend the annual MozCon conference in downtown Seattle. The advanced online marketing conference, organized by SEO software company SEOmoz, featured 28 industry professionals who shared their advice and experience in search engine optimization, social media, reputation management and web design.

Each speaker presented on different topics, but we found common themes popping up across the board. Here are a few that really stood out to us:

• Relationship Building – Relationships are hard, and so is link-building. If you have spoken with your SEO Specialist recently, chances are we have brought up how important back links are to your SEO strategy and establishing trust with the major search engines such as Google. However, most businesses have been approaching link-building the wrong way. A common theme we heard at the conference was “build relationships, not links.” When you think of building relationships, you begin to evaluate your link-building strategy. It’s not about manipulating Google, Bing or Yahoo! into thinking you’re trustworthy because everyone you know links to your website. Rather, it’s about developing meaningful relationships by taking your online strategy offline. Great search results are sure to follow.

• Content Marketing – Content marketing is the way of writing and organizing content to attract users to your site. Content is the base of any potential web marketing success, but how it is promoted is the strategy. Quality, relevant content that is marketed successfully makes it easier to get links and build a brand. Brands rank well, low quality content does not.

• Google+ – Google + is now becoming a large part of social and local search results. Here is a list of Google + tips:
o Connect your social profiles to your Google+ profile
o Title your posts and use keywords
o Leave comments and reviews on other Google+ local business pages (again, build those relationships)

• Online Reputation Management – No longer is reputation management about cleaning up search engine results pages (SERPs), registering profiles, spinning content, and paying others to write positive reviews for your business. It is now about effecting organizational change. Organizational change requires trust, conflict, commitment, accountability and results. In simple terms, it’s identifying the base of the problem and making an organizational change from within and letting the data speak for itself.