Netconcepts

Articles authored by Netconcepts

Netconcepts — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 07:31:33 +0000

The value of knowledge is only realized if you share it. In that vein, we welcome you to peruse our library of articles. We’ve authored hundreds of articles, many of them by our founder/president Stephan Spencer — a prolific writer. What you will find here is the best of our collected works. Enjoy!

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Or browse them all below. Articles are organized in reverse chronological order.

Search Engine Optimization & Marketing - an AMA Training Series

Stephan Spencer — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 03:41:58 +0000

Search engine optimization (”SEO”) has evolved immensely over the past several years. Are you and your organization keeping up? More importantly, have you fully exhausted the potential that SEO provides? If not, this two-day intensive training is for you. Expert practitioner Stephan Spencer will share the secrets of the SEO: what works and what doesn’t; what you should be measuring; what tools to use; where trouble looms and untapped potential lies; where search engines and the industry are headed, and much more.

Join us for a hands-on, two day workshop on search engine optimization and marketing that covers all the bases. With a live Internet connection, attendee websites will be deconstructed - with attendees playing an active role in diagnosing what ails each site from an SEO standpoint. Such sticky issues as making your database-driven website “search engine friendly” and workarounds for “spider traps” and poor search engine practices will be tackled. Google’s secrets will be revealed, including details around PageRank, blended results (”universal search”), indented listings, sitelinks, and more. Case examples from B2C, B2B, nonproﬁt and higher education will be shared, including the “inside scoop” on what worked and what didn’t.

You will walk away with loads of practical, actionable tactics and tips, a number of which are not widely known in the SEO community. For example:
• Minimize duplicate content and keep your site from getting hit by Google’s duplicate content ﬁlter
• Identify, in unconventional ways, high PageRank-endowed, industry-speciﬁc, authoritative links that will
increase your position in the search results
• “Take away” a competitor’s second indented listing
• Reverse engineer your competitors’ backlinks to look for link opportunities for yourself

This workshop is designed with non-technical marketers in mind. But even the Internet-savvy techie will get a lot out of this tailored, intensive workshop. Through interactive presentations and exercises, case examples, and best-practice implementation reviews, participants will leave with a comprehensive understanding of how they can proﬁt from search engines as a marketing channel. First ﬁve paid registrants for each venue who submit their URL (or a competitor’s URL if they prefer) will get an interactive, real-time critique of the site’s search engine ﬁndability during the workshop.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
• The changing landscape of SEO and how you can make the most of it as a marketer
• How to rocket past competitors in search rankings
• How to benchmark against your competitors
• What to measure for maximizing the return on your search marketing investment
• How to budget interactive marketing campaigns to include SEO
• How to effectively leverage content, online tools, social networks and social

AGENDA: DAY 1
• Anatomy of a Search Engine — Spiders, Indices & Algorithms, Market Share & Trends
• Inside the Head of the Searcher — Searcher Behavior & Intent
• Hands-on Keyword Research & Keyword Portfolio Management
• SEO Copywriting — Optimizing Your Content
• HTML Optimization — Make Your HTML “Sing”
• Search Friendly Site Architecture, Design, Navigation & Internal Hierarchical Linking Structures
• Technical Optimization — URLs, Redirects, Tracking Parameters, Flash, JavaScript/AJAX and more
• Link Building — Tools & Tactics for Acquiring Valuable, Relevant Links Sustainably
• Social Media Marketing – Leveraging Online Communities to Create Links & Buzz

AGENDA: DAY 2
• Paid Search Fundamentals & Achieving Synergies with SEO
• Search Analytics — Metrics that Drive ROI
• Tools of the Trade — The Essential Tools & Resources for your SEO & Paid Search Toolkit
• Vertical Search — Local Search, News Search, Product Search, Image Search, Video Search, Blog Search, Mobile Search
• Worst Practices — Beyond the “Best Practices” to the Dark Side of “Black Hat” Spam & Other Deadly Mistakes
• Site Clinic & Interactive Site Reviews — Apply Your Knowledge by Auditing Fellow Attendees’ Websites
• Taking It Back to the Job, Homework, Wrap-Up and Review

Download the brochure PDF

Register for the Las Vegas venue, Chicago venue, or Washington DC venue

iMedia: Reaching Customers

Jeff Muendel — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 03:22:15 +0000

Search engine marketing

Making your site “search engine friendly”
“Pay-per-click” search advertising
Benchmarking, competitive intelligence and ROI analysis
Trends in contextual, behavioral and local advertising

Creating a buzz — viral marketing

Blogs, RSS feeds, forums, wikis and more
Harness “word of mouse” to enhance your brand
Identifying the “sneezers” who will spread your viral message

Web analytics

Speakers:
Jeff Muendel, Online Marketing Analyst, Netconcepts

Resident SEM Expert at the Elite Retreat

Stephan Spencer — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 03:18:47 +0000

This is two days of information packed sessions geared towards your business. Not what we want to talk about, but answers to your questions, addressing your needs. If you want to take your business from good to great, then our lineup of highly recognized and admired leaders will definitely provide the answers you are looking for. Imagine interacting with some of the top minds in the business and having them critique your business plan and websites. This is definitely two days that will change your business life!

Leaders: Jeremy Schoemaker, Stephan Spencer, Andy Liu, Neil Patel, Kris Jones
Keynote Speakers: Gary Vaynerchuk and Guy Kawasaki

Top design tips to boost SEO rankings - Live analysis of attendees’ web sites

Stephan Spencer — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 03:01:41 +0000

One constant of consumer Internet search behavior is that many shoppers skip the paid words in search results and go right to the natural listings. Thus while a lot of attention has been paid to how to choose keywords and manage keyword bids, optimizing pages for search marketing is just as important. But Internet Retailer research shows that retailers consistently rank below general sites in natural language rankings. Yet the fact that a few retailers have learned how to rank at the top shows retailers can land in those spots. This live session will feature two optimization experts who will analyze attendees’ sites on the spot and tell them what they can do to optimize better for search engine rankings.

Speakers:
Stephan Spencer, President, Netconcepts
Suzy Sandberg, President, PM Digital

How to Speak Geek: Working Collaboratively With Your IT Department to Get Stuff Done

Stephan Spencer — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:53:18 +0000

Are you in charge of marketing the website, yet have to deal with unfamiliar IT issues? How do you handle a mean IT department? Do you want to improve your relationship with your IT staff? This session provides clear advice and translates the geek-speak into real-life examples. Learn specific steps to analyze your website for potential search engine road blocks such as duplicate content penalties, canonicalization, circular navigation, and other technical horrors. We’ll help you identify potential problems and provide clear advice on how to approach your IT department with your request and an olive branch of peace.

Moderator:
Chris Boggs, Manager, SEO, Brulant, Inc., recently acquired by Rosetta

Speakers:
Matthew Bailey, President, SiteLogic
Bob Tripathi, Search Marketing Strategist, Discover Financial Services
Robert Heyman, Chief Search Officer, MediaSmith
Stephan Spencer, Founder & President, Netconcepts, LLC

SEO Through Blogs & Feeds

Stephan Spencer — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:50:37 +0000

Not yet running a blog? Not syndicating your content through web feeds? Then you’re missing out on an important area that can help your overall SEO efforts. Learn more about the unique advantages blogs and feeds offer to search engine optimization.

Moderator:
Rebecca Lieb, Contributing Editor, ClickZ

Speakers:
Lee Odden, CEO, TopRank Online Marketing
Sally Falkow, President, PRESSfeed
Stephan Spencer, Founder & President, Netconcepts, LLC

Advanced Link Building

Patricia Fusco — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:48:50 +0000

How far is too far in optimizing your internal link structure? If you operate a network of sites, can natural interlinking be perceived as link spam? How should you handle affiliate links? Advanced linking issues like these and more will be explored during this session. This session is designed for experienced marketers. Beginners should only attend if they’ve gone through the Link Building Basics session earlier in the day.

Moderator:
PJ Fusco, Natural Search Director, Netconcepts

Speakers:
Michael Gray, President, Atlas Web Service
Wil Reynolds, Founder, SEER Interactive
Chris Boggs, Manager, SEO, Brulant, Inc., recently acquired by Rosetta

Link Building Basics

Patricia Fusco — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:47:16 +0000

Discover how search engines rely on link analysis as an important component for rank web pages. Learn also how to increase traffic to your site by building quality links in an appropriate manner.

Moderator:
Jennifer Evans Laycock, Editor-in-Chief, Search Engine Guide

Speakers:
Jeff Quipp, President & CEO, Search Engine People
PJ Fusco, Natural Search Director, Netconcepts
Jody Farmer, VP, Strategic Marketing, CreditCards.com
Sharad Verma, Senior Product Manager, Yahoo! Search Technology

New tricks for Old Pueblo

Stephan Spencer — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:55:20 +0000

In this article on Multichannel Merchant, Netconcepts founder and President Stephan Spencer sits down with Amy Africa to review Old Pueblo Traders, an eCommerce clothing site. Stephan’s contribution discusses key concepts in SEO like this one:

In my brief tour of Oldpueblotraders.com, I found plenty of opportunities for major traffic gains through search engine optimization. The first one became immediately obvious as I was loading the home page. Directing my Web browser to load http://www.oldpueblotraders.com/, I was immediately redirected to http://www.oldpueblotraders.com/pagebuilder/.

Unfortunately, the type of redirect used was a temporary one (302) instead of a permanent one (301). I discovered this through the use of a server header checker (http://www.webrankinfo.com/english/tools/server-header.php) A 301 redirect passes PageRank and link popularity to the destination URL, whereas a 302 redirect does not. Luckily, this is an easy thing to fix.

For more about this eCommerce website audit, visit the original article on Multichannel Merchant here.