Panelists:
Lauren Freedman, President, the e-tailing group
Stephan Spencer, President, Netconcepts
Amy Africa, President, Eight by Eight

The site boasts a number of Web 2.0 features including RSS, Google Maps, microformats and AJAX. Every page, every search and every field has a corresponding RSS feed as well as email alert to which visitors can subscribe. This new site is of course search engine friendly, allowing spiders to traverse the site fully through text links. Dates and times of open homes can be saved directly to the calendar software such as Outlook, thanks to the use of microformats.

[ database | client admin cms | SEO ]

Visit the site: RealEstate.co.nz

This total site revamp included user interface, look and feel, database, back-end programming, with SEO built in. The archives, with articles numbering over 25,000, is now completely open whereas previously it was restricted. Deep links to old articles have been maintained through 301 redirects.

The new site boasts a number of Web 2.0 features, including comments, trackbacks and RSS feeds. There isn’t just one main RSS feed, but every category has an RSS feed. A blog, also developed by Netconcepts, offers more informal views from DM News staffers and contributors (including this glowing testimonial of Netconcepts’ efforts by DM News’ founder Adrian Countenay).

The sophisticated content management system (CMS) that powers the site was custom-built by Netconcepts and specifically tailored to magazine publishers.

[ database | client admin cms | SEO ]

Visit site

Search engine optimisation
You want to get to the top of the search engines? Ah… but which search engines should you target? What keywords are your prospects searching for? And how do you get your site to the top for those keywords and then stay there?

Learn the tactics that will make your site ’scream’ in the search engines - ethically and sustainably - without costing you a fortune ongoing.

• Hands-on keyword research
  
• Fine tuning your content, HTML, design, and site architecture for optimal rankings
  
• Workarounds for poor search engine practices (such as frames, question marks in URLs, Flash, pop-up windows, links that say “click here,” page titles like “Welcome to ABC.com”, pull-down navigation menus)
  
• Making your e-commerce or database-driven site “search engine friendly”
  
• Building links (directories, niche sites, etc.)
  
• Google’s secrets revealed (PageRank, hyperlink text, etc.)
  
• Pay-per-click search engines (Overture, etc.)
  
• Benchmarking & competitive intelligence
  
• Measuring the return on your search engine marketing investment

• Developing a unique voice / personality
  
• Active vs. passive tense
  
• Verbs vs. adjectives
  
• “You” vs. “we”
  
• Toning down the marketingspeak
  
• Fine tuning your offer
  
• The call-to-action
  
• Segmenting
  
• Personalizing the content and the message
  
• Marketing metrics: cost per click, cost per conversion, customer lifetime value, churn rate, etc.
  
• “Blogging”

• Writing a strategic brief, creative brief, functional spec, content plan, etc.
  
• Budgeting and resource allocation
  
• Vendor selection
  
• The art and science of estimating time and costs
  
• The web development process
  
• Change management
  
• The project extranet
  
• Web development contracts
  
• Liability and disclaimers
  
• Ownership of source code
  
• Terms & Conditions for your website users

We guarantee that after this intensive workshop you’ll walk away with loads of practical, actionable tactics and tips. So what are you waiting for? Register today.

BIOGRAPHY
Stephan Spencer, M.Sc., is the founder and president of Netconcepts, a full-service interactive agency with specialization in search engine optimisation, e-commerce, email marketing, and Web site auditing. They count amongst their U.S. clients: Birds Eye, Wella, Midwest Express Airlines, InfoSpace, Homestead.com, The Sharper Image, Cabela’s, and MP3.com; local clients include Westpac (NZ), The Fletcher Trust, nzgirl, SmokeCDs.com, TrustPower, and Business in the Community.

Stephan is a columnist for Unlimited. He has also written for Marketing Magazine, Management Magazine, Catalog Age, and Building Online Business. He has been featured on the cover of In Business magazine in the U.S. Stephan is a frequent speaker at Internet conferences around the globe - Berlin, London, Toronto, Santiago, Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco. He currently serves as a director of Sales & Marketing Executives International.

• Search engine optimization
  You want to get to the top of the search engines? Ah… but which search engines should you target? What keywords are your prospects searching for? And how do you actually get your site to the top for those keywords and then to stay there? Learn the tactics that will make your site ’scream’ in the search engines - ethically and sustainably - without costing you a fortune ongoing.
• Improving conversion rate
  So you’ve got visitors to your site, but will they purchase? Improving conversion on your site is an art and a science that involves a mix of clever copywriting, compelling offers, a follow-up strategy, meaningful metrics for measuring success, and more.
• Email marketing
  Email can get you in front of your customers and prospects without relying on them to remember to come back and visit your site. But pitfalls abound. Get it wrong just once and you’ll significantly trim your list and burn your relationships. Learn what it takes to make great campaigns and newsletters, get the permission you need from your intended audience, and then test your assumptions scientifically.
• Working with your web developer
  What are the ingredients for sucess when launching a redesign or a new site? What processes are helpful in keeping the project and the vendor on track? What are reasonable expectations of the client and the vendor? What goes into (and what doesn’t go into) an effective brief or specification? How do you manage the legal risk?

Presented by Kelly Goto, Principal, gotomedia, Inc.:

• Usability
• Information design
• Workflow
• Metrics for ROI from a user experience perspective