Search Optimization Rockstars

If you were a struggling musician, how cool would it be if some of the real Rock Stars would put on a seminar where they would give you instruction and advice on how you can be successful? Well in the Search Engine Optimization industry, this kind of stuff actually does happen.
Some of the real Rock Stars of the Search Engine Optimization industry just had a seminar in Seattle.

What does an SEO Rock Star constitute? In Search Optimization, a Rock Star would be anyone that has not only had success in getting their clients noticed but they have also been so good at it that they cause Search Engines to take notice and in some cases change.

People like, Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz.org, Stephan Spencer of netconcepts.com, Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land, Will Critchlow and Duncan Morris of distilled.co.uk, Nick Gerner a Search Researcher for SEOmoz, Sarah Bird legal advisor for SEO’s, Jeff Pollard Chief Technology Officer for SEOmoz, and more.

Who was listening? Search Engine Optimizers from Hawaii, to Japan. I actually didn’t even run into anyone attending from the northwest until the after party on the last night. What value could be gained from listening to those that have had success in Search Engine Optimization? In the early days of flight, The Wright Brothers weren’t the only ones working on a flying machine. Many others were working on the same challenges but they were keeping their secrets to themselves. But once sustained powered flight was achieved advances in the industry were happening almost faster than they could be published.

The internet, even though it hasn’t been around that long, has already changed the world we live in. Search Engines are what the masses use to give the internet a useful order. The Search Engine that gets used the most commands staggering sums in advertising dollars annually. But that position of top Search Engine is only as good as how relevant the searchers find the results it puts forth. Are searchers fickle? If they weren’t Yahoo would still be king of the search world.

What makes the Search Engines struggle to keep those results pure is the fear that some other engine will do a better job and cut into their market share. SEO’s are symbiotic with the Search Engines. Being a good SEO is really being a specialized business marketing consultant. An SEO takes the information about your product or service and helps you get noticed by your prospective customers on the Search Engines.

Why would someone that knows how to do SEO need to go to a conference? Two reasons really. First, because Search Engines are continuously changing to keep their results as pure and relevant as possible, there is constant change or adjustments that need to be made by SEO’s to keep their client websites high in the search results. Getting together and essentially comparing notes on the things they have observed about the Search Engines is the best possible way to stay current.

Secondly, to meet others in the industry. Because there are at present only twenty-four hours in any given day, and there are millions of websites that need to be found in their respective markets, no one person or agency is going to be able to serve that need alone. Not every organization is going to serve every level of business need. If you are a Fortune Five Hundred company in a competitive industry, you may need hundreds of man hours per month to accomplish high ranking and online reputation management. But not every business serves the global market or has a million dollar budget available.

Networking with other people in the SEO industry gives us to compare notes and a chance to serve more business on more levels. Some SEO's specialize in serving certain vertical markets. Having a background in specific areas can be helpful in understanding unique needs of an individual company or a geographically limited market.

As long as Search Engines continue to change, SEO's will need to continue to educate themselves and update their techniques. A hearty thanks to leaders in the industry that take the time to share their experience and knowledge.