I’m excited to say…”Hey, I’m at Online Marketing Summit Seattle“, and so far it is amazing. Aaron Kahlow, (CEO, Online Marketing Connect) has just completed his Keynote speech and I’m feeling inspired. I’ve decided to note down some of the key quotes, tips and tricks and share it with the world.

When Twitter & Google Collide – Understanding Real-Time Search

The Crossroads of Search and Social Media is what we now call Real Time Search.  With Twitter being the New Poster Child and Google the 800lb Gorrilla, all marketers need to figure out how to leverage both individually as well as together.

“The way people are referencing information on the internet has become polluted with self-interest. [...] Search and Social will become more of 1 thing.” – Rand Fishkin, CEO, SEOmoz.org

“We spend a lot less time searching and more time receiving [via suggested discovery]. [...] We won’t be using the term Search engine for search any more. [...] Search the way that we know it will become obsolete.” – Mike Grehan, Global VP Content, IncisiveMedia

Content posting automation is slowly becoming a regular thing. I proposed the following question: “Is the over-use of Social Media Automation (TubeMogul, OnlyWire, etc.) bad for SEO?”

Both moderators agreed that over-pollution will create less authentic links. Rand referenced a conversation he had with a Google Search employee/developer in which he frowned upon a website that auto-published his RSS to Twitter. I’m not sure if this individual went out and lowered this websites ranking or left it at a simple frown, but it seems to be a tricky questions that requires further research. I’m open to suggestions for those reading this, but as of now, First Time Online uses tactics that are both authentic and far-reaching. Great start to a great day!

Helping us refocus on the essentials of search marketing and customer interactions, Jonathon Colman, Internet Marketing Program Manager, REI, helped me brush up on the basics and also provided us with advanced tactics. It is interesting to note that he pointed out “Faceted Navigation”. It’s great for user because it allows you to sort content and great for Search Engines. (ie. Categories, tags, etc.) WordPress, and most blogging software use this technology which makes it a great tool. Pillar #5 was all about external linking. Funny enough, quoting Jonothan, the #1 way to build external links…(drumroll)… “create quality posts.” That’s right! Blog quick tips, interesting articles, do-it-yourself etc and make your website a valuable resource that external sites will want to link to. Obviously there are other tactics, but this will ultimately create relevant and valuable relationships that ultimately result in higher ROI, and equally meet your other website strategy goals.

In pursuit of my opening question “Is the overuse of social media automation bade for SEO?” Jonathon agrees that it’s important to be “authentic”. It seems authenticity is the key-word today, but I’m not giving up on this question just yet.

Learn what top B2B companies are doing well and where they’re falling down when it comes to website usability.  Through UC4′s recent website redesign initiative they provided great tips on how to build a strategy, determine design and content-a mix that saw significant boosts in conversions and visitor engagement.

Kicking off right way, Christopher Harmon, Founder & Principal, theBATstudio. breaks down the 3 pillars of building a website. “The one thing you need to concentrate on is your target audience. Find out who is your end user” and ultimately how you can reach them. 58% of visitors who experience a usability problem on a website never return so it’s crucial to due your due diligence.

Both Christopher and Paul Rosien, Director of Marketing, UC4 Software, were very detailed and great presenters. This session was 100% valuable and both presenters did a great job and letting me feel like I can walk away today, not only saying “money well spent”, but with the confidence to implement changes that will ultimately improve the quality and success of my websites.

By 4pm everybody was showing signs of wear and tear, which is a good sign as far conferences go…but I’m happy to see that they saved the best for last.  The OMS afternoon keynote panel provided us with ways to best utilize technology and tools to ensure that all your strategies and channels from Email to Search, Marketing Automation to Analytics and Content Marketing to Social are optimized and integrated into an over-arching plan of action (…whew…)! Check out this amazing line-up:

• Moderator:  Aaron Kahlow, CEO, Online Marketing Connect
• Alex Williams, Strategist, eROI
• Allison Hartsoe, Vice President of Analytics, Semphonic
• Jonathon Colman, Internet Marketing Program Manager, REI
• Mike Grehan, Global VP Content, IncisiveMedia

2010: What should you take off your list?

1. MySpace (Mike)
2. Yahoo! (Jonathon)
3. Pushing Off Learning Something As Simple As Tagging  (Allison)
4. Things That Aren’t Working (Alex)

Great Feel Tools?

1. Compete.com & Quantivo & Swix (Allison)
2. FlowTown & Litmus (Alex)
3. There’s a lot of BS tools (Mike)
4. SEOMoz Tools (Jonathon)
5. Hubspot & HootSuite (Aaron)

There was a lot of great content and for every good question throwing at the panel, you were rewarded with a drink of your choice. Nice!

In Conclusion

OMS is money well spent, but I felt it lacked some of the networking energy that I experienced in the previous 2 years I attended. Overall, the content was solid and I made valuable connections that made this expense more than worth it. To those reading this, I would highly suggest attending this event, if not for workshops, then for the overall networking value this conference provides. I look forward to getting back to work and applying what I’ve learned today. Thank you presenters and look forward to future meetups.