Back at Blue Tent Marketing (@blue_tent) WHQ sifting though my notes, reviewing PowerPoints, and trying to determine what path I want to head down for a recap of MozCon 2011, I realize that the overall theme of MozCon is about getting together as a community. A community of SEOs and online marketers!
As I set foot in Seattle for the first time in 4 years, I felt as though I had returned home. A familiarity that resembles walking in the front door of your own home. The one thing that I can remember and cherish about Seattle was the community that I had while living there. Still today that community is strong and very noticeable! This community is a part of the very core of what I noticed in SEOmoz, and of course, MozCon. As I take a journey through my notes, I notice that the predominant theme is COMMUNITY! So without further ado, here are my top eleven takeaways from MozCon 2011.
1. Community
As Rand (@randfish) kicked off MozCon, he showed a slide that stated “You make the web a better place!” This is true, and as a community we should all be striving to do this with our everyday lives, in our work and as an SEO. This is the very core of SEOmoz and that of a true SEO!
2. Re-targeting
Although this may not have a direct correlation to community, Joanna (@JoannaLord) brought up a great point. “Honesty is the best policy!” This speaks volumes to those who engage in the SERPs. If we can provide each user with the best quality of results, and for all intents and purposes, the best quality of re-targeted ads, then we will continue to reach the appropriate audience.
3. Local
Local SEO is about community. As David Mihm (@davidmihm) spoke about the importance of Local, it struck me like a bag bricks that Local SEO is not really online but in the community around where you are at that moment in time. Community is the people around us and the comments/reviews they may have for any particular search we may have related to our surroundings. Where you stand makes you a local at that moment! Engage in the community around you and provide them with the best local results!
4. Engage
Stay Gold Pony Boy! Bob Rains (@bobrains) said it best, “Don’t forget why you are here!” Find creative ways to engage with your audience and get them spreading the word in their community!
5. Join In
Sure Schema.org is a bit of a scary idea, but I believe and have faith in the nature of mankind and believe that the big dogs have come together to provide the community with the right markup and schema to be successful and reach the right audience. This is a nod to our community that the big dogs value our role in this environment and have created this resource/common ground for us to meet on.
6. Share
Bill Leake (@marketing_bill) said, “Once you have something figured out, it’s probably about to change!” Without the community we have, we would all be lost. Take pride in sharing your successes and failures with the Moz community! We have seen the power of sharing. Bridge the gap so that others can learn from what you have accomplished! Sharing is caring!
7. Results
Melanie Mitchell’s (@MelanieMitchell) Paid + Organic = Better together. It’s kind of like Double Mint Gum. Double the pleasure, double the fun! Well again this also relates to each of us. Blue Tent + SEOMoz Community = Better results. Without the Moz Community, we could not have elevated our game as quickly as we have. We have learned volumes from each of you and we are proud to be apart of this community. We are constantly looking for ways to improve our strategies and most of the time that comes from each of you! Thank you!
8. Listen
Kristy Bolsinger (@kristy) spoke of the greater community of the Web and listening to your community. “Listening data provides insight into customers needs and desires.” Ultimately our community is why we are all here. Be sure to listen, listen, listen. Cause guess what? They are all speaking! Our job is to listen to the community and fulfill the desires of what is being said. Or at the very least address the community and engage with response.
9. Hand Shake
Wil Reynolds (@wilreynolds) spoke about earning links by going after the links that lazy link builders buy. What he suggested that speaks volumes is that you can obtain these links by legitimate link building the way Google wants you to. Find an organization/club, create a scholarship that will benefit the club/organization and will ultimately benefit you by receiving a legitimate link back to your site from an EDU. This is community. Come together as a community and everyone benefits. And you get a solid link the old fashion way… a hand shake!
10. Knowledge
Facebook’s Alex Schultz (@alexschultz) provided us with some great insight to Facebook and the Facebook community. Continuing the conversation after his presentation, Alex pointed out that the future of businesses in Facebook all leads back to their “Pages.” Facebook alone is a community, and what Alex is suggesting is that there are communities with in a community. And for Facebook that focus will continue down the “Pages” of organization in the community.
11. Passion
Last but not least, my top take away from MozCon is that this community of SEOs is a community of people with a passion and zeal for our work that I have never experienced. We are all individuals that have a ton of personality! One personality I had the pleasure of speaking with on multiple occasions this past week was AK Ngo. AK is a developer at SEOmoz. His passion for life and his work is quite evident when you speak with him. This is by far more energy you could ever get from a double shot of Espresso! This is the very core of community, people with passion! We all live and breathe this industry, looking for the latest and greatest of what’s next on the horizon, sharing our every mistake and misfortune, and on the other side – our great success. This is our passion! The bottom line is that we are a growing community in a growing profession that 15 years ago did not even exist. Coming together as a community at MozCon is by far the highlight of my year so far! I look forward to seeing you all next year! Until then I will see you all in our virtual community we call the World Wide Web!
Yours Truly,
Tim Hampton Director of Search Marketing Blue Tent Marketing @hampdiggity
Disclaimer: This post was written after attending the Carbondale Mountain Fair over the weekend, where I witnessed a great outpouring of our community along with hippies dancing in the rain under a double rainbow!
