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Last night was the second time that I spoke at the Atlanta Web Entrepreneurs Meeting and I thought it went quite well. The room was full, the questions were thoughtful and it was a real honor and pleasure to be on a panel with Alli Fabella and Stephen Martin. Mike Schinkel did a great job of organizing the event.

I went ahead and put together some good resource links that were mentioned but not included in the presentations.

Beginner’s guide to SEO from SEOmoz
Free Keyword research tool from SEObook – Also, the book is well worth the $75.
Free HTTP header reader (for testing 301 redirects)
Google Webmaster Tools
Google Local
Yahoo Local

After attending SMX in Santa Clara, I realized that I went to the wrong event. Not that I didn’t learn a few things, but it should have been called “SMX Basic” as there is an “SMX Advanced” later in the year and I very seriously doubt I can make it to both events. Most of the sessions I attended were a bit on the basic side.

The most thought provoking and insightful of all sessions, as always, were the ones with Todd Freisen and Greg Boser. Both have mastered the black art of SEO spam, but they also know very well how to use their powers for good and they know where to draw the line. They are somewhat like kingpens of the SEO underworld. And they’re not messy.

Friesen has a tendency to lay out some sarcasm and I had a giggle when he gave kudos to MSN for finally coming up with something cutting edge with their new video search. But his funniest remark came when Stephan Spencer responded to an attendee’s comment and said, “but don’t take our word for it, test it yourself.” Todd Freisen leaned into the mike and said, “Dude, they paid to take our word for it – that’s why they’re here!” Thanks Todd. He probably was only half-way kidding.

I have nothing against Spencer and really dig his SEO title tag plugin for WordPress, but that was a goofy comment. Most people don’t have the time, patience or resources to test all SEO strategies before implementing best practices. Plus, I had seen him “running” through the convention hall earlier in the day. Who runs at a Search Engine Strategies conference? Goofy. And his 16 year old daughter was also on a panel about the Google Generation. Enough already.

Yes, there was a panel about “Generation Google” that didn’t tempt me in the least. Why? I was already in a panel with Neil Patel, a 21 year old Social Media spammer. I believe his quintessential comment was, “Yeah, just keep on spamming.” Thanks Neil. But I have a legit business to run. I know Social Media is here to stay but even Rand Fishkin used the term “value spam” a few years ago so I have a hard time breaking that association with him and many of the Social Media elite.

At any rate, I understand the Google Generation session was like listening to teenagers talk about search marketing. Except these teenagers were the children or siblings of established Search Marketers/panelists. Like, totally cool, and, like, wow.

Yesterday I went to my father in law’s birthday party and he brought up the fact that the web is now corrupted by “you people” – the SEOs. And he’s right. I have always practiced the ‘white hat’ variety of SEO even though some toads have accused me otherwise. But there is a mess out there right now and as long as Google allows stupid, “value spam” to pass as relevant, the problem will only get worse.

Paul Simon has a song, “Negotiations and Lovesongs”, I believe, where he says, “everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance, everybody knows it’s true.” Very sentimental. I’m a big Paul Simon fan. Whoever decided on the location of the new Hyatt Recency Hotel in downtown Dallas must have been very sentimental about the sound of trains. The front door to the hotel is a mere 60 feet from a sizable train track.

The key to Paul’s song was, “sound of a train in the distance“. Otherwise, trains are noisy. FYI.

I had no idea that the World Series game I was watching Sunday night would be the clincher for the Red Sox. Otherwise, I would have paid closer attention. Instead, I was sipping wine while having conversations about the dynamics of Google Local and taking a tour of the Apple iPhone.

I gave a presentation at the NMHC Technology Conference on Monday afternoon. I presented alongside Lee Blankenship of Search Discovery, an Atlanta based SEM agency, and Craig Hordlow of Red Bricks Media. Lee discussed some interesting research and trends and showed some innovative strategies for PPC management. Craig captured my attention with his diagnostic approach to monitoring PPC alongside SEO in order help understand how and where to focus effort and spending.

My presentation was mainly an overview of SEO, the Local space and the fundamentals of website optimization.

Many people seemed to be getting their first introduction to some of the technology and ideas being presented – and that was actually refreshing.