November Meeting this Friday at 8am

Good morning world.  Wow what a day yesterday huh?  Regardless of your politics and who you voted for, it was a historic election and I’m just glad it’s over.  Seemed like the campaigns lasted for 3 years.

So, onto the agenda for this week’s meeting.  Following up on Ed Reese’s popular and educational presentation on SEO, Ed will be taking the stage again on Friday.  Ed will be reveiwing two of our attendees’ websites and helping them live with their SEO.  A sort of SEO mini workshop.

It’s a can’t miss meeting this Friday and I hope you all attend.  If you have been confused about SEO and want to see a real site make changes with Ed’s help, now is the time to attend.

Friday, 8am at Calypso’s on Lakeside in Coeur d’Alene.  Please bring $5 to assist in the rental of the room.

 

Ed Reese – SEO Presentation – Awesome!

On October 3rd we held our monthly meeting at Calypsos.  I know I know, it’s been two weeks and I am just now giving everyone an update….

As outlined in this blog earlier, Ed Reese from SixthManMarketing presented on search engine optimization.  The presentation was outstanding and as you can see from our picture below, everyone was glued to each new bit of information shared.

This was our best attended meeting as of yet with just about 20 people filling the conference room for an early morning meeting.  We actually didn’t do our hot seats during this meeting as the information we got from Ed was so valuable I don’t think anyone wanted him to stop.

Ed walked the group through an introduction of SEO:

1. Definition vs Common Perceptions
2. Organic Search vs Paid Search
3. Why do we care?
4. The three legged stool of search (technical, content and trust)
5. The different types of organic search
6. Local search tips
7. Tools and resources

It was a great presentation and provided many of the attendees with some great things to get started on right away.  Ed really raised the bar for our presenters by not only bringing in a great presentation on our projector but also providing handouts.  I think the next presenter will have to bring in a dancing monkey to compete. 

We are still looking for a presenter for our November meeting.  If you have an idea please let us know. You definitely want to attend these meetings where you get to meet, network and learn from companies like:

• DirtyBlueMedia
• Hog Advertising
• Keller Williams
• Whitestone Design Works
• Boeing
• Converseon
• Camp Mivoden
• Antal Consulting
• Convertech Solutions and more!

Past attendees – if you would like to have a link to your site in our blogroll, please email me at jamie@jebcommerce.com.

 

October 3rd – A presentation on Search Engine Optimization by Ed Reese

Our next meeting is on October 3rd at 8am.  We will be hosting the get together at Calypso’s on Lakeside again.  We had such a good time there and the facilities are wonderful.  We had a few people say they were unsure of attending because the meeting was at a coffee house due to the typical noise level, but rest assured, there is a seperate room that is very quite for our meetings.

Ed Reese of Sixth Man Marketing will be presenting to the group.  Ed is an SEO expert and will be walking us through basic Search Engine Optimization, what it is, how to understand it and how you can apply it to your business strategies and tactics.

Here is what Ed had to say about his upcoming presentation: “SEO gets a bad rap, mostly due to the 5-10 emails a week guaranteeing top positions on Google. These emails are spam.  No reputable SEO would ever guarantee search results.   I am going to set the stage and explain what search optimization is and what it isn’t. People often get too focused on their rankings and miss out on the bigger picture of how many relevant visitors get to their web pages to make a purchase/transaction/find information – that is what’s important. The key is finding and ranking for terms that will resonate with your customers that will lead to an action; that’s effective SEO.”
Ed has been working in SEO since 2003 and before that he worked in Seattle and the Bay Area in media sales/software marketing.  I think he’ll be bringing vast experience in this increasingly important online marketing niche and really helping all attendees get a better understanding of SEO.  He did want everyone to be sure that this isn’t a pitch, he won’t be selling any of us on anything.

Ed has some great stories, and not all relating to SEO.  Maybe we can get him to open with his stint as a professional Korean bowler or a semi-pro foosball player.

If you’d like to join us please feel free.  You can RSVP here – http://web.meetup.com/151/calendar/8695611/

We are asking everyone to bring $5.  the $5 goes towards the fee for the room, but we get a credit for coffee and food for the same amount, so you are really buying your beverage

 

Ed Birch to present on Continuous Improvement – September 5th

We have a special guest for our September meeting. Ed Birch will be joining us to talk about continuous improvement. Continuous improvement is the constant effort to eliminate waste, reduce response time, simplify the design of both products and processes, and improve quality and customer service. In simpler terms it can be summed up as Plan, Do, Check, Act. If you have specific processes or procedures that you wish to have Ed address that relate to web marketing, please leave a comment below.

What does this have to do with web marketing? Processes and the concept of Plan, Do, Check, Act has a place in every business and every industry. What processes do you have in place? What processes do you need in place and how to you put them together and measure their success? Ed will be discussing these and other issues. But if you have something specific that you would like him to address related to your business, just let us know through the comment section below.

Ed Birch has over 20 years of “hands on” experience in disciplines from business development, manufacturing management, quality assurance, product development, finance, and information technology. His industries include management consulting, chemical processing, food processing, pharmaceutical and contract manufacturing.

In 2005, Ed and his wife Donna launched Birch Consulting Group to specialize on improving individual and organizational performance.

In 2007 Birch Consulting Group became a partner in the Strategic Energy Group. The Strategic Energy Group are engaged managing energy efficiency projects for BC Hydro (Canada), Energy Trust of Oregon and Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. Birch Consulting’s work with the Industrial Efficiency Alliance is to transform energy management practices of Northwest food processing and pulp/paper industries. Ed currently mentors more than thirty food processing and pulp and paper mills energy efficiency teams which are projecting cuts in energy usage by as much as 20%. J.R. Simplot Company, Norpac Foods Inc., Tree Top Inc., Ocean Spray Inc., Basic American Foods Inc., Sabroso Co., and Weyerhaeuser Co. are a few of the companies that are engaged in the Continuous Energy Improvement process designed and developed by Birch Consulting.

Birch Consulting Group has also worked with Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. in developing an environmental improvement program for the gold and silver mining firm. Birch Consulting has reached outside the United States to South Africa introducing continuous improvement concepts to Pro-Group, a regional retail pharmacy chain, and conducted continuous improvement workshops for South African businessmen sponsored by the local Rotary chapter.

Ed’s successful programs have been built on committing executive leadership and empowering employees to accept and implement change.