The Girlie Girl’s SEO Conference Guide

And a “close-enough” transcript for those who still prefer to read:

Just because the SEO industry is dominated by men doesn’t mean the women in the industry need to dress like men. So this is my girlie girl’s conference survival guide.

Make a list of the activities you will need outfits for then choose an outfit for each activity. Then find shoes that will work with multiple outfits. Try to avoid bringing an outfit that needs a pair of shoes that you can’t wear with anything else.

If you are used to wearing heels, wear them. But I recommend wearing flats during the day to sessions to save your feet for nighttime. I carry a purse that is big enough that I can keep flip flops in them and put my heels in them late at night when I need to give my feet a rest.

To save more space when packing, only bring a coat if you are going to somewhere really cold. Also, if you are sharing a room, coordinate with your roommate to see what items you can share such as a hair dryer or curling iron. There are also plenty of websites about smart packing and avoiding wrinkles. Give those a read if you aren’t an experienced packer.

Once you get to the conference, find two places: a grocery store and the nearest greasy breakfast spot. Ask the locals. They will recommend the best places that you might not otherwise find.

Head to the grocery store and buy snacks, tons of water and some booze for your room to pre-party or make to-go drinks. Make sure you have enough to share so you can invite people to your room before going out.

When you are out, if you see someone you want to get to know, pay attention to what he or she is drinking and bring him/her a drink. Don’t bother asking if you can buy him or her a drink since the answer will usually be yes. So just do it.

As for what you drink, stick to what you know. Don’t mix a lot of alcohols and avoid shots. This is a conference, not spring break. You don’t want to end up in an SEO Girls Gone Wild video.

On the morning after, get up and go to the breakfast spot you found the day before. Order the greasiest thing on the menu and eat as much as you can to diminish your hangover.

Have fun, meet people and know that people will remember what you did when you were drunk much longer than they will remember anything else about you so be smart.

Marketing and Optimization for Non-Viral Videos

A quick video about how to market non-viral videos online

And the transcript for those of you who don’t like to watch ;)

TechCrunch recently had an article about the strategies behind viral videos with great tips about how to make your viral videos successful once you upload them. But what if your videos aren’t viral? What if they are simply informative or educational? What if you are a video blogger? How do you make non-viral videos successful?

First, don’t expect that you will get the views that the most recent skateboarding accident or kicked in the nuts video got. Understand who your target audience is and how big it is so you have reasonable expectations.

Next, treat your videos just as you would if you were writing the post. Use your target keywords in your video and talk about topics relevant to your market. Once you upload your videos you will want to include a compelling title, relevant keywords and ideally a transcript of the video where possible.

You should also promote your videos just as you would any other blog post. After all, in this instance, your video is just a spoken blog post. Embed your videos in your website with relevant surrounding text, share your videos with friends and colleagues, and most importantly be active in the communities you are promoting in. Friend people on YouTube just as you would on Digg or Stumble Upon. You’ll get social karma and exposure by subscribing to channels, commenting and rating videos.

It takes time to develop an audience for videos just as it does for a website. Be patient, keep producing quality content and promote promote, promote. Video is a great addition to any strategy and will pay off in the end.