Did the conference go to the “Dark Side” with Black Hat SEO?

Should there have been more advanced topics?

Was there enough White Hat SEO discussed?

The 2008 Advanced Search Marketing Expo also delivered a fast-paced, action-packed venue of topics and opportunities for networking with top-notch performers who specialize in organic Search Engine Optimization, Paid Search and Web Development.

Who won the “SMX Advanced Awards” depends on your preferred type of Search Marketing entertainment. After all, those who wear a Black, White or Gray SEO Hat are all part of the the WWW media production. If we’re not the lead role at a Search Marketing Agency, we are In-House SEOs acting as supporting actors and actresses, Copywriters developing keyword-rich scripts, or Link Baiting Publicists.

All “blockbusters” generate conversation. SMX Advanced generated a lot of talk…and talking, we have been. You can view a snapshot of Twitter conversations about SMX+Advanced on Summize (shown right).

Post SMX Advanced, critics reviewed the Seattle ‘08 production. The reviews may have generated more controversy than the conference. A lively discussion about The Dark Side was held on Bruce Clay’s blog, lead by Lisa Barone (an eloquent writer and critic). Danny Sullivan, the Producer and Director of SMX Advanced did a great job responding to the SEO controversy and demonstrated good Online Reputation Management skills.

SEO Hat Color Selections

SEO performers, Search Engine Optimizers, often refer to their trade of building organic traffic as White Hat, Gray Hat or Black Hat. Each Search Engine Marketer needs to determine what color hat they are going to wear to each WWW production. They may choose to wear different colored hats for different types of shows they attend.

SEO Definitions

Wikipedia says…

“A white hat is the hero or good guy, especially in computing slang, where it refers to an ethical hacker that focuses on securing and protecting IT systems.”

• SEO defined by Wikipedia:
  • “Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results for targeted keywords.”
• Accepted White Hat practices: Google Webmaster Central Guidelines lays out SEO guidelines accepted by the search engines.
• White Hat vs. Black Hat: Wikipedia explains the chasm between accepted and unaccepted SEO strategies.
• Gray Hat: Couldn’t find a good definition, to paraphrase: Slightly sneaking SEO that doesn’t break the Black Hat laws.

Choose White Hat SEO

SEO Hat colors come in White, Black or Gray. Most shows require white!

Most Search Marketers only have white hats in their SEO wardrobe. However, gray and black are the color of choice by a few who work in highly-competitive circumstances or with a company not worried about loosing its reputation.

Who Won at the SMX Advanced Awards?

The Search Marketing industry as a whole won! It was the best conference I’ve attended in years. The majority of the sessions I attended discussed White Hat SEO techniques and strategies. Discussion of Black Hat SEO actually proved entertaining and informative. These scenes in the SMX Advanced movie will be edited out, however.

You can read for yourself. The following sites provide PlayBill or ClifNotes versions of each session:

• SearchEngineLand: SMX Advanced ‘08: Day 1 Recap
• SearchEngineLand: SMX Advanced ‘08: Day 2 Recap
• Graywolf’s Blog: SMX Advanced 08 Recap

I started going to “industry” events in 1998 to Flash Forward conferences in New York & San Francisco. SMX Advanced of Seattle 08 outshined any of these glitzy and glamorous conferences by delivering solid content, a good story line, and a captivating “Give it Up!” finale.

The winner is…

Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz for his White Hat SEO techniques and his yellow shoes!

Rand was an outstanding moderator and delivered some valuable take-aways, tips and tools for organic Search Engine Optimization.

Gotta love those yellow shoes!

Rand’s company, SEOmoz offers “PROfessional” content for members. Aside from conferences, it’s the best value for your money! Learn about their SEO tools, guides, custom Q & A, and marketplace for Search Marketing professionals.

This was my first SMX event, but my 4th event hosted and/or coordinated by Danny Sullivan, editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land, a blog that covers news and information about search engines and search marketing. I only met Danny briefly, but his influence on the Search Marketing industry reaches world-wide. After all, it is called the “World Wide Web.” (I hated missing SMX West in Santa Clara, but a lung bug took a vacation in my chest.) I recently started consulting again (gosh, how I missed it), and SMX Advanced was a must! It will be on my annual calendar for search marketing training.

SMX Advanced was worth the time and money. It was well organized and orchestrated like a finely tuned digital piano. Heck, even most of the music on the PA system was good. Oh, and the food was awesome and the best I’ve seen at a conference. There was more than Diet Coke, Danny’s beverage of choice. I’m a health geek, too, and I was pleasantly satiated. Each attendee was given an SMX backpack (shown right). The backpacks sported padded shoulder straps, a place for pens and business cards and were large enough for a laptop with a 17″ screen. Forget paying for daily Internet at the Waterfront Marriott – the conference offered free WiFi!

SMX Connected

“Free WiFi” is a perfect segway to mention how well connected SMX Advanced was for attendees. Prior to the show, Search Marketers were able to sign up on a password-protected events page to get to know others ahead of time. During SMX Advanced, fingers tapped away on keyboards and cell phones. These SEO & SEM Geeks were live blogging and live tweeting on Twitter, a platform for microblogging. (Follow Dana on Twitter if you’re so inclined.) We Tweeted 140 characters or less throughout each session. I was able to “watch” what was going on in the other sessions by keeping a Twitter window open on my laptop.

The only “closed” session was “Give it Up!” where the panel told their inside secrets. The attendees and panelists swore an oath to stay silent or to have their souls doomed to the Goolgle Sandbox if any of the information was revealed for the next 30 days. That included agreement by Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft Live Search. The search engine giants swore to not “fix” any loopholes that were divulged. And, some of the tactics revealed where borderline black hat SEO techniques. Fortunately, there were some solid, clean white hat SEO tips divulged as well.

SEO Half Life

I’m registered for SES San Jose, and they have big shoes to fill. I heard multiple people at SMX Advanced say now they are only going to SMX conferences for keeping up on the latest in search marketing. I recall someone, probably Danny, announcing at Search Engine Strategies in San Jose in 2004 that half of what we learned there would be outdated in a year!

Are you interested in SEO and Search Engine Marketing?
You cannot afford to miss SMX conferences and training events.