SEO SCHOOL IS IN SESSION!

People learn search engine optimization (SEO) through on-the-job training, shadowing others, or a hodgepodge of seminars, blog reading and guesswork. There is an alternative! In this three-hour workshop you'll learn what professional and ethical SEO actually looks like and what it doesn't look like, gain insight for evaluating sales pitches and SEO companies, and get a thorough step-by-step overview of the process of effective SEO. You'll also leave with a solid understanding of current global and local best practices, tangible steps to boost your rankings, and the satisfaction of knowing exactly what in the world people are talking about when they talk search!

WORKSHOP 5:00 - 8:00 PM: Two and a half hours of content, a twenty minute break, plenty of cupcakes and coffee to keep you fired up! (Sorry, we have a thing about cute cupcakes.) Laptops are not required but definitely come in handy.

NETWORKING, APPETIZERS, "ASK AN SEO GEEK" 8:00 - 10:00PM:  After the workshop, join us for drinks and appetizers at the lovely and conveniently-adjacent Kip's bar. We'll have a station set up for on-the-spot SEO questions to solidify your learning, but chances are you'll be on overload and will just want to take advantage of the tasty beverages, free appetizers, fine company and cozy fire! Cash bar.

TOPICS

1. Optimizing for local and global results: The nitty gritty of on-page and off-page SEO.

2. PPC advertising: How it effects search, knowing when to use it, knowing when to run.

3. Google analytics: No search strategy is complete without this amazing tool! Get to know your analytics.

4. Social media: Leveraging Facebook, Twitter and the rest of the bunch to boost search listings

Paul Jahn Paul served as SEM Analyst for the Globe Education Network, Internet Marketing Manager at Aware Web Solutions, and as senior Search Engine Marketing consultant at MN company Thomson Reuters. He is the founder and owner of LocalMN Interactive.

Barb Prindle is a content writer who cut her teeth writing for Target, Best Buy and others. She is the owner of Snap Communications, and most of the time can be found discussing the importance of good  content – for search as well as all of our sanity. Since she wrote this she'd like to add that good content is WAY important!

ABOUT OUR LOVELY VENUE

The Marriott Minneapolis West is located in peaceful St. Louis Park, right off the highway. Most importantly, there is free parking and a bar attached. We'll be workshopping for 3 hours, then please join us at Kip's for some shop talk and munchies. There's a cash bar, and the room we have reserved has a nice fireplace so who knows, maybe bring your marshmellows (hey, there's nothing in the contract that says we can't!).

COMMENTS FROM SEO-SCHOOL!

The content was spot on, and you met us wherever we were knowledge-wise. I’m looking forward to learning more with you. Thank you for providing such a useful class.

SEO had been presented to me as some mysterious, laborious thing. Terms got thrown at me, but I couldn't get my hands around what exactly it all meant. This workshop not only broke it down for a not-so-technical person, it provided resources that took out the mystery and made it approachable. Barb and Paul showed that SEO is something I can handle.

For my money, I thought it was excellent. It seemed perfect for the small business person or start-up entrepreneur looking to improve their web traffic and visibility.

You provided an excellent overview of SEO, and countless tips/tricks for improving our SEO.

Thanks to ThinkSEM for helping us make this possible with their very kind sponsorship.

See you on the 22d!