MAKING SENSE OF SEO: USING SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS ON THE WEB
(An Interactive Panel Discussion)


When: Wednesday, October 13, 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. (program 6 to 7:30)
Where: Media Education Foundation, Community Room, Northampton, MA (where)
Cost: Suggested donation at the door: $10 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) brings powerful business tactics
but also plenty of confusion and hype. During our Google Analytics
event last spring, many of our members requested a follow up event on SEO.
Join us for this interactive panel discussion, where three local experts in SEO,
web business, and marketing strategy will take the hype out of SEO and share
practical tips on making the most of SEO. The focus will be on your questions
 - from the basic to the advanced.

Topics to be covered by our panelists include:

- Incorporating SEO into the design and architecture of your web site
- Advanced SEO techniques and SEO lessons from high volume web sites
- Integrating social networking (Twitter, Facebook, etc) into an SEO plan and marketing strategy

Our panelists are:
Silvana Gravini of http://www.silvana.net (and a long time Hidden-Tech board member),
Jason Gates of http://www.getfused.com and
Val Nelson of http://www.valnelson.com.

The panel will be moderated by Jon Reed, Hidden-Tech board member and the owner of JonERP.com.

This will not be a "lecture panel" - your questions will be the focal point of our
discussion, so bring your SEO topics and concerns. Whether you want to know more about
Google Page Rank, the SEO impact of blogging, or determining the best key words and search niches
for your industry, our panelists will have answers for you. They will also share how they
have increased their own visibility and marketing reach through SEO-informed efforts. Please bring
your SEO success stories as well. Note: this panel will be focused mostly on "organic" search
strategies rather than PPC (pay per click).


About our panelists:

Jason Gates is a Search Engine Optimization expert. As a partner at Getfused, Jason helps
clients with implementing best practices for search into their sites and their business
processes. Jason's work generates real and measureable results for Getfused's clients.
Getfused is a full-service digital marketing agency, founded in 1996. Getfused helps their
clients leverage technology to provide immediate and long-term results.
Check out his work at http://www.getfused.com.

Val Nelson is a business coach and career coach who helps people access more clarity,
more ease, and more impact in their work. While helping hundreds of clients with web
marketing, she noticed many of them were blocked by internal barriers to
self-promotion. (Introvert anyone?) Since adding coaching, her clients are happier and
more successful. Coaching is now her focus,  and she still brings marketing expertise
to the table.  She knows what works and what's a waste of time.
She provides lots of tips on her blog/website: http://www.valnelson.com/.

Once upon a time, a Web presence -- any Web presence -- was enough. That's just not the case
anymore! Achieving solid ROI from your online endeavors takes the marriage of smart strategies
and intuitive, elegant design. Silvana Gravini, principal of Silvana.Net, is a specialist in Web
site Design/Development, Organic Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and Social Media strategy and
implementation. A Web designer/developer since 1996, Silvana is an established leader in the
field. Her prior experience includes years of success in marketing and sales. This combination
of design and marketing expertise makes her uniquely able to provide clients with intelligent
and effective Internet solutions.
Contact Silvana at: http://www.silvana.net.