Thank you first to SEMPDX for choosing MEDIA forte marketing to speak at their SearchFest in March. I’m really excited and encourage anyone who has an interest in learning about search to attend (read the interview about search marketing and social media).

On the topic of education I’d also like to talk a little about the Search Marketing Basics Classes I’m teaching for Hood River Community Education. The Series includes coursework for creating keyword research, competitive analysis, link building, blogging and social media optimization. I taught the first class, Search Marketing Basics, last week and it was really exciting for a number of reasons. First, because the attendees knew more about search than I imagined (they knew the difference between paid and natural/organic search, they understood the importance of search, they grasped the process of how their visitors used search). Second, they had some work to do with the foundation of their search marketing, particularly with keyword research. I think a lot of companies still miss the point of good keyword research. You can’t be found online for “cool blue widgets” if you don’t use the words “cool blue widgets” in your title tag, description, page content, linking, etc. Just as importantly, it won’t matter if you’re found for “cool blue widgets” if your customers are calling your product “groovy blue waggles”. The definition of search is becoming larger and more encompassing as search gains traction as a traditional marketing technique and as it becomes more diversified.

The purpose of education is to empower. My suggestion for business owners looking to become educated in search is to invest in the foundation (keyword research/content) before you venture into other strategies, such as social media optimization (define).

Whatever level you are as a search marketer or business owner, you’ll benefit from attending SearchFest or our local community education courses, put it on your calendar!