10 Yetis Review of ThinkVisibility Conference 2011 in Leeds

Just on my way back to the sunny Gloucestershire after attending my first ever ThinkVisibility SEO and online marketing conference. Originated and managed by Dom Hodge ThinkVisibility has quickly become the must-attend conference for SEO, affiliate marketing and generally anyone with interest in online marketing.

Held in Leeds (my first visit, great city) the conference is supported by a thriving local digital and creative community, many of whom attended ThinkVis and I was lucky enough to get to chat to (umpf PR, to name just a few).

I went along on the recommendation of sunshine.co.uk Marketing Director, Chris Clarkson.

After surviving the pre-conf party the night before I went to the following sessions throughout the day.

Peter Cooper: Self Promotion for Over-thinkers: How The Right Audience Could Change Your Life
Attended this one because I thought it would be more about creating a buzz for campaigns. Turns out it was slightly different to that.

There were a few case studies on successful online campaigns where a buzz had been created and how to leverage* the most from the peak of the buzz (YouTube Instant, Google it, a nice story).

The second half of the talk was making sure online entrepreneurs and techies did not lose heart, kept pushing out new things and building tools that would get people talking.

What I took away: Don't let one knock get you down, keep pushing new ideas out there.

Next up; Jackie Hole: PPC

This was probably the talk I was most looking forward to as PPC is very much a dark and mysterious art for us Yetis. The diverse levels of experience around the room, people like me with no clue and then some of the “super-affiliates” who basically helped invent PPC meant it was going to be tough for Jackie to get the balance right.

For me though, it was spot on. Enough detail to give people like myself an idea and a few industry insider tips to keep those with more knowledge involved.

What I took away: Plan your campaign structure out rigorously before firing up your PPC. Unofficial thing I took away from an unnamed source: PPC is a form of legalised gambling :-)

Next up; Tina Judic Performance Marketing? It's a Piece of Cake - Getting the ingredients right for success.

Tina’s talk was brilliant and it even involved her making a cake**. This was a great overview and mix of information on PPC, SEO and how to get the most form your online marketing campaign.

A great mix of actual client case studies combined with some examples of what has not worked so well so we can all learn.

What I took away: Feeds need to be supplemented with extra content and make sure your header tags are nested (ok, so I just wrote the last bit down to ask our techies, not a clue what it means).

Next up; Paul Smith on his Twitchhiker journey

Going to be honest, was dreading this talk. Anyone who knows the working relationship between 10Yetis and Paul’s current job as one of the BitterWallet Ed’s will know that we have “history”.

So, with this in mind, guess how much it must have hurt to learn that not only is Paul a really nice guy (and I mean really nice), he is incredibly funny and his Twitchhiker journey was by far the most entertaining talk at ThinkVis.
I told him this afterwards!

What I took away: Social Media communities can be very powerful... go read his book to get the full story.
I missed the next talks due to gossiping with someone, but I would have gone to Annabel Hodges talk on reporting.
I heard it covered a mass of different areas and everyone was chatting about it when they came out.

Lastly, Dave’s Den.

Dave Naylor is a legend on the UK SEO scene. Prior to this talk the ThinkVis team had encourage people to put their sites up for a SEO review from Dave.
Known for his sense of fun and no-nonsense advice he did not let anyone down.

Hugely funny, hugely informative and I found I could not write everything down!

What I took away: Loads, but the one snippet that stuck with me as we have a new 10Yetis site on the way. Make sure you do split testing properly or you could get a duplicate content issue, and penalty.

All in all a great event. I lost track of the tips I learnt and I was also really glad to go along and met fellow PR’s who are interested in the SEO scene and seeing how we can help companies with their online marketing campaigns.

Kudos to Dom for a great event and thanks to the Scottish contingent who I latched on to for not “breaking” me with drink!

*crappy marketing term, sorry
**Nearly