Saturday, February 28, 2009

Get Ready for Search Engine Marketing Conference (SEMCON) Pangasinan

Last night, I had the opportunity of sitting-in at a small get-together, participated by SEO practitioners in Pangasinan, at Silverio's. The primary agenda on the table is the upcoming Search Engine Marketing Conference (SEO / SEM/ SEMCON) Pangasinan targeted this 3rd quarter of the year.

Present in the meeting were Gary, Mica, Chad, Clowny, Dilson, Eric, Ferdinand, Philip, Julius S., among others.

I think having a search engine marketing awareness done in different parts of the country is a great idea as this promotes knowledge on its value. Especially now in the time of crisis, with limited marketing resources, I know of a lot of companies shifting their budget towards marketing on the Internet to promote their products & services. This is where search engine marketing & optimization becomes a viable strategic alternative.

What makes Pangasinan special as well is that it is home of some of the top SEO practitioners in the country who actively participates in local and international competitions. It speaks well on the available resource for such a service.

The SEMCON Pangasinan event intends to gather newbies and practitioners interested to learn more about SEO / SEM. Experts in the SEO / SEM field will also be invited to share their knowledge and provide updates.

For those who haven't been to Pangasinan, it is the home of a famous tourist spot in the Philippines - The Hundred Islands.

Will update this post as we get more details about the event as it gets finalized.

Monday, February 23, 2009

SEO Copywriting, Content Writing Style for Press Releases

A public relations (PR) agency in the Philippines recently invited me to conduct a session on SEO copywriting or web content writing and how it applies to press releases. The 2-hour briefing was very productive (even fun) as I got to discuss (demonstrate when appropriate) the following, at the minimum:
  • The importance of SEO copywriting / web content writing in a search engine marketing / search engine optimization campaign.

  • Introduced several tools as one of their newest best friends online. This gives them room for creativity when planning a press release using inputs gained on popular keywords.

  • Writing style guide appropriate for the busy Internet user to ensure attention is captured right away. Web readers have little time in their hands. If the first two paragraphs does not contain enough meat, they will leave your site. Therefore a press release must be written for the user to be read and not for PR clients ego satisfaction.

  • Providing additional resources, even 3rd party, to give user the necessary help needed. Therefore making the PR site even credible in the process.

  • Ideas on what makes a great website that PR firms can also use in improving theirs.
Of course, the above is not limited to PR firms. It can also be used by any website or blog owner that produces content.

Friday, February 20, 2009

don't trust me

Don't trust me when it comes to love,
I've been through a lot...
Although that doesn't make me wiser than you.

Take the risk,
Fight for it,
If you believe that it is true.

Victory or defeat is a fate that lovers must face.
Be courageous and have strength when loss results to despair.
Take action, change, for there's so much to life ahead.

Still, don't trust me for I am only temporary.
Face the truth as it show itself gradually.
Let it set you free.. to love more or to move on.

***** keyword experiment - love and sad poem - don't trust me *****

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Winning 1st Texas Holdem Poker game

Last January 31, by accident, I got my first chance to play Texas Holdem Poker and won 8 out of 10 rounds of the game. I was doing a video shoot for an IT company at that time. This is for an e-learning application on blog marketing where I was one of the guest resource persons.

After the shoot, I found out that their favorite past time in the office is playing poker. They even have a leader board and everything was done in the spirit of fun. No real money out. When they found out that I don't know how to play, they volunteered to teach and the three of us started.

Ten rounds later, I end up wiping them out. Now I know what others felt when they say that it is hard to play with a newbie player as I hardly gave up in any round no matter how unfavorable my card odds are.

As I have a corporate club member who is into the gambling business of the government, I find having the need to understand how the game works and be more effective in communicating about the subject in the future (be able to play the game as well) is important.

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There are now poker blogs that also has a Poker Room resource. Like in the case of Poker Ownage where current online poker rooms, reviews and latest bonus codes are provided that players can use to boost their bankroll. This is where avid players can learn rules and advice for various form of poker games. It also has industry news developments that players can find interesting.