Search Engine Academy Expands SEO Training to San Francisco Bay Area

Leading SEO Industry Educators Robin Nobles and John Alexander are pleased to announce that Search Engine Academy Workshops will be welcoming a brand new local SEO skills training center in the local San Francisco Bay Area.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) November 14, 2008 -- Robin Nobles and John Alexander have asked usability expert, Thomas W. Petty to join the Search Engine Academy family of educators. In the following interview, John Alexander, Director of Search Engine Academy asks associate SEO educator Thomas W. Petty a few questions about his views about SEO skills training:

John Alexander:

Hi Tom and welcome aboard our family of Search Engine Academy Associates. My first question for you is to ask What would you say is one of the most misunderstood aspects of SEO today? If you had to get it down to one single biggest misconception or idea, what would it be?

Thomas W. Petty:

http://www.bayareasearchengineacademy.org

I'd say that you can set it and forget it (or that it's easy.)

It takes work and constant babysitting. Most businesses don't understand that the Internet is where everyone shops, and it doesn't matter how much of a niche business you're in. I showed one client a list three pages long of searches for his pretty unique business. We've built a new site and optimized it, and he's getting calls from all over the country because he's listed on top of the search engines for his industry. But we're continuing to change the content to attract new search terms that are harder to reach or more unique than just "basic" search terms.

John Alexander:

Tom, Can you please say a few words about the importance of ongoing support and

coaching.

Thomas W. Petty:

Sure John. Mentoring and support is a must. The playing field changes every day.

I learn new things every week, and to be successful anyone who is "doing" SEO has to stay on top of things. What I call "traditional" SEO won't be as effective in the very near future as new things take its place. If what you are doing today is working, you'll soon be left behind with no skills if you don't keep up with the changes. It's sort of like programming languages, there's always a new version, a new tool, a new way, a new mindset. No one programs in Assembly, BASIC, FORTRAN or COBOL any more (well, not much anyway). New languages, methodologies, and tool sets have evolved to take their place.

John Alexander:

Okay, great viewpoint. But What do you suppose will be the biggest surprise to the SEO industry in 2009?

Thomas W. Petty:

The landscape is changing every day. Traditional SEO won't be as effective as it once was, because:

1. Competitors are figuring out how to get themselves locked in at high positions on the search engines

2. The search engines are serving up "personalized" results based on users' past searches, not just based on strict rules of SEO

3. Social media (socalled Web 2.0) is taking the world by storm, and most people haven't figured that out yet. Optimizing commercials on YouTube, online press releases, blogs, MySpace and Facebook, client community interaction, etc.

Read Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. It's not "coming soon" - it's here today!

John Alexander:

Thanks Tom. Is there anything our readers need to be aware of and/or prepared for? If so, what would that be in your opinion?

Thomas W. Petty:

Strap on your three point shoulder harness and pull it tight, because the Internet is changing fast. It will only continue to evolve as clever people put new tools in our hands and new technologies allow things to happen that weren't even imagined a year ago.

Just look at YouTube, blogs, MySpace, Facebook, Digg, Twitter and a lot of other things that have taken the world by storm. All of these things are being used to market business, and be used in new ways that weren't part of the original vision of the creators. As these and other systems evolve, the groundswell of the masses will shift. It can't be controlled. It can only be leveraged.

John Alexander:

Tom, Will you be offering training in San Francisco the Bay Area and Sacramento that will provide for new career opportunities?

Thomas W. Petty:

Absolutely!

Anyone who is involved with Web development can no longer just "build Web sites". Today's Web sites are far more advanced, incorporate a lot of elements including usability into them, and more and more businesses are asking for proof that their shiny new Web sites are making them money.

Traditional marketing is drastically changing. Print, audio (radio) and video (television) marketing must be tied into the Internet and tracked. Any marketing business that wants to stay competitive in the next 5 years has to be able to tie the two together through SEO, analytics, tracking codes, and embrace new media outlets such as YouTube, Flickr, and so on that can be even more effective

than a print campaign.

John Alexander:

Let's hear about what opportunities there are today for skilled SEO talent?

Thomas W. Petty:

Businesses are begging for help. Their competitors are showing up on the search engines above them, and they don't understand why. Traditional marketing (YellowPages®, print, television, radio) is less effective as everyone is bombarded by more ads every day and our attention span is divided by all our gadgets (TiVo, iPods, satellite radio, iPhones, BlackBerrys, etc.). Getting above the din and making yourself heard is getting costly and less effective. The economy is struggling in some areas, but people are still spending lots of money. There are huge opportunities for specialty Internet marketing companies to emerge. Some may specialize in SEO, some in PPC, social media, analytics, and so on. For one person to deeply understand and be effective at managing all those toolsets, would be extremely difficult. Emerging specialists allow each area to be understood deeply but tied together for an extremely effective marketing platform.

John Alexander:

Tom, in your opinion what is the most misunderstood aspect of search enginemarketing today?

Thomas W. Petty:

There is no one correct answer. Is SEO the best or is PPC the best or something else? There is good and bad about all of them. Social media is quickly becoming a huge influencer in the marketplace. Companies have to understand their client base, and what they want to accomplish before they even consider the tools. It may be that a blog is the wrong thing to use, because their clients won't pay attention to it. PPC may not be effective and SEO would be better. An online

commercial may attract new eyes, but not buyers. An online customer chat may be great, but staff has to be trained how to use it and be effective in supporting their clients.

An effective search engine marketing company must understand the nuances of all the different options and make proper recommendations to make sure their clients can maximize their opportunities.

John Alexander:

Tom, Thank you for your input and welcome aboard as our newest Search Engine Academy educator for the San Francisco Bay area. You are an exceptional educator. Robin Nobles, Mike Marshall and I were all so impressed with your knowledge and views, when you came to the SEO Mastery Workshop in Las Vegas that it's great to think you'll be teaching with us as a part of our family of local community trainers.

When will your first class be?

Thomas W. Petty:

My first class is scheduled for San Ramon, CA. in January 12-16. For more info you can check the Web site at:

http://www.bayareasearchengineacademy.org/registration.aspx

John Alexander:

Thanks Tom and once again, it is a pleasure to have you join our team of trainers for 2009.

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