My biggest concern was the lack of extensions (”plugins” for Firefox users), but after about an hour on the Google Chrome Extensions site, that was no longer a problem. So, I’ve compiled a list of the best Chrome Extensions for SEO and a few other can’t-live-without extensions (in no particular order).

1. Chrome SEO

Includes page, backlink, traffic and rank stats, and more.

[download & install now]

2. SEO Site Tools

Includes internal and external page data, social media stats, server information and more.

[download & install now]

3. Google Similar Pages beta (by Google)

Shows pages similar to the Web page you’re currently browsing.

[download & install now]

4. Domain Details

Shows domain, website and server details at a glance.

[download & install now]

5. PageRank

Shows Google PageRank on your toolbar.

[download & install now]

6. SeoQuake

Appears to be based on the Firefox plugin (currently in beta).

[download & install now]

7. Speed Tracer (by Google)

Shows page performance data.

[download & install now]

8. Ultimate Chrome Flag

Get domain, page and server data as well as PageRank and the hosting country’s flag icon.

[download & install now]

9. SEO Playground

Shows great on-page content information.

[download & install now]

10. Whois+

Get Whois, DNS, Email and Ping information for the current domain.

[download & install now]

11. Firebug Lite

Great for front-end inspection of the Web page you’re browsing.

[download & install now]

12. Pendule

Web developer tools for Chrome.

[download & install now]

13. IMG Inspector

Converts image links to a full gallery with thumbnails. Lightbox-style.

[download & install now]

14. Image Preview

Replaces image and video links with a lightbox preview popup.

[download & install now]

15. IE Tab

Display web pages using IE in a tab.

[download & install now]

16. MeasureIt!

Draw a ruler to measure any Web page element.

[download & install now]

17. Web Developer Mini

Web developer tools. This is a miniature toolset. Pendule has more functionality.

[download & install now]

18. ProxyThisPage

Load the page through a proxy.

[download & install now]

19. Switch HTTP Proxy

Switch proxy setting with one click.
[download & install now]

20. Session Buddy

Chrome session management.

[download & install now]

21. Session Manager

Save sessions of your opened tabs to quickly re-open whenever you like.

[download & install now]

22. ShowIP

Displays your current IP address.

[download & install now]

23. AutoPagerize for Chrome

Auto-loads the next page as you scroll through a Web page. For example: Google SERPs, Delicious bookmarks, etc.

[download & install now]

24. Evernote Web Clipper

Save interesting stuff you see on the Web into your Evernote account for use on the Web or mobile.

[download & install now]

25. My Shortcuts

Quickly access your Google Apps, or custom URLs, that you frequently use.

[download & install now]

26. Resolution Test

Test web pages in different resolution settings or set your own resolution.

[download & install now]

27. FlashBlock

Block all Flash on all pages or use the whitelist manager to allow certain pages to display Flash.

[download & install now]

28. Docs PDF/PowerPoint Viewer (by Google)

Preview PDFs, PowerPoint documents and other docs in Google Docs viewer.

[download & install now]

29. WOT (Web of Trust)

A safe browsing tool that warns of malicious sites.

[download & install now]

30. AutoPager Chrome

Automatically loads the next page for multi-page sites by just scrolling with your mouse.

[download & install now]

31. html2pdf

Converts HTML pages to PDF with one click.

[download & install now]

32. Auto Copy

Highlight text and it’s automatically copied to your clipboard.

[download & install now]

33. Chrome Gestures

Create mouse gestures to perform certain tasks.

[download & install now]

34. Clickable Links

URLs and Emails displayed in text will be automatically converted to a link.

[download & install now]

35. Tab Switch Plus

Find tabs in this vertical tab list and easily switch to new tabs or close immediately.

[download & install now]

36. Xmarks Bookmarks Sync

Backup and sync your bookmarks across computers and browsers.

[download & install now]

37. Translation Bar

Translate Web pages into your language of choice.

[download & install now]

38. Autocomplete = on

Use to remember your passwords. Can be turned off.

[download & install now]

39. RoboForm Online

Manage your passwords with RoboForm.

[download & install now]

40. LastPass

Manage your password with LastPass.

[download & install now]

41. RightLink

Right-click on links will automatically open the link in a new tab.

[download & install now]

42. goo.gl URL Shortener

Shorten URLs with goo.gl
[download & install now]

43. StayFocusd

Limit the amount of time you spend on certain sites so you can focus.

[download & install now]

44. New Tabs Always Last

Always opens new tabs to the far right of your toolbar. The default in Chrome is to open new tabs directly to the right of the current tab.

[download & install now]

45. Search Box

Easily search in multiple search engines.

[download & install now]

46. Feedly

Organize your feeds into a magazine-style start page.

[download & install now]

47. Search the Current Site

Performs a site search for the current domain rather than just a page find search.
[download & install now]

48. SendTo Extension

Send current Web page to several Internet services: Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Delicious, Wordpress, PDF Online, etc.

[download & install now]

49. RemindMe

Set yourself reminders that can be synced on multiple machines.

[download & install now]

50. Tabs to the Front!

Opens new tabs and brings them to the front for immediate attention.

[download & install now]

51. Aviary Screen Capture

Take a screen capture and edit it immediately with Aviary tools.

[download & install now]

52. Picnik Extension for Chrome

Capture a screen image and edit immediately using Picnik tools. Also pulls images from online at Flickr, MySpace, etc.

[download & install now]

53. Pixlr Grabber

Grab the entire page or just a section and save it to your desktop or edit using Pixlr tools.

[download & install now]

54. Webpage Screenshot

Capture the whole page or sections of the page in a JPG format.

[download & install now]

55. Zemanta

Support for many blogging platforms: Wordpress, Blogger, Typepad, etc. Associates images, video and other content to be inserted into your blog post as you write.

[download & install now]

56. Bit.ly

Easily shorten and share links with Bit.ly.

[download & install now]

57. Twitter Reactions

Shows tweets about the current Web page.

[download & install now]

58. Shareaholic for Google Chrome

Share the Web page on your favorite social network.

[download & install now]

59. Digg for Chrome

Easily Digg the latest story and find out what is being discovered at the moment.
[download & install now]

60. StumbleUpon

Manage your Stumbles and discover new pages.

[download & install now]

61. Del.icio.us Extension

One-click submission to bookmark your current Web page.

[download & install now]

62. Delicious Tools

Manage your Delicious account, use a pop-up window for tagging and keyboard shortcuts are available.

[download & install now]

63. Chromelicious

Easy access to your tags, bookmarks and Delicious account management.

[download & install now]

64. My Alerts

Receive alerts for Twitter, Google, Backtweets, etc.

[download & install now]

65. Facebook for Google Chrome

Quickly post status updates and view your wall and news feeds.

[download & install now]

66. HootSuite

Manage your Twitter accounts easily. Based on the Firefox plugin.

[download & install now]

67. Yelp Mobile for Google Chrome

Manage your Yelp account.

[download & install now]

68. Auto HD for YouTube

Will automatically redirect to the HD version, if available, and play as normal.

[download & install now]

69. Incredible StartPage

Customize your start page to include shortcuts and recover closed tabs. Also take notes as you browse.

[download & install now]

70. Chrome Reader

Subscribe to feeds, in Google Reader, from the address bar.

[download & install now]

71. BetterPandora

Who says you don’t need music to do SEO and blog?

[download & install now]

During the writing of this post, I had several windows & tabs open with all of these extensions and more running simultaneously. I installed plugins and managed to tweet through Tweetdeck as well. Nothing slowed down. Nothing froze. I experienced no problems. That’s huge compared to Firefox or IE.

I’m sure I’ve missed more than a few so please comment with your favorite extensions to share with everybody.

** Be aware that extensions are not always published by the brand represented (e.g. Flickr, Delicious, Yelp, etc.).

1. Drink Link Juice.

Link building and link bait should be critical to any blog. Try to get links to and from your blogs and include internal linking (linking to previous posts you wrote or other pages withing your site).

2. Cut Unhealthy Habits.

Edit your posts in the same way you would nix donuts from your diet. Others will catch your mistakes and will likely let you know about it. Also, do not use two words when one will do, as we all like short workouts.

3. Spotting is Necessary.

If you want to drive traffic to your blog, you need to do something for others, too. Comment on their blogs, but make sure your comments have substance. Support your fellow bloggers, tweet other blog posts, and they will be more inclined to return the favor. Be sure to follow up with comments on your own blog. This is like wiping down the equipment after using it. The people who comment before and after you will be grateful for your attention to detail.

4. Wear Proper Attire.

You want your blog to look good. Use flash sparingly (it’s not good for search engines), and make sure your blog posts are scannable (easy to read). Use bullet lists when you can, and do not use large blocks of text. It hurts our eyes, much like neon spandex that some feel is okay to wear to the gym. It is not, by the way.

5. Have a Regimen.

Be consistent. Whether you post once a day or once a week, you will increase traffic when you post regularly. This is where you will start to see results. Also, be consistent with your style. If you break form during a workout, you can hurt yourself. With SEO, it is your rankings that will be sore in the morning.

6. Eat Healthy.

Be careful of the words you take in on your blog posts. You want to use rich keywords, but if you litter your post with them, you will have a cumbersome blog that will alienate your readers. And remember: there are not many healthy diets out there that include SPAM.

7. Stretch.

Try new things and don’t be boring. With this in mind, do not go outside your limits and try to lift 100 pounds when you have been lifting 10. If you blog about business, but randomly decide to post about your cat Kibbles, we will not be amused (unless you can somehow relate cat kibbles to business success).

8. Don’t Sing Along to the Songs Over the Speakers in the Gym.

Ok, so this isn’t related to SEO or blogging. But it’s in good taste. Please, I beg of you.

Did I miss any healthy blogging tips? Let me know!

We’re hosting our third free workshop. And it’s going to be a barn burner full of SEO, PPC and social media marketing genius; networking opportunities with some of Utah’s brightest minds; and, of course, some great game-day snacks. And we’ll be evaluating two random attendees’ websites on the spot. You’ll be raising the roof, guaranteed.

Here’s the quick skinny:

What: March Madness Rankings Workshop
When: Thursday, March 25 from 2-5 p.m.
Where: 14870 Pony Express Road, # 100 in Bluffdale, Utah — just off I-15 at the point of the mountain
Topics: Pay-Per-Click Advertising, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Website Review
Cost: It’s free, but space is limited so reserve a seat by filling out the form on http://www.seo.com/march-madness/

Companies are putting more and more $$$ toward online marketing. eMarketer.com says $23 billion will be spent online, half of that in search engine optimization. This workshop will show marketers how to maximize those marketing dollars by mixing smart SEO, PPC and Social Media strategies to gain traffic and drive sales.

As usual, we’ll have presenters for each subject followed by a Q&A session. But this time, we’ll be doing something different. Attendees will compete in a short shooting competition to have their websites reviewed on the spot by our trio of all-stars: CEO Dave Bascom, VP of Client Services Nelson James, and the Director of SEO Ash Buckles.

So, before you check out the NCAA Tournament on the 25th, make sure to stop by and get some tips to bring your website more traffic. For more information, to reserve your spot, or to see the list of presenters, go to http://www.seo.com/march-madness/ .

So how do you convert visitors into customers? Make use of the AIDAS formula. There is nothing revolutionary about this age-old idea (it was conceived by psychologist E.K. Strong way back in 1925). There’s a reason it’s still around – because it works. AIDAS is best shown as a funnel:

Attention: Attract the customers’ attention.

You will only have a few seconds here. Having strong headline copy with an appropriate design emphasis or an intriguing image is most effective.

Interest: Get the customer interested.

Sell the benefits and advantages that the customer will enjoy with purchasing your product and or service. Include features if needed but make them less prominent in the design.

Desire: Make them want it.

Tell the customer how it will solve their problems or how it will make them feel.

Action: Tell them how to get it.

Provide clear calls to action and make it easy for the customer to purchase, signup, and or donate.

Satisfaction: Make those customers happy.

While this doesn’t directly increase conversion rates, it is vital for your business. Provide stellar customer service and two things will happen: the customer is much more likely to become a return, and they will recommend your business to friends and colleagues. Provide poor customer service, or worse, make them angry enough to share their bad experience. “Hell hath no fury like an angry customer with a Twitter account.”

AIDAS example in action:

The Mission Bicycle Company’s website is a good example of the AIDAS model in action.

1. Attention: A well photographed, interesting image with their product dead center grabs visitor’s attention.
2. Interest: A strong headline details why you should care about their product, and lets them know that they can afford it.
3. Desire: Showcases recent custom bikes to inspire potential customers.
4. Action: Lets the customer get started designing their own bike.
5. Satisfaction: Lets customers provide feedback, suggestions, ask questions and lets general visitors see how satisfied their current customers are.

Obviously every product and service is different and will require a unique application of this formula, but remember this is the Web. You can easily test variations to see what will be most effective for your business. Google even provides a multivariate testing service for free.

SEO.com salesman, Dale Nguyen, sits in a Bod Pod to discover his total body fat percentage.

SALT LAKE CITY – It doesn’t take much to get a team of tech-savvy geeks to trim down and shape up – just a few, sweet tech prizes.

“Mention ‘iPad,’ or ‘Dell Mini 5,’ and then mix in a little friendly competition, and the employees here will do the rest,” said Dave Bascom, CEO of SEO.com, a search marketing firm.

To improve the fitness and the overall health of his employees, Bascom is awarding the person who loses the highest percentage of body fat by June 1 a $500 prize of their choosing.

SEO.com as a whole may benefit in multiple ways with the competition. A study done in 2005 by the American College of Sports Medicine said workers who regularly exercise are more productive, managed time better, and worked better with their co-workers. Studies also show that employees who exercise regularly have fewer sick days, and less health-related expenses.

“If nothing else, we’ll all be a little healthier in 90 days after doing this for three months,” Bascom said. “And the In-N-Out Burger that just opened up by our office may not get as much business for awhile.”

Early on, the competition is already heating up.

“Nothing’s keeping me away from that iPad,” said David Malmborg, senior SEO specialist.

“I don’t want to win just for the iPad,” said Tyson Hymas, senior SEO specialist, “I want to win to beat Malmborg.”

SEO.com employees are coming up with different strategies to lose body fat. Hymas will be following the P90X exercise program and the diet Brad Pitt used to get in shape for the movie, “Fight Club.” Tiana Smith, a copywriter, will be following a routine set up by her personal trainer. Others have more creative tactics.

“You have to have a strategy for yourself; then you have to have another strategy to sabotage the competition,” said Scott Cowley, SEO manager. “I’ve used my social networks to find recipes for innocent looking, but highly fatty treats, which I will be putting around the office.”

About SEO.com
SEO.com is a search marketing firm that makes its clients money by driving traffic to their websites through aggressive search engine optimization, pay per click management, social media marketing and other search engine marketing services. SEO.com then turns those visitors into sales through search-optimized Web design and conversion optimization. Clients range from small startups to Fortune 100 companies.

As of Dec. 1, 2009, Baidu has retired their old PPC auction system, the Classic Edition. Now all PPC keyword bidding is done through their new system, Phoenix Nest.

The Classic Edition system was not convenient in managing large campaigns with thousands of keywords or more, because the old interface was not user friendly. The old way of keyword bidding was mainly based on keyword cost-per-click (CPC). The new Phoenix Nest system looks and operates more like Google Adwords; the interface is more user friendly and is very suitable for large campaigns.

The keyword bidding system in Phoenix Nest is now based on Baidu PPC keyword quality. Users should focus on optimizing their Baidu campaigns to maximize keyword quality, in a similar fashion to Google Adwords keyword quality optimization. However, there are no significant changes in the display of Baidu Search results. Here is how the display currently looks:

Search results on high traffic keywords:
Left side:10 PPC ads, then 10 organic search results
Right side: 8 PPC ads

Search results on long tail keywords:
Left side: 3 PPC ads, then 10 organic search results
Right side: 8 PPC ads

Search results on keywords with low traffic:
Left side: organic search results
Right side: 8 PPC ads

Baidu has also launched its PPC editor, Baidu Editor 1.0, which is similar to Google Adwords Editor. This tool enables advertisers to create/edit campaigns, ads, ad groups, and keywords offline. Baidu Editor is very beneficial to Baidu advertisers that manage large campaigns.

These two significant upgrades to the Baidu PPC system are going to help Baidu greatly in maintaining their market share in the ever-competitive China search advertising market. Combined with the resignation of Google China President, Lee Kai-Fu, who was mainly responsible for the increase in search market share for Google China, it will be very interesting to see how the battle for the China search market pans out.

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Business magazine named SEO.com president, Dave Bascom, among its 2010 Forty Under 40, a distinction recognizing top Utah “business leaders, tech gurus, professionals and entrepreneurs” less than 40 years old.

“I can’t think of anyone who deserves this recognition more than Dave does,” said Nelson James, vice president of client services. “He has put countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears into this company and it shows in our growth, success, and the success of our clients.”

“As his first employee,” James continued, “I’ve been with him from the beginning and can say that his unique understanding of both business principles and the search industry, his unfaltering integrity, and his concern for the future of this company and its employees makes him a worthy recipient of this award.”

The Forty Under 40 was selected by an independent judging panel of Forty Under 40 alumni. Utah Business will present the awards Feb. 25 at The Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City.

With innovation and persistence, the 34-year-old Bascom led his company to record growth and profits during the recent economic recession. Just a few years ago, he started his company in his basement. In the last year, the search marketing firm has grown from 12 employees to more than 60, moved to a larger office in Salt Lake County, and increased monthly revenue by more than 300 percent. In 2009, SEO.com has been named as one of the top 10 SEO firms in the country by PromotionWorld, one of the top 25 fastest growing companies in Utah by the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum, and among the Emerging Elite by MountainWest Capital Network.

“It’s been a great ride this year, and a lot of fun to see all the hard work pay off,” Bascom said. “To look back at where we came from, as a tiny start up, is quite satisfying.”

Bascom credits his positive attitude, ignorant youth and perseverance for his success.

“I believe that if anyone combines hard work with a good attitude, and a strong belief in yourself, you can be successful,” Bascom said. “Starting out, I was probably too naïve to realize how difficult starting a business can be. And that’s probably a good thing.”

About SEO.com
SEO.com is a search marketing firm that makes its clients money by driving traffic to their websites through aggressive search engine optimization, pay per click management, and social media marketing. SEO.com then turns those visitors into sales through search-optimized Web design and conversion optimization. Clients range from small startups to Fortune 100 companies.

Why Flash is Bad for SEO

While Flash is indexable by Google’s virtual user spider, we have yet to see a great deal of quality rankings from completely Flash websites — especially Flash sites for small, local businesses.

Unique URLs

With most Flash websites, many pages are contained, dynamically, in one .swf file. Most Flash sites use a ‘#’ to distinguish between pages. Sadly, Google doesn’t treat different ‘#’ URLS as separate pages. Consequently, Flash sites lose the extra SEO boost that comes from a multi-page website. Flex can fix the URL problem, yet many flash sites still don’t utilize Flex.

Smart Phone Dilemma

Smart phone users increase rapidly, expecting to reach 1 billion this year. Flash websites without an HTML alternative will be missing out on a growing chunk of their market (Restaurant websites really need to catch on here).

Poor User Experience

This heading is debatable as many would argue that Flash allows for a richer, more interactive experience. While this is true, many inexperienced designers aren’t in touch with contemporary Web usability. Flash adds a considerable load time that most users don’t have the patience for. While long intros, blaring music, and hidden buttons may seem like a thing of the Internet past, many websites still employ these revolting techniques.

Less Content

Flash websites typically have less indexable content. Let’s face it; a long page of keyword-rich text has more SEO sway.

When to Use Flash?

In my opinion, only two situations allow for a flash website:

1. Big Brand: Because big brands already have a truckload of links and a lot of search credibility, search engine optimization isn’t such a big concern. Pepsi’s principal revenue isn’t generated through their website. Rather, the website acts as a branding tool — much like an interactive television commercial. And, because Pepsi is such a big company and it has “pepsi.com,” we are safe to assume that SEO is not among their priorities (although the website should at least rival Coca-Cola and appear somewhere on the 1st page for “soft drinks.”)
2. Link-Thirsty Content: Link-thirsty Flash is not simply a “cool” animation well-liked by the marketing committee. Link-thirsty content clearly has the ability to go social and thus it attracts links like a porch light attracts moths. Mono put a lot of creative effort into their monoface application and consequently, I’ve seen that link passed around quite a bit.
   Games and applications might also be considered link-thirsty. Grooveshark’s slick interface and its vast music database gives it the ability to focus more on link-bait and social media rather than SEO.

How to Build an SEO-Friendly Flash website

Here are your options:

1. Use SWFObject: SWFObject allows you to place HTML code behind the Flash. It also keeps code cleaner by removing nasty object tags.
2. Don’t Call External Files with Flash: Google will treat external files such as XML files as separate pages. Make sure all of your text and links are embedded in the swf.
3. Use Minimal Flash: Adobe uses a Flash banner near the top of its website while still including the bulk of the textual content in HTML. This Web development technique is a common among corporate websites.
4. Don’t Use Flash: Wollzelle, has an attitude against Flash. The innovative agency in Vienna has developed a surprisingly fresh alternative to using Flash, with JavaScript code that can impress visitors just as well. Unfortunately, there are more visually creative Flash developers than there are JavaScript coders.

While I’ve given Flash a good lashing, I don’t mean to pooh-pooh it altogether. Flash is a powerful branding tool and also provides a good framework for application development.

She clearly wanted a real burger — not a bun, not an air sandwich, and she didn’t want to be full on just some fancy baking. No matter how good the bun looked, or tasted, it was ultimately useless without the big, beefy burger she wanted.

Similarly, this is what happens when you have designed a smashing layout with a high bounce rate. If your grids are tight, your typography is engaging, and you are getting loads of traffic, but you have a big bounce rate, then your customers are saying, “Where’s the beef!?”

No matter how fancy your site may look, if it doesn’t convert to sales, your site is lacking serious beef. A few tips to adding beef to your website:

1. Be relevant. If a visitor comes to your site expecting one thing and gets something else, they’ll leave your site with a bad taste and will likely never return. You may dress nice, but you MUST be relevant.

2. Engage users. Do this with relevant content, impeccable design and a clear call to action.

3. Provide quick value. People’s time is valuable. Make sure to give them what they want quickly or else they’ll bounce. Offer enough value so they’ll want to spend time on your site and come back again.

4. Clarity. Explain your product, how it works, what you do and why the user needs you in just a few words. The clearer your message, the quicker the reader will take action.

5. Offer Expert Advice. You can do this through blogs, white papers, webinars, etc. This lends credibility to your brand and provides a purpose behind your website. It also helps with search engine optimization by providing fresh new content, and establishing your site as an expert in your industry.

What is the next phase? While I would argue that content is king and good content strategy accounts for 3/4 of the success for a site, the remaining 1/4 rests squarely on taking that content and making it deliverable and engaging.

You need to take that valuable nugget of information, that hamburger patty you lovingly crafted, and garnish it. Present that information in a clearly legible manner. Use practical infographics that compel the visitor to sit up and pay attention. Engage them with interactive elements to help them really understand what it is they are looking at. Make that game the most amazing thing they have played recently. Compell them. Teach them. Guide them. Don’t make them think.

The New York Times is a great example of great content leading the way for great design to seal the deal. Apple is another but with a more product oriented approach. ESPN is a great example of a leisure brand excelling at this. This final step will set you apart from the rest. If you are not sure how to speak to your user through these means, hire an expert. There are designers out there who speak this language so well they can engage users without them even realizing it, and these subtle successes are often times the most potent.

Never underestimate solid design backing great content strategy.

This one two punch — opening with a focused quality content, and driving it home with a grand user experience — will ultimately lead you to the top of the charts on a given search engine. You will keep the users you gain, lower your bounce rate, raise your conversion rate, and leave no one questioning the substance of your idea, event, or product.

If you’re new to SEO, you may be wondering how long it takes to get to where the real SEO pros are – speaking at conferences, writing books, running the show. I still don’t know the answer to that one, but from my own short experience, I’ve found it’s better to be really good at SEO and help make your clients happy than to aspire to be a famous SEO.

That being said, your life and business career can be significantly more fulfilling if you learn how to network early, and become involved in the “SEO peoplesphere.” I’ve never been an extrovert, and I’m no Dale Carnegie, but I’ve been surprised at what a little networking can do in a short period of time. A year ago, I never would have imagined being on a livestreaming SEO panel, presenting social media to a college class, and guest posting on major SEO blogs. One of the best rewards has been feeling like I can help others, not just by knowing SEO, but by having a lot of friends with different specialties. I don’t waste time wondering who to ask about certain topics or who to refer people to.

With that, here’s my quick primer on how to network if you’re new to the SEO industry and don’t have lots of expertise to offer the world yet (in no particular order):

1. REMEMBER that you’re still more knowledgeable than anyone outside of SEO.

2. JOIN Twitter. Make sure you’ve got “SEO” in your bio. I recommend using your real name as your account (you’re no Stuntdubl yet) and an identifiable photo of yourself. If you don’t have your own website, link to your company website. Pass along the best SEO blog posts you run across (if you think they’re too basic to be worth posting, just remember tip #1). Be quick to offer help and encouragement to people who need it.

3. READ blogs and always try to comment intelligently. Sign up on Gravatar so you automatically leave a picture when commenting and use your full name when commenting. Also, subscribe to comments and don’t be afraid to respond multiple times on the same comment thread. You want to be known as a real SEO – not a blog spammer.

4. WRITE for a company blog. Start your own blog. Buy hosting. Buy a domain. Install Wordpress. Customize it. Write about your industry. Promote your posts on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Create your own graphics for posts if you can. You may not get the big names commenting on your posts, but you’ll get the ones that matter to you right now. Creating content forces you to be accountable for the feedback you get, which will ultimately make you a better writer and researcher.

5. INVOLVE other people in your own content. One quick way to make friends is to get their input and credit them in your blog posts and publicly thank them online.

6. TELL your friends that you’re an SEO. None of my old friends are on Twitter, but because I post about work and SEO on Facebook, I’ve had a lot approach me and ask for help with their own sites, which I’m happy to give.

7. TAKE ADVANTAGE of local networking opportunities, especially among non-SEOs. I can’t begin to describe how life-changing this has been for me in the last year. Twitter makes it easy to find out who’s going to be to the event, talk to them beforehand, meet up with them and have a meaningful conversation, then follow-up afterward, even if it’s just to let them know you were glad you could meet. (I generally hear about most events through Twitter, but I’ll often find other good events by searching locally on LinkedIn.)

8. HOST your own events. The easiest event to host is a basic Tweetup lunch. Most people would rather eat with someone else anyway and you’ll meet awesome people (and if you don’t, at least there was lunch). Use Twtvite to create an event where people can RSVP (then refer to #7). You’ll make a lot of friends by being the one to bring people together, even if it’s for something simple like lunch.

9. BE FRIENDLY to everyone you meet. It’s more important to be nice than to be right, especially if you’re making a first impression. Never disparage someone and never disparage a local company online or in person. You’ll never know how many opportunities and friendships you’ll miss out on because you’re a nonstop critic. I can only guess how many I’ve missed out on because I forget to lift, encourage, and inspire.

The great thing about all of these is that they aren’t extremely difficult and you don’t have to be an expert SEO to do any of them. You can be who you are and still make some major progress in your personal and professional development. I don’t know the secret to networking, but I’ve made a lot of great friends trying to figure it out in the last year.

What am I forgetting? What would you include in your personal guide to networking?