In a field as fast-paced as search engine marketing, there aren't very many options for learning other than reading articles and visiting discussion forums. In fact, the entire world of online marketing moves at such a fast pace that it can be tough to stay on top of things. While there are quite a few fantastic conferences out there like Search Engine Strategies and Jill Whalen's upcoming High Rankings Seminar, the travel costs associated with these shows makes them out of reach for a large portion of the online small business market.

That fact hasn't been missed by the folks behind a new conference for online business owners. The eComXpo Virtual Tradeshow will run its second event next week and attendees won't be scrambling for last minute airfare and hotel reservations. That's become eComXpo is an online conference, so there's no need to leave the comfort of your office or living room. Also, since sessions are archived for a full 90 days after they originally air, full-pass attendees will literally have months to catch all of the speakers.

The show will feature Seth Godin as keynote speaker and a daily discussion panel along with over 100 different sessions covering everything from affiliate marketing to search engine optimization to email. There will also be live chat rooms, a virtual expo hall and message boards so attendees can connect with each other or with exhibitors. The exhibitor hall already has dozens of companies listed including big names like Yahoo!, Google, WebmasterRadio, Shopzilla, Overstock.com and Commission Junction.

I'll be presenting at the show myself, with a presentation on finding and selecting a search engine marketing vendor. If you plan to attend the show, keep an eye out for my session at 9am EST on Friday morning. If you'd love to attend the show, but aren't sure that you are able to afford it, I may have a solution to that as well. Search Engine Guide has been given five full passes to the conference to give out to our readers. So, we've decided to join forces with our sister site: Small Business Brief in order to recruit and review stories of how you got your small business started.

If you'd like a chance at one of the free passes, drop me an email at jennifer at searchengineguide dot com and tell me how and why you started your business. Linda Riley of Small Business Brief and Robert Clough, our publisher will help me review the entries to pick the five most interesting stories. We'll profile those companies on Small Business Brief AND will give the winners a free "Three-Day Full Show" pass.

Or, go ahead and sign-up right now for a free Exhibit Hall and Keynote Pass. We'll also be giving those away to the first fifty search engine guide readers to register via this link: Search Engine Guide Complimentary Pass.

A full list of speakers and their topics is available at the eComXpo site, along with pricing information.

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