PubCon: Tools of the Trade – Turnkey Solutions

The following is simply my notes from each speaker. I simply jotted things down as they got my attention, much (but not all) is in my own words filtered through my own thought processes. If I lack information on any particular speaker, or misrepresent what was said, please know that this is inadvertent.

This was a great session to learn some easy tips and strategies in regard to the tools we need for effective marketing campaigns.

Derek Vaughan, Techpad Agency

• Get the right hosting from the right company at the right price. 25,000-30,000 web hosts out there, very few are companies that would be secure.
• Hosting companies are willing to pay for your business! Hosting companies pay an average of 8-12 per click (#3 spot on Yahoo PPC).
• Identify the companies that you might want to work with. Ask them to right down their best deal. Do the same with others, then use that info to negotiate. Look for their special deals.
• Be aware of timing. Time purchase for end of month/quarter/year. Their desires to meet quotas gives you opportunity to get a good deal.
• Might even get discounted or free hosting if you provide an advertising link at the bottom of the page.

Alex Bennert, Beyond Ink

• Data Sleuthing is like private investigation: situation assessment, competitive review, website forensics.
• Rankquest FireFox toolbar: Many tools available. Here are just a few: Lynx viewer, Code to text ratio tool (excessive code bloat), Link explorer (looks at linking structure), Keyword density analyzer. Not a lot of technologically amazing tools, just a good compilation of them all.
• SearchStatus: Backlink checker, who-is checks, no follow highlights, PageRank and Alexa data and more.
• Xenu: Free download, checks broken links. Great for sites under 10,000 pages.
• CodeMonitor: Allows you to track specific pages and be notified of changes that are made.