Media Blog: AweSEOme event demonstrates region’s search skills
EVER wondered what a room full of web search specialists looks like?
No, me neither, but I experienced it for the first time this week and it was no bad thing.
Organised by the team behind Leeds Digital Festival, the AweSEOme seminar gave mostly media-types (shame general business people weren’t out in force – not invited?) the opportunity to learn from a panel of experts the latest trends and opportunities connected to the world of search and what is known in the industry as Search Engine Optimisation (the process of improving the visibility of a website or web page in search engines via unpaid search results).
Although much of the discussion, ably chaired by Improve SEO’s Mark Hall, went above my simple journalistic head (despite knowing the basics as a website-type myself I openly admit to not being an expert), what couldn’t be denied was that the wealth of search specialist talent in the room demonstrated the strength of the sector in the region.
Panellists (made up of Stu Owens of Bloom, Martin Davies of Brass, David Wilding of Blueclaw, Pete Young of Brilliant Media, Andy Heaps of Epiphany, Craig Broadbent of Fusion Unlimited, Peter Cobley of home james, Lee Allen of Stickyeyes, and Jono Alderson of twentysix) discussed issues including Google’s Panda search system, how to get the most out of SEO when setting up a website, and gave tips on how your website can shoot up the search rankings.
The event, held at The Adelphi pub, was the first of a monthly series to be organised by Leeds Digital Festival in the run-up to the festival itself in November.
One thing to note, however, which did leave my brow furrowed: discussion came round to the Leeds v Manchester question (inevitably as it seems to do these days), as in which city does digital the best?
Here’s a thought: why not concentrate on celebrating all that is good about the talent in Leeds and Yorkshire and look to work with our neighbours across the M62?
It seems that across most business sectors these days Yorkshire is always looking to stick the boot in against its North West counterparts.
Who knows, the sector might even thrive further with a bit of collaboration.
