Well I just got back from India (24 hrs+ total travel time incl. layovers) and I’m a bit tired, but I can’t go to bed yet without posting about the Delhi SEO Meet.
The meet was organized by Pankaj Gupta, and it was also “Panks”–and his family (Mom & Dad, wife Shruti, daughter Mannat, and sister Nidhi)–who hosted us (Rich McIver and myself) all week. What wonderful hosts! They invited us into their home, fed us, led us on daily tours throughout Delhi (and Agra), and basically treated us as family 
The trip was a a great networking opportunity and vacation rolled into one, and I can’t wait for next year’s meet.
All photos are on Flickr, here are some highlights:
- After the sessions were over, the beer started flowing, the band started playing, so of course Rich started singing, and then we all started dancing
- The Taj Mahal
- Gandhi’s resting place
- Rich and the snake charmer
- A contingent of the DP SEO gang, at Panks’ house (before moving to the farmhouse)
- Here they are in the pool at the farmhouse
- Here are our hosts, Nidhi, Pankaj, and Shruti (need I tell you another plus of visiting India is meeting so many beautiful women
)
- We finally met Sagar Satapathy (our top manager in India, who we’d never seen face to face)
- We also met some of our writers (Mini pictured here, we forgot to get a pic with Priya.)
It’s so much fun to put a face to people you’ve known online for years! Thanks to everyone who attended the Delhi SEO Meet, and to Pankaj and the other organizers for making it happen–and most of all to the Guptas for hosting us.
I usually consider “What I’ve been doing” posts to be boring and egotistical, sorry you’re getting one anyway!
Conferences
- Last week my company had our annual board meeting–on a Hunter 305 sailboat. The corporate strategy for ‘07 was nailed down, and we also got certified for coastal cruising by the ASA. Score.
- March 31st 2007 is the Delhi SEO Meet. I’ll be in attendance with my partners-in-crime Brian Thibault of Convert Up and Rich McIver of Biz Niche Ltd. We’re going to stay the week and see the Taj Mahal (thanks to Pankaj for playing host and tour guide!) If anyone lives near that part of the world or just wants to see India I highly recommend attending, it is going to be a fantastic opportunity to network with Indian web service providers and many familiar faces from DigitalPoint.
- 2nd week of April is Search Engine Strategies in NYC. I’ll be speaking with several cool folks on the social media panel, stop by after and say hi!
Domaining
- As you may or may not know, many smart and aggressive folks from the SEO side of things are seeing the huge potential of domaining (and its synergy with SEO and branding). I myself am beginning to dabble a bit, and I found How to: Get Started As a Domainer @ Aviva Directory to be a good resource for SEOs/n00bs/intermediates. It goes in-depth into several buying, financing and monetization strategies and also has a helpful toolset of links at the end.
- I also just got my first issue of Domainer’s Magazine in the mail (for free!), and was pleasantly surprised with the quality. In my opinion domainers are the rock stars of Internet marketing, and again let me reiterate I think SEOs should be looking into domaining if they want to maximize their ROI on future projects… a premium domain + SEO/linkbaiting skills is a case where 1 + 1 = 3.
Special Surprise
- I lied, there is no special surprise, this is just a lesson to remind you that it is an accessibility and marketing imperative that your blog post deliver what is promised by the title (otherwise the reader gets disappointed and your brand is adversely affected). So don’t call something ‘The ultimate guide’ unless it really is ultimate, and don’t call something the cold war if it’s just a friendly bet, not Russia vs. the USA in an arms race.