Barcamp Vancouver was my first taste of an un-conference, and fittingly I was un-prepared and gave an un-presentation on longtail SEO. It’s easy to talk about a topic you have subscribed to well before it ever had a name. But be assured, next time I will not have worked until midnight the evening before, and I will have prepared at least an outline of my session. All in all, we just chatted for 30 minutes on how selling ‘less of more’ can have greater returns than the mega-gits everyone craves, and how SEO fits into longtail economics.

In September I will be delivering a course on SEO for Ecommerce Marketers and undoubtedly longtail SEO will be a basis for some of the content. But unlike Barcamp where I talked mostly about SEO strategy, I’ll try to get down to SEO tactics for the longtail, and how conversion should be the horse pulling the cart, not traffic.

Now I know I mentioned a few tools for session attendees to check out that will help establish longtail SEO, but only two come to mind (chime in if I am missing any).

Keyword generator

Way back in 2001 Justin Tilson and I developed a little access database program to do this very task of generating all our keyword variations, permutations, and modifiers. We talked about making it a web service but never got around to it. Lucky for you someone else has made a small desktop app for keyword generation.

Eye Tracking Studies

Because my field is developing technology for ecommerce and online retail companies, the MarketingSherpa Ecommerce Benchmark Guide is one of the best $300 I have ever spent on research. The eye tracking charts on user behavior are fantastic. Make sure you check out some of their other reports as well.

I am a devote reader and evangelist of MarketingSherpa - if you are a marketer and do not read MarketingSherpa reports, articles, case studies, and attend their conferences - you are not as effective as you could be.

So thanks to Barcamp organizers and sponsors, it was a fun event. I look forward to future ones.

Vancouver is loaded with new web start-ups and the related innovative thinkers. Among the vast assortment of talented folk is Troy Angrignon who recently released a manifesto entitled, “Web 2.0 - Strategies and Lesson for Business Leaders.”

In the report, Troy, along with some colleagues break down big picture of what is going on with all these exciting developments in collaboration, communication and how businesses can apply “Web 2.0″ goodness to enhance their corporate well-being as well as what might happen if companies don’t acknowledge and embrace this “sea change” (as Bill Gates proclaimed).

Troy describes himself as “an environmentally and socially active entrepreneur who mentors and advises startups.” The report demonstrates that he clearly knows the right questions to ask and listens well to the conversations as evidenced.

Much like ace Strategic Advisor Gord Janzen who I interviewed in a recent podcast, Troy has the unique ability of dexterously translating geek-speak into ceo-speak in an efficient, practical and hype-free manner and offers useful take away bits which most any corporation can utilize immediately.

More on Troy’s Report after the break …

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Since first logging on to the Interweb in 1995 (via a 14.4kbps dial-up connection on the island of Guam), I’ve purchased hundreds of products from many retailers and conversely, not purchased from hundreds more.

While thinking about why I completed purchases from some web shops and clicked away cursing from others, I compiled a list of what stores can do to remove the barriers to success with no extra work than is required to make a unsuccessful store.

In brief, all the points come down to improving the customer experience. I am sure there are plenty more tips and, as a consumer I’d sure like to hear them. Chime in if you’ve got a tip for retailers to add to my {drumroll} Top EEEEleven Tips for Improving the Ecommerce Experience - in no particular order (after the break …):

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Podcast host DaveO chats with Strategic Advisor Gord Janzen about the recently released “Build versus Buy in Four Easy Steps” White Paper.

They begin by discussing scenarios in which companies need to decide whether to build software in-house or buy a ecommerce solution and then review a four step process developed to aid teams in systematically reaching the best decision for the company by: 1) Picking criteria; 2) Playing them off each other; 3) Coming up a “base” solution; and finally 4) “Gut checking” it.

MP3 File

[Photo of Gord Janze by DaveO]

They also review the current state of ecommerce software world, the current trend towards re-provisioning and replacing home-grown systems, and the importance of assembling a multi-disciplinary team when starting an ecommerce software project.

Finally, after explaining how to obtain a copy of the Build vs Buy White Paper, including related Worksheets, Dave reveals Gord hidden prowess as a marathoner.

Elastic Path ecommerce software platform is designed for retailers seeking to attract and convert customers. One of the primary methods for attracting customers is optimizing your site to increase favorable search engine results when customers search for keywords associated with your product.

While there are books and scheme galore available, eager marketers are best served by learning from experienced professionals like those who’ll be speaking at Mid-Market eTail Conference, Oct. 30- Nov. 1, 2006 in San Francisco. Conference organizer, Worldwide Business Research puts forth,

“Learn from industry leaders how to optimize your site to create a world-class shopping experience for your customers. You will be surrounded by other online retailers that have to deal with the consequences and ramifications of the solutions that they implement every day, just as you do.”

The event is still a couple of months away, but we are already gearing up as the multi-day, intensive event includes a “Retailer-only Search Day” along with the main conference and Elastic Path has signed on a Search Day Sponsor to discuss things like SEO, Internet merchandising, profitability, and search marketing and ecommerce analysis in general.

Further, Jason Billingsley, VP of Marketing for Elastic Path is one of the Roundtable Moderators for a “Search Day Roundtable” portion of the agenda during which:

“Retailers will share their best practices and offer actionable implementations prior to the half hour roundtable discussions. Learn key search engine optimization methods from industry leaders in each of the five sessions. The Roundtable discussions are focused on all of your search issues.”

Elastic Path will also be exhibiting at the Mid-Market eTail show and spreading the word about flexible, enterprise ecommerce for mid-sized online retailers. You may even see a return of the contortionists!

WBR also puts on a general eCommerce show called eTail 2006 in Philadelphia later this August and Elastic Path’s Director of Sales, Mark Williams and the aforementioned Jason Billingsley, will be in attendance, so if you see the lads, be sure to say “hello.”