The Search Engine Strategies conference is one of the greatest conferences to hit up for the SEO worker. Experts and novices alike can get some good information out of the show.

The conference features a lots of great speakers from big New York powerhouses such as the New York Times company SEO staff, the ABC News SEO staff, the author of World Wide Rave and of course a Googler.

The main page of the SES site said it perfectly:

Your customers, colleagues and competition will be in attendance — will you?

It’s always something to ponder, going to these type of events. Sometime you’ll come home thinking you didn’t learn anything. But even if you didn’t learn anything new, a whole slew of other people did. So if you learn one thing, it’s exactly what your competition knows.

I don’t think I’ve been to a conference where I didn’t take at least a small helpful nugget of advice. It’s always good to see what the big dogs are doing — even if they are far behind the smaller agile SEO experts.

See you at SES New York!

EQUTE — Every writer needs fresh ideas at some point, bloggers are no different. If you’re running out of ideas and need a quick blog entry to keep the brand blog going, try one of these out.

Show your readers one of your tricks or how you use a tool. A cake maker could give a demonstration on the best frosting techniques or the best way to color icing. A SEO expert could show readers how they analyze and use a keyword density tool or analytics software. Any pro blogger will tell you, giving away free information lets you show off your skills and expertise in a field. This freebie might also attract new clients, peers or just new friends in the industry.

Write a detailed blog entry about pros and cons of a current industry trend or news item. A doughnut maker could write about the trend of hole-less doughnuts. And what it does to the classic shape of the doughnut. Or a public relations expert could talk about the good and the bad of free press release services and what it does to the industry. Every industry has confusing topics and highly opinionated subjects — look at what people are arguing about and start from there.

Controversial people can bring a lot of traffic to a blog, just their name will help a blog show up on searches, news aggregators and other sites. An interview with a controversial person in any industry will bring traffic from new and old users alike. An interview with a big name is easy traffic, but not an easy task — especially for smaller bloggers. A random music blog, for example, isn’t going to have the clout to interview Bob Dylan, but it can still capitalize on his name. A profile of a famous person can do just as well sometimes as the person themselves. Profiling Bob Dylan’s career or how he inspired people at the time a new album release could bring a lot of happenstance traffic and people newly interested in his biography or discography. Every industry has a controversial person, pick one and start writing.

Writing about a client’s question is an easy way to keep readers reading. No matter how mundane or inessential a question is, if one person asked it, there are likely many others who are thinking about it too. A straw manufacturer could, for example, take a few pictures and write a blog post about how they get the paper around their straws — magic probably. It’s not a crucial piece of information or anything, but it could grow interest in your company and if it’s an interesting answer to a novel question, the entry could burn up Digg or Twitter and bring a lot of readers and possibly clients to your blog.

Write your own views about something that has you delighted or disturbed — even if it’s not in your industry. Writing a post about the a current topic in the news is a great way to show your customers and clients your values and your personality. This can, however, be tricky, you want to show who you are, but you don’t want to alienate your base. While politics and religion can really stir up the pot and get traffic comments and like-minded readers, businesses should think hard about what kind rhetoric is hosted on their blog. If a yogurt maker starts railing on presidential politics they could turn off potential yogurt fans. The gamble could pay off though, see Ben & Jerry’s; their politics bring attention to the brand and make earth-conscious consumers feel even better about that Chubby Hubby.

The fact that you’re not the only blogger out there isn’t even worth saying, but many bloggers act like they are. In the mad dash for more readers and better traffic, bloggers sometimes forget that people read blogs because they like reading blogs — simple as that. Giving out some good information or a link to a great blog might sound like a farewell wave to some bloggers, but showing readers where you find inspiration or information isn’t a bad thing. Any good information, even if it’s from another site, is good information and your readers will appreciate your desire to show them something new and great. Don’t get jealous , just because your reader is looking at another blog, they’ll probably bounce back to the great blogger that pointed them there.

Everyone needed novice information at one point — from lumberjacks to web site designers. Teaching the very basics might not educate your regular readers much, but it can be a wonderful way to bring new traffic. Pose a very basic question, then answer it. A good one for marketing might be “What Is Affiliate Marketing?” It might be an obvious to hardened marketers, but the industry is always growing, and fresh faces might not know the answer. Give those greenhorns the Wikipedia rundown with a few tips or insider information scattered through. It’s a fast and easy post, but one that could mean big traffic gains from new readers.

It might sound mundane, but telling people what you saw, what inspired you and what you did throughout the day could be a great post. Throw up a few interesting, funny or educational links or pictures you saw throughout the day. With so much news out there, many are looking for collections and lists to point direct them onward. Showing your readers what you look at throughout the day can bring your personality into the blog while giving good information. Tell your readers what you were doing when you stumbled upon this great image or precious nugget of information, then tell them what you did with it. For instance, a designer showing their inspiration can give clients a taste of how their mind works.

Jumping on a Twitter trend or popular Facebook posting can really propel a blog into realtime especially if you’re blogging at odd times. Expanding on an extremely current topic is a good way to bring new readers and help current blog readers stay abreast of trending topics without seeking a more general site like Wikipedia. If a topic is burning through social media, it’s likely a talker or it will be soon. Jumping into the global conversation about the next Macintosh product and how it could affect your industry is easy bait for readers — it’s just a matter of timing. In a blog entry like this is, timing is crucial, you don’t want to be the blogger coming in two days late on the iPhone — you’ve already been beat by the tech savvy crowd and the Twitter spammers. A marketer could even jump in on a movie discussion, a quick article about how the movie District 9 crafted its ads will insert your expertise into an extremely popular conversation. Try these out if you run out of creative juices, they can be a great starting point on a slow day and keep your blog rolling.

With Affiliate Summit New York set to begin soon, a lot of people are wondering what they can do to make the most of the event.

Affiliate marketers, especially new ones, are likely wondering how they can get all the best information, the best contacts and find the best parties to make it worth their time. But there are a few things that everyone should do to prepare for the cacophony of information.

It seems simple, but make sure you have exactly what you need. Mostly this is a pad of paper and a good pen. You’ll probably get an armload of free, branded notebooks and pens, but bring a notebook you use at home, you’ll be less likely to set it down and forget it and the information inside.

Make sure to bring plenty of business cards. Running out or using your colleague’s card makes you look unprofessional. Big industry contacts will be at the affiliate summit, and if you want to talk to them, it’s best to look professional. We might make money with our feet up and our pajamas on, but a business attitude will stick with the business types and could get you a higher payout or a better reputation.

Bring one or two sets of nice clothes, if an appreciative affiliate manager wants to take you out for a nice dinner, you don’t want to look like a hobo — again your professionalism will make a good impression. Affiliate managers are more likely to help out the publishers and marketers that look like they have their eye on the next level whether they do or not.

A little planning goes a long way. Find the schedule and make a rough itinerary. If you don’t care about the future of foot cream affiliate offers lecture, skip it and pencil in a lunch. Talk to your favorite affiliate network manager or a colleague and invite them to lunch or a quick drink — it’ll be easier to get them away from the action when the lectures are going.

If you make yourself a schedule, you’ll be more apt to maximize your time and your talks with industry folks. Go in, make a good impression, then get back to the schedule. By limiting your chatting time and deciding who you want to talk to will help you get right to the point instead of chit-chatting with what might be a great person but a bad business contact.

Choose the lectures you want to see (if any), Affiliate Summit pays good money for huge names. You might only get a nugget of information, but as you probably know, every little bit helps. The lectures are also a good way to find a different perspective, even if it’s a rather mundane lecture topic, a big name could give you some good inspiration or new ideas. Hearing lecturers from Google or super affiliates outside your verticals might give you a new outlook on how to do things.

Do leave some wiggle room in your schedule. If you start talking to a promising business contact, don’t neglect your bread and butter to make the rounds for more free stress balls.

Find a nice party or two, and when you’re there have fun. If you get burned out on the first day, you’ll miss a lot the next day. Have some fun, meet some people in your field but don’t worry too much. If something promising comes up over free drinks, write it down and put it in your pocket.

Make sure to take advantage of your hotel room, if there are no lunches, dinners or lectures you want to go to, head back to the room for a powernap or a little break. It’s easy to get burned out talking about affiliate marketing all day, but with a little personal time, it’s easier to focus, plan your next move or digest what you’ve already learned.

This is also a great time for some one-on-one time. Meet up with a couple buddies from the industry and crack open a beer — after all the most important thing for seasoned marketers is meeting and making an impression on their contacts face to face.

A little downtime is also idea for sorting through your inevitable pile of business cards, swag and one-sheets. Make a shortlist of the people you want to talk to more after the summit ends — you simply cannot get in touch with everyone.

As soon as you land, decide how you want to implement your new ideas and how to use your new information. It’s essential to do this right away, even if your notebook of ideas is sitting on your desk, you won’t push yourself to the next level unless you hit the ground running. There were 100 other people who got the same information at Affiliate Summit, so be the first to try that new way of doing things.

Weather those new tips pay off or not, the only way you can rise above your competition is to keep changing and continue trying new things.