Bit of a belated review of a4uexpo London 2010 and much of it has already been covered, see the a4uexpo blog What’s being said about a4uexpo London 2010?

Highlights

Of the sessions I attended 3 absolutely stood out these were the gems I unearthed ata4uexpo. I’m not going to go into any detail as slides and videos are available somewhere, (Chris Johnski where are they).

Starting off with SEO David Naylor of Broncho first session day one spoke about:

The Three Pillars of SEO – An Advanced Review

I said in my timetable post that Dave is a legend and he lived up to the hype, he mentioned a load of tools he uses daily in his SEO many of which I will now also be using.

Conversion Rate Experts for the day 2 early risers told us about:

Conversion Killing Mistakes : 15 things Affiliates still aren’t doing in 2010

I don’t think I have ever made as many notes in an expo session before, and thanks to my shiny new I pad I can actually read them, cheers guys.

Last but not least in my top 3 is Kevin Gibbons of Seoptimise who gave us:

20 Social Media Tools & 20 WordPress Plugins Boost Your Performance

This is an amazing list some I knew about and some I didn’t, Kevin has blogged about his session with links to everything he mentioned in his well presented illuminating talk. Check it out here > 40 Social Media Tools & WordPress Plugins – a4uexpo Presentation.

Those were my highlights and well worth attending for, and I only scratched the surface, 12 time slots and 50 sessions makes seeing everything an impossible task and I will be looking at the Videos and slides as soon as I get the chance.

So how can A4uexpo be improved?

Well I’d like to see an area set aside for open workshops that people could drop in and out of, for example Conversion Rate Experts (yes them again) did a clinic where they looked at various websites, illuminating not only for the website owner in question but a plethora of ideas for all in attendance when the hour was over they still had a mountain of sites they hadn’t looked at, imagine if that had been running for half a day.

Second point was from a merchant who I spoke to on day 2 who was on a day pass they said that they would gladly have paid more to upgrade to a full pass just for the one day, however they were unable to attend on the first day so a full 2 day pass was out of the question. (Apologies to Matt if this option was already available).

Any thing you want to add please comment below and/or leave feedback on the A4uexpo website.

Memorable Quote

This came from the negative SEO session and is a word of warning to anyone when buying links.

“Shitty links will hurt rankings, lose Google love, and getting trust back is very difficult”

so be warned

Expo thanks from me to…

Matthew Wood and his entire team for another excellent event.

All the speakers mentioned above.

Mark Russell and the Existem AM crew for their fine hospitality.

And finally everyone who attended, would have been no show without you.

Again there has been a distinct lack of posts from me of late, but this time I have an excuse I’ve been moving house and endured all the broadband hell that goes with it. Consequently I have just got round to looking at the agenda for a4uexpo London 2010 as always I’m going to highlight the sessions that I intend attending so that I print off this page as a reminder of where I want to be, if anyone else finds this useful that is a bonus.

Please note there are over 50 sessions and I’m only going to mention the ones I’m interested in.

Monday 11th October

a4uexpo kicks off with the traditional Ignite Party, this year it is being held at the Parlour Bar, Canada Square Park from 6pm take along your ID and registration number.

Tuesday 12th October

Registration opens at 8am

The sessions

9:00 – 10:00 room 14-16

The Three Pillars of SEO – An Advanced Review

• David Naylor,?Bronco

When it comes to SEO Dave Naylor is a legend and a fellow Yorkshireman too

10:30 – 11:30 room 14-16

Negative SEO: Online Nightmares Come True

• Paul Madden,?SEOidiot
• Jon Myers,?Mediavest
• David Naylor,?Bronco
• Marcus Tandler,?Mediadonis
• Ralph Tegtmeier,?fantomaster.com GmbH

Thats right 2 SEO sessions straight off the belt, need to get my SEO fix in early.

I was also interested in Advanced Analytics for Affiliates which is on at the same time.

12:00 – 13:00 room Expo Theatre

The Truth About Cookie Overwriting

• Owen Hewitson,?Affiliate Window and Buy.at

A session about how many affiliates are typically involved in a sale and the extent to which their cookies overwrite each other.

I must admit I was tempted to attend SEO Ranking Factors in 2010.

13:15 – 14:15 room Expo Theatre

Becoming an Affiliate: A Reality Check

• Paul Brown,?affilinet
• John Lamerton,?Easy Content Units
• Kirsty McCubbin,?Blue Indian Media
• Nick Smith,?Hardly Rocket Science

Right on lunch time but this should be good and it would be rude not to show support for my good friends Kirsty and John.

14:30 – 15:30 room 17

Successful Information Architecture

• Richard Baxter,?SEOgadget.co.uk

According to the blurb Richard has experience getting sites with millions of pages fully indexed, getting the paltry 2000 pages of my main site fully optimised should be a doddle after that.

16:00 – 17:00

Not sure what to attend here yet my just have a walk round the exhibition hall.

17:15 – 18:15 room 2-4

a4uexpo – The Grill!

• Sanjit Atwal,?TradeDoubler
• Gary Bicker,?affilinet
• David Hall,?Affiliate Window and Buy.at
• Duncan Popham,?Total Search Solutions
• Daniel Powell,?Commission Junction

Moderated Q & A session with Publishing Directors of some of the major UK networks, hopefully very illuminating.

18:00 – 19:15

Drinks reception, Speed Networking or Black Hat Protection hmm difficult choice if I’m flagging the drinks will win if not then its Black Hat SEO time.

Day one concludes with the Breakout Party at The Troxy.

Wednesday 13th October

The agenda for the A4uExpo London 2009 Affiliate Marketing Conference has been released today and what a full on jam packed event it is going to be.

This will be the third A4uExpo in London and their second event of 2009 after the successful foray in mainland Europe with the Amsterdam conference earlier in the year.

Here is the full press release that accompanied today’s agenda announcement.

AFFILIATE MARKETING MUST UP ITS GAME TO SURVIVE, ACCORDING TO A4UEXPO SPEAKERS

The Affiliate Marketing sector must up its game if it is to remain the channel of choice in the current economic climate, according to some of the industry’s most experienced practitioners who are scheduled to speak at this year’s a4uexpo London event.

With sessions highlighting the need for embracing new technology and innovation as well as redefining roles within the £4bn industry, this year’s a4uexpo London Affiliate Marketing event looks set to ensure everyone is aware of the threats as well as the opportunities facing the channel.

Matthew Wood, founder and organiser of a4uexpo, says:

“Now is not the time for complacency and this year’s conference agenda is packed full of ideas and insights to help all parties working in this industry ensure it remains the channel of choice for Online Marketing.”

With sessions including a revealing insight from eBay about the decision behind the introduction of its new Quality Pricing Model; conversion benefits from getting product feeds right; and the future role third party apps can play within the sector, there will also be presentations from some of the leading Affiliate Marketing specialists across the globe giving hints and tips on how they would establish themselves if they were now entering the market for the first time.

The two-day educational conference, which is being held at ExCel London on October 13-14, includes a mix of formal presentations, panel discussions and hands-on workshops, and has been devised to enlighten new starters through to experienced AM practitioners.

With over 40 industry speaks from the Affiliate Marketing, Search, Analytics, Conversion and Social Media arenas, the event brings together an unrivalled team of International and UK-based Affiliate Marketing experts & Online Marketing professionals. Highlights also include:

• Intriguing survey results analysing the purchasing habits surrounding the increasing use of Voucher Codes
• Commission Junction founder and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Per Pettersen on the market’s development and possible routes for future growth
• Ewan Darby from Ogilvy and BA’s Eve Ireland on the role AM plays in the wider Marketing mix
• How to thrive in Affiliate Marketing from buy.at head Michael Steckler
• Bronco’s Dave Naylor’s tips on successful SEO strategies to get a head start in new niches or competitive verticals
• A look at the changing role of Networks from progressive Affiliate Network affilinet
• The role of Affiliates within the purchase chain and adding value, from i-level’s Matt Bailey
• Expert panels on utilising Social Media and Analytics, both moderated by Jon Myers at MediaVest
• Strategies for increasing Affiliate Paid Search earnings from Super Affiliate Sri Sharma
• An Extreme SEO debate from black and white hat industry gurus
• Risk Management skills for Affiliates from More Niche founder Andrew Slack

Matthew adds:

“The aim of a4uexpo is to equip delegates with cutting-edge information on best management practises, complementary channel activity, useful tools as well as expert views on the market and its future potential. This year’s agenda will do just that, and with some surprise speakers yet to be announced, our delegates will be crawling home after their two days of networking, learning and deal breaking!”

Full details regarding the a4uexpo London conference programme, including information on timings & speakers, go to www.a4uexpo.com/london