Affilicon, point of view of an objective, knowledgable observer.

 

For those of you not fortunate enough to have attended Affilicon Israel 2008, the first of its kind affiliate marketing conference in Israel, allow me to share with you some of the highlights and a taste of who and what you missed. Having myself reached the 6 figure mark with a single product (and preparing to conquer the next markets I am targeting), I was confident I would be hearing a lot I already knew. But I was quickly reminded of just how rich and dynamic online marketing is. I learned a lot and appreciated being exposed to some of the best minds in the business.

 First, Kol Hakavod, (that’s All the Kavod to you non-Hebrew speakers) to Itay Paz and his staff for initiating this event. It was well organized, professional and filled with good stuff. Here’s my run down and a few photos.

 

A Few Things I learned

Google Universal Search –Shrinking SERP Real Estate

Google is changing the rules of the game and making it a lot tougher to benefit from good SEO. Now, in some searches, even a ranking of 5 or 6 could land you on page 2! For Google, it probably means more of us Internet marketers will turn to PPC or rely more heavily on PPC. For searchers, I think it means they will be less satisfied with results. For Google editorial partners, it means a closer relationship to Google.

 

Video is gaining more momentum in search.

Ok, of course we knew this and that is why we direct all clients towards video and are in the midst of producing our own video series. But it’s always good to have someone confirm what you already knew and said 2 years ago.

 

News

News results are appearing on Google page 1 for most searches now. Should make you rethink your PR strategy.

 

Link Building Strategies

Link building has changed drastically over the years. Those at the cutting edge keep up while those relying on what they learned 2+ years ago still waste time with tactics like link exchange programs. Buying links? According to Google, you better reconsider that strategy or risk punishment. Want good links? Be prepared to be creative, to invest, to spend time. I’ve been painfully aware of this for a while. But was hoping to hear of some magic technique.

 

New Useful Tools

Vidmetrix for tracking the metrics of your videos. For YouTube, of course you can use “YouTube Insights” which is getting better all of the time.

 

Memorable speakers

Gigi Levy was a terrific keynote speaker. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised since he comes from the gambling industry and I tend to have a natural suspicion for that crowd. Sorry, but I know enough about the industry to have my opinion. But he is a terrific speaker and I found him inspiring. I appreciated his observation about how it has taken 100 years for car makers to sell 100 million cars and only 3.5 years for Facebook to reach 100 million subscribers.

Sam Michelson from Fiveblocks was the most entertaining. They guy knows his stuff and he is hysterical.

 

Ran Aroussi of Clickim  gave like half a dozen presentations, each with just as much energy as the last. If I was a affiliate marketer just starting out, his school would definitely be my first stop. He has compiled lots of good information, makes it easy to understand and must be an excellent teacher.

 

Igal Pines, the Millionaire in Pajamas, was adorable. He represented what seem to be the current force in affiliate marketing, boys. But I suspect that is going to change drastically in the coming years – the boys will become men, but also women are going to get into the field in droves. And then maybe the quality of content will finally improve.

 

Andrea Yager. This is an Internet marketer ready to sell you whatever she can convince you to buy. She’ll confuse you with her seemingly youthful, flakey mannerism and simultaneously collect your payment without you noticing the 2 year pre-paid membership clause. Andrea reminded the audience that we are in this game to make money. Not that this was a crowd that needed reminding.

 

Almost each speaker was excellent and had good, relevant info to provide. But next time, attend the event. Itay Paz told me they will be posting the videos – it’s worth taking a look.