I just returned from the Google Campus/Complex

[bigredseo]

Hey guys,

Some of you who have been following me on my personal Facebook page or my business page know that I have just returned from an event at Google's Complex in Mountain View, CA.

The event was the Google Webmaster Conference - Product Summit. This was their first such event, and as an application/invite only event, I was pretty excited to be selected to attend. But it wasn't until I returned home that I realized just how special it really was.

I was one of only about 160 people invited to attend the event. Holy crap!! Hundreds of thousands of webmasters, thousands of SEOs, thousands of agencies, and me and my company was chosen to attend!!! Seriously? Yeah, pretty amazing!!

I'll not drop names of individuals, but there were HUGE companies there - ones you've used DAILY, ones worth $1B+ and $10B+, news organizations the list was insane - and then there was Big Red SEO

For images and content discussed and names of other companies that attended, go to twitter and look for the hashtag #gwcps - https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1191420824416186370

(In that tweet, I'm on the Aisle, 2nd from the back which a big cheese eating grin on my face!

The event was geared toward people who have been in the industry a long time and are familiar with where things were in SEO and Search Engines and where the future is headed. Having been doing this for over 20 years, I'm one of the old-timers in the industry. I can probably drop the 20 years and say "nearly 25 years"

The big takeaway is that Google has a really clear focus on the search engine results and really does want to make webmasters and site owners happy with the results chosen. They really do care! And that's a huge part of this event. The amount of talking, questions, chats and engagement with the general community on how to make things better for everyone was really eye-opening.

There was a "Product Fair" (think of a Science Fair, but for Google Engineers). I got to talk and chat about various aspects of the search engine and the results pages from Knowledge Panel pages, Google My Business, Search Engine Console data, Video integration, Image Integration, Job Search and so much more. And it wasn't just a "sales guy" talking about what things do - this was the ACTUAL engineers that have been working on specific projects. Talk about a direct line into how someone thinks and why certain things are done certain ways.

Over the next few weeks (and yes, it's going to take that long just to digest everything that happened), I'll be discussing various parts in our site blog, some data here on these forums when it's related, and hosting a few video type sessions where I'll be discussing the event itself and what I took away. Think of those like an AMA type video/session. It's not really youtube-y info

Anyway - just wanted to share my exciting weekend news. Of course, there was the delayed flight, the missed flight, the extra night in Dallas before returning home - but that's just part of the experience right?

I am now, one of the VERY FEW, that can claim they were at the very first Google Webmaster Conference Product Summit. What an experience!!

 

[easyhostmedia]

Hey guys,

Some of you who have been following me on my personal Facebook page or my business page know that I have just returned from an event at Google's Complex in Mountain View, CA.

The event was the Google Webmaster Conference - Product Summit. This was their first such event, and as an application/invite only event, I was pretty excited to be selected to attend. But it wasn't until I returned home that I realized just how special it really was.

I was one of only about 160 people invited to attend the event. Holy crap!! Hundreds of thousands of webmasters, thousands of SEOs, thousands of agencies, and me and my company was chosen to attend!!! Seriously? Yeah, pretty amazing!!

I'll not drop names of individuals, but there were HUGE companies there - ones you've used DAILY, ones worth $1B+ and $10B+, news organizations the list was insane - and then there was Big Red SEO

For images and content discussed and names of other companies that attended, go to twitter and look for the hashtag #gwcps - https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1191420824416186370

(In that tweet, I'm on the Aisle, 2nd from the back which a big cheese eating grin on my face!

The event was geared toward people who have been in the industry a long time and are familiar with where things were in SEO and Search Engines and where the future is headed. Having been doing this for over 20 years, I'm one of the old-timers in the industry. I can probably drop the 20 years and say "nearly 25 years"

The big takeaway is that Google has a really clear focus on the search engine results and really does want to make webmasters and site owners happy with the results chosen. They really do care! And that's a huge part of this event. The amount of talking, questions, chats and engagement with the general community on how to make things better for everyone was really eye-opening.

There was a "Product Fair" (think of a Science Fair, but for Google Engineers). I got to talk and chat about various aspects of the search engine and the results pages from Knowledge Panel pages, Google My Business, Search Engine Console data, Video integration, Image Integration, Job Search and so much more. And it wasn't just a "sales guy" talking about what things do - this was the ACTUAL engineers that have been working on specific projects. Talk about a direct line into how someone thinks and why certain things are done certain ways.

Over the next few weeks (and yes, it's going to take that long just to digest everything that happened), I'll be discussing various parts in our site blog, some data here on these forums when it's related, and hosting a few video type sessions where I'll be discussing the event itself and what I took away. Think of those like an AMA type video/session. It's not really youtube-y info

Anyway - just wanted to share my exciting weekend news. Of course, there was the delayed flight, the missed flight, the extra night in Dallas before returning home - but that's just part of the experience right?

I am now, one of the VERY FEW, that can claim they were at the very first Google Webmaster Conference Product Summit. What an experience!!

Can't miss you in that lilac shirt HAHA. i recognise a few more faces

 

[Artashes]

Conor,

I loved reading your impressions of the conference visit. Being a part of an exclusive group of 160 who were invited to an event of such caliber is a very big deal. It speaks volumes of the level you’ve achieved as a SEO expert. I feel extremely lucky that you find the time to remain an active member of HD who stays involved and helpful to other members, share valuable insights and advice none of us are going to learn elsewhere. So congratulations on your trip and Google experience.

Reading your report has reminded me of my own experience earlier this year at Apple’s Developers Conference. The environment is similar to the one you describe: open, approachable and friendly. Apple developers is the bread and butter of the company, and it shows in the treatment you receive. I particularly enjoyed the countless labs where you can sit down with a designer or an engineer and talk through any use case, a review of your app and ask any relevant question. I am a huge fan of a corporate culture in which you can come up to anyone, be it an executive or a designer, and you’ll be treated with the utmost attention.

Thanks again for sharing about your experience. No wonder why you have the biggest smile on that pic. Haha.

 

[bigredseo]

Thanks Art,

I really wish more companies would open their doors to the people that make things tick.

Flywheel was located here in Omaha and it was great to be able to go down to their facility and chat with them directly. Now that they've been acquired by WP Engine, I wonder if that same openness will continue. It was great to be able to go to their office and have a beer with the support and admins.

Similarly, when The Planet was around (what 12+ years ago), they had an invite to their Tier 3 clients for an open round-table discussion over 3 days. At the time, my company was also one of their larger clients and was in the Tier 3 group - so they flew me down and chatted for 3 days on what they can do to make life easier for me as a hosting company.

Those are the things that set the big corporations apart these days. While not everyone can do something like that, it can be a huge eye opening for upper management to hear what's really going on.

I've been running a few local events in Omaha where I've shared much of the news from the event and new tips/tasks that can be implemented, and just how things work. I really need to step up my game and run a Zoom Webinar for those that want more info. Maybe I'll get around to that?

 

[easyhostmedia]

Thanks Art,

I really wish more companies would open their doors to the people that make things tick.

Flywheel was located here in Omaha and it was great to be able to go down to their facility and chat with them directly. Now that they've been acquired by WP Engine, I wonder if that same openness will continue. It was great to be able to go to their office and have a beer with the support and admins.

Similarly, when The Planet was around (what 12+ years ago), they had an invite to their Tier 3 clients for an open round-table discussion over 3 days. At the time, my company was also one of their larger clients and was in the Tier 3 group - so they flew me down and chatted for 3 days on what they can do to make life easier for me as a hosting company.

Those are the things that set the big corporations apart these days. While not everyone can do something like that, it can be a huge eye opening for upper management to hear what's really going on.

I've been running a few local events in Omaha where I've shared much of the news from the event and new tips/tasks that can be implemented, and just how things work. I really need to step up my game and run a Zoom Webinar for those that want more info. Maybe I'll get around to that?

A lot of large companies lose the personal touch and just think of profit. I remember when i was a founding member of a heritage railway group, i used to contact many companies to get products/services donated. I remember contacting a local paint company (hammerite) and asking if they could donate 2.5 litres of paint, so we could give our loco a fresh could of paint. a few days later a lorry turned up with a pallet of 30 litres of paint, each year after that they would call and ask if we needed any paint, but as soon as they were taken over by a large national company this stopped

 

[HW-J]

Interesting read! Thanks for sharing .