WebProNews

In the "SEM Small Business Blitz" session the speakers focused on how to use social media in an affordable and practical way.

 (Coverage of SES Chicago continues at WebProNews Videos.  Keep an eye on WebProNews for more notes and videos from the event this week.)

Jennifer Evans Laycock, Editor-in-Chief, Search Engine Guide, offered advice on social media marketing.

Laycock said to listen to trusted advice and "don't get too caught up in social media-conversion is the ultimate goal."

It's not about your budget it's the attitude. Use creativity and take advantage of the flexibility of your small business.

Amber Naslund, President, Altitude, talked about getting a foothold in social media. Naslund said, "first and foremost, get educated in social media." It's about building relationships.

Listen before you talk in social media. Find your personality, talk to people, and trust them.

 Define true success (set your goals).

Identify where you are now before you start new ideas.

Naslund recommended these places to start:

Blog

LinkedIn

Flickr

Facebook

Twitter

Measure your success. Pick 3 things that really matter and measure those. Naslund said, "don't be afraid to fail in social media."

Carrie Hill, SEO Team Leader for Blizzard Internet Marketing, focused on SEO for small businesses.

"All your SEO depends on keyword research," said Hill.

Crawl your site.

Export data to Excel.
Assign a keyword to optimize per page.

Write your tags based on findings.

Use the Google Website Optimizer, it's free, easy to use and it integrates with Google Analytics.

Hill said to," start small with testing to prevent yourself from being overwhelmed."