At PubCon last month, Bruce was interviewed by Mike McDonald of WebProNews. The topics Bruce talked about covered the importance of personalization, the devaluation of ranking as the prime metric for SEO, and the role of engagement objects on rankings going forward. There were a lot of people talking about Bruce’s comments, so Bruce, Susan and Virginia address the interview subjects on the show.

Then Virginia talks to Matt Inman, a Web designer and marketer who specializes in creating engaging Web content. Matt gives listeners a window into his work process for developing ideas, illustrations and quizzes. He says that quizzes are the most requested form of content that clients ask him for. He also explains how he gets his projects buzz on social media platforms like Twitter and Digg, as well as his strategy of giving designs away for free.

Susan, Michael, Maryann and Virginia then talk about engagement objects and how they play into people’s desire to see visual and interactive content. Images in search results have been found to draw more attention, and having images, videos and other non-text content on a site will improve the chances of showing up in blended search. Also, videos, games and widgets, which give users something to do on your site, may attract users to come back. Content is king, and content is more than just text.

Bruce, Robert and Susan start off the show discussing link building best practices. With marketers clamoring to gain inbound links, it is important to keep in mind proper decorum when searching for linking opportunities. Basics — like being courteous, developing a relationship, and keeping messages short and sweet with proper spelling and grammar — can go a long way when requesting links from other sites.

Later, Virginia talks to two members of Bruce Clay Japan, Inc. about the Asian demand for SEO and SEM services. Harry Miyamachi, CEO, and Yoshi Akari, Strategic Planner, discuss the trade between and online transactions within Asian countries including China, Japan, Korea and India. The office, opened in May, primarily serves Japan-based global companies and international companies targeting Japan.

Then Susan and Virginia look at some of the things to keep in mind when launching an international SEO or SEM campaign. The first topic to consider is whether or not global search is a worthwhile investment, considering the extensive resources required for success, and whether your campaign will focus on SEM or SEO. They also discuss some of the technical elements of how a search engine determines the relevance of regional search results.