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My thoughts:
1. Executive buy-in. Without it, your lost, and I mean much more than lip-service. In addition, it needs to be from multiple Executives. It's a lot of work, and not only for the SEO guy, so there has to be dedication and resources made from the top. Anything less is bound to fail. This is where the ship hits the sand-bar.
2. The nature of redesigns. There are very few companies out there that, when it comes time for a redesign, are very interested in standards and best practices. Also, if the company is signing a 6 or 7-figure design contract, they want to be "wowed". By the same token, there are very few design agencies (remember, we're talking big brands, so we're talking big agencies too) that consider SEO a prerequisite. Sure, the subject always comes up in kickoff meetings, but it's just too simple for it to take a back-seat at some point in the design process. This where the ship hits the iceberg.
3. IT. Sure, IT is a struggle, but it comes down to education. Deep down, I've always believed that everyone in the company wants to do what's best for the company in terms of revenue, inclouding IT. If IT knew what was best, they may do it. The hard part here is teaching/selling it to them. They have to change what has always worked. They have to change what has always been considered their "best practices". Put yourself into their shoes, and go into the meeting with a lot of empathy.
Big Brand In-house SEO is not doing SEO; it's teaching everyone else (Sales, PR, IT, etc.) how to do SEO, and having them surprise the heck out of you and themselves with the results.
Once you reach the tipping point, and in-house SEO goes from trying to get IT to alter a TITLE tag, to having IT produce the TITLE tag correctly in the first place... Absolute bliss.
Sorry for the mildly off-topic rant.
Got a copy too. Came the same day as Andy's book, so I'm reading that first. Thanks for the writeup; can't wait.
Thanks for the kind comments. To @seowoman specifically, that's how I feel about it. It will come in handy... someday. I personally don't need it now, but am sure I will.
I plan on keeping it updated, so if anyone finds another applicable site, please let me know and I'll be sure to add it.
The comment on leaving navigation out of a Flash/AJAX site was worth the watch.
Ban or penalty, that's quite a punch in the gut. The chart looks like a slope at Vail, and not the bunny slope!
Story: Full Digg Marketing Guide
Although not specific to SEO (more SEM), the training courses offered by MarketingExperiments.com are very impressive. I went through one of their courses about 6 months ago, and was very impressed by the overall "training" process. Continuous reinforcement, high level of customer service, great printouts, etc.
Thanks Danny, but you've always been ahead of the curve. :) I had never thought of it, but from a logistical standpoint, that would probably be easier, and make for a more consistent delivery of the show's content. Of course, it doesn't dismiss moderators from being involved in their panels, but it would definitely help with overlap, and in keeping the sales pitches to a minimum.
Networking resulted in my current position. I told an industry friend (from CA) that I was in the market for a new job, and they new someone from Chicago who was looking for an in-house person, put us together, and after a couple interviews I was made an offer. Without networking, the position would've never materialized.
So if you're an in-house person, attend the parties at industry conferences and seek out the in-house badges, get a profile on LinkedIn and Facebook, and become involved in the discussions on blogs and Sphinn. It just may lead to your next job.
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Story: Some great reasons why big brands don't have good SEO