By DAVID BERTOLA
dbertola@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1621

Online marketing experts from around the nation will be in Ellicottville this fall to offer a crash course on Internet marketing.

GetListed.org will hold two four-hour "Local University" seminars - identical morning and afternoon sessions - Nov. 1 at Holiday Valley Resort. This will be the 11th Local University event that GetListed.org has hosted across the nation since February 2010.

It's designed to help Western New York businesses navigate the possibilities of marketing on the Web, with an emphasis on local discovery.

"The course will show local businesses how to get found by Internet users, both local and worldwide," said Mike Blumenthal, an Olean-based Web design and search consultant. "There will be a focus on the tools and engines used in local discovery."

Community Bank N.A., Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency, Olean Area Federal Credit Union, MetroWNY and Holiday Valley are sponsoring the event, and several area chambers of commerce have partnered with event organizers to promote it to their members.

Presenters include Blumenthal; GetListed.org founder David Mihm, a Portland, Ore.-based search engine consultant; Mary Bowling, a search engine specialist and corporate trainer; Matt McGee, executive news editor for Search Engine Land and an independent online consultant specializing in small businesses; and Ed Reese, a Spokane, Wash.-based Internet marketing consultant specializing in organic SEO, local search and analytics.

Registration for the $129 course is available at getlisted.org/wny. Space is limited.

Blumenthal stressed that "as a purely educational event, no sales pitches will be made" at any time during the seminar.

In addition, free website reviews for attendees will take place in an adjacent room at the resort from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 1:30 to 6 p.m. Slots are available on a first-come, first-served basis in 15-minute intervals.

For a consultation, email localu@getlisted.org with a preferred time.

Ten percent of profits from the event will be donated to a charity in Western New York.