What SEM/SEO Events Should You Attend This Year?
There are several search engine marketing conventions every year, but which ones are actually worth your time and money? Here are your best bets for 2008.
There are several search engine marketing conventions every year, but which ones are actually worth your time and money? Here are your best bets for 2008.
We’ve talked about training and workshops in the past, but how about all the SEO events that happen every year around the world? Where can amateur and professional SEMs alike bump elbows, talk shop, network and make deals? That’s the realm of the seminars, and they truly take place all over the world.
Finding the Good Ones
The guidelines for finding a good seminar are few, but important. There are some key questions to keep in mind when searching the interwebs: Is the main sponsoring organization promoting multiple events? Prolific organizations generally mean a higher demand and, therefore, bigger crowds. How many names do you recognize? Any good event should have some of the bigger names. What are your interests in going? Does the schedule of speakers or panels appeal to you? And after all that, is it either taking place close to where you live, or worth your time and money to get there?
The following is a list and description of some of this year’s upcoming training and strategy seminars and conventions.
Search Engine Strategies (SES)
SES is the leading global conference and expo series that educates delegates on SEM, including SEO and advertising strategies, tactics, and best practices. SES Search Marketing Events provide instruction from the industry’s top search experts, including representatives of the search engines themselves.
Search Engine Marketing Training Chicago is June 4. Learn from industry experts. This SEO training day (optional half-day) offers two intensive workshops that will provide you with the skills you need to improve the search engine ranking of your business.
SES Toronto is June 16-18. Learn the tricks of the trade, from best practices to strategy and branding. Participants will be granted access to network with the largest gathering of search professionals, in addition to the most comprehensive SEM/SEO learning opportunity in Canada.
Other upcoming SES shows:
ad:tech
Adtech has a fresh approach to all things digital marketing. Their worldwide conferences focus on interactive advertising and technology. It covers topics including e-mail marketing, mobile marketing, TV 2.0, and Web analytics. In addition to a great speaking panel of experts, there’s also a big exhibition.
Ad:tech Miami is June 3-4 at the Miami Beach Convention Center, and ad:tech Singapore is set for June 26-27 at Suntec City Convention Center.
Search Marketing Expo (SMX)
SMX is the SEM conference from Third Door Media, the company behind the Search Engine Land news site and the Search Marketing Now Webcast series. Here’s a quick look at their schedule:
Mad
Mad presents Search Engine Marketing June 12 in London, England. This one-day SEO and marketing conference will tackle the business-critical issue of search marketing and will seek to address questions like, “Why is my company ranked lower than our competitors?” and, “How do I turn clicks into sales?”
PubCon by Webmasterworld
PubCon Las Vegas 2008 is another great event for search marketers. It covers many great topics, including topics search, Web 2.0, ‘net marketing, SEO/SEM, affiliates, domainers, video, and Multimedia. PubCon is scaled from novice (light content) to advanced experience levels (heavy content).
In Closing
This isn’t a completely comprehensive list of all the different training seminars, expositions, and conventions that have to do with SEO, but it’s a good sampling that shows how many are run and in how many places. In fact, more are emerging every month as the demand rises for more information and training.
There are also tech-centered conventions that cover broader topics and may focus on the Internet in general and still touch on some aspects of SEO. As always, a good search can uncover all of these for you.
Are there any conventions not mentioned here that deserve a mention? Any favorites? E-mail me your thoughts.