Advanced Search Marketing Conferences: Where are They?
First off let me start by saying the SES is a well run conference series and provides some good information for those just entering search as well as marketers and business execs who want to learn more about the basics of search marketing. There are plenty of good sessions for the newbies and even the intermediate search marketer. But what about those of us who have been involved in SEO & SEM for a while? There are plenty of search professionals who have moved past the basic & intermediate information provided at most conferences but want to continue improving and learning about more advanced techniques.
Where are the Advanced SEO & SEM Conferences?
While there are plenty of conferences for beginner to intermediate search marketers where are the advanced sessions? As I sat through the panels at SES NY this year (and last year too) I found that I was not really learning anything new. Don’t get me wrong I had a good time at the networking event, parties, and walking through the exhibit hall and talking to people but the main point of the conference to increase your knowledge. That simply did not happen for me. I could see that many of the people in attendance were learning new things , which is great but there were plenty of people who were really not benefiting. I think that SES and most conferences do a great job at explaining SEO and SEM to attendees with a limited knowledge of search. While that is great I would like to have more search marketing conferences aimed at the advanced SEOs and SEMs.
Search Marketing has Matured
Search marketing has been around for a while and many of the search professionals have been doing this for a long time. This means that there should be more conference options for those of us who are advanced search marketers. I know that SMX offers an advanced conference series but they are not as prolific as the beginner and intermediate conferences. I would love to see more advanced search conferences available to the experienced search marketer. Search is growing and there is plenty of room for various conferences or at least more options for advanced search people at the current conferences. As it stands right now I don’t see much value in paying to attend the current SES conferences but if there were more sessions geared towards experienced SEO/SEM professionals I might change my mind.
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great post, Mark. I tried to sphinn but rcvd error message. great idea and really good points,
i’ve always thought of the advanced sessions as being held at the bars and (early) parties. How would you define advanced? Would love to hear what sessions you attended (offline if you’d prefer)
March 20th, 2008 at 1:20 pmTo me advanced would be moving beyond the basics like how search engines crawl sites, how links help, how it is difficult for engines to crawl rich media, etc. I mean I understand that to many in attendance that is new and very useful information and I think it is important. I would like to see some panels that move beyond the high level and really dig more into advanced theories, testing (for SEO), etc., and maybe more open dialog.
Don’t get me wrong there are some open sessions but I would love an advanced track that allowed a group of more advanced SEOs to really interact with moderators or panelists. I guess that is what you get at the parties and such but I suppose something more directed with specific topics.
I attended a number of SEO sessions and a few social sessions. I can’t speak to the Paid Search side as I did not attend those sessions but the SEO sessions seemed to be geared towards beginners and intermediate SEOs.
I think all of the SEO’s have to stop and remember SES isn’t really designed for us to learn a lot of new things. We may pick up things from another colleagues different point of view (which I managed to do this time around because of a lot of new speakers), but over all you’ll likely not find a lot of “new” things.
Like Kevin pointed out, if you want the “advanced” stuff, buy someone a drink at the bar or dinner, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth there!
~Li
March 25th, 2008 at 12:33 pm