Hi and welcome to Conference Call! It’s my intention to keep you up-to-date on the Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Digital Advertising conferences going on all around us each and every day. If you haven’t seen Media Post’s comprehensive event calendar, it’s definitely worth checking out – they do a great job. That said, it is a bit overwhelming so my intention is to break it down a bit and push to you the conferences I believe are the most worth attending… so sit back, relax and enjoy.
March is jam-packed with SEM conferences, covering both the SEO and PPC side of the industry. As my friend Greg Jarboe puts it, search basically has its own March Madness. Search Engine Strategies New York, March 23-27, is the #1 seed as Greg puts it, with over 200 expert speakers, 70+ sessions over 3 days, 2 additional days of classroom-style learning, 2 keynotes, 100+ exhibitors, site clinics and more… whether you pay for a conference pass or sign up for a free expo hall pass, you will most definitely not be disappointed.
Next on the list is PubCon South, March 11-13 in Austin, TX. Hosted by the team at WebMasterWorld, PubCon is always a good time, one full of learning opportunities. If you are on the fence here, remember that this event takes place right before SXSW, March 13-22. Separate registrations are needed but they are both in the same city. Enjoy!
Moving down the list, we get to a couple European Search events: Search 2009, March 13 in Paris; and SES Amsterdam, March 16-17. Both events will be intimate, with under 500 attendees expected. Smaller events like these give you close access to the experts.
April and May bring us a more digital advertising focus. There is the not-to-be-missed SMX Sydney for SEM’s who live in Australia; however, there is also ad:tech San Francisco, April 21-23; and the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit in San Jose, CA, May 4-7 and then again in London on May 18-19.
June 9-10 brings Search Engine Strategies Toronto, hosted by PPC expert Andrew Goodman. One of my favorite shows, SES Toronto never disappoints.
There is no way you will be able to make it to all of these events and still hold a day job. That said, finding the time to attend one or two will most definitely supply you with the information and contacts you need to take your business to the next level. If you happen to see me at one of these events, please do say hi. That is really why I am there: to meet people just like you who are looking for solutions to the same complex business opportunities as I am.
Until next month!
Matt McGowan is the VP & Publisher of ClickZ and Search Engine Watch.
