How to benefit from attending a digital marketing/ SEO conference

Attending SEO/digital marketing events and conferences can be a significant investment of both time and money, especially if it is an international conference involving cross-border travel

If you add up the conference fees, the cost of travel and accommodation, and other per diem expenses, the cost of attending an event can run into thousands of dollars. And this is without even considering the value of your time!

If you are a small-to-medium sized digital marketing agency like ours, it is only natural for you to ask how you can justify the investment in traveling to such events?

I attended the SEO Mastery Conference in Saigon in April 2024- the first in-person SEO conference I was attending after a long time. This was a 5-day event, with two days of pre-conference workshops and ‘Mastermind’ sessions and three days of the actual conference.

Based on my own experience, here is what I suggest you should do when planning to attend any digital marketing/ SEO conference.

1.  Define your expectations and outcomes from the conference participation

Any conference promises to deliver opportunities to learn and improve one’s knowledge and skills and build connections with fellow professionals. While it is an opportunity to market oneself and one’s services, I personally feel that we should set some specific and realistic goals on what to get back from the conference.

For example, my modest goal  was to come back with at least 3-4 actionable insights that I could use for my clients’ SEO / digital marketing projects, and add 4 new ‘friends’, who become more than mere additions to Linkedin connections.

With regard to my learning objectives, there were three that I had listed for myself:

• Understand any new/different SEO strategies and tactics being adopted
• Know about specific software/ tools that other SEO professionals are using effectively. Of course, one can research for tools using search engines or checking out virtual forum discussions; however, hearing directly from people who are using it gives an opportunity to learn about their usage and usefulness significantly.
• Learn how to establish/ improve processes for greater efficiency.

I did come back with check marks against each of these objectives!

As a SEO consultant, being able to provide clients with diverse external perspectives is invaluable. I have found it reassuring to clients to see that your ideas and perspectives are shaped by inputs from other experts.

2.  Adopt a ‘content creator’ mindset

While the prospect of meeting potential clients and business partners is often a key attraction, I was more modest with my expectations and goals from attending the event. I decided that if the conference gave me ideas and sufficient material to create 3-4 useful and original pieces of content for our website, it is a positive outcome.

As someone who is a strong advocate of the power of content in SEO / inbound marketing, I believe that such content will add significant value in our own inbound traffic generation. More importantly, the SEO Mastery Conference in Saigon did provide me with the requisite insights to create such content.

If you are faced with an internal debate on ROI, try adopting this ‘content creator’ mindset. Break down the total cost of the event and divide it by the total units of unique and original content you are able to produce, which in turn can result in incremental visitors or leads or connections and engagements on your social media handles. Doesn’t the ROI equation look a lot different and more justifiable now?

3. Be ready to learn, relearn, and unlearn

Let us face it: not every speaker at a conference will come up with completely new information or tips for you. In fact, to be totally honest, I feel that if you end up with 25% new knowledge, you have done reasonably well.

While SEO conferences will give you incremental knowledge, don’t underestimate the value of relearning or validating or reinforcing information that you already know. Even more valuable is when conference sessions or the discussions that follow force you to question long-held beliefs or even change your perspective.

For example, one of the things that I came back with a different mindset after the SEO Mastery Conference was on the value of link building for SEO success. While I have not gone to the other end in my views, the numerous conversations during the event forced me rethink my rigid stance on link building, especially in paid links.

4. Get your questions ready and ask them

Before you head off for the event, “get to know” the speakers and the topics they are presenting on. Most international conferences these days also offer interactions between attendees in online communities on the event apps– so you can get an idea on some of your fellow attendees and how you may be able to help one another. 

This is one part of the pre-event due diligence. Equally importantly, prepare a list of questions that you want answers to: these could be the most vexing SEO challenges you are facing for a specific client or around topics where your own experience shows results that are contrary to popular wisdom. Framing the right questions is not the easiest thing to do or a skill that everyone is gifted with; so preparing these questions in advance with the right amount of context will help immensely.

In my experience, most people are generous with their knowledge and will address the questions you put to them in earnest. Occasionally, you will encounter a speaker/ consultant who is less willing to entertain too many questions and highlight that they are available for paid consultancy projects- but that is par for the course. There is nothing to be gained by being diffident and saving your questions.

5. Make the most of the after-parties and networking events

The after-parties are probably where the greatest value may be unlocked as you get to interact with your peers in an informal setting. This is your opportunity to know people at a personal level, forge deeper connections and become ‘friends’.

Relationships matter in SEO and digital marketing as much as they do in other aspects of life. 

6. Soak in the culture and cuisine

Lastly, every conference that you attend is an opportunity for personal development, expanding one’s horizons with a deeper understanding of people and places. Don’t let the conference agenda prevent you from enriching yourself on other fronts – they will stand you in good stead in life.

That then were some quick tips on making the most of your visit to a SEO/ digital marketing conference. I hope you are looking forward to your next conference, just as I am.