By As anyone who knows me knows, I simply love SEO conferences. The smell of early morning coffee, the soft jingling of lanyards, and the chitter chatter of eager and happy voices is something I live for.
With that in mind however, to get to most conferences, I have to travel hundreds of miles down to the capital – and not all of them are worth the paper my very expensive train tickets are printed on.
So here are some conferences that I very much recommend in London this summer:
Search Elite Conference – May 3
£245 + VAT
Taking place at The Trampery in Shoreditch, the Search Elite Conference is a melting of some of the brightest minds in marketing.
Warned as a conference not for beginners (or likely the faint of heart), the conference discusses left-field tools, creative use of data, and automation marketing.
Speakers include Gerry White, Jono Anderson of Distilled, and Sam Noble of Koozai.
SMX London – May 23-24
£150 for Expo + Pass (2 days)
Located a stone’s throw from Liverpool Street station, SMX London focuses on analysing some of the most dynamic and newest search tactics and bringing them together.
With focus on international online campaigns, speakers include Olga Andrienko of SEMrush, Bas Van Den Beld, and David Carralon of SEO Career Builder.
The London event is also part of a series that sees conferences in San Jose, Seattle, New York, Milan, and Munich.
Digital Content Summit – May 23
£599 (early bird)
Taking place on the same day as the International Search Summit, the Digital Content Summit finds itself in the very dashing area of Kensington.
Intended for the more senior marketer, the event features Raquel Bubar of The New York Times, Jamie Sterry of innocent drinks, and Patrick Collister of Google.
The day will look into planning content production for a range of mediums including video and PR as well as marketing responses to new trends and channels — as well as all the usual data management, multi-channel strategies, and drive engagement stuff.
Take it Offline – May 25
Free
A brisk walk from Kings Cross Station, Take it Offline (which has another event coming up in Leeds in July), is a special kind of event -marketing itself as an unconference- that offers the chance for SEOers to share their insights on the digital landscape.
Featuring the likes of Matt Daley, Katy Jo Stanton, and Sam Harries, this year’s event promises to be a great opportunity to listen to some of the greats while getting your own voice in the mix.
UnGagged – June 15-16
£595
With a sister event also taking place in Las Vegas in November, Ungagged London takes place in the etc.venues County Hall, just next to Westminster Bridge and The London Eye.
Advertising a “no BS policy”, Ungagged is offering attendees clear cut tactics and guidance throughout the world of digital marketing.
Talks include subjects on technical SEO, persuasive marketing, content optimisation “hacks”, and brand engagement.
A range of speakers take to the podiums including Dixon Jones of Majestic SEO, William Sears of LinkIn, and Paul Madden of Kerboo.
Conversion Elite – 6-7 July
£245-£675
Located just across the road from XOYO, if that’s your thing, Conversion Elite focuses on Conversion Rate Optimisation.
A great conference for business owners and those just starting out online, the event features a range of speakers including Connor Wilkinson of ASDA, Stephen Pavlovich of Conversion.com, and John Woods of Sharp Ahead.
Social Media Week – 11-15 September
£449-£1619
A monster of a conference taking place at the British Film Institute, Social Media Week is a blinding conference for those who immerse themselves in social media.
Past speakers include Andy Dangerfield of BuzzFeed UK, Hazel Baker of Sky News, and Nick Pickles of Twitter.
Like Ungagged, Social Media Week also takes place in cities around the world, including Lagos, Las Angeles, Miami, Milan, and Rotterdam — if you fancy racking up some air miles too.
Brighton SEO – 15 September
Free
Ok so not in London. I don’t care, Brighton SEO is great, we all know it is, especially the September installment.
If you haven’t been before (which I’m sure most people reading this blog will have), Brighton SEO is the megalith of SEO conferences and features speakers from The Telegraph, BuzzFeed, Bing, and ManyMinds.