The great thing about SEO and digital marketing is that anyone with WiFi and functioning fingers can get started. The race may be a winding marathon, but it’s one that freely accepts all participants. However, that’s not to say that the skills involved are easily acquired by oneself. Each business is unique and demands a unique approach to online marketing, but there are also many truths to be gleaned from past businesses and current competitors.
SearchLove is a conference held in London, Seattle, and New York centered around digital marketing and all its various sub-branches. From SEO and analytics to content and influencers, every topic will be addressed in turn by some of the leading members of the field. Sure, there’s a lot of information available for free online, but rarely do you get an opportunity to be exposed to the most concise, updated, and relevant wisdom curated into a digestible package. Read on for more details.
An excess of marketing information
There is an impenetrable mass of information on SEO and digital marketing on the web. As a learner, the process of piecing together a strategy can be challenging, jumping from one pundit to the next in search of pertinent advice. It is, in fact, the core principle of SEO that makes the process a challenge – everyone is getting involved in content creation, often re-using and re-writing the arguments of their peers in order to get their hands in the digital traffic jar. You never know if you’re reading the work of an experienced professional or an unpaid intern, lazily slogging through the assigned written piece of that day.
As such, the material is often taken with several pinches of salt. Sure, the top people at Google are a useful port-of-call, given how well they know the algorithm and how intimately they know the stats, but not everyone’s giving away information. Occasions like SearchLove that assemble dozens of impressive speakers will provide the kind of knowledge that you won’t typically find in a blog post. These are people who work for high-ranking firms specialising in digital marketing. They have seen hundreds of businesses try hundreds of different strategies, and the understanding that comes from their experience is not something that can be easily replicated.
Build your contacts
This may in fact be more important than any direct information you will acquire over the course of the conference. A large part of digital marketing is establishing a network of partnerships that cement your position in the online matrix. Chase Richards of Kapan International wrote after attending the conference: ‘SearchLove jump-started my career and changed the way we do online marketing. Anyone who works in this industry needs to be there.’ Mackenzie Fogelson of Mack Web commented: ‘The best part of the entire event is making friends with so many of the amazing people in our industry.’
Even if you don’t make a connection that leads directly to tangible profits, you may find that growing acquainted with people doing the same or similar job to you gives you added motivation to hone your craft. You will build your social media network, connecting with focused individuals that will each have their own insights and their own online networks. Seeing how each of these individuals approaches the challenge of SEO differently will broaden your perspective and dust off the cobwebs formed by solitary work. If they are attending the conference, you can be fairly sure they are heavily invested within the sphere of digital marketing and SEO.
As conferences and exhibitions return with a vengeance, the events that take place over the next 6 months may be packed with even more useful information than usual. Speakers have had over a year to develop their ideas and formulate opinions. After such a long hiatus, organisers will be keen to put on a show for visitors. Attendance will be high, provided the necessary health precautions are taken. Alan Jenkins of exhibition contractor Quadrant2Design comments, ‘The events we are now hosting are some of the most spectacular we’ve seen. Now more than ever companies want to affirm their visibility and make use of the business opportunities we previously took for granted.’ Especially in a field like digital marketing, with so much noise and so many contrasting opinions, now is a fitting time to lend an ear to the experts and gain fresh perspectives on a complex discipline.
Author Bio
Theo Reilly is an independent writer and multilingual translator whose goal is to counteract stale writing in business blogs. Theo has a particular interest in business and marketing-related matters surrounding the online world, web design, exhibitions, and events.
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