Deciding Which Search Conferences To Attend

One of the questions I get asked frequently is “which search conferences should I attend”. Seeing as conferences end up costing you between $3500-$5000 a pop when you include travel, lodging and meals I thought I’d share my experience.

Year 1
if you’ve absolutely never been to search conference before start with one of the smaller shows like SES Toronto. Sometimes the big shows can be a bit overwhelming for a newcomer.

SMX West - These shows are solid places to start learning what you need to know and need to start networking. OK there hasn’t technically been and SMX East yet, but I’ve got a hunch it will be similar to SMX West.

SES San Jose - These shows are much bigger than the smaller SES shows, they also have different speakers, and are a completely different conference experience.

Year 2
SMX East or SMX West - Whichever show you went to last year go to the other this year.

SES NY or SES San Jose - Again which ever one you went to last year go to the other one this year

SMX Advanced - By this point you know enough to make the most of what you can learn here, and you can also network with people who are just unreachable at the big shows.

Then I’d go back to your two favorite shows, Either of the SMX, SES, or a Pubcon show. Once you’ve been more than once you’ll really have good idea how much you can learn.

Year 4+
Ok this is the year where you can get the most out of the niche shows. Shows like SMX Social, or

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