Friday, April 13, 2007

Search Conference Chaos

No, this is not going to be a post about the after hours activities at NYC SES. What happens at SES stays at SES.

The search conference chaos I am referring to is the fast growing list of conferences and the chaos it will be creating in the near future.

There has always been the two major conferences - SES and PubCon and other fun smaller events like WITS. But now we have so many more players in the space including Danny Sullivan and crew's SMX premiering in Seattle, SEO Class - starting with a free event for non-profits, SEO Days with its array of All-Stars and the other star-studded Elite Retreat.

Every continent seems to be getting into it...

Like any good marketing effort, the sponsors and exhibitors will test the various venues and develop ROI analysis.

PubCon and SES will be going head to head in December - should be interesting... attendees will have to choose, as will speakers.

The landscape is getting crowded and chaotic, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. The small events meet a needed niche, whether through better one on one assistance, stronger teaching sessions or specific information about a particular vertical, the increased interest in these events is reflective of the growth of the search industry.

What is unfortunate is the impact on the social dynamics of the older events.... for example, Aaron Wall, part of Elite Retreat, used to be a regular attender of SES but has been missed at recent ones. The timing of the December PubCon will have a larger impact.

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