BrightonSEO and how it can benefit you?
Thinking of attending BrightonSEO? It is the UK’s biggest SEO conference and is on every April and September. They have up to 4000+ people at the event all there to learn, whether that is listening to the speakers, talking to the software and tool providers in the hallways or doing one of the training courses the day before the event starts. So for anyone looking to learn about SEO, it is a great place to go, but what if you’re an experienced SEO? Is there still value in attending BrightonSEO and what are those benefits?
I would consider myself an experienced SEO and people often ask what I get out of attending it. I will list all the reasons on why I attend the event and maybe as an experienced SEO reading this, you too will also be able to see some of the benefits of attending an event like Brighton SEO.
Networking
I find being able to network and meet other SEO experts that I’ve spoken to online, or maybe even ones I follow online very worthwhile. This is a great opportunity to meet them in person, build a relationship with them and maybe you might be able to get some collaboration going with some of these people.
You can meet for a beer, coffee and have a chat and you never know where that may lead to. I think it’s important to build relationships with other SEO people as you will be able to help each other one way or another. Maybe not in terms of making money from another SEO but there are many other benefits that come from building trust and relationships with other Digital Marketing people and money may also come at some point too.
Learning
You will always still have to learn to keep on top of your game in the world of SEO, whether that is at one of the training events, listening to a speaker or meeting someone for a coffee.
Listening to other peoples opinions is always good and if you’re open you will no doubt learn something, maybe about a new tool or another way of thinking and BrightonSEO puts you right beside many other people in your position. It is the perfect opportunity to learn how others are going about their business. Believe it or not many SEO people are normally fairly open when you are having a general conversation about what they are up to.
Tools and Software
All the main tools and software providers attend the conference, sometimes they even give away some FREE swag, t-shirts, pens, diaries and many other things, including free trials of their software and you can get free hands on tutorials, demos and advice from the excellent tool providers that attend BrightonSEO.
You never know you may leave with a great new tool to play with. We all love new tools and software that helps us do our jobs more efficiently and I think this is a great way to gain a much better understanding of the tools. So take some time out to visit the guys at their stalls and see what is available.
Inspiration and Ideas
I love chatting with other SEO experts, understanding issues they face and how they deal with them. A couple of recent conversations with SEO‘s I’ve had and got ideas or inspiration from are:
Andy Drinkwater ( IQSEO.co.uk )
So Andy I first met on a webinar we done together, nice chap and knows his stuff. He would pop up on twitter and say hello on occasion and all was good. I was down in his local area, Chester, a few months back and said I’m in the area, come and see me for a beer and have a general chat about SEO. We had a few beers exchanged views and agreed on a lot of things and I understood his area of SEO and where he focusses his time and effort on, which is Reputation Management. It was very different to me and great to see how he makes a living.
Important Takeaway
Andy was going on about auditing websites using a tool I hadn’t heard of, Sitebulb ( an auditing tool in beta mode ) he was praising it saying it’s the next big thing. I reached out to Sitebulb and got on the beta mode and I can confirm this will be a great tool. So I left with a tool I had never heard of before and an idea that I could possibly look at, Reputation Management as another source of income. ( Don’t worry Andy I’m busy with my clients and training ) but it was good and I learned something from having a beer with Andy.
Dawn Anderson ( Move It Marketing )
I have done a webinar in the past that Dawn was on and I have seen her do the live site audit in Brighton, April 2017. Dawn speaks at many of the main SEO events and puts a lot of time and effort into doing SEO properly with a focus on the technical side. Dawn puts a lot of time and effort into learning and mastering her techniques and is someone who offers a lot of value when talking.
Important Takeaway
On a conversation with Dawn it was clear that there isn’t enough emphasis on the importance of Technical SEO, it is often ignored by SEO people and we established during the convo that there are many SEO‘s out their depth and offering very basic skills. So from that conversation, I was inspired to write a blog post on the importance of Technical SEO, as very often I do it as a matter of course but I spend hours of time on that stuff and clients are clueless as to what is actually being done.
Going forward I can lay more emphasis on this in my sales pitch to clients, my speaking events, my training courses and also when educating clients as to how SEO actually works. It was kind of my way to get good traction without telling people too much about it, however, I think I should maybe talk a bit more in this area in all aspects of my business as it is vital.
Sales Opportunites
Going to BrightonSEO may also get you talking to someone who may want to use your services, if you are experienced and know your stuff then you can also use this as a place where you can get some decent sales opportunities or maybe a joint venture or something else. Plenty of people do business as a result of meeting at BrightonSEO. It is a perfect opportunity for you to demonstrate your knowledge.
Parties
On top of all the opportunities for networking, learning, opportunities and building relationships with people in the industry, the parties are always fairly decent, mingling with others over a few beers is always nice. Especially as Brighton has a friendly and relaxed atmosphere so the parties are not to be missed. Make sure you are down in time to ensure that you sample this part of BrightonSEO as it is brilliant.
So, if you are looking to learn more about SEO or mingle with thousands of people in the industry then Brighton SEO can present you with a whole host of benefits that will make the trip worthwhile. You only get out of it what you put in, so go and network and meet new people. Even if it is just for a beer, there will be something you can learn, you just have to have the right mindset for this.
I will be down at this event on Tuesday and will be going back home on Saturday to allow me plenty of time to network and meet with as many people as I possibly can in the lead up to the event, so give me a shout if you are wanting to meet up.
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Craig Campbell
I am a Glasgow based SEO expert who has been doing SEO for 22 years.
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