Attending SEO conferences is one of the most impactful ways to elevate your SEO.

You get to:

Rub shoulders with marketing rockstars
Soak in the latest SEO trends
Leave with ideas (or validation) that could change your career trajectory

And with Google shaking things up left and right, these gatherings are your ticket to staying ahead of the curve.

We’ve handpicked seven can’t-miss SEO conferences offering unique opportunities for learning and growth.

TL;DR:

1. WTSFest

Date: September 19, 2024

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Price: $399 (in-person attendance), $99 (recording only)

The Women in Tech SEO Festival (WTSFest) is a full-day conference. It features 10 expert speakers who will share their knowledge and insights on topics designed to help you analyze, advance, innovate, and empower your SEO strategies.

Speakers

WTSFest features a lineup of 10 expert speakers, including:

Bianca Anderson: Manager of Organic Growth at hims & hers
Jamie D’Alessandro: Sr. SEO Specialist at Amsive
Purna Virji: Principal Consultant of Content Solutions at LinkedIn

Topics

E-E-A-T
Ecommerce SEO
Creating digital customer journeys that drive sales
AI and its impact on what customers are looking for
Content inclusivity

Networking

There are three 30-45 minute coffee and lunch breaks throughout the day, where you can network with people in the industry.

At the end of the main event, there’s an after-party to connect with your peers more.

Price

WTSFest offers two pricing options:

Standard ticket: Costs $399, which includes access to a full-day conference
Recording only: For $99, you’ll get the recording of the conference in October

2. BrightonSEO

Date: October 3-4, 2024

Location: Brighton, UK

Price: Early bird rate from £200; free ticket also available

BrightonSEO is a search marketing conference that brings together industry experts to share their knowledge and insights through focused 20-minute talks.

Speakers

Some of the notable speakers you’ll see at BrightonSEO include:

Abi Bennetts: Digital PR Director at Propellernet
Adam Collins: Agency Owner at Ignite SEO
Eoin Cahill: Senior Industry Manager at Google
Li Peng: Head of SEM at Wise

Topics

Turning data into a feel-good copy that converts
How to turn ad spend into long-term customer bonds
Content strategy for large websites
Conversion optimization strategies
Forecasting SEO results in GA4

Networking

BrightonSEO offers multiple networking events and activities:

Roundtable discussions
Thursday party
Pre-conference beach clean
SEO Mastermind borrel

Educational Sessions

BrightonSEO offers in-depth training day on 2nd of October. It’s a practical, hands-on analytics, PPC, and SEO training course and workshop that helps you upskill in a specific area of search marketing.

Price

BrightonSEO offers five ticket tiers:

Ballot: Free one-day ticket that includes access to parties and networking events. Plus video recordings 3-7 months after the event. You need to join the waitlist as the free tickets aren’t guaranteed.
Fringe: For £200 (early bird rate until August 2nd), you can buy a one-day pass that includes the same as the Ballot tier
Friend: £300 (early bird rate), includes two days at BrightonSEO, parties and networking events, and video recordings soon after the event
Training: £670 (early bird rate), includes everything in the Friend tier, plus training day before the conference and lunch on the training day
Video bundle: £125 (early bird rate), includes only video recordings soon after the event

3. State of Search

Date: October 28-29, 2024

Location: Grapevine, Texas

Price: Early bird rate from $597

State of Search is a two-day digital marketing conference offering actionable intelligence and insights from experienced practitioners and experts in the field.

Speakers

Some of the speakers you’ll see at the State of Search are:

Kyle Roof: Lead SEO at High Voltage
Martha van Berkel: CEO and Co-founder at Schema App by Hunch Manifest
Julie Jones: Product Manager, Marketing Analytics at Baylor Scott & White Health

Topics

SEO strategies and tactics
Local SEO
PPC (pay-per-click advertising)
Social media marketing
Algorithm updates

Networking

Interact with other attendees throughout the two-day conference. Likely during coffee and lunch breaks.

Price

State of Search ticket price ranges from $597 to $997 depending on the purchase date.

4. NESS (News & Editorial SEO Summit)

Date: October 29-30, 2024

Location: Online

Price: $225 or $180 (for groups of 10+ people)

NESS (News & Editorial SEO Summit) is an online event focused exclusively on SEO strategies for news publishers. It’s designed for journalists, editors, audience growth strategists, SEO professionals, and web developers seeking to maximize their organic search traffic.

Speakers

Speakers lineup include:

John Shehata: CEO and Founder at NewzDash
Barry Adams: Specialized SEO Consultant at Polemic Digital
Rand Fishkin: Cofounder of Sparktoro
Martin Splitt: Search Relations Engineer at Google
Ed Hyatt: Director of Newsroom SEO at The Wall Street Journal

Topics

Technical news SEO
Google helpful content updates
Google algorithm updates
Local news SEO
Topics, entities, and knowledge graphs

Networking

While it’s an online event, NESS has still allocated time for networking throughout the two-day event. You can connect with others during coffee and lunch breaks, similar to how it would’ve been done at an in-person event.

Price

A standard ticket to NESS costs $225 and includes live access to all sessions, video recordings, and presentations.

For teams of 10 or more attendees, the price is $180 per ticket.

You can also purchase video recordings of last year’s event for $199.

5. Spotlight by Semrush

Date: October 30, 2024

Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Price: Early bird rate from €390

Spotlight by Semrush is a full-day conference focused on learning, inspiration, and networking. Spotlight offers exclusive certification workshops led by industry experts, where you can deepen your expertise and gain a recognized certificate.

Speakers

Some of the notable speakers you’ll see on Spotlight are:

Andrew Warden: Chief Marketing Officer at Semrush
Sophie Miller: Founder and Director at Pretty Little Marketer
Crystal Carter: Head of SEO Communications at Wix
Jasmin Alic: Fortune 500 Copywriter and LinkedIn Coach

Topics

AI and the future of marketing
How to stand out in a crowded market
SEO in 2025
What to do after you’ve built a community
How to win when everyone is using AI
What stops the scroll
How to win over Gen Z customers

Session Types

Keynotes
Panel discussions
Mastermind sessions
Certification workshops

Networking

Pre-event party on October 29
Coffee and lunch breaks during the day
Post-event cocktail reception

Educational Sessions and Certifications

You can attend an expert-led strategy workshop the day before the Spotlight conference. Upon completion, you’ll receive an Advanced Semrush Certification.

Certification workshops are scheduled on October 29th from 9 AM to 5 PM.

There are three sessions to choose from:

Level up Your SEO with Advanced Tactics: Led by Fabrizio Ballarini, Organic Growth at Wise
Turn Your Social Media Into a Lead Machine: Led by Sophie Miller: Founder and Director, Pretty Little Marketer
Master Content-Led Growth: Led by Kyle Byers, Director of Growth at Semrush

These workshops are included in the VIP Pass (more on passes below).

Price

There are two ticketing options for Spotlight: Conference Pass and VIP Pass.

Conference Pass costs €390 early bird (available until August 1) and €490 regular price.

VIP Pass costs €990. It includes the conference pass, plus educational workshops and certification, a VIP welcome party, and a 60-minute site clinic (on-site or within a month after the conference).

6. International Search Summit

Date: November 14, 2024

Location: Barcelona, Spain

Price: Early bird rate from €145

The International Search Summit (ISS) is an event dedicated to international search marketing topics.

It’s a full-day event with three tracks packed with talks providing tips, tactics, and insights on how to improve your online visibility in international markets. And how to effectively engage your target audience across the world.

Speakers

The ISS doesn’t have a list of speakers for 2024 yet. But here are a few notable speakers who were at the 2023 summit:

Olga Andrienko: Vice President of Brand Marketing at Semrush
Crystal Carter: Head of SEO Communications at Wix
Kayleigh Dibble: Performance Marketing Specialist at Hotjar

Topics

The ISS doesn’t have a list of topics for 2024 yet, but here are the tracks from the 2023 (which are likely to be similar):

International SEO: Covered topics like how to manage SEO on international platforms without local language knowledge and common mistakes in international SEO and how to avoid them
International Content: Covered topics like how to create content in the AI era, how to leverage E-E-A-T, and how search intent varies by market
Audience and Paid: Covered topics like cultural mistakes to avoid when entering a new international market and how to develop an integrated global media strategy

Networking

Pre-conference drinks reception on November 13th
Coffee and lunch breaks during the day
Post-event drinks reception

Educational Sessions

The ISS offers a one-day training course the day before the summit to enhance your international SEO skills. This workshop is led by three international SEO experts from Webcertain.

Price

International Search Summit offers two ticketing options:

An early bird ticket to the ISS costs €145 (until July 12th) and includes access to pre-party, conference, and post-event networking drinks.

ISS ticket + International SEO Workshop costs €750.

7. Chiang Mai SEO Conference

Date: November 18-22, 2024

Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand

Price: Starts at $597

Chiang Mai SEO Conference is an annual gathering of 800 SEO professionals, entrepreneurs, agency owners, and affiliates dominating the search rankings in different niches.

This five-day event features presentations, workshops, and networking events focused on sharing innovative SEO strategies and tactics.

Speakers

The lineup of speakers at the Chiang Mai SEO Conference includes:

Nick Eubanks: Vice President of Owned Media at Semrush
Koray Tugberk: CEO and Founder of Holistic SEO
Julia McCoy: President at Content at Scale
Tim Soulo: Chief Marketing Officer at Ahrefs

Topics

While the detailed agenda is still unknown, the conference mentions delving into both black and white-hat SEO strategies.

Networking

Connect with fellow attendees and speakers during coffee and lunch breaks.

Plus at various meetups hosted at popular spots around Chiang Mai throughout the week.

Price

Chiang Mai SEO Conference offers three pricing tiers:

Standard: $597. Includes conference seating, buffet lunch, access to closing and opening night parties, and workshops and networking events
Deluxe: $897. In addition to standard ticket offerings, you’ll get upfront classroom seating and a goodie bag with a t-shirt and sponsorship swag
VIP: $2,199. Includes the Deluxe ticket offerings, plus you’ll be seated in the front row of the classroom seating and invited to a private speaker dinner

The Next Step in Your SEO Career

Attending SEO conferences is an incredible way to learn and network.

But the journey doesn’t stop there.

To continue growing your knowledge, connections, and accountability, consider joining online communities. For example, a premium community like Traffic Think Tank offers a wealth of resources like Slack channels, live sessions, and an academy for $119 per month.

If you’re looking for free options, explore SEO-focused Facebook or Slack groups (like Online Geniuses) where you can interact with peers, ask questions, and regularly share insights.

The post The 7 Best SEO Conferences to Attend in 2024 appeared first on Backlinko.