Search Engine Strategies Events

[SEOchica]

I was looking into attending one of the US SES events. It's between Chicago this December or New in Feb/March. Which one would you recommend?

[KevinSource]

Have not been to the Chicago show, but have been to New York. I can tell you that the New York Conference was great.

[dannysullivan]

You'll find the content of both shows will have some overlap. The sessions in Fundamentals will be at both, for example.

The New York show will be slightly -- slightly -- more geared towards ad issues. Sessions we had in New York last year such as on branding or working with ad agencies are likely to return.

The New York show will also probably have one or two big issue-style sessions, such as Future Of Search or Future Of Search Marketing. But the Chicago show will have a few more sessions overall.

Ultimately, it may come down to location. Whatever is closest to you may be the deciding factor, I'd guess.

[Nacho]

I've been on the U.S. SES road show for almost a year and a half now. Each year JupiterMedia, Danny Sullivan, Chris Sherman, the moderators, the sponsors, the speakers, the exhibitors, the auxiliary staff and let's not forget the BEST networking events of the year is what makes each SES better. It's unbelievable! There are always new sessions added about up to date topics and as the name calls it "search engine strategies". I really try to not miss any of them.

However, if you only have one to choose . . . that's hard to do for me, but between the two you mentioned I would do SES Chicago 2004 (http://www.jupiterevents.com/sew/fall04/index.html). Here is why. For the first time MSN Search (http://search.msn.com) has become a "Premier Plus Sponsor" and they have just launched their MSN Search Beta (http://beta.search.msn.com). So, I believe this is going to be the hot buzz topic around at the networking events. Plus, I'm sure all of the MSN Search folks will be around, so it's your chance to meet the master brains behind that little search box that work wonders as well as the best strategists of the world from our industry. SES Chicago last year was mainly talking about the "Florida Update" and I believe many attendees probably were able to take enough information back with them to fix up their sites to get back on track, which this is what its all about. It's like hitting the "reset button" for most of us and come up with new ideas.

My favorite show of the year is SES San Jose (http://www.jupiterevents.com/sew/summer05/index.html), of course. It's close to home, but the session topics, the networking, the Google and Yahoo! parties are unmatched. They really have a special way of saying "thank you" to our SEO/SEM community.

I can't wait to step foot on Chicago ground in a few weeks . . . oh yeah, and enjoy some of the finest pizza in the world.

[SEOchica]

Excellent. Now that I look at it, Chicago works best anyway! I'm anxious to attend the sessions!

[rustybrick]

Excellent. Now that I look at it, Chicago works best anyway! I'm anxious to attend the sessions!

IMO, You won't be disappointed.

[Joseph Morin]

I wholeheartedly agree and most likely, after you attend Chicago, you will end up attending both! Which is what my suggestion was going to be. Look us up when you get there to say hi. :)

[andrewgoodman]

For those with longer time horizons I want to emphatically state that SES Toronto isn't chopped liver either (May). :D

[dannysullivan]

Toronto raises a good point. People sometimes ask me if they should go to every SES. Of course you should!

Seriously, in the US, once a year is probably fine for many people. That's why we do it three times, to make it closer to various people geographically. Much of the content will always change from show to show. In fact, the conference site even has a "been here before" intinerary to show you all the new stuff. But if you wanted to do once per year, many people are fine with that.

When people in the US ask if they should go to a non-US show after going to a US one, my answer is yes, if they are interested in a particular area. The Canada show will feature sessions specific to Canada, along with many local speakers. If you wanted to be up on Canadian search marketing, you'd definitely want to attend that. The same is true for shows we do in Europe.

Similarly, those in Europe sometimes ask if they need to attend a US show. Again, yes -- if you're really into SEM. The European shows don't have some of the diverse sessions that the US shows -- with a four day run -- can offer.

[Mel66]

I attended the Boston SES in March 2003 and the Chicago SES in December 2003. Both were excellent, and although Chicago was billed as a "smaller" conference, it seemed to have more attendees, exhibitors, and great info than the Boston show. Chicago is driving distance for us so we've tabbed it for yearly attendance.

Whatever you decide, as others have said, you will not be disappointed. SES has been by far the best conference I've ever attended. You'll learn a LOT, meet a lot of great marketers, SEOs, vendors, and forum members, and have fun while doing so. One of the things I love about SES is how approachable everyone is - even the "big names" in SEM/SEO are more than willing to talk to us peons about their craft; and better yet, you can often do so over a beer or other beverage. :)

Kudos to Danny et al for putting on such a great event. Our travel budget is small, but we always make room for this one. I do hope someday to hit the San Jose SES so I can see the Googleplex, but Chicago is definitely worth your money.

Oh, and thanks Danny for putting my testimonial on the SES information pages. :D

[Marcia]

My favorite show of the year is SES San Jose, of course. It's close to home, but the session topics, the networking, the Google and Yahoo! parties are unmatched. They really have a special way of saying "thank you" to our SEO/SEM community.
I keep planning on San Jose every year and haven't made it yet. This next time around it's on the Must_Do list.

[idahoguy]

I've been to 3 so far, and going to the one in NY this Spring. I have NEVER been dissappointed for any reason, at any time. Networking is great and the sessions are incredibly informative and interactive.

I've been to a couple "other" web marketing conferences, NOTHING like SES.... the search engine strategies conference blows them out of the water.

No, this isn't a paid advertisment :) We are from Idaho Falls, Idaho... a small town in SE Idaho, so we're not too close to any major city / organization, but with the SES conferences, we get all we need.

Looking forward to the SES conference in NY! In fact, this time, I'm bringing 2 others from our company to enjoy!

Snowing in idahoooooo........ ;)