Top 10 Marketing Conferences For Entrepreneurs Marketing conferences are the shortest route to increased knowledge, exposure and opportunity.
By R.L. Adams Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Marketing conferences offer a resplendent escape into the ether of visibility. It's a chance to glean firsthand knowledge and information from some of the leading minds in marketing and search. From SEO to SEM and conversion analytics and optimizations, digital marketers from around the world rush to these conferences to absorb the critical knowledge needed to propel their businesses into the stratosphere.
Some marketing conferences are a haven for SEO and organic-traffic-minded individuals like myself. Others focus on paid search and conversions tactics. Both are crucial in the bigger digital marketing picture.
The truth? Traffic and visibility are terrific, but if you have to know how to convert the traffic that's arriving at your website or you're wasting your time. Unless you're enthralled in some altruistic pursuit, you're likely interested in not only gaining visibility, but also increasing your leads and your sales.
I mean, who isn't, right?
And that's why these marketing conferences are proverbial gold mines. They're replete with golden nuggets of information and data, frame-worked, firsthand, by thought-leaders and online marketing experts who are there to lay down the rule book. It's also a brilliant opportunity for networking with like-minded individuals who are engaged in similar activities and interests, and those that might share some common passions and goals with you.
While most of these marketing conferences are well known, some have flown under the radar but still provide immense amounts of value. And that's really what it boils down to. When you head to one of these events, you're really looking to extract some sincere value out of them.
Okay, I'll be the first to admit that there are a lot of conferences out there that are geared towards marketers and entrepreneurs. The question is, how do you find the best one, most suitable for you and your organization? While this definitely isn't an exact science, there are few key traits to look at when trying to find the right one for you.
Keep in mind that the best conferences are frequented by the most people, but they've also been around for the longest. Yet, there are other conferences, which might be considered to be more in their infancy, that are truly terrific, and arguably provide more value to newcomers. This boils down to the speakers, the event's footprint and also the location as well.
Some might also argue that influencers and power users on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and others might be the source of success for some of these events over others. Regardless of how you look at it, there are definitely lots of options when it comes to a gathering of the marketing masses, so to speak.
1. Search Marketing Expo (SMX)
SMX is one of the largest marketing conferences dedicated to both SEO and SEM professionals, covering a vast area of online marketing that includes both obtaining the traffic and also converting it into leads and sales. Originally started way back in 2007 and founded by the team at Search Engine Land, a leading online SEO publication, this gathering has been one of the leading events for digital marketers.
Related: Watch: How to Get the Most Out of SEO With the Least Amount of Effort
2. Traffic & Conversion Summit
The Traffic & Conversion Summit is an annual event held by the team at Digital Marketer, one of the leading content marketing and education platforms in the world, which was originally co-founded by industry leaders, Ryan Deiss, Roland Frasier and Perry Belcher.
Related: 8 Mistakes Business Owners Make Creating Their 'About Us' Page
3. SuperConference
The SuperConference features some of the most brilliant marketing minds on the planet, which gather to convey online marketing strategies, principles and techniques that earn results. This conference focuses on fundamental marketing principles that are behind some of the world's leading corporations, and they really open the playbook on how to use leverage marketing to gain traction and boost profits over the long term.
Related: 9 Business Ideas Under $1,000 You Can Run From Anywhere
4. SEJ Summit
Another annual marketing conference, the SEJ Summit, held by another leading search engine publication, Search Engine Journal, founded by Loren Baker, provides an incredible event for SEOs, delivered by SEOs. The conference focuses on actionable and impactful SEO strategies along with resonating advice from industry insiders.
Related: How to Start a YouTube Channel
5. MozCon
Another marketing conference that largely focuses on the organic traffic world, MozCon is an event founded by what is arguably the biggest authority in the search marketplace. Moz.com, which was originally called SEOMoz and founded by Rand Fishkin and Gillian Muessig, focuses on tools, data and information for making a substantial impact in the organic visibility marketplace, focusing acutely on white-hat strategies like content marketing, page speed and other on-site optimization efforts.
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6. DreamForce
Created by billionaire SalesForce co-founder, Mark Benioff, DreamForce is one of the leading conferences for sales and marketing professionals with a massive footprint and following. This is also one of the largest certification events of the year and acts as an all-access pass of sorts to unbridled knowledge and insight into the sales and marketing industry.
Related: The Modern Marketing Strategy Every Business Should Start Using Today
7. Sales & Marketing Experience
While most big marketing conferences are designed for seasoned entrepreneurs, the Sales & Marketing Experience is specifically designed for online marketing newbies. This life-altering marketing event will acclimate you to a vast body of marketing fundamentals, strategies and techniques. Created by Legendary Marketer, David Sharpe, an icon in the internet marketing industry, this is definitely one of the best gatherings to keep your eyes on in the coming years.
Related: Affiliate vs. Influencer Marketing: Which Should Your Company Use?
8. Unbounce Call to Action
Some of the best speakers in the business present at the Unbounce Call-to-Action Conference where the audience hears insightful lessons from founders and expert marketers across the entire digital spectrum. Here, you'll discover just about every tactic and strategy in digital marketing, including PPC advertising, how to optimize your conversion rates, writing killer copy, email sequences, squeeze pages and much more.
Related: 11 Marketing Experts Whose Insights Could Change Your Business
9. Internet Summit
The Internet Summit is an annual marketing conference filled with thought leaders. Here, you'll learn everything from content marketing to SEO, email marketing, mobile UX, conversion optimization, trends, strategies, social media marketing, and SEM. This all-encompassing event is perfect for those that are looking to soak up a wide variety of marketing know-how, and it's sponsored by some of the biggest corporations in the world.
Related: 5 Ways to Get Your ROI With Your Company's Social Media
10. SearchLove
The SearchLove Conference is a two-day marketing event that brings together some of the brightest and most brilliant minds in the field of online marketing. The topics of discussion mainly center around organic search, analytics, content creation and marketing, SEM, conversion optimization techniques and much more.
