Which Conference is the Best for Local SEO Pros?

[JoyHawkins]

My company usually sends us to SES New York each year (we skipped this year) but I've found after going for a few years that it really doesn't have a focus on local SEO and that's the majority of our business. We have sent employees now 2 years in a row to Get Listed's thing in Spokane but both times the employees said the topics were pretty basic and didn't really go over any "advanced" stuff. They said it was more geared towards business owners or people that have no background in Google.

I'm trying to figure out which conference would be the best to send our employees to? I want one that would have speakers who are the top contributors or the people that make up the Local Search Ranking Factors each year. I also want the topics covered to include some advanced stuff.

Any insight would be awesome

 

[Chris Ratchford]

Hi Joy,

I went to PubCon last year and out of the 2 dozen or so sessions, there was 2 sessions that focused on local. I learned some good stuff, but I was hoping for more.

That's why I'm going to SMX East in October- specifically the first day Local U workshop.

I emailed Local U and asked if it would cover the basics or the advanced stuff. David Mihm emailed me back and said it's definitely geared towards the advanced level.

I also would like to know of any other advanced local conferences coming up in the next year.

 

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Joy & Chris,
I would say that you are bound to find more Local industry leaders in one room at Local U than at any other conference. I'm surprised to hear the experience of Joy's employees and highly recommend that you email that feedback to David. I'm sure he'd appreciate knowing what would make a session truly advanced for employees like yours. Conference organizers definitely need to know whether they are hitting the target.

 

[Nick.SEOSpark]

I haven't really been to any in the US as I'm a bit far away.

Just to let you know though that David Mihm is presenting at BlueglassX which is taking place in December. Obviously, there are lots of other areas covered within this conference as well (not exclusively local SEO).

 

[whitespark]

I am not too surprised to hear Joy's comments about GetListed Local U. It is geared towards the small business owner. The information is excellent, but, it's not overly advanced.

That said, there is no better conference or workshop in our industry than David's Local University Advanced workshop at SMX East. They've done a couple of these already, and THIS is where you'll learn the best tactics from the most respected local SEO thought leaders, that go well beyond the basics. Highly recommended.

http://searchmarketingexpo.com/east/local-university