Here are a handful of helpful tips to make the most of SMX West 2010.
TIP #1: The best seats are up front in a room where you typically find tables with outlets for your laptop. So show up early if you want a good seat, but don’t bury your head in your laptop until the session begins. Use the minutes before the session begins to meet the people sitting beside you; these can be great networking opportunities.
TIP #2: If you can’t decide between which sessions to go to, look at the sessions likely to be full, and choose a different one. Popular sessions are typically well blogged so if you need information from both sessions, sit in on the session less likely to be live blogged by multiple people. Don’t forget to download the interesting presentations after the show (but it may take a day or two for the presentation to be available).
Tip #3: Don’t eat alone! Try to meet a few new faces at each conference. Several in-housers are getting together for dinner on Tuesday night before the SMX bash party. Contact emily [at] seoinhouse.com to get the evite. If you can’t make the dinner, I’m happy to introduce you to other in-housers folks if you’re new to the scene.
Tip #4: Hang out at the bar past 10pm. Everyone in search marketing knows that the best information is passed at the bar. What is great about SMX West is that it’s location keeps everyone at the hotel bar at the end of the night, so there is plenty of time for networking and asking questions you didn’t get answered that day.
Tip #5: Save money by eating meals at the show - SMX is known for having the BEST meals in the industry, and these occasions make further great networking opportunities (and a chance to finish an interesting conversation started at the party the night before).
Tip #6: Expand your in-house network so you can get answers without the consulting bill. Come to the In-house Exchange, an event created by in-house SEOs for in-house SEOs so that you can really get into the nitty gritty of how other companies are doing SEO.
Comments