BrightonSEO is the world’s largest gathering of search marketers, filled with industry experts delivering quality talks and sharing the latest tips and tricks in search engine optimisation. BrightonSEO started back in 2010, as a very small get together of SEO experts in a room above a pub in Brighton. Fast forward just 6 years later, BrightonSEO moved to the Brighton Centre for the first time in 2016. In 2020 it went online due to the pandemic, but in 2022, BrightonSEO is back and better than ever.
Here’s what Robbie got up to…
Starting the day
My day started at 9am, arriving at the Brighton Centre for registration and getting set for the day. After grabbing a coffee, I went for a wander around the exhibition area, which had loads of businesses showcasing their software. I chatted to a few people at their stands and found out about lots of software programs that I hadn’t heard of before – definitely some I need to book a demo for!
9:45am, I took a seat in the main auditorium, ready for my first series of talks of the day. My first session was called ‘On-Page SEO’ which delved deep into the nitty gritty about SEO and what you can do on each page to improve it.
Every session throughout the day was split into three parts, with each part being taken over by a different speaker, so each hour and a quarter session had three experts focusing on a different niche in each topic. This broad range of experts gave such a great spread of information and tips from professionals focussing on different areas, it kept the day fresh and engaging.
The first session about ‘On-Page SEO’ was brilliant, I learnt so much about Google’s way of reading content and how you can manipulate your content to work with Google. Talks like this are so valuable as SEO is always a changing landscape! Things you learnt a year ago might not be as effective as they used to be, so you have to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and updates.
Session one set a high bar; my first BrightonSEO talk already had me ready for more. There was a small break between each session to stretch your legs, grab a coffee (you can tell I like coffee), check out some of the exhibits and get to your next talk. Lucky for me, the next talk I wanted to attend was in the same auditorium.
Getting stuck in
The next session started at 11:45am and this one was called ‘Content Marketing’. It was heavily focussed on content, a key part that you need to get right as a digital marketer. One of the speakers, Alex Hickson, Digital PR Lead at Rise at Seven and co-founder of Flaming Crap, shared his experience of how he went viral on a budget.
Alex created the 2020 scent candle, a novelty candle that summarised the roller coaster year of 2020 in four scents: banana bread for all those lockdown bakers, hand sanitiser which is still quite relevant in 2022, woody musks in honour of all those DIY lockdown projects and finally a scent of budget aftershave in honour of Joe Exotic from the Netflix series Tiger King. Alex explained how, for next to no money, he created this product, took photos on his iPhone, wrote a quick press release, used free software and social media to contact journalists and managed to get the 2020 scent candle in major publications such as Huffington Post, Metro and Fox News. This talk, alongside the other two presenters, highlighted the importance of good content, identifying your audience and how you can use current trends to reach the mainstream.
After that, lunch! I had a cracking burger courtesy of Honest Burgers, would recommend! I may also have had another coffee…
More to learn
The next session started at 2:30pm, and it was all about reporting and how marketers can do it better. Greg Gifford, Vice President of Search Marketing at SearchLab, gave a very engaging and quality presentation about some of the things we might be doing when reporting that can be done differently to save time. Greg shared his process of reporting which actually gave the client more valuable information whilst cutting down on the ‘fluff’ that isn’t needed. Definitely one to take forward!
After another quick break where I may or may not have squeezed in another coffee, I found myself in the last session of the day at 4:10pm. This one was titled ‘Keyword Research’ and I was not disappointed! These speakers unveiled the secrets of longtail keywords and the hidden gems that low search volume keywords can bring to your websites. Definitely some tips I’ll be putting into practice.
After that, there was a short 15-minute break and straight into the keynote speaker, Andi Jarvis, focussing on the difference between strategy and tactics and how important they are in your day-to-day activity. I thought as I got through the day, I might get a bit of brain fog and struggle to stay engaged. How wrong I was! The presenters were all so good at keeping the audience switched on, I was glued to the stage every time.
Coming to a close
As 6pm rolled on, the day had come to an end. BrightonSEO hosts an after party when the talks come to a close, where you can grab a drink and engage in some friendly networking. What better place to network with other search engine marketers than the world’s biggest gathering of them!
Overall, I had an absolute blast at BrightonSEO. I will definitely be looking to go again; the next event is in October. I’d highly recommend going if you can make it. In a world such as SEO where the goalposts always seem to be moving and the latest tips and tricks are always evolving, it is so valuable to go and learn from the experts and keep your SEO arsenal fresh.
Keeping your website high up on the search engine results page is key to driving traffic to your website and generating quality leads. If you need help optimising your website to give you the best chance of keeping up with your competitors, get in touch with us today and see how our SEO expertise can help take your website to the next level.
