I attended SES (Search Engine Strategies) Conference Toronto two weeks ago. I would have written this earlier, but I got busy and forgot. A post yesterday by ShoeMoney reminded me that I wanted to post this. What re-inspired me to write this is not actually the post itself, but one of the quotes from other speakers – from Neil Patel. He's quoted as saying:

The main value you get from being a speaker at a conference is that you become branded as an expert.

This was my biggest grievance with the SES conference – the majority of speakers have apparently branded themselves as experts, and ended up preaching to us on a lot of topics that are already very well known by the audience. I would estimate that only about 10% of the speakers actually said something of value, something I will take into consideration in my role as an online marketer. The remaining 90% can be summed up with "thanks, I already knew that".

But that's OK, the Search Engine Marketing industry is still learning, growing and adapting. No one has a monopoly on the best tactics or strategies. We're all learning, and these conferences provide a nice forum for interactivity, and to meet like-minded marketers with which you can exchange ideas and results.

However, if I attend again next year, I'll have to work on my patience, particularly when it comes to the chairperson for each discussion. There were a few of them that apparently were under the impression that their role was also that of presenter in each discussion. When a presenter would answer a question or share some insight, they just couldn't resist adding their own $0.02, as though it was actually of some value. Or they'd jump right in there and answer the question before a presenter was able to. It was ridiculous! Honestly, carry the microphone, add a humorous quip now and then, but no more!

Anyhow, that's my rant. It is a good conference for those looking to break into online marketing.