Is the Search Engine Strategies Expo worth attending?

[noodlenut]

London's Search Engine Strategies expro happens in February. It's expensive.

Is it worth attending?

I run my own web development agency and we do SEO on a few clients' sites as well as 3 or 4 of our own ecommerce ones. We like to think we already know all the latest goings on with SEO and i don't want to waste time and money.

Is the expo likely to have anything that's not in the various online researches such as SearchEngineNews.com, marketposition.com or here?

Has anyone who's been there before got any positive comments?

[pmkpmk]

I'm considering to go to "SES Munich" in March, and would like to have some feedback regarding that question too.

[caveman]

We don't want to get too much into specifics here, per TOS. But what I can say generally speaking is that no two conferences are the same, even from the same provider.

So what I personally find useful is to really study the session topics and speaker lists (that's why they're there in part) to decide if I see lots of stuff relevant to my particular needs and interests. And read between the lines too. Look at what companies the speakers represent. Are they the big corp types, the 'in-the-trenches' types, a blend, or other?

Also, ask friends and colleagues who've been to past events.

Overall, my opinion is that if you're into a given field, e.g., SEO/SEM, it's always worthwhile to attend one or two of the conferences from every major provider. That is the only good way to know how much you personally will benefit. I most like the WebmasterWorld conferences, not because I'm a mod here, but because they are more informal and filled with the people who are really in the trenches doing the work. If I were a more corporate type however, I might have a different view. (And in any event, I don't limit myself to JUST the WebmasterWorld conferences.)

Finally by all means, before you go to any conference, do your homework. Decide ahead of time which sessions you'll attend, which networking events, whether or not you can arrange business meetings while there, and which speakers and/or attendees you will make it your mission to meet. A little preparation goes a very long way.