Negative SEO blog : SEOassassin

Another option in the sudden trend for small scale conferences providing training on search engine optimization has popped up - SEOClass. The line-up of core speakers is impressive too : Rae Hoffman, Todd Malicoat, Greg Niland and Michael Gray.

As I’ve noted before, finding trusted sources of quality information is hard. Whilst there’s loads of information out there, sorting the nuggets from the noise is hard work, especially for the newer members of the SEO community. When you get a chance to spend “quality time” with a well-known name, it can be like manna from heaven - good info, straight from the source.

Even better, these smaller gatherings encourage greater openess on the part of speakers, and make networking easier too. Those of us who’ve been around the SEO scene for a while have noted a tendency amongst certain members to migrate from the larger, more public areas to smaller, more private ones. These kinds of conferences represent the logical conclusion of that trend - only just more public than direct consultancy.

I think the networking stuff should work better at these events as well. If you are at a larger conference type event, it can be hard to get to know new people. Personally, I usually get the vibe that people go to conferences in competition with each other - to learn more, to find more clients / suppliers, to extract more value. At a smaller, more relaxed event I find a more co-operative atmosphere pervades. Everyone is in it together, it’s a shared learning experience.

I think these sorts of things may well represent the way forward for SEO - mass-scale forums and conferences will always have their place, but a more advanced segment of the market does definitely seem to be emerging, and not before time, in my opinion.

UPDATE : Looks like Jeremy Schoemaker has had to pull out, due to conflicting calendar issues. The good news is that Brad Geddes (ewhisper) is stepping up.