There’s significant value in attending conferences. Networking, team building, reinforcing and learning tactics, speaking opportunities and the list continues. And while daily blog skimming is a great way to keep up with the latest changes in the PPC industry, just like your college foreign language course, immersion makes the difference. By removing yourself from your desk and into a 2-3 day learning environment, you’ll find it’s not only refreshing, but it will give you a competitive advantage.
So as you prepare to make your pitch to your boss and book your plane ticket, take a look at our list:
Digital Marketing Conferences in 2019
January
ACCELERATE
Location: Los Gatos, California
Session That Piqued Our Interest: Ten Tips for Getting the Most from Google’s Analytics Products
Listen to product managers from Google and Adobe Analytics talk about the state of the industry, where their respective platforms are heading, and their thoughts on what the future of digital measurement looks like.
SMX West
Location: San Jose, California
Best Feature: The networking. The best and brightest attend SMX and we love catching up with friends across the industry.
For over a decade, Search Engine Land has dominated the space for SEO and SEM teachings. The Clix team loves this one (and SMX East!) Want a preview of the kind of content you can expect? Check out a past deck from Michelle Morgan here.
February
Digital Summit
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Fun Perk: Ummm.. short sleeves in winter! Nothing better than sending sunny selfies to your coworkers while getting some R&R before or after the conference.
They’re jam-packing over 45 sessions and speakers from national brands into two days! And promising practical takeaways and ideas to keep you ahead in the digital economy. If you can’t make this one, there are many other awesome locations!
Converge
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Tell Me More: If your focus is education, book your flight. Between the workshops, keynotes, and breakout sessions, you’ll be learning (and networking) with other CMOs, deans, enrollment leaders, recruiters, and digital strategists.
Social Media Week Austin
Location: Austin, Texas
On The Edge of Our Seat: We’ll be waiting to see the full programming next month, but we were sold at Austin. What a perfect city for a team bonding experience! We’re promised a deeper understanding of the tools, strategies and, tactics … we’ll get that and a whole lot more.
Traffic & Conversion Summit
Location: San Diego, California
What We’re Impressed With: The variety. Pick from 7 tracks during this 3-day conference. ‘Digital Retailer’ is Amazon sellers and eCommerce marketers while ‘Growth Hacker’ is designed for the analysts, optimizers, and anyone on the lookout for the latest tips, tricks, and hacks. See what we mean?! Something for everyone.
B2B Marketing Exchange
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Wait..what? Workshops are capped at 20-30 to facilitate group learning and 1:1 interaction with facilitators. Talk about practical learning! No ‘death by powerpoint’ at this conference.
Pubcon Austin 2018
Location: Austin, Texas
Session That Piqued Our Interest: PPC Micro Budgets and Audience Tailoring — Clix’s own Michelle Morgan is presenting and can’t be missed.
One helpful thing is when the venue is within walking distance to the hotel. That’s what you’ll find here — convenience. This translates to more time networking!
March
Social Media Marketing World
Location: San Diego, California
Best Feature: The lineup of speakers. There’s a reason this is THE conference to attend for social media marketers.
We’re certain as a savvy digital marketer, you’re already subscribing to the Podcast and a regular reader of the blog. Get ready for more and pack the sunglasses!
Digital Marketing Innovation Summit
Location: New York, New York
Fun Perk: You’ll hear from some big names. Marriott, Weight Watchers Moet Hennessy – get ready to learn from the best.
SearchLove
Location: San Diego, California
Tell Me More: Gather up your teammates, when you buy 4 tickets you’ll receive the 5th one free. This two-day event promises cutting-edge digital marketing presentations with all the crucial topics are covered.
Engage | SEMpdx
Location: Portland, Oregon
On The Edge of Our Seat: Between the line up of speakers, the three keynote presentations and the great cost — this is definitely one to consider!
CXL Live 2019
Location: Austin, Texas
What We’re Impressed With: The value! Your tickets include everything: 2 hotel nights and meals.
Another added perk? The pre-conference is FREE!
PubCon Florida
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
What Should We Look Forward To? TWO members of the Clix Team will be speaking. Both Joe Martinez and Michelle Morgan will be dishing on the latest PPC tools and techniques.
April
Advanced Search Summit
Location: Napa, California
Wait, What?: Wine! Capstone dinner on the Wine Dinner Train and an optional visit to a winery following the conference is the perfect way to ‘cheers your new friends.
Digital Travel
Location: Indian Wells, California
Fun Perk: If you’re focused on travel, hospitality or leisure companies, start planning your trip. (And the pre-event networking bike trip has us dreaming of California)
Hero Conf
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
What We’re Impressed With: So hard to pick on this one. Probably the most impressive thing is the networking opportunity. All the folks you interact with on Twitter, the blogs you read, and industry inspiration — they’ll be here. So you should be too. The camaraderie within the PPC industry is second to none.
Midwest Digital Marketing Conference
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
What Should We Look Forward To? Taking time to explore the venue — St. Louis Union Station and a ride on the 200-foot high Ferris wheel.
MarTech
Location: San Jose, California
Tell Me More: Marketing. Technology. Management. Three previously siloed disciplines, now converging.
There are others like you – tech-savvy marketers blending diverse expertise to propel their careers and organizations into a more sophisticated and accessible future. You need the chance to meet with your kind, learn from them, train with them. You need a conference that speaks directly to your talents and trajectory.
SMX Munich
Location: Munich, Germany
Winner, Winner: Submit your entries by January 31st for the 5th Annual SEMY Awards then get ready to hear your name called.
AdWorld Experience
Location: Bologna, Italy
Come Introduce Yourself: Our Director of Client Services, Michelle Morgan will be here!
We realize it’s far, but promise it’s worth it. It’s the largest PPC-only event in the world!
May
Next10x
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Tell Me More: The variety of topics and what’s covered. Give Your Vision Voice: Designing the Right Voice Experience for Your Brand to Debunking Myths and Examining the Value of AMP and more!
Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit
Location: Austin, Texas
What We’re Impressed With: The channels after the conference is over to stay connected and learn. A magazine, newsletter, podcast and additional events will keep you engaged.
Social Shake-Up
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Session That Piqued Our Interest: From Storytelling to Action: Tying Content Marketing to Business Goals
DigiMarCon East 2019
Location: New York, New York
Wait, What?: Need the approval to travel? Take the awkward out of the pitch and let DigiMarCon do it for you — they provide a business professional and casual letter to ask your boss if you can attend.
The exhibitors can often be overlooked or viewed as just free swag. But you’ll want to carve out time at this conference to check ’em out. Trust us.
Marketing Analytics Conference
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
What’s Being Promised: Keynotes by C-Suite executives combined with detailed case studies and collaborative problem-solving sessions will provide you with the tools you need to establish or improve upon a truly data-driven approach to your organization’s marketing.
June
SMX Advanced
Location: Seattle, Washington
On The Edge of Our Seat: Registration opens next month in January! But if you’re obsessed with SEM and SEO, you’ll be hanging on to every word in this industry-favorite conference!
Unbounce
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Tell Me More: From the organization that we all rely on for the creation of landing pages, popups and sticky bars, we can be count on the latest updates and best practices to be taught. And once the conference is over, go back and watch the speaker videos to keep the teachings front of mind.
July
MozCon
Location: Seattle, Washington
Fun Perk: The Pacific Northwest is gorgeous and aside from the presentations, socializing and networking with fellow attendees is a major plus!
ANA 2019 Digital & Social Media Conference
Location: San Diego, California
On The Edge of Our Seat: Social Media Managers will gravitate to the digital storytelling insights and be inspired by the case studies from national brands.
VidCon 2019
Location: Anaheim, California
Who Should Attend: People who focus on content creation — from media company executives to influencers.
Oh, and by the way, this is their 10th anniversary!
September
INBOUND 2019
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Wait, What?: Hubspot is behind this one and while the agenda hasn’t been released yet, you know it’ll be a good one. Watch for the speaker pitch deadline as well and grow your presentation skills!
Digital Analytics Hub
Location: Leesburg, Virginia
What We’re Impressed With: That it’s a conversation, not a lecture. Learn through actively participating in a dialogue in a collaborative environment.
October
HeroConf London
Location: London, England
Session That Piqued Our Interest: Using Offline Data to Fuel Success through Online Paid Media
They are promising 44 Sessions. 44 Paid Search Experts. 275 Like-Minded Marketers. BAM!
December
Search Insider Summit
Location: Park City, Utah
Fun Perk: Pack your snow gear — there’s even ski and snowboarding time built into the agenda!
This is a conference with a smaller number of attendees which makes for more meaning connections and networking. And the reviews are stellar. “3 days of inspiration, pure content, fun and real connections made…”
Should I Start Packing?
The short answer to this question is: “Yes.” Now that you’ve picked out which conferences to attend, start to prepare in order to maximize your experience. And once you get home, share what you’ve learned! Set up some time to share your takeaways with your co-workers and review specific slide decks. It’s a great way to reinforce the teachings so you can apply your new-found knowledge.
We’d love to hear about the conferences that you’re planning on attending or speaking at. Please share your plans and links in the comments!
