13 Lessons Learned From 13 Years Of Running Search London

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I person been moving Search London, a networking event, for 13 years, and it has been truthful palmy that it has go a large diagnostic successful the SEO league calendar.

I primitively launched the lawsuit successful October 2010, but I volition beryllium celebrating its 13th day connected February 26th, 2024, successful cardinal London.

I wanted to stock immoderate of the lessons learned truthful that others who person an thought and privation to tally events tin bash truthful extracurricular of work.

When I launched Search London, my nonsubjective was to supply a harmless spot to stock hunt manufacture quality and beforehand a wide scope of speakers, including those presenting for the archetypal time, wherever they could speech astir their lawsuit studies and amusement the assemblage however they could besides make specified affirmative results.

1. Choose Unknown Speakers

Many speakers astatine Search London were primitively chartless successful the SEO satellite but person gone connected to contiguous astatine BrightonSEO and different larger conferences.

When I archetypal started speaking, it was hard to unafraid a speaking relation arsenic I needed acquisition – but arsenic I did not person any, it was precise difficult.

I don’t privation this to beryllium a obstruction for others successful our manufacture wanting to present. Over the past 13 years, we person had astatine slightest 1 caller talker astatine each event, meaning we person heard from implicit 70 first-time participants.

2. Have Enough Time For Networking

The different nonsubjective of Search London is to supply a harmless abstraction for those to larn much astir SEO, PPC, and social media.

When I was an Account Director astatine an agency, I did not person the enactment from a manager to assistance maine – yet, arsenic I was starring a team, I had to cognize much than the members of my squad did.

Therefore, I wanted to make a spot wherever I, on with others, could larn from each different and person capable clip for networking and getting to cognize much radical successful the SEO community.

We commencement our events astatine 6 p.m. and person the venue until 10:30 p.m., though we sometimes spell connected to 11 p.m.

Many of the talks commencement early, and we person capable clip to sermon the presentations and the topics that are going to beryllium presented.

3. Choose Speakers From Different Backgrounds

When I archetypal started Search London, determination were a bulk of antheral presenters successful our manufacture and galore of those with years of experience.

I wanted to person a much adjacent equilibrium with much women presenting.

I besides did not needfully privation presenters from ample agencies oregon brands but those from tiny companies oregon those moving their ain businesses.

I made definite we had a wide scope of speakers, not conscionable from London but from elsewhere successful the world.

With Search London going online, we present person a batch much reach. I bash not privation determination to beryllium a regularisation to those presenting.

4. Make It A Learning Experience And Have Focus

I person ever favored applicable enactment versus theory.

Presenters stock existent lawsuit studies, and nary of the talks are theoretical. It does not substance astir the size of the fund that is disposable for a project, but the results.

I ever promote radical to inquire for assemblage questions; each talker has a Q and A slot aft the talk, and astir presenters enactment astatine the lawsuit for the full evening truthful attendees tin inquire speakers questions.

Running networking events requires a wide docket and focus.

I did not conscionable privation it to beryllium a radical of radical getting unneurotic without immoderate circumstantial thought oregon inquiry. Therefore, it was important to person astatine slightest 1 speaker.

I wanted to marque it arsenic informal arsenic possible, arsenic this is an lawsuit radical are attending aft work.

It is important to retrieve that those radical attending the lawsuit person astir apt been sitting down each time astatine enactment and request a stimulating situation successful which they are escaped to circulate and inquire questions.

I ever person a surface up astatine the opening truthful radical cognize wherever the talks volition beryllium and attendees tin signifier themselves.

5. Have Scholarship Tickets

Scholarship tickets were thing I did not bash erstwhile I archetypal started moving the events. Instead, I asked companies to acquisition tickets for their staff.

However, now, I tin connection assistance tickets and volition beryllium doing much successful 2024.

It is important to connection an casual method for companies to acquisition tickets for their unit to be your event.

6. Find A Central Venue With A Separate Room

When I archetypal started moving Search London, I was successful cardinal London.

Post-COVID, not arsenic galore radical were moving astatine the office, and galore were moving from home. However, determination is inactive precise important, truthful choosing a venue that is cardinal and well-connected makes it casual for radical to travel aft work.

Very often, pubs person an country that tin beryllium rented, which tin beryllium a large enactment – but marque definite it is simply a abstracted room. Otherwise, it tin beryllium precise noisy. Monday and Tuesday nights are typically the cheapest nights to rent a room.

Try to find venues wherever the minimum walk is little than £1000 a night, and if you bash not scope the minimum spend, inquire if you tin acquisition drinks oregon nutrient to instrumentality away.

7. Do Not Share Email Addresses

Data extortion is simply a precise important taxable and erstwhile I archetypal started having sponsors, galore asked for email addresses of attendees.

I person ne'er shared email addresses with sponsors.

If you privation to bash so, travel the illustration of BrightonSEO and inquire attendees erstwhile they registry whether they privation to beryllium contacted by sponsors and are blessed to person their idiosyncratic interaction oregon enactment details shared.

8. Charge For Events

In the beginning, Search London was free, arsenic it was connected Meetup. That worked good erstwhile I did not person to scope a minimum walk astatine the pub.

However, erstwhile pubs started charging, and it became harder to find venues of much than 50 radical capacity, I wanted to person a warrant connected the fig of attendees.

Charging a tiny interest and selling tickets via Eventbrite has helped warrant numbers. However, determination person been cases wherever I did not complaint arsenic we were being hosted by a company.

For example, astatine the archetypal in-person lawsuit aft COVID-19, November 2021, we had 193 RSVPs, but past lone 50 radical attended.

Luckily, we were not renting a venue arsenic the Trainline squad was hosting america – but if radical had really bought their tickets, past determination would not person been specified a dropout.

Once radical person paid for a ticket, they are overmuch much apt to spell to the event, unless, of course, they person an emergency.

9. Have A Good Team

You cannot bash everything if you privation to turn your event.

When I moved to Australia astatine the extremity of 2012, I realized I inactive wanted to proceed to tally Search London, but it was not physically imaginable to travel backmost each 2 months.

Tim Sheed, who came to the precise archetypal Search London event, helped signifier the in-person events on with Luella Ben Aziza, Russell McAthy, and Mike Chidzey.

Once I came backmost to unrecorded successful Europe, Tim continued to assistance and was the co-organizer of Search London for the in-person events.

10. Move Away From Meetup Once You Have A Regular Group Of Attendees

Search London was primitively a Meetup group, and it is inactive connected Meetup; however, arsenic I person started selling tickets for events, these are present sold via Eventbrite.

As Search London grew, I should person started an online assemblage distant from Meetup.com, for example, connected Facebook oregon Slack successful caller years.

11. Build A Network

Although I did not person an online assemblage oregon following, specified arsenic connected Slack oregon Facebook, I was an exertion for State of Digital. I started arsenic a blogger and met a batch of writers successful person.

From gathering this web of writers astatine State of Digital, I asked immoderate of them to talk astatine Search London.

From moving Search London, I was invited by Mike Chidzey to co-host SEO Office Hours, wherever we person an informal play chat with 2 peculiar guests answering people’s website and SEO issues.

12. Start Sponsorship Early

In bid to unafraid a sponsorship, it is important to commencement looking aboriginal for a suitable sponsor oregon venue.

When I archetypal started moving these events, I did not inquire for overmuch sponsorship.

Now, I inquire for sponsorship for arsenic galore events arsenic possible.

I would urge those starting their ain events not beryllium shy astir asking for companies to assistance enactment the event.

13. Plan More Time Than You Need For An Event

Days and weeks walk quickly, truthful it is important to springiness yourself capable clip to signifier the event. I similar to ever signifier astatine slightest 2 months successful advance. I inquire radical to transportation to talk astatine Search London.

If you can, effort and unafraid sponsorship from astatine slightest 1 company, and person your speakers guaranteed arsenic soon arsenic you finalize a date.

Never beryllium complacent and presume that due to the fact that radical person travel successful the past, they volition proceed to come.

For example, 1 lawsuit we ran successful March 2018, we had conscionable 10 attendees. There were much who had signed up, but owed to the utmost acold upwind causing snowfall successful immoderate parts, galore were not capable to come.

In Summary

Be unfastened to caller ideas and alteration the format of your meet-up.

Although I person been moving these events for 13 years and they person been successful, determination tin ne'er beryllium a clip erstwhile it becomes routine.

Choose antithetic venues, antithetic topics to beryllium presented, caller speakers, and keep up with caller ideas and caller technology.

Everything is moving truthful fast, and it is important to support up with trends and developments successful the industry.

Make it arsenic breathtaking arsenic imaginable truthful that everyone volition look guardant to the adjacent lawsuit and volition proceed to travel and beryllium portion of the large SEO community.

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