Is Attending a Conference Worth the Cost and Effort?

This question was posed (sort of) in The Blog at SEOmoz.org, specifically addressing the costs associated with attending the recent Search Engine Strategies conference in New York. SEOmoz.org is one of the best SEO sites around and the people behind the site are some of the most respected names in the world of SEO. They seem to have benefited greatly from attending various SEO conferences over the years, but these are people that are often asked to speak at these conferences and are considered leaders in their industry. They are also successful entrepreneurs and are attending the conferences to grow their businesses.

Do conferences offer the same type of value for typical non-principal corporate employees? Honestly, I think the answer to that is unique to each individual’s professional situation and aspirations. If you are a knowledgeable professional in your industry and are considering breaking from your current employer, whether it’s to launch your own business or simply find a better employment opportunity, I would have to think that a conference would be one of the very best networking opportunities available. As the post at SEOmoz.org points out, there is nothing better than face-to-face networking. The level of familiarity that can be reached in a face-to-face setting is immeasurably greater than what can be achieved via e-mail or phone.

Is a conference always a good idea? I strongly doubt it. If you are comfortable in your position and don’t feel that there is legitimate strategic advantage for you to commit the time and financial resources to a conference, it’s probably a bad idea to attend.

Tags: attending conferences, conference presentations, industry conferences, networking at conferences

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