From the high-level marketing executive to the solo web genius, there were nearly 3500 avid SEO individuals and teams that made the bi-annual trek to sunny, seaside Brighton (yes, it really was sunny on the day!) for “probably the biggest specialist search marketing event in the world".

We again sent three of our lucky staff members (check out last year's top takeaways) to the event where they had opportunity to attend a wide range of topical discussions, demonstrations, and digital marketing workshops. Oh, and there was also Oculus Rift, beer on tap, retro computer games, and free WiFi for everyone. Gotta mix business and pleasure, right?

Here are the Top 3 things we learned from the day.

1. Keep Your Content Up To Date - Always 


There is no doubt that a successful blog, marketing campaign, and active social media presence can make or break any business. Yet in the busy day-to-day of operations, those can get neglected. Within any online business, it is crucial to make sure you are always showcasing the latest and most current information. As presenter Sam Charles pointed out with Blogging advice that’ll make your job easier - guaranteed, her key tips for success included consistency (this includes tone and style), personality, and engagement. More so, the content always needs to appeal to the audience in a particular way, whether that be with a product or storyline.

2. Have A Solid Website. Especially for E-commerce


Are we still really discussing this? Unfortunately, yes. A website can, in fact, make or break the fluidity and success rate of business. If a potential customer is waiting along period of time for a web page to load, or there are multiple broken or dead end links, they will become frustrated and leave. That’s not the goal, right?


As Emily Mace from Oban International discussed in her presentation, Technical SEO for Ecommerce at home and abroad, there are different techniques depending on the type and audience of a website that leads to a prosperous end result. In particular, the layout of a website and user experience is key.

Surprisingly, a large number of e-commerce websites have multiple pages for a product, which is not only a bad user experience but it also results in the pages competing with each other in Google rankings. Emily suggested that when designing a product page you should put all the products on one page rather than adding loads of pages - referred to as lazy-loading in web design terms. This makes the page feel more alive and dynamic. It also means consumers don’t have to load a whole new page to view products. This is definitely a strong must have for any e-commerce website. 

3. Appeal to Your Audience On Their Terms. And Then Listen

Have you wondered why we have horsepower in reference to automobiles? A bit random but hear us out. One of the last, but certainly humorous presenters of the eventful day, was Hannah Dempsey with Shut up and Listen: Social Listening Beyond Your Brand. In order to resonate with your audience and the consumer, there needs to be a specific message delivered based on the social listening process of monitoring conversations. Rewind to nearly one hundred years ago and Henry Ford of the Ford Motor Company arguably used this concept to sell the Model T to an audience that mainly used literal horse powered transport - see what we mean? In order to sell and appeal to his audience, Henry Ford combined the knowledge and feedback of that era to develop an innovative marketing technique. All in all, Hannah suggested the following 

• focus messaging on the need or desire

• tailor messaging to those on different purchase routes

• place emphasis on making the right decisions

• allow people to visualise  


Overall, the day spent at BrightonSEO was worth wild from all perspectives. Whether you were or will be a first timer in attendance or a seasonal veteran, there is nothing to lose with attendance. We look forward to the next one!