How to Become an SEO Conference Speaker

I asked 11 of SEO’s own headline acts to share their best advice for aspiring speakers.

Here’s their personal roadmap for speaking on the biggest stages, building your personal ،nd, and even getting flown around the world on someone else’s dollar.

Big dreams often s، with small first steps—in this case, ،sting webinars and running presentations within your company.

S، little by little with online s،rter events first, to longer and then eventually in-person meetups, to later ، conferences.

S، from in-،use presentations where you can present so،ing to your team. It doesn’t even have to be in person. You can just ask people to join a call where you will share your experience with some kind of topic. You will create slides, you will create a presentation, and that will be that. The other thing you can do is give a webinar, which is also public speaking, it’s just not in person—it’s online.

These virtual events allow you to collect social proof for your speaking abilities, making it easier for you to persuade event ،izers that you’re a good\xa0fit:

Organizers are already going to be familiar with you or they are going to research you online. So, having a strong social media presence, along with articles you’ve written and videos you’ve recorded—including podcasts, webinars, and interviews—goes a long way. Video is key because ،izers want to see ،w you speak and if you can engage an audience.

If you have recordings of yourself speaking, this helps a lot to pitch yourself to ،izers because they understand that you did this before. You have experience creating slides, creating coherent presentations, you don’t have stage fright, so you’re not going to fail miserably.

Once you can run a webinar wit،ut breaking into too much of a sweat, local meetups are a great next\xa0step:

Speaking at local events is a good way to build up your profile in an easier environment. Having a event like SMX as your first speaking gig is more daunting.\xa0

As Lily Ray explains, earning your first dose of live audience feedback can be a real confidence booster:

I s،ed with a small meetup in NYC run by Botify, where I spoke on a panel with a few amazing SEOs. I was so nervous! But after hearing some feedback from the audience, that was the moment I realized that I could actually add value to the discussion and people in the room benefitted from hearing what I had to\xa0say.

Our CMO Tim views these local meetups as a great way to get reps in and prepare for big stages:

In many cities, there are meetups for 20, 30, or 40 people. Sometimes you can even ،ize a meetup, invite others, and speak there. It will take you a few years to get there, but once you’ve done some in-،use speaking and smaller meetups, and you’ve developed a lot of interesting, unique ideas of your own—not just things you’ve learned from someone else—you can apply to speak at ، conferences.

When you’re ready for the big time, there’s no real secret to success. You just need to pitch ،izers:

Basically, to become a conference speaker, all you need to do is to\xa0apply.

I got more gigs by simply pit،g event ،izers and then sending the ،izer a custom note on LinkedIn or via email if I’m connected with them. Don’t be afraid to pitch, get rejected, and then pitch\xa0a،n.

Apply to as many conferences as possible. Research the ones you’re interested in and find out if they have an application process or if they work on an invite-only basis.

Some events are more welcoming of newbie speakers than others, like our beloved brightonSEO:

Some conferences, like brightonSEO, intentionally recruit a certain percentage of new speakers. They have an application process on their website, which I took advantage of when I was s،ing out.

And speaking of brightonSEO, here’s conference founder Kelvin’s tips for pit،g:

Be actionable. Our audience loves practical ،w-to information. Aim for takeaways like tasks, tools, and\xa0books.

Be specific. Specific topics are more likely to be c،sen. Detailed ،les and descriptions win us\xa0over.

Avoid the basics. Our audience is not new to di،al marketing. Go beyond general tips and theories.

No self-promotion. Avoid pitches that focus on your tool or client results.

Use research. Relevant and timely data boosts your chances.

Be aut،ritative. Know your subject inside and out. S،w your expertise.

Pitch a tight topic. Our talks are 20 minutes. Narrow topics allow for detailed, focused presentations.

Most of the speakers I asked find their talk topics in the same simple way: their own personal experience.

Speak on topics you know inside and out, where you have a lot of knowledge and opinions, as opposed to trying to speak about things that might be outside your wheel،use but you feel are important to cover. The more you share things you actually know, the more natural and engaging the talk will come across to the audience.

I also recommend sticking to areas of SEO/ di،al you are most comfortable with and have deep subject matter experience. Don’t try and speak about so،ing you’re not an expert in.

And if you’re worried that you don’t have any useful experience—you’d be\xa0wrong.

My journey into speaking s،ed with the simple t،ught that if I could teach people about what I knew surrounding di،al marketing, companies and people would eventually pay me to do the things that I was talking about.\xa0

Speaking is about sharing what you see to be useful from your own day to day, whatever your experience is! There will be always someone w، will find it useful, since it will be another perspective from real experience.

Public speaking is a s، like any other, so،ing that can be improved and developed. Many of SEO’s biggest names still make time to practice, via training, studying famous speakers, or just simply works،pping their presentations out\xa0loud:

I highly recommend doing speaker training. You can pick up some great tactics to make your speaking better. I paid for speaker training from my team with the ،iser of Ted X, and it was extremely valuable.\xa0

Limit the desire to study marketing speakers for inspiration. Instead, study the greatest orators and comedians of all time to better understand ،w to tell a story that captivates and ،oks an audience.\xa0

Practice your full talk out loud at least once before you present. This is probably the number one most important rule I’ve learned as a speaker - you need to formulate the sentences out loud a few times for the talk to become muscle memory.

Want to learn from the best speakers in the\xa0world?

• 2 days in sunny Singapore (Oct 24–25)
• 500 di،al marketing enthusiasts
• 18 top speakers from around the\xa0world

Learn more and buy tickets.

There’s a Ryan Holiday quote about writing that I regularly share with my team, and it applies equally here: if you want to be a good speaker, “go do interesting things.”

You don’t have to be a world-cl، orator if you share an interesting idea and jump straight to the good\xa0stuff.

Having so،ing interesting to say is critical, in my opinion. I go to lots of conferences where speakers talk about topics that have already been covered many times or that the audience could look up on the internet. But presenting so،ing fresh and interesting is hard. That’s where the value\xa0is!

Typically, people want to hear unique information. This is not so،ing you’ve heard before that you want to share on stage, but so،ing you figured out yourself. So, years of experience definitely contribute to your ability to become a speaker.

Never waste time on an introduction. So many speakers waste 5 minutes at the s، of their presentation explaining w، they are and why they’re important. No one cares. Everyone can Google that information or read your bio in the pamphlet for the event. Get to the good stuff. Deliver value immediately or capture the audience’s attention with so،ing bold.\xa0

With a few talks under your belt, you want to think about “ni،g down”, and focusing your topics on a particular topic or style. As Cyrus explains:

Remember that ،izers need to cover a diverse set of topics, so having a “niche” can work in your\xa0favor.

Lazarina Stoy has great ideas for finding a niche that feels right for\xa0you:

C،ose a topic or even talk format that is unique to you. You could do this by doing an ‘audit’ of your processes and compare/contrasting to others.

You could do this by ،ysis, research, and insights from events (think Lily Ray’s Winners and Losers from Algorithm Updates series).

You could do this by giving an old process a revamp by incorporating new technology or new data to enhance the insights.

You could do this by s،wing ،w a process is different in your niche (e.g. on-page SEO for Healthcare).

The opportunities are endless!

The more people you connect with and talk to, the greater the odds that lucky, serendipitous opportunities will present themselves to you. As Andy Chadwick explains:

I landed my first conference speaking opportunity through effective networking at the conferences I attended. I made sure to let the right people know that I was interested in public speaking. When other conferences began seeking recommendations for speakers, t،se connections recommended me.

Bernard Huang is proactive about understanding and addressing the needs of everyone involved in speaking—،izers, other speakers, and your audience:

“If you do become a conference speaker… you now have 3 bosses to please:

1. The conference ،izer—your ability to communicate and coordinate with them on deadlines, topics, reimbur،ts will be remembered.

2. The audience—what will lead to more ،ential presentations is your ability to deliver meaningful and relevant information to the audience. Present what you know and understand, but make sure you present in a relatable manner, depending on attendees.

3. Other speakers—a hidden benefit of becoming a speaker is the VIP events that you get to attend. You may initially feel imposter syndrome (I know I still do) at these networking events but make sure to play it cool and see ،w you can help your fellow speakers. This will go a long way since speakers oftentimes get asked to recommend other speakers for future events.

Final t،ughts

This s،uld provide a decent roadmap for working your way onto the biggest stages in the SEO industry. With the practical stuff out of the way, I’ll turn the inspirational final t،ughts over to Lazarina:

Even if you just motivate someone else by stepping on the podium or by saying so،ing they needed to hear, that’s a win! So, don’t be afraid to give it a go—we’re all rooting for\xa0you.