Last updated: September 2026
The SEO conferences worth attending have changed more in the past two years than in the decade before. Search now runs through AI Overviews and generative answers, and every serious event has rebuilt its agenda around that shift. Below is the current calendar — verified dates, locations and ticket prices for what’s left of 2026 and everything confirmed for 2027, including the Dubai, MENA and India events that global roundups routinely leave out.
Quick answer
The biggest SEO conferences are BrightonSEO (twice yearly in the UK plus a San Diego edition), MozCon (New York and London), Ahrefs Evolve (San Diego and Singapore), SERP Conf. (Rome and Vienna) and Chiang Mai SEO Conference. For marketers in the Gulf, DigiMarCon Dubai and DigiMarCon MENA run in Dubai each September and Visi Summit Dubai is the region’s dedicated SEO and AI event. In India, Amaze Conference (December, Chandigarh) and Beyond Search Summit (February 2027, Gurgaon) are the ones to plan around.
Key takeaways
- Book three to four months ahead. Early-bird pricing closes well before the event and popular tiers sell out — BrightonSEO’s free ballot in particular.
- Check the agenda for AI search content. In 2026–27 that is the fastest-moving area of the discipline. An agenda without it is recycled from an earlier year.
- Ticket prices range enormously, from free (Search Me! Leeds, BrightonSEO ballot) through €249 (ADworld) and $899 (Ahrefs Evolve) up to €8,000 for the invitation-only SEOktoberfest G50 Summit.
- Regional events often deliver more per dirham than long-haul travel to a marquee conference. See the Dubai and India sections below.
SEO conferences still to come in 2026
| Conference | Dates | Location | Focus | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SaaS SEO Alliance (SSA 2.0) | 11–12 Sept | TBC | SaaS-specific SEO | — |
| BrightonSEO San Diego | 15–16 Sept | San Diego Convention Center | Broad search marketing | $740 |
| INBOUND | 16–18 Sept | Boston, MA | Marketing, sales, CX | $1,199 |
| Search Me! Leeds | 17 Sept | Platform, Leeds, UK | Evening SEO talks | Free |
| SEOktoberfest G50 Summit | 20–25 Sept | Stanglwirt, Austria | Senior invite-only think tank | €8,000 |
| B2B Marketing Expo | 23–24 Sept | Las Vegas | B2B marketing | Free |
| SMX Advanced | 29 Sept–1 Oct | Berlin, Germany | Advanced search | — |
| WTSFest Philadelphia | 1 Oct | Philadelphia, PA | Women in tech SEO | $399 |
| Content Marketing World | 5–7 Oct | San Diego, CA | Content strategy | — |
| Ahrefs Evolve | 12–13 Oct | InterContinental San Diego | AI search, discoverability | $899 |
| ADworld Experience | 15–16 Oct | Bologna, Italy (+ online) | PPC and CRO | €249 |
| SERP Conf. Rome | 16 Oct | Rome, Italy | Technical SEO, ecommerce | €499 |
| NESS | October (TBC) | Online | News and editorial SEO | $299 |
| State of Search | October (TBC) | Grapevine, TX | Search and digital marketing | $997 |
| Zagreb SEO Day | 30 Oct | Zagreb, Croatia | AI search, AEO, local SEO | — |
| SERP Conf. Vienna | 3 Nov | Vienna, Austria | Technical SEO, AI, ecommerce | €499 |
| Chiang Mai SEO Conference | 9–13 Nov | Chiang Mai, Thailand | Scaling, affiliate, AI | ~$847 |
| MozCon New York | November (TBC) | New York, USA | Broad organic marketing | $649 |
| International Search Summit | November (TBC) | WTC Barcelona, Spain | International SEO | €750 |
| MENA Search Awards | 27 Nov | Dubai, UAE | Regional search awards | — |
| GEO Conference | 4 Dec (NYC) · 9 Dec (SF) | USA | Generative engine optimisation | $900 |
| Tech SEO Connect | December (TBC) | Durham, NC | Rendering, crawling, data | $574 |
| Amaze Conference | 11–12 Dec (pre-event 10 Dec) | Chandigarh, India | SEO and AI marketing | — |
SEO conferences confirmed for 2027
| Conference | Dates | Location | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| eTail West | 22–25 Feb | Palm Springs, CA | $899 |
| Beyond Search Summit | 26–27 Feb | Gurgaon, India | — |
| Sydney SEO Conference | 12 March | Sydney, Australia | AU$399 |
| SMX Munich | March | Munich, Germany | €899 |
| Ahrefs Evolve Singapore | May | Singapore | — |
| Search’n Stuff London | June | Emirates Stadium, London | £450 |
| DigiMarCon Dubai | 21–22 Sept | Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach | — |
| DigiMarCon MENA | 22–23 Sept | Hyatt Regency Dubai | — |
| Visi Summit Dubai | TBA | Dubai Knowledge Park | $399 |
| Friends of Search | TBA | Amsterdam, Netherlands | €455 |
| HiveMCR | TBA | New Century Hall, Manchester | £99 |
| Campixx | TBA | Berlin, Germany | — |
The major global SEO conferences
BrightonSEO
The broadest search event on the calendar. Its UK and US editions now reach more than 5,000 people between them, covering search, content, digital PR, analytics and paid media, with training workshops and fringe events around the main programme.
The San Diego edition runs 15–16 September 2026 at the San Diego Convention Center, with early-bird Friend tickets from $740. The UK edition returns to The Brighton Centre twice yearly.
Best for: mixed teams, and meeting people you already know online. Skip if: you want two days of advanced work in one narrow specialism, or crowds drain you. Website: brightonseo.com
Ahrefs Evolve
Two days, roughly 500 attendees, and the strongest AI-search programming among the large events. The 2026 edition runs 12–13 October at the InterContinental San Diego, with speakers including Ann Handley, Rand Fishkin and Ethan Smith. Tickets start at $899, with All-Access passes from $2,099. A Singapore edition follows in May 2027.
Best for: senior practitioners working on AI search and discoverability. Website: ahrefsevolve.com
MozCon
Moz’s conference now runs as a roadshow rather than the old single Seattle event, with New York and London editions. Expect broad organic marketing rather than a narrowly technical programme. Early-bird tickets start at $649 for New York and £499 for London.
Best for: marketers who want a recognisable, well-run industry event. Website: moz.com/mozcon
Chiang Mai SEO Conference
Five days in Thailand with an audience skewing affiliate, niche site and revenue-focused. The extended format — shared meals, evening sessions — turns conference contacts into working relationships in a way two-day events rarely manage. General admission has historically run around $847, with VIP tiers selling out early.
Best for: practitioners who want tactical depth and a genuine network. Website: chiangmaiseoconference.com
SERP Conf.
An international SEO, ecommerce and digital marketing event running two editions: Rome on 16 October and Vienna on 3 November 2026. Speakers include Aleyda Solis, Purna Virji and Gianluca Fiorelli. Early-bird tickets start at €499, rising to €749.
Best for: European marketers wanting advanced technical and ecommerce content. Website: serpconf.com
Tech SEO Connect
Built by technical SEOs for technical SEOs, in Durham, North Carolina. Sessions go deep on rendering, crawling and working with large datasets, with speakers including Michael King and Jori Ford. Tickets around $574, and numbers are capped by venue size.
Best for: technical specialists. Skip if: you need foundational content — this event assumes you don’t. Website: techseoconnect.com
Women in Tech SEO Festival (WTSFest)
A community-led, single-track conference for women and gender non-conforming practitioners, running across London, Portland and Philadelphia. The Philadelphia edition is on 1 October 2026. Tickets from £99 in London and $399 in Philadelphia.
Website: womenintechseo.com
International Search Summit
The cleanest match on this list if international SEO is genuinely your job. Held at the World Trade Center in Barcelona, with past speakers including Gary Illyes and Olga Andrienko. Tickets from €750 including the International SEO workshop.
Website: webcertain.com
SEOktoberfest G50 Summit
Worth understanding before you go looking for a ticket link: this is an invitation-led senior think tank, not an open conference. It runs 20–25 September 2026 at the Stanglwirt resort in Austria, opening with the Oktoberfest gathering in Munich. Attendance starts at €8,000, all-inclusive, and discussions are confidential — the house rule is don’t blog, don’t tweet, don’t tell.
Best for: senior in-house and agency leaders operating at that level. Website: seoktoberfest.net
ADworld Experience
Included with a caveat: ADworld is Europe’s largest genuinely PPC-focused conference, covering paid advertising and conversion rate optimisation rather than SEO. Bologna, 15–16 October 2026, from €249 in person or €199 for livestream access.
Best for: search marketers whose remit includes paid. Website: adworldexperience.it
SEO and digital marketing conferences in Dubai and MENA
Global conference roundups almost never cover this region properly, which is a gap worth closing for anyone marketing from the Gulf.
DigiMarCon Dubai — 21–22 September 2027 at the Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach. Now in its fourth Dubai edition, covering digital marketing, media and advertising across two days, with in-person and online attendance options.
DigiMarCon MENA — 22–23 September 2027 at the Hyatt Regency Dubai. The fifth annual regional edition, running sessions across AdTech, MarTech and SaaS.
Visi Summit Dubai — held at Dubai Knowledge Park. A two-day, single-track SEO and AI conference focused on visibility across search, AI answers, video platforms and UGC sources like Reddit. Past speakers include Aleyda Solis, Dan Petrovic, John Shehata and Cindy Krum. VIP tickets $399, or $349 each for groups of five or more. This is the most SEO-specific event in the region.
MENA Search Awards — organised by Don’t Panic Events and held in Dubai on 27 November. The region’s main search industry awards night, and one of the better networking evenings on the Gulf calendar.
TECHSPO Dubai — runs alongside DigiMarCon as a broader technology, AdTech and MarTech expo.
Why regional events are worth prioritising
For teams based in the Gulf, a local conference often returns more than a marquee event abroad. There is no long-haul flight, no multi-night hotel bill and no week out of the office, which means the same budget can send three people to Dubai instead of one to San Diego — and the whole team comes back with shared context rather than one person’s notes.
The content lands differently too. Case studies presented at Dubai events deal with bilingual Arabic and English search, Ramadan and seasonal demand cycles, GCC-specific SERP behaviour and the regulatory environment brands actually operate in here. That is far more immediately applicable than a US retail case study.
The networking is the real argument, though. The people in the room are prospective clients, hiring managers, agency partners and suppliers operating in the same market you are. A conversation at DigiMarCon Dubai can turn into a working relationship the following week in a way that a contact made in Bologna rarely does. If you would rather have that expertise applied directly to your own search performance, our SEO services in Dubai are built around exactly this market.
SEO conferences in India
Amaze Conference — 11–12 December 2026 in Chandigarh, with a pre-event day on 10 December. India’s most established SEO and AI marketing gathering, drawing international speakers alongside the domestic practitioner community.
Beyond Search Summit — 26–27 February 2027 in Gurgaon. A newer event covering search evolution and the move into AI-mediated discovery. Its position early in the calendar makes it a useful planning event for Indian teams setting strategy for the year.
For teams working out of India, the same logic applies as in the Gulf: no visa lead time, no long-haul budget, and case studies drawn from a market with comparable competition and search behaviour.
How to choose the right SEO conference
Match the event to the goal. Learning a specialism, building a network and upskilling a team are three different objectives, and rarely the same conference. Decide which one you’re buying before you look at agendas.
Check for AI search content. In 2026–27 this is the fastest-moving part of the discipline. An agenda with no sessions on AI Overviews, AEO or generative search is running last year’s programme.
Look at who’s speaking. Active practitioners presenting current results are worth more than consultants recycling case studies from three years ago.
Count the real cost. Ticket plus flights, hotel, visa and days out of the office. A regional event at a third of the headline price frequently delivers more.
Book early. Three to four months ahead for the major events. BrightonSEO’s free ballot and most early-bird tiers close well in advance.
Conference dates and prices change. We update this page regularly, but always confirm details on the organiser’s official website before booking travel.
BrightonSEO, MozCon, Ahrefs Evolve, SERP Conf. and Chiang Mai SEO Conference are the leading global events. For marketers in the Gulf, DigiMarCon Dubai, DigiMarCon MENA and Visi Summit Dubai are the regional options, while Amaze Conference and Beyond Search Summit serve the Indian market.
Yes. Visi Summit Dubai is a two-day, single-track SEO and AI conference at Dubai Knowledge Park with tickets from $399. DigiMarCon Dubai and DigiMarCon MENA both run in Dubai in September, and the MENA Search Awards takes place in Dubai on 27 November.
Yes. Amaze Conference runs 11–12 December 2026 in Chandigarh with a pre-event day on 10 December, and Beyond Search Summit takes place 26–27 February 2027 in Gurgaon. Both cover SEO alongside AI-driven search.
Prices range widely. Search Me! Leeds is free and BrightonSEO offers a limited free ballot, ADworld Experience starts at €249, Ahrefs Evolve at $899, and the invitation-only SEOktoberfest G50 Summit starts at €8,000 all-inclusive. Budget separately for flights, accommodation and time out of the office.
Three to four months ahead for major events such as BrightonSEO, MozCon and Ahrefs Evolve. Early-bird pricing closes well before the event, popular tiers sell out, and free ballot tickets are limited.
Ahrefs Evolve has the strongest AI-search programming among the large events. Visi Summit Dubai is built specifically around visibility in AI answers, and the GEO Conference runs small, single-day sessions in New York and San Francisco focused entirely on generative engine optimisation.
BrightonSEO suits newcomers best, with a broad agenda across search, content and analytics plus training workshops around the main programme. Specialist events like Tech SEO Connect and SEOktoberfest explicitly assume advanced knowledge.
Some do. ADworld Experience offers a livestream pass at €199, DigiMarCon events run in-person and online, and NESS is entirely online. Many specialist conferences are deliberately in-person only.
For most practitioners, yes — the value is in peer exchange and current tactics that haven’t been published yet, rather than the talks alone. The return depends on going with a clear objective: a specialism to learn, specific people to meet, or a decision to pressure-test
