Ready to swap your slippers for sneakers and trade screen glare for spotlight moments? Conferences aren’t just events; they’re high-energy playgrounds where you learn, connect, and leave inspired. You’re stepping into live keynotes, swag-packed booths, non-stop networking, and in-person laughs with your SEO pals. 

SEO conferences like MozCon are your secret weapon when teams are spread across time zones. With a little savvy prep, you’ll crank up your energy, rally your teammates, and spark fresh enthusiasm that sticks long after you’re back at your desk. Let’s dive into some tips that’ll help you own any SEO conference, MozCon included.

This year, we have two exciting events to choose from:

📍 London – Tuesday, August 12 at The Mermaid London - snag your ticket 

📍 New York – Thursday, November 6 at Convene 360 Madison Avenue - snag your ticket 

I've been to a whole host of SEO conferences, and the fantastic thing about this industry is that there is usually a meetup, event, or fully-fledged conference that suits your bandwidth and budget. I'm based in London, where the SEO community is truly thriving and there are a plethora of events. The good news is that MozCon 2025 brings the magic to London for one day only! 

Preparation for any SEO event starts with securing your spot, so do these things first:

1. Search for a conference in your location or areas you can get to easily.
2. Convince your boss to send you to your conference of choice.
3. Snag your ticket early to get the best price.
4. Connect with your peers and ask them where they are going.
5. Follow speakers on LinkedIn you'd like to see and catch them at their next speaking gig.

So you've secured your ticket to an SEO conference —lucky you! It's time to gear up and make the most of this experience. Whether you're attending in person or via a remote-friendly live stream option, preparation is key to getting the most value. Follow these essential steps to maximize your experience and ensure you're fully equipped for any conference, including our very own MozCon.

Knowing what you want to achieve will help you make the most of your time and focus on the sessions and activities that align with your interests. Think about what you want to have achieved once MozCon wraps. What do you want to feel? Aside from more than a little bit spent. Do you want to feel more connected? Do you want to have an answer to a burning question? Do you want to meet someone IRL? Do you want to have a stash of valuable notes to take away and share with your team? 

MozCon gives you the ability to achieve all these things. At MozCon, in addition to learning from incredible speakers, you will have the chance to mingle with like-minded people during breaks and discover your next software solution at our partner hubs, talk to SEO experts at the Moz Pro, Local, and API booths, and much more! 

That meeting can wait! While I don't want to leave you in a jam, if your virtual sync can wait, and we know it can, then block it out of your calendar in advance. Too often, I see folks hunched up in conference corridor corners taking calls during events. While there are lots of conferences going on throughout the year, your company, or if you're freelance, YOU, have funded your ticket, meals, and travel to this event. Be present, be engaged, and be ready to learn. 

“If you want to meet someone specific, talk to a speaker, or organize dinner with friends, plan in advance. Conferences move quickly, and nothing is more disappointing than trying to connect with someone on the last day only to realize they had to catch an early flight. Most speakers are happy to meet new people and talk about our topics and interests.” — Dr Pete Meyers

For multi-track conferences, in particular, it's important to know what sessions you want to attend. Take a peek at the speaker lineup and bookmark your favs. For the hyper-organized, or disorganized depending on how you look at it, you can add events to your calendar so you don't forget (I pretty much do what my calendar tells me to do anyway). For those who attended Brighton SEO recently, you'll know that the smaller rooms tend to fill up quickly. I like to turn up early to the session and snag a chair so I don't miss out.

MozCon is a single-track event, so I definitely advise planning to attend every talk. There is plenty of time in the breaks to pick up swag, get a picture with your team, and all that other good fun stuff. Take a closer look at the MozCon minute-by-minute agenda to identify the topics that align with your learning goals. Even if a particular topic seems unrelated to your work, it can still provide valuable insights.

“Because I work in local SEO, I attend MozCon's livestream with my ears tuned to pick up any great tips that can be applied to local business marketing. Even if the main topic of a talk isn't local search, I can come away with half a dozen tips that are relevant to my own area of marketing because organic and local SEO have so much overlap.” — Miriam Ellis

Make sure you have all the necessary tools at hand. Charge your laptop or tablet or choose any other preferred method for note-taking. If you plan on sharing takeaways with your team, well, unfortunately, telepathy won't work, but you can still find ways to communicate effectively.

“At the end of each day, take five minutes, go through your notes, and turn them into a few bullet points and ONE action item. If you have one action item per day at the end of an event, that's great. Otherwise, if you're like me, you'll come home to a page of notes like "SEO! AI!! INTERSECTION OF FUTURE!" and have no idea what you were talking about.” — Dr Pete Meyers

Check out our impressive lineup of speakers, perhaps there is someone speaking you’ve not yet connected with? Take some time to understand their specialty. Even if you’re not currently working within that field, it may be a new learning opportunity for you, or it may help you gain a better understanding of the challenges your colleagues are facing. Ultimately, conferences are a great opportunity to develop a more well-rounded understanding of the entire search industry, what’s on the horizon, and what to pay attention to in search.

Define what you want to achieve and create a plan to maximize your experience. Having clear goals will help you stay focused and make the most of the event. Subscribe to Moz's Top 10 Newsletter (curated by Search scientist Tom Capper) or sign up for a Moz Academy course. These will give you access to a wealth of content to boost your knowledge in advance of the big event. From basic SEO to local search and technical details, there's something for everyone. Additionally, the blog will provide conference recaps after each day so that you won't miss out on any important updates. 

MozCon and many other SEO conferences offer you ample opportunities to meet new people and expand your professional network. Maximize your networking opportunities before you get there. Before you arrive, get familiar with the digital landscape by following the #mozcon hashtag on Twitter. Join the LinkedIn group, and while you're there, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, because why not?

If you are in the Women in Tech SEO or Noah Learner's SEO Community, you can join the #MozCon channel in these Slack communities. This will keep you updated on MozCon fellow attendees’ plans and movements and allow you to engage with speakers and ask questions.

“MozCon doesn't do Q&A after talks — it's difficult to manage for an event of this size, with a packed schedule and a single stage. But, if you have a question that is actually about a speaker's talk, they'd almost certainly love to hear it. It's implicitly great feedback to know that someone was engaged and interested in what I was saying, even (especially!) if they don't entirely agree.” — Tom Capper

Feeling overwhelmed when it comes to meeting people IRL? Don't worry. You're not the only one. Listen to Ross Simmonds's Podcast, Create Like the Greats episode: Networking for Introverts, for tips on overcoming networking challenges.

It's the day of the event! If you've followed all the tips above, then you know exactly what you want to achieve and maybe even made some connections with other attendees or speakers. But if not, no problem! You can still maximize your SEO conference experience and avoid running yourself into the ground. Whether you’re attending online or in person, we’ve got some tips from seasoned MozCon speakers and attendees to keep you engaged during the event.

Your ultimate packing list doesn't have to be a mile long. You can pack light and still be well prepared. Just don't forget to pack:

• A water bottle to stay hydrated
• Long sleeves, cardigan, or blazer — opt for comfort if you tend to get a bit chilly in office buildings and conference centers
• Your comfy shoes — you might be on your feet quite a bit during the conference
• A power supply for your laptop — stay charged so you don't miss a thing!
• Your business cards — yes, they are still a thing, but if you're so inclined, you can also create a digital business card with a QR code. Either way, don't lose touch with the folks you meet and chat with.

When attending any conference, it’s helpful to get the lay of the land prior to the event so you can float on through to the action uninterrupted. If you are arriving early and want to get a jump on badge collection and a sneak peek at the new venue, drop by registration to check in and pick up your badge. Set your alarm and arrive at the conference bright and early so you're not rushing your morning cuppa and missing the opening remarks!

Controversial perhaps? And, of course, impossible for multi-track events. But for single-track events, like MozCon, I would advise making the most out of the conference experience by attending every.single.session, consider the gauntlet thrown! This also means you have the chance to network with every speaker if you bump into them in the conference hall or the after-party. Luckily, MozCon is a single-track event, so you don’t need to make any difficult decisions. You can find your spot in the auditorium, set up camp, and let the inspiration absorption begin!

Even if you’re solely powered by caffeine and SEO insights no one can deny the boost a bit of H2O provides (especially if you’re jet-lagged.) Folks travel to conferences from near and far, as a past MozCon attendee's pin map below attests. Make sure you're able to be your best self despite the impact of travel on your energy levels.

“Make sure you have a water bottle and snacks in your bag - nothing hinders memory and productivity like hunger and dehydration!” — Meghan Pahinui

You've been following these steps diligently, haven’t you? If so, you have already prepared your note-taking tool of choice. Whether it’s a giant Gdoc filled with links and screenshots, the notes app on your tablet, or a trusty notepad and pen. Even if you’re not a massive note-taker, there is nothing more valuable than jotting down a few lines as your gray matter is percolating. Light bulb moments happen in a flash. If your boss or colleague asks you what you learned, you’ll be pleased you thought of your future self and kept a few bullet points for yourself and anyone else who asks.

“Write down ideas as soon as you have them. As you’re listening to talks and interacting with conference-goers, you’re bound to get ideas for your own strategy. Be sure to write them down ASAP - with so much information flying around, you’re bound to forget them if you don’t. It can be as simple as using the notes app on your phone or slacking yourself a quick reminder note. That way, when you get home from the conference, you’ll already have a list of ideas to springboard off of.” — Meghan Pahinui

If, like me, you like to grab a picture or two of the slides, my hot tip is to enable live mode on your iPhone. That way, if the speaker toggles away from your slide of choice, you can edit the key photo to the previous slide.

“I make a live list of everything I hear that could be of value to local brands. Then, if I want to revisit a particular tip later, I re-watch the presentation via the video bundle. It's helped me write some really good blog posts!” — Miriam Ellis

Thinking and doing are two very different things. If, like many of us, you're busy executing projects five days a week/52 weeks a year, this may be the time you need to let thoughts enter your brain and connect with other thoughts in order to, in some abstract way, find a solution.

“Let your mind wander. It's ok. I don't know why, but when I'm planted in a seat at a conference, and my mind is fully on SEO, I get more quality thinking done than just about anywhere else. If you solve a few difficult work problems by ignoring three minutes of my presentation, I'll get over it. You can watch the video later.” — Dr Pete Meyers

There is one experience that isn’t replicable outside of an IRL conference, and that’s the opportunity to connect with people in real life. Maybe you know them through LinkedIn, maybe you follow each other on Twitter. Nothing cements a professional connection more than chatting over breakfast and grabbing a much-needed coffee.

“Don't be afraid to walk up to a table at lunch and ask if you can sit with them! MozCon is a really welcoming place, and making new friends and connections can be as easy as having the confidence to say hello!” — Hannah Waye

And that's it! Conferences go by super fast, so remember to prepare in advance to get the most out of your next SEO conference. And don't miss out on your Early Bird tickets for MozCon London 2025, August 12 for one day only.

Many of our tips are translatable to attending virtual events. You just need to get creative about how you network and stay engaged. To get the most out of any virtual event, you will still want to arrange how you will take notes, connect with speakers on social media, and set your team up to get the most out of the talks.

Treat it like an IRL event

We still recommend booking out your calendar when attending virtual events. It’s so easy to get distracted, and as much as we tell ourselves we are capable of multitasking, how much are we really absorbing? Clear your calendar and your headspace, take as many notes as you feel would be helpful to you, and filter your Twitter feed by #mozcon to stay in the fold and be part of the fun.

Set up a watch party

Book out your office conference space and order some snacks so you can watch MozCon live from whichever city you are located in. If your team is distributed, set up a lunchtime sync to check in and chat about what you’ve learned so far. If you are all in different time zones, create a new Slack channel to share insights with your teammates.

With so many teams moving towards partial or fully distributed setups, finding time to get together is more valuable than ever. Conference attendees have the unique opportunity to connect with industry contacts, ask questions, and establish genuine professional relationships with experts in search marketing and SEO. And remember:

“No one is truly a stranger at MozCon. You may never attend another event where so many people have so much in common with you.” — Cyrus Shepard