Paying to Speak at Search Conferences

Mar 26, 2007 - 11:12 am 1 by

A member at the Search Engine Watch forums observes that conference presenters had to pay to speak at a recent industry search conference that he attended. He asks:

If this is common practice for the likes of SES/PubCon are the paying customers being taken for a ride?

Moderator Joseph Morin states that SES/Pubcon does not allow presenters to pay to speak:

To clarify: At both SES and PubCon, we don't accept payment FROM speakers either. The speakers are chosen by merit and their knowledge of the subject matter as a an expert in a particular niche.

Elisabeth chimes in and says that this may be the case for other search industry conferences, and that attendees should be on the lookout:

Glengara, the problem here is that you seem to be lumping in whatever it is you attended with "all" SEM conferences or organizations, but that's defintely not the case, though event formats may vary as this industry continues to grow. However, there are plenty of shows/seminars that are set up this way. So it's buyer beware really.

At Search Engine Strategies NY, there will be some sponsored sessions, and we have seen Google sponsor lunch presentations in the past.

If you're not going to make it to SES NY, there will be live coverage here on Search Engine Roundtable. Who will be there? Here is a list of people who will be covering the event.

Have you noticed other instances where speakers were paying to promote their products at search conference sessions? Join the discussion at the Search Engine Watch forums.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: July 18, 2025

Jul 18, 2025 - 10:00 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google June Core Update Done, Local Ranking Update, AI Mode Updates & AI Calling Businesses

Jul 18, 2025 - 8:01 am
Google Maps

New Google Business Profile Check Edit Status

Jul 18, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google: Login Service Pages Are Hard To Rank In Search

Jul 18, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google

Google AI Overviews For Movie Queries

Jul 18, 2025 - 7:31 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Rolling Out Smart Bidding Exploration To Some Advertisers

Jul 18, 2025 - 7:21 am
Previous Story: SES Munich 2007 - Successful Site Architecture