SearchFest Is Coming in 9 Days! Have You Registered?

Throngs of search marketers from around the Pacific Northwest — and around the country — will be descending on the Governor Hotel in downtown Portland next Wednesday for our annual SearchFest conference. With just a few days left to get tickets, I thought I’d offer some fun facts about our attendees, speakers, sessions, and venue (in case you’re on the fence)!

Attendees

As of 8:00 this morning, we’ve got 313 search marketers already registered to attend the conference.  We’ll probably be a little short of my goal of 400 attendees, but in its fifth year, it looks like this is going to be the biggest, baddest SearchFest yet.  You do not want to miss out on all of the networking possibilities with this crowd.

As usual, most of our attendees are from Oregon, but 12 other states and one country (Mexico) will be sending representatives.  I’m totally shocked that we don’t have anyone from Canada registered yet.  Well, except for Todd Friesen, but a) he’s speaking, and b) he’s lived in the Seattle area for so long that he’s barely Canadian anymore.

I am so surprised there are no Canadians registered that I will promise an SEMpdx door prize to the first Canadian to sign up this week.

Also, more attendees are coming all the way across the country from Newark (3) than are coming up the coast from Los Angeles (1).  Come on, SoCal…really?  Are you that scared of a little drizzle?  Or is it the shame of being here on Wednesday night when the Blazers mop the floor with the Lakers at the Rose Garden?  We promise great weather (see below) AND to leave you alone after the game!

Speakers

Todd Mintz has been running an incredible series of interviews with all of our speakers, the most recent one with Define Media Group’s Marshall Simmonds this morning. I definitely encourage you to check out the full roster of who will be presenting this year.  As a one-day event, SearchFest doesn’t have the scope of SES or SMX, but the quality of presentations is going to be amazing.

And, based on attendee feedback from the last couple of years, we’ve created an entire track specifically for Advanced content, and color-coded the other two tracks for the level of presentation.  So whether you’re a relative newbie or grizzled veteran of search marketing, you can schedule your ‘itinerary’ to match your experience level.  And if you’re a complete newbie, you can get up to speed at our pre-SearchFest event, Local University at a super-discount as a SearchFest attendee.

Weather

According to friend-of-SEMpdx Bruce Sussman from KOIN Local 6, Portland is in for its usual misty winter drizzle for the next eight days.  But fate is smiling on SEMpdx, and the forecast looks fantastic for Wednesday the 23rd.  It’s tough to beat our city on a clear winter day.

Some Un-Fuzzy Math

If you haven’t bought your ticket yet, you can attend SearchFest AND join SEMpdx for all of 2011 for the equivalent of $25.

Here’s the math: current ticket pricing is only $249 for SEMpdx members and $349 for non-members.  An SEMpdx membership is $125 a year and gets you into a free monthly event of your choice.

So if you’re not a member yet, now is the time to become one for 2011.

Was I Able to Convince You?

With only one week left to get a regularly-priced ticket…well, what are you waiting for? Register here.

And if you ARE registered, what sessions are you most looking forward to attending?  Let us know in the comments!

–David Mihm
2011 SearchFest Director