What Happened in the SEO Summit 2014
SEO Summit 2014 was the first of its kind here in the Philippines. It’s also the first seminar-type conference I’ve ever organized with the help of JCI Manila and the SEO Hacker team. It was an awesome time for SEO specialists, small to medium business owners and marketing managers alike.
A Milestone
SEO Hacker officially started November of 2011. Before that, it was a freelance SEO’s blogsite that had a handful of readers wanting to learn more about SEO. We are no more than 2 and a half years in the SEO business and this is our first event. It is no less than a milestone for our company.
The Backstory
One huge reason why SEO Summit came to be was because I wanted to organize an event that was not too formal and not too casual at the same time. A hacker-type event that would accommodate SEO specialists in all levels. An event that’s too formal is usually unreasonably expensive and is targeting the marketing managers and the SEO team of big companies. While an event too casual would become lackluster and would have serious quality issues especially with the speaker line-up.
My JCI Manila group was thinking of a fund raising for our project which benefits the poverty-stricken elementary students of Timoteo Paez elementary school. So I thought I’d pitch this idea to them. I have to admit, I wasn’t 100% serious when I told them the idea.
To my utter surprise, they didn’t only buy into it, they enthusiastically pushed it to happen. So we set-up meetings, made calls, conceptualized the entire seminar and proposed it to the JCI Manila board as our project.
They loved it!
Event Proper
June 21, 2014 was the day of the event. Spines were tingling, adrenalines were pumping and I found myself waking up to the phone call of my concerned teammates. We were high with stress, nervousness and excitement for the entire day.
Here are some of the photos taken during the summit:
The SEO Summit Venue
Did the Opening Remarks
First up was Jason Acidre with “From Zero to Hero”
Jason Acidre’s AMA Session
Benj Arriola Talks about his journey from Black hat to White hat
Benj Arriola’s AMA session
I talked about “I’m not Doing SEO”
Me, Benj and Jason on AMA
When Being Asked a Question
When Giving the Answer
Awarding Ceremony
Event Sponsors
With some awesome SEO people!
Me, Jason, Benj and the SEO Hacker Team
Aaaaand a Wacky Shot
In all, SEO Summit was more than I could have hoped for. The venue was filled up, the topics covered were noteworthy and the questions from the audience were tough but interesting. To everyone who attended the event, we really hope you enjoyed it. The videos of the topics and AMA, and the decks of the speakers will be out for purchase really soon (hey, we have to have a living too!).
To those who attended the summit, thank you for supporting our event and our cause. We sincerely hope to see you again next year!
