Top 19 Must Attend Digital Marketing Conferences 2020
An eclectic group, it’s no wonder digital marketers love conferences, festivals, conventions, and summits. We’re an overly competitive bunch, obsessed with trends, addicted to the internet, and avid self-starters. Put thousands of internet marketers in a single room and watch the collaboration and innovation take place.
Unless you have an unlimited budget, you probably can’t attend them all. But with a wide range of host cities, prices, speakers, and agendas, it’s easy to find a conference that’s right for you.
In this article, we break down our 19 favorite digital marketing conferences taking place in 2020, in order of the event date closest to the time of publishing this post.
List of Top Digital Marketing Conferences 2020
1) Affiliate Summit West (Jan 27-29, 2020) | Las Vegas, NV
In January, more than 6,000 online marketers will congregate at Paris Las Vegas for the Performance Marketing Industry’s flagship global event. These online marketing gurus are made up of agencies, firms, online publishers, influencers, media owners, global brands, networks, advertisers, and more.
Attendees flock to this one of a kind event from over 80 countries seeking networking opportunities, innovative solutions, tech insights, and to gain an understanding of how the most successful brands leverage them to grow. Past speakers include Ryan Fiore, Carlos Avello, Neil Patel, and Ryan Deiss. Affiliate Summit organizers are starting to put together an agenda and list of speakers so check back on their site for updates.
*Click Here to buy tickets and register
Best For: affiliate marketers
2) Friends of Search (Feb 4, 2020) | Amsterdam, NL
The sixth edition of the Friends of Search Conference will take place in the Kromhouthal in Amsterdam on the 6th of February. Organizers promise an unmissable lineup of online marketers and SEO/SEA in the local region and a record number of international speakers. Past thought leaders include Will Critchlow, Barry Adams, and Christi Olson.
Friends of Search is committed to providing a local convention option digital marketers in Europe. The program is hosted by industry associations DDMA and IAB Netherlands and all search experts are flown into Amsterdam. Check back on the Friends of Search agenda page for updates on speakers and the schedule.
*Click Here to buy tickets and register
Best For: search marketers
3) MOBILE GROWTH SUMMIT (Feb 12-13, 2020) | San Francisco, CA
The mobile Growth Summit is one of the major mobile-focused conferences in the United States and the world. Occurring over two days in the beautiful city of San Francisco, the event will focus on mobile user acquisition, monetization, retention, engagement, data science, and analytics. The Summit brings in leaders from high-growth and at-scale brands including Facebook, Google. Amazon, Airbnb, EA, Baidu, the New York Times, Pandora, Baidu, and more.
A particular emphasis is placed on the mobile gaming segment and you’ll learn about how the most well known mobile brands are continuing to invest in consumer insights and maintaining highly profitable customer relationships. Join the mobile revolution at MGS 2020!
*Click Here to buy tickets and register
Best For: all marketers
4) ETAIL WEST (Feb 24-27, 2020) | Palm Springs, CA
eTail West is a comprehensive four-day event focused on providing solutions to the biggest problems and opportunities within the eCommerce industry. According to the website, they provide attendees with actionable tacticts to grow your business without any of the fluff. You can expect an impressive list of speakers with this year’s panel including Peter Szulczewski, CEO of Wish, Joe Grusman of Zappos and Rainer Castillo, Co-Founder of Chubbies.
The jam-packed agenda includes networking, omnichannel growth drivers, the evolution of digital & omnichannel, a merchandising summit, and plenty more. Head out to beautiful Palm Springs, CA and enhance your eCommerce technology expertise.
*Click Here to buy tickets and register
Best For: eCommerce marketers
5) Social Media Marketing World (March 1-3, 2020) | San Diego, CA
The Social Media Marketing World convention is run by Social Media Examiner, which is a source that helps businesses discover how to use social media to connect with customers, drive conversions, and create awareness. This event is your chance to join marketing peers and take home tangible tips and tricks.
Still not convinced? The SMM World convention boasts pitch-free content, quality networking options, a beautiful waterfront setting, first-class accommodations, and even a vacation opportunity. The full lineup of speakers for 2020 is already set and registration is officially open. Don’t miss out on hearing from the likes of Mari Smith, Jay Baer, and Amy Porterfield.
*Click Here to buy tickets and register
Best For: social media marketers
6) PODFEST 2020 (March 6-8, 2020) | Orlando, FL
Podfest describes itself as “a community of people who are interested in and passionate about sharing their voice and message with the world through the powerful mediums of audio and video.” By bringing the best podcasting community together in one space, you can expect world-class education, inspiration/ideas, community, and of course networking. Best of all, you can say in a blocked out section of the 4-star Orlando World Center Marriot just minutes from Disney World.
Some of this year’s keynote speakers include Drew Ackerman, Dean Akers, Brian Baltosiewich, Mark Aurelius Anderson, and plenty more geniuses in the podcasting space. If you’re a podcaster or looking to add podcasts to your digital marketing strategy, this is the event for you!
*Click Here to buy tickets and register
Best For: Multimedia Marketers
7) CXL LIVE 2020 (April 5-7, 2020) | Austin, TX
CXL Live is an innovative conference for those of us responsible for driving growth through optimization and smart experimentation. Taking place at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa, you have the chance to mingle, network, and learn from the smartest marketers in the industry. Some of this year’s impressive list of speakers including Dave Gerhardt from Drift and the Testing and Experimentation Lead at Shopify, Casandra Campbell. They’ll speak on topics like conversion optimization, online experimentation, digital psychology, and analytics.
Need more incentive? The entire event is all-inclusive with your ticket including 2 nights at the Omni Barton Creek as well as meals and parties. Come down to Texas and see how this conversion conference can impact your business.
*Click Here to buy tickets and register
Best For: Conversion Marketers
8) The MarTech Conference West (april 15-17, 2020) | San Jose, CA
Customer expectations continue to rise and marketers need to keep up. The thing helping us stay on pace is marketing technology (martech) and it’s the key to understand and exceeding customer demands. This includes analytics, attribution, marketing execution, user experience, data management, and more. The MarTech Conference touches on each of these avenues and the advisory board consists of top level executives from JP Morgan, MongoDB, Freshly, Foundation Capitol, The Connected Good, and Raab & Associates. Head on out to Silicon Valley and join in on the fun of MarTech!
*Click Here to buy tickets and register
Best For: All Marketers
9) B2B Online (April 20-22, 2020) | Chicago, Ill
B2B Online is the place where the top manufacturers and distributors gather to familiarize themselves with the newest innovative strategies that bring your customers high-quality user experience. According to event organizers, B2B is “designed to build your business and your profit, we cut out the fluff and provide you with content from the companies who have and are repaving their internet marketing strategy.”
B2B Online is still finalizing its roster of speakers, but you can expect high profile executives like past speakers Robert Befidi, Pavan Arora, and Steve Baruch. Click here to download the full updated agenda
*Click Here to buy tickets and register
Best For: B2B marketers
10) Programmatic I/O (May 11-12, 2020) | San Francisco, CA
Programmatic I/O is known as the world’s largest conference focused on programmatic media and marketing. Attendees have 5 tailored agendas to choose from as well as 50+ compelling sessions, two busy days of networking, 65+ expert speakers, and 1,200+ participants.
According to the website, last year’s attendees came from companies like American Express, Disney, Ford, Honda, McDonald’s, Geico, and plenty more. A list of speakers is not yet released, but you can expect the best and brightest from their respective fields.
*stay tuned for updates on tickets and registration
Best For: all marketing disciplines
11) GrowthHackers conference (june 4, 2020) | San Francisco, CA
In our opinion, GrowthHackers is the premiere growth marketing conference of the year and it’s often referred to as the blue-chip conference in the space. Prepare to geek out as you mingle with the top growh marketers in Silicon Valley from companies like Googe, Apple, Spotify, Stripe, and plenty more. Produced by the originator of growth hacking, Sean Ellis, this is one conference you won’t want to miss. If you need any more motivation, the event is held in the beautiful SF Jazz Center in the heart of San Francisco.
*Click Here to buy tickets and register
Best For: Growth Marketers
12) VidCon (june 17-20, 2020) | Anaheim, Ca
While it’s not primarily a marketing conference, we think all marketers could benefit from attending Vid Con. Known as the largest celebration of digital video & online video creators, VidCon represents a melting pot of video content creators and social media influencers. If you didn’t already know, video is now a huge aspect of every digital marketing channel and so are influencers. Attending an event like this allows you to network with some of the most successful influencers in each and every space as well as stay up to date on new trends.
*Click Here to buy tickets and register
Best For: Social Media & Influencer Marketers
13) Moz Con 2020 (July 6-8, 2020) | Seattle, wa
The annual Moz conferences set the gold standard for forward-thinking search marketing events. Last year’s conference featured speakers like Moz’s brilliant founder, Rand Fishkin, as well as SEO thought leaders like Andy Crestodina, Britney Muller, Dr. Pete Meyers, and Wil Reynolds. The 2020 agenda and speakers list is yet to be released, but we’re confident the team at Moz will put on another revolutionary event. Not only will you hear from the titans of the industry, but you also have the chance to mingle and network with SEOs, agencies, content marketers, executives, and more.
Early bird tickets are now on sale, so act fast to lock in your $700 discount over the general admission tickets. On the other hand, if you’re not able to attend, Moz offers a 2020 video bundle for non-attendees to keep up with the keynote presentations.
*Click Here to buy tickets and register
Best For: search marketers
14) Inbound 2020 (May 17-20, 2020)| Boston, ma
Put on by inbound marketing juggernaut, HubSpot, this conference inspires its users to connect and learn from their peers. 2019’s event saw a whopping 25,000+ attendees with an even larger expected attendance in 2020.
Expect enlighting talks from the most decorated experts in the field with past speakers including Elizabeth Gilbert, Brian Halligan, Katie Couric, Sal Khan, and Janelle Monáe to name a few. Furthermore, last year’s exciting topics included B2B Linkedin ads, becoming a CEO, future-proofing content, email marketing, AI in marketing, and more. The event is perfect for current HubSpot users, but any marketer who attends is sure to pick up relevant tips and tricks to help grow their business.
*Click Here to buy tickets and register
Best For: inbound marketers
15) Call to Action Conference (Sep 29 – OCT 1, 2020) | Vancouver, BC
The CTA Conference up in Canada is put on by landing page builder and platform Unbounce. This digital marketing event is focused on content marketing and, you guessed it, CTAs. Click here to view video highlights from all of the 2019 speakers and download the exclusive slide decks. If you want to increase conversions and improve your PPC strategy, CTA 2020 is the perfect event for you.
Not yet convinced? We suggest attending this conference even if it’s just to visit the beautiful city of Vancouver, BC. We love this Canadian destination for a marketing conference as supports a growing hub of tech and digital businesses. Furthermore, this conference comes at an affordable price with early bird tickets offering up a steep discount (compared to other events)
*Click Here to buy tickets and register
Best For: PPC & Content Marketers
16) Reach 2020 (OCT 7-8, 2020)| Chicago, IL
Reach 2020 is the real-time software review platform G2’s second-ever, conference catered to those who sell and market software. Unlike some other conferences, Reach provides its audience with an agenda that is unbiased, uncensored, and forward-thinking. Some of the past keynote speakers include VP of Marketing at HubSpot Meghan Keaney Anderson, Founder and CEO of Zoom Eric Yuan, founder of Cameo Steven Galanis, and COO of The New York Times Meredith Kopit Levien.
The conference, set to take place at the hip Navy Pier in Chicago, comprises of keynote addresses, marketing & sales breakouts, and especially networking opportunities.
*Visit the website to sign up for updates
Best For: all marketers and sellers of MarTech software
17) Content Marketing World (Oct 13-16,2020) | Chicago, IL
Content Marketing World boasts its annual flagship conference as the biggest content marketing event in the world. Set inside the beautiful Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, this is a can’t miss conference for anyone in the content marketing business. This year’s showcase will feature 100+ sessions on industry topics from thought leaders like Mindy Kaling, Maliha Khan, Henry Rollins, Amanda Lordy, and Peter Krmpotic.
Furthermore, you can’t beat this gathering when it comes to networking opportunities and fun activities like yoga, arcade games, evening entertainment, and happy hours. In the past, Content Marketing World brought in top speakers from companies like Tyson, Nestle, Volvo, Dell, Microsoft, TripAdvisor, Lockheed Martin, Discover, Walmart, and more.
*Click Here to register and buy tickets
Best For: Content Marketers
18) Internet Summit (Nov 17-19, 2020) | Raleigh, NC
The 2020 agenda is not yet released, but the 2019 speakers included the likes of Reshma Saujani of Girls Who Code, Beverly Jackson of MGM Resorts International, Rand Fishkin of SparkToro, Randi Zuckerberg, Bruce Swan, and more. Some of the topics touched upon in previous years include brand storytelling, UX design, analytics, MarTech, mobile marketing, and plenty more. This is another great value conference as it’s more affordable than most, while still offering most of the same perks.
To break it down into data, the Internet Summit boasts, 3 eye-opening days, 90+ sessions, 3,000+ minutes of content, 2000+ attendees, loads of event swag, countless open bars, and of course parties!
*Click Here to register and buy tickets
Best For: All Marketers
19) C3 2020 (May 11-13, 2020) | New York City, NY
Looking to join the biggest names and brightest minds in SEO, content creation, and online marketing? Look no further than Conductor’s digital marketing conference in the big apple! Last year’s event comprised of 700+ marketers, 30+ keynote sessions, 3 days of professional networking, and 2 parties you definitely won’t want to miss. The speakers for the upcoming 2020 event include Greg Gifford, Ann Handley, Ross Simmonds, John Shehata, and Adrian Phipps.
In terms of schedule, day one will consist of an opening reception, day two is the first day of programming with an evening bash, and day three consists of final keynotes. Some of the 2019 attendees represented companies like Slack, ESPN, GoPro, 3M, Visa, Yext, StubHub, Logitech, and plenty more.
*Click Here to register and buy tickets
Best For: Search and Content Marketers
