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Do you sometimes worry that you don't ever seem to get out to industry conventions? Whether it's poor timing or distance the fact is that a lot of participants in this industry ... and in plenty of other online verticals just don't get to attend industry get-togethers.

So do you see that as a problem? Do you think that you're missing out on things like making important contacts or getting the inside scoop on important information? Could the lack of attendances at industry events even be damaging to your CV?

And you think that I'm joking about that last question? Seriously, I'm not! I recently read an article by some search engine optimisation heavyweight ... or at least he thought he was a heavyweight ... who was suggesting to businesses searching for a good SEO specialist that one of the deciding factors that they should consider was how many industry events the candidates had attended in the past year.

To his way of thinking the more conventions and industry events someone attended the better they were at search engine optimisation. I'm not sure what his other suggestions were to anyone looking for a good SEO ... after reading that piece of rubbish I just fell about laughing because that has to be one of the silliest things I've ever read unless of course it's important to employ a social butterfly.

Now I'm not suggesting that conventions and industry events are a waste of time because they're not. You can do some valuable networking there and you can have a lot of fun too. You'll undoubtedly hear a lot of interesting information from the various speakers too ... but is there any guarantee that the information they're giving you, and all the other attendees, correct?

Perhaps the information that they're passing out may have been correct in the past but things change rapidly in online marketing and SEO so is that information that was correct the last time the speaker looked still correct today? While it may not be so in the adult online industry over there in mainstream they seem to have so many conventions and industry events that the speakers have time for little else other than speaking.

They don't have time to be out there on the cutting edge because they spend all their time on the speaking circuit so all they're going to be able to speak about is what worked in the past. And as we all know, what may have worked in the past may not be what works today.

So why do the convention and event organizers schedule these guys as speakers? All too often the organizers don't go searching for speakers but instead call for expressions of interest from people who want to speak and what pulling power does a completely unknown SEO or online marketer have over someone who has a name in the industry? Even though the unknown guy might have the more recent experience and be right out there on the edge he's not going to get the speaking gig even if he wants it.

That's why I don't feel too bad when I miss yet another convention. Sure the networking would be nice and having fun with people in my own industry would be good but when I weigh that up against the time and cost involved in getting to a convention I think I'd rather stay out here on the cutting edge. (It may be different for you though ... especially if you live close to where the convention is being held.)

Out here is where Steve and I do our own search engine optimisation research. Out here is where we get out and talk to people and find out what attracts them when it comes to marketing. Out here is where we can watch people as they go through the buying process and see what catches their eye and what actually encourages them to make the final decision to reach for the money.

And out here is where you should be too. This is where you will learn far more that is relevant to your marketing situation than you may learn at a convention because this is where you see what is working right now and not what worked a couple of years ago.

If you want to succeed you really do need to get out and do your own legwork. You need to be getting out there yourself and discovering what works now rather than sitting back and relying on what others may want to tell you about what worked last year because that's what the real experts are doing. They may be completely unknown but they're the ones who are doing the work that makes them the money.