Top 5 Meetups for Denver SEO and Marketing Professionals

As a Denver SEO and marketing professional its easy for me to get stuck behind my desk and feel like everything I need can be found on the web. Don’t get me wrong, I know there’s a wealth of great resources available on the web to expand our knowledge of SEO and digital marketing strategies.

But let’s face it, the vast majority of us are beyond busy and barely have time to get through our daily work tasks even though the majority of this work can be done all at our desk. But I recently started feeling like the conversations I was having with other marketers online about strategies and new techniques just weren’t enough.

I wanted to interact with people in person and ask them questions face-to-face to experience the unscripted nuances in their answers. I wanted to learn from the questions I hadn’t thought of that other marketers were asking at these events.

I’m always seeking out new connections and I’ve found that the most genuine professional relationships I’ve formed are those that began in-person.

So I Turned to Meetup.com

I wanted to interact with people in person and ask them questions face-to-face to experience the unscripted nuances in their answers.So, I decided to get out and meet local marketers. My first move was to turn to Meetup.com to find groups focused on SEO and marketing in Denver. I highly recommend this exercise to all digital marketers, and especially those working from home. You meet great people and some of your best thinking can be done by just walking or driving to-and-from these events.

As we say here at Ghost Browser, nothing beats engaging with people in the native social platforms, and nothing could be more native than engaging with fellow SEOs and marketers in-person!

In the spirit of getting out and learning from other pros face-to-face, I’ve compiled a list of the top 5 Meetups for Denver SEO and digital marketers. I hope it will kick you into gear and that I’ll see you soon at one of these fun, informative and thought-provoking events!

The Denver Search Engine Optimization Group

Quick Facts

• Their Meetup Page
• Founded: 2007
• Meets: The fourth Thursday of every month at 11:45am
• Location: Location varies
• Lead Organizer: Jim Kreinbrink, President of Hyper Dog Media, specializing in helping small businesses increase their visibility online.
• Size: 915 SEOs
• Next Meetup: Thursday, May 25th at The Commons on Champa

The Denver Search Engine Optimization Group group is all about getting people together to network and learn the latest strategies and trends from professionals and local leaders in the SEO/SEM field. People in this group are here to talk and learn specifically about SEO/SEM instead of more generic marketing.

Attendees range from Denver SEO/SEM professionals working at the agency level, to freelance marketers and webmasters. Occasionally local business owners with little knowledge of SEO will show up looking to learn how to grow their business. Each event features an expert speaker in the SEO/SEM field presenting on the latest trends and niche techniques in this ever-changing space.

The presentations normally last about an hour, with 30 minutes before and after the presentation for networking. In the recent Meetup I attended the speaker, Jack Jostes of Ramblin Jackson was well-prepared and shared a lot of great insights on his experience helping business owners improve their local, mobile-based search results.

This group hosts an annual digital marketing and SEO conference called, SearchCon. Speakers represent expert marketers from local Colorado agencies and beyond, and is set in the beautiful resort mountain town of Breckenridge.

There’s no better way to spend time away from your desk networking with Denver SEO pros. Get out for a hike or spend some time at the spa on your downtime! The conference takes place next week, April 27 & 28 and registration is still open. Click here to register and enter discount code “ghostbrowser” for $50 off at checkout.

The Denver Digital Marketing Group Meetup

Quick Facts

• Their Meetup Page
• Founded: 2015
• Meets: The first Wednesday of every month at 6:30pm
• Location: Galvanize – Capitol Hill
• Lead Organizer: Bryan Richey
• Size: 1,840 members
• Next Meetup: This group is still planning their next Meetup

The Denver Digital Marketing Group has more of a comprehensive approach to marketing. They cover topics ranging from SEO and analytics to content management and eCommerce strategies.

Attendees range from experienced Denver SEO marketers looking for outside inspiration for their company’s marketing program to freelance marketers looking to improve their knowledge of general marketing strategies.

Meetings last two hours and include organized presentations by marketing experts from large organizations, startups and nonprofits. Presenters share experiences on a wide range of topics including success stories, budget considerations and their favorite supporting tech tools.

Attendees are given time to network during the first and last half hour of the meeting. It’s great for those who may need some extra time to get to Capitol Hill or those who need to leave early to get some quality time in with family.

Most notable about this group’s reviews are that attendees from different experience levels say that they walk away from the Meetups with at least one big, actionable takeaway. With topics like, “3 Easy Steps B2B Marketers Can Take to Create More Sales from Their Website”, and “5 Ways to Improve your Email Marketing Campaigns” its easy to see why this Meetup draws around 50 marketers every month.

They haven’t yet set a date for their next Meetup, but you can contact the organizer on their Meetup page to get a notification when their next Meetup is announced.

Denver Google Analytics Meetup

Quick Facts

• Their Meetup Page
• Founded: September 2016
• Meets: The second Tuesday of every month at 6:00pm
• Location: Galvanize – Capitol Hill
• Lead Organizer: Nico Brooks, Fanatically-analytical principal at Two Octobers.
• Size: 99 members
• Next Meetup: Tuesday, May 9th

As marketers we live, eat and breath analytics and this Meetup is about exactly that, Google Analytics. This group has more of a hands-on approach. Attendees are encouraged to bring their laptops and specific questions about implementation and analysis.

Meetups are structured with a topic, some instruction and then the session is open to socializing. The meeting format gives attendees a chance to help each other solve problems they may be having with personal or clients’ GA accounts.

Attendee numbers range between 10-20 Denver SEO pros and marketers depending on the topic. There’s a pretty solid group of regular attendees with a range of experience levels from beginner to advanced GA users. The lead organizer, Nico Brooks describes himself as “fanatically-analytical” so if you’re looking for some help with a GA problem or you just want to geek-out on analytics, this Meetup is for you!

Denver Branding & Digital Marketing Meetup

Quick Facts

• Their Meetup Page
• Founded: 2015
• Meets: Every few months, dates and times vary
• Location: Location varies
• Lead Organizer: Chad Coleman, Co-Founder & CEO of Ascend, a branding & creative digital agency
• Size: 578 Marketing Moguls
• Next Meetup: Thursday, April 20th at Colorado Lending Source

This is designed for people looking for a Meetup that balances technical marketing with conversations about how to integrate positive social change into their business model. If that’s you, you should check out the Denver Branding & Digital Marketing Meetup. This group sparks the kind of conversations that you can’t get from a Twitter dialogue.

Anyone involved with or interested in SEO, marketing, social media and branding will get some great insights and conversation out of this Meetup.

Topics include, “The Power of Social Video – Humanize Your Digital Presence” and “Can Business be a Force for Good in the World?” These topics invite you to think beyond your daily content marketing responsibilities. You begin to think about the impact your brand message has on your life and the lives of those that come into contact with your brand.

This group meets this Thursday, April 20th at 5:30pm to discuss the nature of the relationship between people and brands and how that relationship has changed over time.

Digital Marketing Insights & Conversation

Quick Facts

• Their Meetup Page
• Founded: March 1st, 2017
• Meets: Too early to know
• Location: Red Door Interactive
• Lead Organizer: Lydia Jorden, Business Manager at Red Door Interactive
• Size: 50 Digital Ninjas
• Next Meetup: This group is still planning their next Meetup

This Meetup made it onto my list as one to watch, even though the group is brand new. They meet at Red Door Interactive, one of Denver’s top marketing and web development shops.

The Meetup organizer, Lydia Jorden is the business and marketing project manager of Red Door Interactive. Lydia has over 10 years of agency-level marketing experience.

Topics are geared toward marketing professionals and web designers and developers. Their first Meetup was over breakfast and focused on website personalization to drive more conversions.

The group promises to cover topics ranging from SEO and analytics to content generation and everything in-between. You must request to join this Meetup group and each request will be approved by the organizer. So, send in your request to join before the next Meetup is scheduled to ensure you can reserve your spot.

Did I Miss Something?

Want to suggest other SEO and digital marketing Meetups in Denver I may have missed? Tell us about your favorite SEO and marketing events in the comments below.