Attendees come to NESS expecting to leave with ideas they can implement right away, and that’s what we aim to deliver.
What are some of the topics you’re most excited to cover?
John: We are covering a wide range of news SEO topics this year, check the full schedule. I’m particularly excited about the technical SEO sessions and the discussions around local news SEO, as they are a growing need in the industry.
I will also be covering election SEO which is a crucial subject within the US in the upcoming month. But really, every session is designed to provide value to attendees, whether they’re focused on content, technical, or strategic SEO.
Barry: Every session will be worthwhile (and yes, of course, I’d say that). I’m excited to deliver a session myself on site migrations, as this is an area of SEO where different rules apply for news publishers, and many people aren’t necessarily aware of this.
We’ll have fantastic talks about algorithm updates, Google Discover, local news SEO and election SEO, load speed optimization, and the current big elephant in the room–AI Overviews.
What kind of impact do you hope to have on the SEO and publishing communities with this conference?
John: For us, NESS isn’t just another conference—it’s about building a community. Barry and I are passionate about knowledge sharing, so why we created this event.
It’s also why we maintain a dedicated Slack space for news SEOs, alongside Barry’s SEO for Google News newsletter and our own News SEO Digest newsletter at NewzDash.
This is a conference we designed because it’s the kind of event we’d want to attend—full of passion, collaboration, and learning.
Barry: Over the years, I’ve had a lot of support from many other people in SEO and beyond. I always felt I could ask questions, get second opinions, find case studies and insights, or have a helpful listener when I’d got frustrated.
The SEO community is amazing, and I feel strongly about playing my part in contributing to that community. NESS is a big part of that.
We’re building space for SEOs in news and publishing to learn from each other, share insights and experiences, and support one another.
What are some goals you have for this event in the future?
John: We’ve seriously considered taking NESS in-person, with events in cities like New York and London. While virtual events make it more accessible for people around the world, there’s something special about in-person networking.
The chance to connect face-to-face adds a valuable dimension that virtual can’t fully replicate. We’re still debating the logistics, but it’s definitely on our minds as we look to the future.
Barry: In-person events are surely the next step, perhaps a hybrid model with a relatively small number of in-person attendees and a bigger live-streamed audience.
I’m speaking at an event in Brazil in November with this setup, and I’m keen to learn from that experience.
Anything else you’d like our readers to know?
John: Yes, we’re continuing our commitment to giving back. If there are any students, individuals who’ve lost their jobs, or those who can’t afford the full ticket price, please reach out to us. We’re more than happy to offer free or discounted tickets. You can contact us via the link provided.
I also want to take a moment to thank all our sponsors who make this conference possible, especially SEJ, which has supported us since day one. Their partnership has been invaluable in helping us grow and continue to deliver a valuable experience to our community.
Barry: Events like NESS can’t happen without the support of organizations like SEJ, so yes we appreciate it massively
And I second the thanks to all our sponsors, it’s great to have amazing companies backing us every year.
NESS 2024 Speakers
NESS 2024 will feature speakers from established publications as well as some of the top experts in search today.
Get new, current SEO information, content, tips, and tricks from the greatest SEO minds in the news industry:
Rand Fishkin, Cofounder at Sparktoro.
Martin Splitt, Search Relations Engineer at Google.
Glen Gabe, SEO Consultant, G-Squared Interactive.
Claudio Cabrera, VP Audience and Newsroom Strategy, The Athletic.
Lily Ray, Senior Director, SEO & Head of Organic Research, Amsive Digital.
Olaf Seydel, Head of Engagement & Growth, Zeit Online.
Vivienne Goizet, Editorial Lead SEO, BILD.
Ed Hyatt, Director of Newsroom SEO, The Wall Street Journal.
Andrea Volpini, CEO & Co-Founder of WordLift.
Brendan O’Connell, Sr. Director, Organic Search, The New York Post.
Ryan Kellett, VP of Audience, Axios Media Inc.
John Shehata, CEO & Founder at Newzdash.
Barry Adams, Specialized SEO Consultant for News Publishers.
NESS 2024 Sessions
There will be two full days of talks, discussions, and networking opportunities, as well as two Ask The SEOs Panels, where attendees can ask all their news and publishing related SEO questions.
Session topics for the 2024 event include:
Major Google Algorithm Updates And Their Impact On News Publishers
Achieving Topical Dominance: Measuring Topical Authority And Derive Strategic Actions
How News Publishers Can Own Their Audience in the Age of SGE
Semantic SEO and Fact-Checking in the Age of AI: Navigating Truth, Entities, Schema Markup, and SEO
My 5 Step Process of Optimizing for Google Discover
Winning the Google Election Battleground: SEO Strategies for Election Campaigns
Demystifying website performance & Page Experience
Unlocking Local SEO for growth
What it takes to Recover from Google Core Updates
How to Incorporate SEO throughout a newsroom with audience teams
In-depth Site Migrations for News Websites: How Not To Risk Your News Traffic
Rand Fishkin of Sparktoro will also give a keynote entitled, “How to Stay Ahead of Marketing’s Five, Big 2024 Trends.”
After attending this event, you will be able to apply what you’ve learned to your websites to boost your organic traffic.
Use “SEJ24” To Save 20% On Your Ticket →
Make sure your on-page and technical SEO knowledge is up to date. With all the layoffs and surprise algorithm updates, upskilling and networking is now more critical than ever.
Ask Your News SEO Questions: Entirely Online & Live
All sessions are going to be live, and recordings will be available only to ticket holders after the event.
We will be mimicking an actual live event where you get great opportunities to hang out with the experts, talk to them one-on-one, and power up your connections and knowledge with networking in the booths!
With a single ticket, you will get full access to all talks over both days and have the opportunity to ask your questions directly to our speaker panel at the closing of the event.
Claim your space and buy a ticket to the fourth annual NESS summit today!