Surat, Gujarat: The SEO Surat Meetup marked a significant milestone for the SEO community in Gujarat and India, establishing a new benchmark for the digital marketing industry. Organised by iVIPANAN, this groundbreaking event attracted around 130 attendees, making it the first of its kind in Gujarat and placing it on par with renowned global SEO events like the LondonSEO Meetup and Brighton SEO.

The Surat SEO Meetup was meticulously designed to comprehensively explore cutting-edge SEO strategies and practices through individual sessions and an engaging panel discussion.

Mr. Bhautik Sheth, founder of iVIPANAN and well-known for his experience and expertise in digital marketing training and consultation, led the meetup. He addressed out-of-the-box questions in the panel discussion, which made the event very captivating for the SEO industry's audience of business owners and entrepreneurs.

The speakers for the meetup were Mr. Brijesh Soni, SEO Manager at NP Digital, India; Ms. Divya Mistry, Manager of SEO and Web Development at iVIPANAN; Mr. Viken Patel, Founder of The CSS Agency; and Mr. Axit Mehta, Founder of Nerd’s House. Their expertise and insights made the meetup a resounding success.

Highlights from the Meetup:

Brijesh Soni's session on The Art of Keyword Research

Brijesh Soni’s session delved into the intricacies of keyword research, emphasising its crucial role in content optimisation and driving organic traffic. He explained the types of keywords, from informational to transactional, and provided a step-by-step guide to conducting effective keyword research. Utilising tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and SEMrush, Brijesh demonstrated how to refine keyword lists and avoid common mistakes such as keyword stuffing.

Divya Mistry’s talk on International SEO

Divya Mistry’s session focused on strategies for optimising SEO for international markets. Highlighting the importance of market research and search engine selection, Mistry provided actionable insights into domain attribution, keyword selection, and implementing HTML tags. She emphasised the necessity of developing multilingual content and tracking geo-specific analytics to expand a business’s reach across different countries and regions. This session proved to be very useful for SMEs and exporters.

Mastering SEO KPIs by Viken Patel

Viken Patel’s session centred on the importance of tracking SEO Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of SEO efforts. He outlined primary KPIs such as organic conversions, organic visibility, and return on investment (ROI), along with secondary KPIs like organic traffic and user engagement. Patel stressed that data-driven decisions based on these metrics are essential for optimising SEO strategies and achieving business goals.

Panel Discussion on a Journey from Website Development to Conversion:

Bhautik Sheth moderated an insightful panel discussion during the second half of the meetup. The panel featured Axit Mehta, Divya Mistry, Brijesh Soni, and Viken Patel. Key highlights include:

Bhautik Sheth, using his digital marketing skills, stressed the necessity of prioritising SEO for business discoverability and conversion optimisation.

Brijesh Soni and Viken Patel emphasised the importance of local SEO and maintaining an up-to-date Google Business Profile to attract local customers.

Divya Mistry discussed the role of expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (EEAT) in building credibility and achieving high rankings.

Axit Mehta emphasised the importance of UI/UX design in enhancing user experience and driving conversions.

The S.R. Luthra Institute of Management, the B.V. Patel Institute of Management, Rachnatmakam, the ISTD Surat Chapter, 4M's Kitchen, Serpzilla, the Surat IT-HR Community, and the Sachin Engineering Industries Association supported this meetup.

With expert speakers and a diverse range of topics, the Surat SEO Meetup provided attendees with invaluable knowledge and practical insights, solidifying its place as a pivotal event in the SEO community.

Notably, the first-ever digital marketing event in South Gujarat was organised by iVIPANAN in 2016. Since then, every year, this digital marketing agency has been organising events to empower professionals.