Enter the San Diego Convention Center via entrance C, and head upstairs to Ballroom 6 (Upper Level). Please print your badge in advance for the fastest entry. We recommend arriving early to avoid lines.
Explore the San Diego agenda
Take a look back through the full 2026 programme, explore the sessions and discover the talks, speakers and topics that filled two packed days in San Diego.
Conference Schedule
Here’s the full agenda from our conference days on September 15-16, 2026, including all the Hero Conf talks. Take a look back at the talks, topics and speakers that made up two packed days in San Diego, and don’t forget to explore our networking page for all the extra events and activities that took place around the conference.
Time Slots
08:15 AM
Registration
1 hour
09:15 AM
Search Intent
brightonSEO Track 1
Delivering Impact
brightonSEO Track 2
Enterprise SEO
brightonSEO Track 3
Christian Hustle
Your GEO strategy works great... in one city
Nikki Lam
AI Visibility at scale: learning from 9M prompts and 400+ enterprise brands
Michael Yules
The importance of authenticity in the age of agentic search and commerce
Chris Schweppe
Never waste a good crisis: How AI panic is giving SEO a seat at the c-suite table
Meta Ads
Hero Conf - Track 1
10:40 AM
Break
30 minutes
A chance to browse our exhibition hall, get some fresh air or chat to other attendees.
11:10 AM
GEO
brightonSEO Track 1
Ross Hudgens
Actionable tips that will drive GEO results today
Amanda Kopen
AEO in 2026: What's actually working now
Christian Ward
Two studies, 38 million data points, and the blind spot in every AI search study
Nicolas Rabouille
Your ranking "socks": 95% of GEO is recycled SEO. Here's the 5% that makes it "rocks"
Visibility
brightonSEO Track 2
Prashant Puri
From rankings to citations: The future of organic visibility
Grant Simmons
Entities speak louder than words: getting actionable data for AI visibility
Brie Moreau
2,000 hours of research, 11 million AI citations. How visibility in LLMs actually works
Dave Cousin
Built For Today, Built for Tomorrow: Future-proofed Migrations (When we don't know what the future of Search & AI Search holds).
AI & Ecom
brightonSEO Track 3
April Zhong
I let an AI shopping agent make all my purchases for a month - here’s what e-commerce SEOs need to know
Joe Ball
The future of ecommerce, LLM driven-discovery: Becoming discoverable in an AI-first world
Crystal Carter
Shopping is for agents: Your agentic commerce playbook
Amanda Beales
Can AI agents shop your site? Auditing access and discoverability to protect eCommerce revenue
Paid Media Strategy
Hero Conf - Track 1
12:30 PM
Break
1 hour 20 minutes
A chance to browse our exhibition hall, get some fresh air or chat to other attendees.
01:55 PM
PR, Link & Citation Building
brightonSEO Track 1
AI & Technical SEO
brightonSEO Track 2
Dashboards & Reporting
brightonSEO Track 3
The Future of Advertising
Hero Conf - Track 1
03:00 PM
Break
30 minutes
A chance to browse our exhibition hall, get some fresh air or chat to other attendees.
03:30 PM
Branding & AI
brightonSEO Track 1
Content Strategy
brightonSEO Track 2
Agentic Search
brightonSEO Track 3
Lead Generation
Hero Conf - Track 1
Reporting Reimagined
Hero Conf - Track 2
04:30 PM
Break
30 minutes
A chance to browse our exhibition hall, get some fresh air or chat to other attendees.
05:00 PM
AI
brightonSEO Track 1
Automation
brightonSEO Track 2
Technical SEO
brightonSEO Track 3
Performance Max
Hero Conf - Track 1
06:00 PM
majorActivity
Happy hour drinks reception
1 hour
Expo hall
Join us for a 'happy hour' drink at the end of the conference day and keep the conversation going.
07:00 PM
majorActivity
Tuesday Networking Party
3 hours
East Village Tavern & Bowl, 930 Market St, San Diego, CA 92101, United States
Sponsored by Searchable
After a full day of talks and insights at brightonSEO and Hero Conf, keep the energy going with us on Tuesday night from 7–10pm at East Village Tavern+Bowl in sunny downtown San Diego.
Expect laid-back California vibes, cold drinks, free bowling, and the perfect chance to connect with fellow marketers, colleagues, and new industry friends. All conference attendees are welcome, your first drink (or two!) is on us, and the bowling lanes are booked - so come roll into the evening with great people and even better vibes.
No ticket required, but conference badges must be worn for entry.
Please note: Arrive early! The venue has a maximum capacity. If the party reaches capacity, entry will be temporarily paused and guests will be admitted as space becomes available.