From Emirates Stadium to Antalya: Search ’n Stuff wraps up a landmark year

Search ’n Stuff has wrapped up its most ambitious year to date after bringing together more than 350 digital marketing professionals across two major conferences in London and Antalya.

Founded by SEO consultant Yagmur Simsek, the community hosted its London conference at Emirates Stadium in June before returning to Antalya for its third Turkish event in October. Together, the conferences attracted attendees from across the UK, Europe, the US, and Türkiye, combining expert-led discussions with a strong focus on networking and community.

The Antalya event, held at Balmy Foresta in Kemer, welcomed 150 attendees over four days and featured the first-ever Search ’n Stuff Awards Gala Night. The conference returned after strong demand from previous attendees, with community members helping to shape much of the speaker programme through an anonymous voting process.

A defining feature of the event was its English-Turkish simultaneous translation, allowing local and international attendees to engage fully in the programme.

"Antalya connects international expertise with Türkiye's talent. Everyone should be able to learn and feel they belong," said Simsek.

Attendees said the format created opportunities for conversations and collaborations that extended beyond the conference sessions.

Baju Erfidan, regional manager for MENA and Turkey at WhitePress, added: "What keeps me coming back is the community: genuinely international, welcoming, and generous with knowledge.”

Arnout Hellemans, Senior SEO and analytics consultant at Onlinemarkethink, added: "The set-up, where everyone is in the same hotel, leads to so many interesting conversations with other attendees and speakers."

"For a few days you share not just knowledge, but relaxed conversations with international people from very different disciplines, and that's where new ideas and collaborations start," said Clara Soteras, founder of PingCraft Collective.

The London conference brought together agency leaders, consultants, founders and in-house marketers for discussions on the future of search, content and artificial intelligence.

Speakers and attendees praised the event's atmosphere and focus on community building.

Areej AbuAli, founder of Women in Tech SEO, said: "Search ’n Stuff London was a welcoming, well-organised event. I really enjoyed being involved both as a speaker and community partner.”

Jeremy Scott, senior international business development manager at WhitePress, added: "The community vibes were electric and the speaker lineup was pure gold.”

"There was a real sense of community and I look forward to the next one," said Katie Thompson, managing director of Katie Lingo.

Both events were supported by a network of sponsors, media partners and industry organisations from across Europe and the UK, helping to bring together local communities and international expertise.

With its conference programme now complete for 2026, Search ’n Stuff is turning its attention to smaller, more immersive formats. Upcoming events include the Sintra Search Retreat in Portugal, a London holiday SEO meetup, a Christmas dinner gathering, the launch of Search Cabaret in 2027 and a further retreat in Cappadocia.

Rather than focusing on growth in scale, Simsek said the next phase is about creating environments where stronger professional relationships can develop.

"We're now exploring formats that allow people to spend more time together, have more meaningful conversations and build lasting connections," she said.

For Search ’n Stuff, the move reflects a broader belief that some of the industry's most valuable discussions happen away from conference stages, in smaller groups where ideas, partnerships and communities can develop over time.