Loren Baker, editor of Search Engine Journal, asks why the recent Search Engine Strategies China conference had little exposure either in China or overseas.

There was a lack in coverage because nobody knew it was happening. Last year, our ChinaTechNews.com was a media sponsor and the organizers held the event in Nanjing and this year it was held in Xiamen. I've lived in China for over a decade and appreciate that Xiamen and Nanjing are large, great cities, but if they actually want to attract businesses, give the conference some "face", or get coverage, why the heck did they hold this event in Xiamen?

Why didn't they hold it in Beijing or Shanghai where Asia-Pacific and international visitors don't need to take additional flights to Xiamen or domestic visitors don't need to re-route through other cities? Especially for a new type of conference, it's best to hold it in Beijing or Shanghai. If small overseas conferences don't appreciate this, then they should not waste their money coming in here.

Last year in Nanjing, the event was thankfully held within walking distance of the train station, but the venue was not great and the crowds that could have appeared were not there. I've been to many tech conferences, and last year was sub-par. On top of that, we provided copious amounts of advertising for last year's event under our deal with the overseas organizer, but the local organizer (and the overseas one) failed to deliver their side of the deal.

We were not a media sponsor for the event this year and I did not attend. I would have thought after last year that the organizers would have learned their lesson and placed the event in Beijing or Shanghai. They might know search engine optimization, but don't know China conference and media optimization.

I think Fons puts it best in his blog when he says the "conference might still be of interest as an expert-meeting, but no longer as a media event."