Generative artificial intelligence tools are transforming the way we do business, and agencies are no exception. That’s why, for our third DudaCon, we decided to explore how these tools can elevate your efficiency and take your team to new heights.
Agencies learned new ways to leverage AI for improved SEO, content creation, lead generation, business operation, and much more. They saw how Duda’s newest tools can grow their business and unlock additional capacity to scale. They joined dozens of experts and thousands of digital agencies over the course of 3 jam-packed days—all looking to prepare for the future of websites.
Overall, it was a hit. This was the biggest DudaCon we’ve ever hosted. Agencies loved the actionable insights shared by our expert speakers.
One guest said, “Thank you to the entire DudaCon team for organizing such informative and inspiring sessions. It was a fantastic learning experience.”
If you couldn’t make it, or just want to rewatch your favorite session—we have just the thing for you. We tried to capture a fraction of the expertise our speakers shared, along with links to every session so that you can watch them any time. For a complete playlist, head on over to our YouTube channel.
If you’ve been keeping up with Google’s product updates, you are undoubtedly familiar with one of their most recent experiments—the Search Generative Experience (SGE). For users invited to help test this new experience, Google is showing AI-generated answers at the top of their results page in a unique pull-out format.
For many SEOs and SEO-focused agencies, a first thought might be “Is SEO dead?” Spoiler: Probably not! SEO experts Bartosz Góralewicz, Nik Ranger, Barry Schwartz, and Gerald Murphy helped kick off DudaCon 2023 with a deep dive into what Generative search results mean for agencies, and why you probably shouldn’t be raising the white flag just yet.
Barry Schwartz of RustyBrick said “...people have to understand that what—this is not going to be something that people go to, or select to go to, in the future. This will be the new Google search.”
Watch the full session right now on YouTube.
We’ve been beating this drum for a while, but it bears repeating: “AI is not going to replace you.” Your clients need your expertise. However, just because AI can’t replace you doesn’t mean another agency that’s using AI won’t.
Chris Simmance, Josh Neimark, Shane Hodge, and Hannah Carthy discussed how successful businesses are leveraging AI to surpass their competitors with more efficient processes and better deliverable results.
They also discussed the challenges facing agencies, including these misconceptions about how AI could displace the traditional agency model.
This conversational session is a perfect introduction to agencies interested in better understanding, and maybe even increasing their usage of, AI.
You can watch the full discussion today on YouTube.
To wrap up the first day, host Chris Lema joined Duda’s co-founders Amir Glatt and Itai Sadan as they shared a behind-the-scenes look into how they’re building a future-proof platform for agencies.
The session began with a look into the opportunities and challenges facing agencies and how that information shapes Duda’s product roadmap. They noted three major opportunities for agencies centered around productivity, acquisition, and service expansion. They expanded on this with a peak into the “Duda Universe,” a relationship of features focusing on “Empowering Web Pros” and creating “Next Generation Websites.” Then, they revealed how AI is going to take all of this to the next level.
The duo ended with an interactive, ask-me-anything-style interview moderated by Chris Lema. Attendees got answers to their most burning Duda questions revolving around product updates, enhancements, and more.
Catch the entire AMA on YouTube today.
To kick off the second day of DudaCon, experts Navah Hopkins, Leo Castro, Yonatan Shaham, and Silvia Martin discussed a unique new opportunity for agencies—transactional websites. Unlike traditional eCommerce stores, transactional websites empower service-based clients to earn money online. Considering that 90% of SMBs are not in retail, this is a huge market.
“The point is like 90% of SMBs still have that need for rich transacting experiences,” says Lee Castro, “even though they’re not in retail. So again there’s a huge opportunity that I think is underpenetrated…”
This session is packed with interesting statistics, strategies, and examples to help you get your clients selling online in minutes.
Watch the full session right now on YouTube.
Compliance regulations are mounting across the United States, as well as the rest of the world. The government of California, for example, has been working on a new bill designed to establish rigid accessibility requirements around WCAG 2.1.
Creating compliant, accessible websites can seem burdensome, even scary—but it doesn’t have to be. In this session, experts Navah Hopkins, Steve Kuncewicz, Nat Rosasco, and Kristine Schachinger discussed how, with the right mindset, compliance can actually be an opportunity for your agency.
They explored how your agency can leverage these new regulatory requirements to build trust with your clients, enhance your reputation, and unlock additional business opportunities.
Watch the full session right now on YouTube.
By now you’ve likely seen a few webinars discussing how your agency can leverage AI to write better content, but I doubt you’ve seen any quite like this. Host Purna Virji tapped into the expertise of SEJ’s Amanda Zantal-Wiener and AI masterminds John Doherty and Andy Crestodina as they discussed what place AI has in content writing as well as how to use it effectively.
Andy Crestodina demonstrated some incredibly novel use cases for AI, going so far as to even “train” his conversations with ChatGPT during many of his examples. He explored content review, content gap analysis, SEO optimization, and so much more.
Beyond practical advice, these speakers discussed when it was appropriate to use AI content and, more importantly, when it wasn’t. They explored common reservations including accuracy and originality of content as well as more under-considered points like copyright and ownership. This session was an incredible end to DudaCon’s second day and was one you don’t want to miss.
Watch the full session right now on YouTube.
For the final day of DudaCon, our very own Oded Ouaknine joined host Ruan M. Marinho alongside Liron Hilb Horev and Bryan Montoya to discuss how agencies can automate their acquisition process to grow their client base without raising costs.
This session explored unique ways agencies can diversify their offerings to appeal to new SMB personas using the Simple Editor. Agencies can then supercharge this workflow with AI to create highly personalized websites without ever lifting a finger.
Watch the full session right now on YouTube.
Expanding on the previous session, Duda’s Avigayil Lewin joined Sharon Keevins and Ruan Marinho to discuss how agencies can maximize their efficiency without compromising quality. In this session, our experts share their secret to cutting down production time and streamlining agency operations by focusing on three opportunity areas: client onboarding, AI productivity, and revisionless design.
Like many of the sessions before it, every step of the process was supercharged with AI. Product Leader Avigayil Lewin took it a step further by introducing the audience to exciting new technologies coming to Duda that can take an agency’s efficiency to entirely new heights.
Watch the full conversion on YouTube.
Wrapping it up, Duda’s Paul Collins joined experts Ruan Marinho, Craig Rodney, and Eddie Hartman to explore the top revenue-growth opportunities available to agencies right now. This included best practices for bidding as well as insights into how you can effectively bundle and upsell your services.
This was a star-studded session overflowing with useful information for agencies looking to better understand their market. Eddie Hartman kicked things off with a well-informed discussion on how price relates to value in the consumer’s mind. He said, “If I told you I have an automobile for sale[…] and I said the price tag on it is $500,000 you’d say ‘Well you are insane, that is far too much money I would not pay that.` If I said it’s $50,000 you might say ‘I’ll think about it[…]’. If I said it’s $500 you’d say[…]it’s junk. Price is a measure of value. It communicates because it's a measure of value. If you are not using pricing that way you are fundamentally using pricing incorrectly…”
That’s just a taste of the wisdom these experts shared during their session.
You can catch the full thing on YouTube right now.
With the holiday season approaching, now is the perfect time to put everything you’ve learned to work. Use AI to create engaging holiday shopping content, tweak your product bundles to entice new customers, boost your operational efficiency to grow your team’s capacity, and offer your clients eCommerce capabilities so that they can capitalize on end-of-the-year shopping events like Cyber Monday.
Let us know what your favorite part of this year’s DudaCon was in the community—and thank you for attending. We can’t wait until next year!
