Unlike some conferences, speaking slots on sessions at Search Engine Strategies are not sold or given in return for sponsorship of the event. Instead, conference chair Danny Sullivan carefully plans sessions designed to cover all aspects of search engine marketing. He then personally invites speakers to take part in various sessions, based on the knowledge and experience they can bring to conference attendees.

A hallmark of the show is that panels generally feature multiple speakers, in order to provide diverse viewpoints. Each speaker receives a detailed "prep note" from Danny meant to help ensure that presentations complement each other. Speakers are also specifically asked to refrain from making sales pitches.

Sessions often feature a "case study" speaker, in order to bring real-life experiences into panels. In addition, all sessions generally allow for at least 15 minutes of Q&A;, if not longer. Some sessions are even "PowerPoint Free" zones, pure Q&A; and audience driven.

All the hard work behind the scenes gets reflected in the high scores that Search Engine Strategies sessions typically earn. Attendees are asked to score sessions on a scale of 1 to 5, with anything 4 and above considered good. The median session score for the 50 sessions held during the August 2003 Search Engine Strategies show in San Jose was 4.2.