Ahrefs Evolve Singapore: 2026 Recap and 2027 Preview

If you work in SEO or content anywhere in Asia-Pacific, Ahrefs Evolve Singapore has probably shown up in your feed twice this year. Once in May, when the 2026 edition ran, and again more recently, when next year’s dates went public. This recap covers what happened, what the conversation was really about, and what’s confirmed for 2027. One caveat up front: I’m working from Ahrefs’ own pages and attendee reporting, not from a seat in the room, so I’ll flag where details are thin.

What is Ahrefs Evolve Singapore?

It’s the Singapore edition of Evolve, the conference run by the team behind the Ahrefs SEO toolset. Ahrefs says its earlier Singapore event hosted 500 marketers and 18 speakers before the flagship moved to San Diego. The Singapore version stayed on as a regional event for marketers in Asia.

The 2026 edition took place on May 14, 2026, at Guoco Midtown Network Hub on Beach Road, according to Ahrefs’ events roundup and the event page. The pitch was staying discoverable in search, AI, and beyond. Early bird tickets sold out, and so did the All Access pass, which tells you something about demand in the region.

What happened at the 2026 edition?

The published speaker lineup included Tim Soulo from Ahrefs, Sasha Gusain from Canva, Dan Petrovic of DEJAN, James Norquay from Prosperity Media, and Charlotte Ang of TrafficBees. A different listing also names Robert Lai of Kaliber, so the final agenda may have shifted a bit.

One format change is worth knowing about. Ahrefs added bookable 1:1 in-person sessions, a short, focused slot with someone who can actually help with your problem, rather than another round of hallway small talk. Honestly, that’s the part I’d have wanted most.

What I couldn’t find is a talk-by-talk recap from Ahrefs. If you attended, your notes are more valuable than anything I can paraphrase, and I’d rather say so than invent session summaries.

The real theme: from traffic panic to KPI design

Here’s the most useful read I found. In an on-site interview published by Ahrefs, Japanese SEO practitioner Taira Daishiro, who has attended earlier editions including San Diego 2025, described a shift in the discussion. The talk had moved away from lamenting lost clicks to AI overviews and toward a harder question: what should we measure now?

That matches what I hear from marketers. Everyone has already seen the traffic charts wobble. Fewer teams have a replacement scorecard.

My own take, and it’s only that: rankings and sessions still matter, but they’re inputs, not the result. If a page earns citations in AI answers, lifts branded searches, or fills a sales pipeline, it’s working, even when clicks look flat. If you only report sessions, you may be undercounting your wins or missing a real decline. Neither feels great to discover in a quarterly review.

I wouldn’t attribute that framework to any single speaker. It’s what I’d do with the theme.

What’s confirmed for 2027?

Ahrefs has announced that Evolve Singapore returns on May 12-13, 2027, and it’s growing from one day to two. Per the 2027 event page, the plan includes more speakers, more networking, and workshops, with conversations around AEO, SEO, AI search, and discoverability.

Here’s what’s still unknown:

Full ticket pricing and launch date
The venue
The speaker lineup

There’s a limited pre-sale aimed at 2026 attendees, priced as the lowest the event will offer. If you went this year, check your inbox. If you didn’t, the standard route is to join the mailing list on the official page and wait for the full launch.

Separately, Evolve San Diego ran October 12-13, 2026, so Ahrefs is now running. Evolve on two continents in one year. Expect Singapore to keep its regional character, though that’s my guess, not an announcement.

Is it worth attending?

It depends on what you need. If you’re an in-house marketer or agency lead in Asia who wants regional peers, current thinking on AI search, and time with people who use these tools daily, the case is strong. The sold-out passes suggest others agree.

If you want highly technical, hands-on training, wait for the 2027 agenda. The added workshops might change the answer, but nothing’s confirmed. And one honest caution: this is a vendor-hosted event, so expect product-adjacent content alongside the broader marketing talks. That isn’t a dealbreaker. It’s just worth knowing.

A simple way to decide: ask your team what one question you’d bring. If you can name it, go. If you can’t, wait for the speaker list.

FAQ: Ahrefs Evolve Singapore questions

Q: When was Ahrefs Evolve Singapore 2026? A: May 14, 2026, at Guoco Midtown Network Hub in Singapore.

Q: When is the next Ahrefs Evolve Singapore? A: May 12-13, 2027. It’s expanding to two days. Ticket launch, venue, and speakers haven’t been announced yet.

Q: Who spoke at the 2026 edition? A: Listed speakers include Tim Soulo (Ahrefs), Sasha Gusain (Canva), Dan Petrovic (DEJAN), James Norquay (Prosperity Media), and Charlotte Ang (TrafficBees).

Q: What topics will the 2027 event cover? A: Ahrefs lists AEO, SEO, AI search, and discoverability.

Q: Is there an Evolve outside Singapore? A: Yes. Evolve San Diego took place October 12-13, 2026.

The bottom line

The 2026 edition showed a field moving from “what happened to our traffic?” to “what should we count?” The 2027 edition looks set to push that further with a second day and workshops. Join the official mailing list, hold off on flights until the venue is public, and start drafting your own post-AI scorecard now. You’ll want it ready either way.