What should a keynote speaker website include?
Short answer: A speaker website should let an organiser decide and act within a few minutes: a clear one-line positioning, your talk topics, video of you speaking, a short and a long bio, a downloadable headshot, logos or names of past events, and a simple enquiry form that reaches you or your bureau.
Event organisers rarely read a speaker site from top to bottom. They are usually comparing a shortlist, often for a committee, and they need to answer three questions fast: Is this person right for our audience? Are they good on stage? How do I book them?
A good speaker website answers all three on one page.
1. A clear line on what you speak about
Your homepage headline should say what you speak about and for whom, in plain language. “Professor of Economics” describes your job. “How markets forget what they learn, and what that means for your next downturn” describes a talk someone might book.
2. Talk topics
List two to five talks, each with:
- a title that works on a conference programme;
- two or three sentences on what the audience will take away;
- the formats you offer (keynote, fireside chat, panel, workshop) and typical length.
Organisers often lift this text straight into their event materials, so write it the way you’d want it printed.
3. Video
Video is usually the deciding factor. Even a few minutes of you speaking to a live audience does more than any testimonial. Put your best clip near the top of the speaking page, then link to full talks. If you don’t have professional footage, a well-recorded lecture or podcast appearance is a reasonable start.
4. Proof you’ve done this before
- Names or logos of past events, organisations and conferences.
- Short quotes from organisers, used with permission.
- Media appearances, if they’re relevant to your topics.
Keep this honest and specific. One named event is worth more than a vague claim.
5. A media and booking kit
Make the practical things easy to find and download:
- a short bio (about 50 words) and a long bio (about 150–200 words);
- two or three high-resolution headshots;
- your book cover, if you have one;
- how you’d like to be introduced.
This saves an email exchange, and it means the programme uses the bio you wrote, not one pieced together from the web.
6. A simple enquiry form
Ask only what you need to respond: name, organisation, event date, location or format, audience and a free-text box. If a bureau handles your bookings, route the form to them, or say clearly who to contact. Say how quickly you usually reply.
7. Your books and research, one click away
For academics and authors, the talk is often built on a book or a body of research. Link to it. It gives organisers confidence in your expertise and gives attendees somewhere to go after the talk.
What to leave out
- Fee tables on the public site, unless you want to filter enquiries by budget. Most speakers share fees on request.
- Long lists of every talk you’ve ever given. Pick the most relevant and archive the rest.
- Anything out of date. An upcoming-events list that ends two years ago does more harm than no list.
Make it findable
Organisers often start with a search like “keynote speaker on [topic]”, and AI assistants now answer those questions directly. Pages that state clearly who you are, what you speak about and how to book you, in plain text rather than inside images, are the ones search engines and AI tools can read and recommend.
If you’d like to see your own speaking page drafted from your real talks, I’ll design and write two sections of your site for free. Request your samples.