Just as in real estate, the location of your trade show booth is one of the most important factors in your success when exhibiting at a trade show. The decision about where to set up camp will determine how much traffic your exhibit receives as well as the quality of that traffic. Why waste thousands of dollars to exhibit at a high-traffic trade show and then tuck your booth away in a dark corner?

When buying a home, families often look for low traffic areas that are conveniently located. When planning a trade show, it is not always best to be in high-traffic areas (e.g. right beside the entrance or exits or right beside the bar area). The best locations are areas that are relatively low traffic, but are receiving the kind of traffic you are looking for.

Upon entering the trade show floor of an American exhibit hall, most attendees go immediately to their right and visit the trade show booths in a counter-clockwise fashion. This is the natural motion for attendees because they are trained to walk on the right side of sidewalks and drive on the right side of the road. For this reason, the aisle furthest to the right is usually very crowded with new arrivals, and can get very congested. While this is a great opportunity for exposure, it reduces your ability to effectively communicate with potential clients.

It is also important to take a look at the exhibitors who have already reserved booths. Visitors to the trade show will get an impression of your trade show booth that is largely based on the surrounding displays. If you can position yourself between exhibitors that have low marketing budgets and poor graphic design capabilities, your trade show exhibit will stand out like a gem. However, if you find yourself positioned between two marketing giants, your booth will be dwarfed and lose its power.

In my opinion, the best place to be at a trade show is in the middle of the second aisle from the right, nestled comfortably between two trade show marketing duds. This way you are one of the first stops on the route of attendees, your booth area is free from overcrowding, and you can stand out as a highly professional exhibitor.