Leela

I sort of agree. SEO is changing and evolving daily. It will certainly look very different in a few years time, but its till incredibly relevant right now and will be for some time. Companies ignore SEO at their peril.

Having said that, I believe that smart corporate marketers must take a holistic approach to their web presence. SEO, social media, better web design and thorough understanding of data. They certainly need to understand all the niche opportunities too as you point out.

Cheers

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Hi Leela – have you tried using WOMOW.com.au? It stands for word-of-mouth on the web and it has peoples recommendations for hairdressers, plumbers, cafes, mechanics, accountants and pretty much everything else…. no waiting for your friends to respond

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Bluray is here but DVDs will be with us for years and years and years (heck, VHS units only just went of the market). SEO has legs for a while yet.

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Jen Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 7:21 pm

I still have a VCR and tape things off the TV. I feel OLD.

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Leela Cosgrove Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 7:33 pm

Yeah, but once the HD TV thing becomes mandatory things will be different … we got a free trial of a Telstra TBox and it’s AWESOME (plug, plug in the hope they’ll let me keep my Beta Box!) – amongst other stuff, lets us record TV to our set-top box … I wouldn’t have gone out and bought a DVD recorder, but as a single device that does many other things also … awesome.

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I totally agree with this, although I have little more than gut instinct to go on. Like Leela, if I want to know the best service provider to go to (whether that’s a beauty therapist, hairdresser or plumber), or the best bookshop or music store to go to in another city, I don’t google first – I ask my networks first.

It’s only after that that I google businesses to find out if there are others in the same area, so I can hit up more than one in the same afternoon (especially if I’m travelling).

As a copywriter, I find that websites are changing. Good copy will always be good copy, but the importance of SEO is way down the list. Websites’ roles need to morph and change and roll with this rather than always focusing on ‘this’ being the ‘one’ way to do things.

Nice post, Leela, as always.

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Leela Cosgrove Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 6:46 pm

I pinched a nerve in my back yesterday.

The first thing I did was get on Google and find out what I should be doing – but I started going crazy with all the conflicting advice (one person was like, the LAST thing you should do is lie still, you’ll ruin your back for ever! and the other was like, the LAST thing you should do is move around, you’ll ruin your back forever!)

So I posted on Facebook asking for people who’d had similar problems to let me know what worked for them – got 28 responses and a lot of sound advice, which got me back on my feet.

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Great article Leela.

I tend to agree, SEO as its typically known is really dying – but its having a shift towards a more online marketing rather than just optimisation for businesses.

Businesses not only need to look at SEO, but SEM, Social Media, PPC.. you name it.. and need to find a firm that can deliver that stuff as a whole package.. not just focus on the one area.

On a side note.. lets do some predictions – I think one of the big things to look out for is location based searching.. using mobile devices to find what you want quickly.. using both user feedback from social networks matched with GPS coordinates and your personal demographics – to find the best service for you.

Software and apps such as Foursquare, Layar and Wikitude are already doing this.. and its only going to get more important in the future.

Businesses that can learn to leverage off this sort of stuff are really going to take over.

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Leela Cosgrove Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 6:35 pm

Funny Brendan – I almost went into a whole aside on Mobile Content as another avenue … but I think that one is an article in itself!

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I agree that the world is a dynamic place and that markets continually evolve, but I am not so sure of Twitter and Facebook work as business tools. There is so little value contained in most messages that they generally represent a waste of time. Facebook was okay at first but the attraction has rapidly faded. I have learnt the value to actually go a visit people – interact ‘realtime’ it is a great experience. Social media is a fad that will continue to grow but will be taken over by something more powerful. The sooner we forget twitter the better the world will be.

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Leela Cosgrove Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 6:36 pm

Clint – we make a lot of money from Facebook and Twitter – as far as social media being a fad, see my last blog post…

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Thor Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 6:58 pm

Yeah twitter and facebook only account for like 50 + % of closed leads since I’ve been on there, it’s a fad I will miss if it ever goes lol…

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Leela Cosgrove Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 11:25 am

3 Sales from Facebook today alone …

But, you know – you can’t sell on Facebook.

I think there’s a certain element of generational difference – not in whether SEO will die because like everything, it will eventually go away – but in the speed of take up.

Leticia and I are around the same age and have similar frames of reference. As Simon says, Blu Ray is here and so are DVDs (watch out for my next post which predicts the death of BOTH of these) – much in the same way you can still buy turntables but it’s only a) DJs and b) the elderly who do.

I’ve ignored SEO (we’ve picked up a certain level anyway from other activities – and it does help to have a one-of-a-kind name) and focused on social media with no adverse affects …

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For the record, email will never die! Just like email and IM didn’t kill the postage system. Social networks and SMS are never going to kill email.

Business lives and breathes email, more and more companies and charging a fee for real mail and pushing customers towards emailed bills in .pdf formats. And there is no-way that I’d trust twitter or facebook to deliver that information to me. The important fact of email, is that it’s a standard and no one owns it.

I’d wager that any 16 year old kid who uses facebook, twitter, myspace, ebay, skype or any other online service, uses email almost daily. They may be doing a lot of receiving and little sending, however it’s email all the same. And as soon as those kids hit University or decent employment, you can expect their email use to sky-rocket.

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Leela Cosgrove Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 7:00 pm

Joel, NEVER is a long time.

Email will die. It won’t be replaced by Facebook or Twitter – that’s just silly. What it WILL be replaced by isn’t on the market yet.

For the record, when I say DIE I don’t necessarily mean that any of these things will disappear completely – I just mean that the MAJORITY of people will stop using them and will move on to something else.

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I found this article thanks to Thor’s FACEBOOK post: “Let the shitstorm of SEO Experts Begin” (love it Thor)…

Agreed, email will have its mere niche one day just like Vinyl Records moved to CD’s moved to DVD (going on BluRay) & MP3/AAC (‘et al). Nonetheless Vinyl still has its purposeful niche beyond mere nostalgic collectors.

Around 95% of our business comes from Word of mouth and networking – i.e. as a result of the RELATIONSHIPS of HUMANS (aka ‘people’ or ‘potential clients’ for the noobs). In essence, as long as we stay AWARE of what Humans (within our target market, and the FUTURE of our target market – are doing, and what they’re using, and engage with these people as people, like friends we want to be better friends with, then nothing will change in that aspect. Last I checked its PEOPLE who have money and give it to us, not email or facebook or computers or.. well, you get the idea.

Hey Thor, didn’t I notice your post about the One-Day ‘Productisation’ program coming up soon on FACEBOOK and contact you to arrange to give you some money so I could participate? …albeit then with bank details sent on EMAIL.

Leela, as always a poignant and provocative article, and looking forward to the next…

Anyone want to join the beta test group for our Digital-Telepathy Social-networking platform with ‘thought-mail’ messaging for when sleeping?

Just close your eyes and concentrate on my Aura’s username.

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Thor Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 8:30 pm

And that my friend is where the money is. The internet is for PEOPLE. Not bells, not whistles. PEOPLE.

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Since 1997 there has been someone saying SEO is dead… blah blah… c’mon, your readers deserve more respect than that surely. If SEO’s survived for the past 13 years, despite many proclaiming it’s downfall, then I’m pretty sure it will survive a bit longer… The problem is many misinformed marketers and business owners place too much focus on SEO (& PPC). SEO’s just part of the mix, and optimising for search (web, image, video, real-time, local) will continue to play a strong part in the mix.

And for small or local businesses – wouldn’t you love to get in the top box on Google with your location in the map? Guess what, that’s something to do with SEO.

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Leela Cosgrove Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 4:19 pm

… and since 1997 there have been “SEO Consultants” peddling the answer for obscene amounts of money.

The fact is, nothing lasts forever.

And in fact if SEO HAS survived for 13 years then maybe it’s time for something different. Things in business change.

For years, people SWORE by the Yellow Pages – that was the ONLY way to get in front of your clients … and now, any marketing consultant who told clients to advertise in the YP’s would be laughed out of the room.

Things change – they evolve.

And you can be as derisive as you like, Leigh – but the difference between you and I on this topic is that I have no investment in the topic one way or another …

Just like last year’s logo post – of COURSE you’re going to say that SEO will be around forever … because you have a vested financial interest in that being the case.

It makes no difference to me one way or another whether SEO is here or gone – I just look for the best, most cutting edge information to get my clients the best results (which often means going overseas and talking to the people at the top) … and then I like to share that info with Anthill … do my readers deserve more respect than that?

Nope.

They deserve EXACTLY that much respect.

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Hey Leela,

Thanks for the response. Definately one of the biggest problems in this country is that many SEO consultants HAVE BEEN charging an obscene amount of money but adding little value to the client’s they are serving. Agree with you there 100%.

Also agree with you that things do evolve – such as search engines…

Consumers and business’ will continue to ‘search’ online for products and services they want – Search will not disappear – it will change as behaviours change and will include more personalisation, real-time results, be potentially influenced by what your social network likes etc.

…and I’m sorry to say but as long as people are searching for something, optimising your web presence to be better represented in these results (search, social, local) will remain key.

Vested interest… Me? less that you may think. SEO’s a hobby, PPC etc. pay the bills.

I just think you’d show your readers more respect by not jumping on the ‘SEO is dead’ bandwagon but rather helping cut through the rubbish which is over priced seo consulting fees and point out where the real value is in optimising their online presence.

just saying…

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Leela Cosgrove Reply:
January 22nd, 2010 at 5:16 pm

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_facebook_social_networking_search.php

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Thor Reply:
January 22nd, 2010 at 6:08 pm

Leigh I gotta say for someone who claims to be at some sort of emotional arms length with your “hobbyist” SEO arm of your business… Your posts read like someone with ruffled feathers and come across not just a little bit passive aggressive. Says more about you patronizing “readers” who in my opinion certainly aren’t stupid enough to be fooled by your not so subtle trollish attempts to discredit Leela. I think it’s a long bow to draw to suggest that there’s a “bandwagon” outside of the comparatively cutting edge industries INVESTED in this topic. So in my belief to many this post represents topical and useful information – especially for business’s who aren’t deeply involved or INVESTED in the finer points of emarketing industry trend… To many this could represent a timely heads up – especially in the broader SME community where we agree there certainly needs to be more done about hobbyists who overcharge for something you can grow organically… If you aren’t one of them, why so bitey?

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What posted is really true i think only media have a good future.

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Hey Thor
Thanks for your candid reply.
“To many this could represent a timely heads up – especially in the broader SME community where we agree there certainly needs to be more done about hobbyists who overcharge for something you can grow organically..” I agree mostly. I think we’ve gone back and forward enough here.

Leela, my apologies if I came across too strongly, I’m just tired of the SEO is dead type argument raising it’s head.

Great article from RWW btw. Thanks for sharing.

‘passive aggressive’ …and ‘why so bitey?’ ha! I’m just far too passionate about this stuff!

This is nothing new – but my advice for any SME out there who does care about search traffic (but is sick of paying too much for SEO), just focus on what you’re good at. Develop great (unique) content, interact with your customers wherever they may be (i.e. social media), allow your customers to interact with you, provide awesome customer service, and at least have a site the the search engines can crawl. Thor’s right – you can grow organically.

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> SEO is doomed. In the format we know it, at least.
I think people miss the “in the format we know it” part. Of COURSE the format changes. That is kinda a truism. SEO is alive and kicking and, if anything, with the advent of video and map search, relevant to MORE businesses than ever.

Besides, can anyone name an advertising method that has actually died?

TVCs? Alive.

Newspaper ads? Alive.

Radio? Alive.

Billboards? Alive.

Very, very little dies, and what does, say, ads on steam trains, is replaced with something practically identical, say, ads on ELECTRIC trains. Very few strategies die, or replaces one set of professionals with another(“TVCs are doomed – now you need a creative agency or your ad just won’t work”), e.g. the “SEO by the numbers” crowd will be replaced by a smarter, better SEO.

> There’s a lot of talk about the ability of Facebook to take over from Google
> as the top search engine.
Just as there was talk of TV taking over from radio, the Internet taking over from TV etc etc. In terms of numbers, World population > internet population > Google users > facebook users.

If you take just the last two, Google usage is far, far, far greater than FaceBook usage, and always will be, because the barrier to entry is lower (non-existent), and you get an answer faster.

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I don't get it. Isn't social media a part of SEO?

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Another great article Leela. The way most people view SEO is about creating an authority destination, where in fact savvy business is thinking about streams. Creating authority streams and positioning those streams and your content within those streams where your target market are directing their attention.

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Very interesting! Quite the bold words Leela, pull no punches. I can’t argue about the evolution of internet marketing, and the limited lifespan of SEO in the form we know it (though I think your time frame may be shorter than mine). I think that well before SEO, in the form you’re describing, is dead – you will see a very heavy integration of traditional search tactics and user engagement (social media). I read another interesting article, albeit with a different take on the matter. that discuss the oncoming integration, and necessity of internet marketers to invest understanding the relationship between IM & SM.

I think you’d find it interesting [kinda long though ]:http://blog.9thsphere.com/blog/future-of-internet-marketing

Anyways, I appreciate your candor, and look forward to reading more of your opinions on this, obviously, contentious subject.

Best Regards,
-esposito

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very interesting you’re describing, is dead – you will see a very heavy integration of traditional search tactics and user engagement (social media). I read another interesting article, albeit with a different take on the matter. that discuss the oncoming integration, and necessity of internet marketers to invest understanding the relationship between .im & sm

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very interesting you’re describing, is dead – you will see a very heavy integration of traditional search tactics and user engagement (social media). I read another interesting article, albeit with a different take on the matter. that discuss the oncoming integration, and necessity of internet marketers to invest understanding the relationship between .im & sm

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Hi, 

You have described it brilliantly guys, Its very interesting and informative article guys. 

thanks 

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