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What is the future of SEO?
Some experts say there is no future for search engine optimisation or SEO, while others maintain there is, given certain conditions. As online businesses aggressively take in paid inclusions and pay-per-click efforts, concerns about search engines dropping the regular spidering and indexing for paid advertising, and about small businesses having a hard time positioning will go on and on.
However, as long as search engines remain focused on relevance rather than revenue, then there is a big possibility for SEO to have a bright future ahead. If SEO remains in use, people don’t need to worry about websites and search engines flashing paid ads all the time. And if Google trashes its spidering and indexing activities all for the money, many hope that another sensible search engine will take its place.
At any rate, there will be some drastic changes as there were a few years back. Initially, it was easy for people with a bit of SEO knowledge to optimise their websites and gain good search engine results positions or SERPs. But not today and not in the future – a bit of SEO knowledge is no longer enough – you’ve got to be an expert or a genius!
Also, there were many search engines options before. You can be a top ranker in one and not in the other, and that’s fine. However today, only a few search engines are preferred by users and they are Google, Yahoo, AOL and MSN, among others. Rank in these and you don’t need to mind your rank in other search engines because it becomes fairly automatic.
Keywords will become more complex, and optimising for longer keywords will become the norm. In this regard, some people will try to make money out of this trend by selling the most competitive phrases through advertising. Again, money is a strong driving force here in SEO, although clients will think twice before spending huge sums for optimisation campaigns and strategies.
Despite the concerns, there will be a strong possibility of experiencing a balance in SEO and online marketing in general. Optimisers will not be solely focused on gaining decent ranks, but likewise on improving website designs. Optimising a website is a gateway to being visible among users, but enhancing it is the best way to being likeable. It’s not enough to drive traffic to a particular website; what is needed is for that amount of traffic to patronise that website for years and years to come. Well, at least this is a good sign for everyone – website owners, search engines, SEO experts and online users.
