Existential Crisis in the SEO Field
March 11, 2012
SEO is trying to preserve its credibility and relevance in a shifting world. Search Engine Journal asks, “Is SEO Really SEO Anymore? Index Search Down 50%, Apps and Social Search Exploding.”
Search engine optimization, a young profession (compared to, say, farming or tax collecting) is going through an existential crisis. Why so soon? Writer Gabriel Gervelis explains:
“An earlier post of mine for SEJ stated that index search is down fifty percent. Search has moved to sites like Wikipedia and other popular content sites. Search in the app store is up. People have made a the statement that they prefer branded content from apps they trust, rather than sorting through links on a SERP [Search Engine Results Page]. “When the term ‘search engine’ is actually in your job title (or at least in your job description), that’s a change that demands your attention.”
Indeed. Gervelis wonders how SEO professionals will refocus their efforts on social platforms and mobile apps. For the first, he suggests, they will have to invest more in the end user’s experience. As for the apps market, Apple’s recent acquisition of app organizing tool Chomp highlighted the importance of the apps revolution in Gervelis’ mind.
In the end, the article ponders: is even the title itself, “search engine optimization expert”, obsolete? Marginalized, for sure.
Cynthia Murrell, March 11, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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I battle myself with this on a regular basis. How big a role will social play in the long run? How long before SEO as we know it is ineffective? Going to be an interesting few years.
It’s hard to find educated people for this topic, however, you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks