A lot has changed in an industry that has changed the way people find information. Using a Search Engine, now the 2nd most popular thing to do on the Internet next to Email, is now part of everyone’s Internet life. I remember when I was younger and I was sent to the library to find information for writing a report, or finding a book.
The Social Community Boom
Now that the Facebook’s, YouTube’s, and Twitter’s are the new way of bringing everyone online together, SEO efforts should be geared at using these networks as frequently as possible. Since 10 years ago none of these networks even existed, SEO the way we knew it has changed forever. Just doing the bare necessities like SEO friendly content, tags, and navigation aren’t enough especially if you’re trying to promote a brand to the masses. The greatest thing about creating a presence on these sites is that it’s 100% free. Now don’t take that as once you’ve created a page, to letting it sit there, because spending time and getting to know the ins and outs of each network and their applications is a must. Not only are these networks a great way to reach potential clients, but they also have an Organic benefit if keyword strategies are used. Since there are now 1,000’s of different communities, it’s a good idea to find each communities niche and which communities make the most sense to focus on.
Welcome The Wiki’s
If the wiki’s haven’t taught you how to properly optimize your site, it’s time to pay attention. A few months ago I posted Wikipedia growth statistics on my company’s blog that are mind boggling. If you missed it, here are the latest growth statistics for unique visitors from Wikipedia:
2003 700,000, n/a
2004 2,082,000, 197%
2005 6,753,000, 224%
2006 25,970,000, 285%
2007 45,934,000 77%
2008 55,820,000 17%
What I can tell you if you already haven’t guessed, is that Wikipedia is doing it right. Each page of Wikipedia is solely focused on one targeted topic (keyword), and the content and code of each page reflects that topic (keyword) appropriately. If your site structure is far from this and you’re trying to target more than 3 keywords per page, I’d rethink your SEO and go back to what you know works; the Wiki principles:
• Good content!!!
• Targeted keyword approach
• Correct page structure
What’s Next? SEO In The Future – Web 3.0?
Web 3.0? The semantic web is definitely a hot topic nowadays and everybody’s chiming in on this one. Many think that Web 3.0 will be the demise of Google, but is that even realistic? Probably not and if you think Google is going to lie down and let the semantic web run right past, you’d be way wrong. Google Labs is always working on semantic recipes and I’d be very surprised if something wasn’t right around the corner. What I’d like to see is Artificial Intelligence added into the mix which will really shake things up and change things on the web forever. Imagine a Googlebot so powerful it could understand and interpret videos, podcasts, and flash animation, etc… It definitely makes the possibilities of the SEO in the future endless!
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