Search engine optimization just isn’t what it used to be. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still extremely effective, but what was once a standalone, cutting-edge practice is now the well-known foundation for other digital marketing initiatives. Search is the largest and most effective channel for interactive advertisers today; it’s the biggest bang for your buck and the bread and butter for everyone from small businesses to Home Depot. But that’s not news. What’s changed in search over the past few years is that, in addition to being the foundation for other initiatives, it is also influenced and guided by a larger, more encompassing marketing context, as opposed to the severely technical nature of its past.
Tactics vs. Strategy
Early in the history of SEO, success was, in large part, tactic-driven. The algorithms that governed the search results were simpler (though not simple), and the industry was less competitive. In that era, keyword stuffing and buying links were common and effective. For the most part, firms differentiated themselves by mastering the technique and method of what are now considered black-hat tactics. Ultimately, the best companies rose to the top by sheer brute force.
Today, tactics are still an important part of the equation. It’s important to understand the value of links, the best ways to acquire them, and how the search engine crawlers react to your website’s code. However, today the search engine algorithms are more advanced, and they’ve devalued many of the historically effective tactics in favor of more natural, organic indicators of relevancy. Now, the best firms are differentiated not by a powerful team of link builders, but by the strategic ideas they produce. Rather than spend mindless hours in link directories, SEO experts today are charged with creating compelling marketing campaigns that will convince users to link of their own volition. Today, SEO is the work of architects, not brick masons.
Links Do Not Equal Relevancy
When the SEO industry was born, search engines were naïve. Google’s breakthrough insight was to associate links with popularity. Essentially, the more links pointed to your website, the more popular you were. However, they had yet to be tested by those who would seek to manipulate their algorithms, and they had yet to create a sophisticated method for going beyond popularity into the realm of relevance. Because of this, those who entered the SEO industry early were able to rank for desired keywords with a few on-page tweaks and a truckload of links.
Today, links and on-page optimization are still vital to ranking well. But today, Google and the other search engines are looking for more than a large number of links and a few keyword mentions. Instead, they value numerous other factors that indicate relevance: anchor text, link quality, domain age, brand and buzz, keyword associations, and many more. Today, it takes more than links to be relevant, and relevancy is all the search engines care about.
Emergence of Social Media Marketing
Interactive marketing’s insistence on the emerging field of social media marketing has a strongly rooted premise. Search engines are slowly incorporating outside factors into their ranking considerations; Google’s recent May Day update, which places special emphasis on links to deeper pages, is a good example of Google's effort to rank sites that generate naturally occurring conversations (the premise here being that SEO tactics such as directories or link exchanges often focus on the home page) . The more buzz, the better. Unfortunately, SEO only firms are not capable of creating social media campaigns, which require a fine grasp of pop culture and changing trends. The fluid dynamic of social media campaigns can incorporate SEO practices, but the opposite is seldom true.
The Difference between Content and Good Content
There are many skills an SEO specialist possesses. Analytical skills, attention to detail, and a comprehensive understanding of strategy are all in the toolbox of a good specialist. Unfortunately, writing, design, presentation, and other skills required for quality content are usually not in that toolbox; a jack of all trades is rarely a good specialist. But with competition increasing and the algorithms advancing, it’s more important than ever for companies to be creating genuine, interesting content – stuff that people will actually pay attention to. Creating that content isn’t easy, and it usually requires a whole team of marketers, designers, and writers to make it happen again and again for the long haul. SEO only firms, with their niche team of specialists, don’t have the resources to create the kind of content that people are interested in sharing and linking to.
Conclusion
Studies have shown that an integrated online mix including, but not restricted to, SEO leads to better results: conversions, branding, and ultimately revenue. The widespread implementation of SEO has lead to better educated and informed clients, with a wider variety of options to meet their needs. As clients become more sophisticated, they are demanding complex and fully integrated campaigns, leaving SEO only firms floundering and left with the choice of becoming more robust, or becoming obsolete.