Why SEO is still an important marketing tactic in 2015 and beyond

You have probably heard the rumours that SEO is dying or perhaps already in the grave. This is completely false and could not be any further from the truth. This article will explain why it is still a very important marketing tactic and how it is even more important that you choose the right provider who understands business from a top down perspective, modern marketing strategies, engagement methods and your particular company. Let’s go on and explain a brief history of SEO.

A brief history of SEO

SEO about eight years ago was very much on-page technically focused work with a few off page strategies to boot. How you coded the website, text based content on the page, keywords placed in specific HTML elements etc, were all an important concoction for ensuring solid rankings in the two major search engines, Yahoo & Google. As time developed, the algorithm for all search engines had to progress because of the sneaky tricks people were executing to cheat their way to the top. This is called black hat SEO, and it is still very much alive today unfortunately.

If you knew the secrets and where the holes were in the current algorithm, you could easily open the doors to large amounts of traffic and consequently sales. Google in particular, caught up to the tactics and began evolving and expanding their algorithm to make it more difficult to game the system. In a way, the black hat SEO’s have helped to advance the algorithm and put an emphasis on real marketing. They have caused the algorithm to advance in a new positive direction with even more growth yet.

Is SEO really dead?

Short answer NO. The long answer is a little more complex in nature. As we have mentioned the black hat SEO’s have helped (indirectly) Google to be the most popular search engine due to far more accurate search results. The algorithm over the last year has seen major updates (https://moz.com/google-algorithm-change) and advance changes which put a dint in many SEO’s confidence to get results, forcing them to walk away. I believe at that point, starting the rumours that it SEO is dead. In fact, it is far more alive now than ever before. People often mistake difficulty, as dead. SEO in itself has helped push the need for social media, content marketing, partnership based link building programs and forced SEO’s to think in a more holistic marketing approach. Gone the days where you could easily manipulate the system and embrace a new holistic online marketing service.

Please read http://searchengineland.com/the-quality-update-google-confirms-changing-how-quality-is-assessed-resulting-in-rankings-shake-up-221118 for further information on the impact of quality SEO work. It truly pays dividends in the long term.

I think if you speak to well respected SEO’s, they will agree it is far more difficult challenge to help companies, but also opens up the doors for an equal level playing field, and placed an important emphasis on businesses and large companies to seriously invest into high end and high quality digital marketing campaigns. Website’s themselves are no longer something “that needs to be done”, rather it is more important than that. Websites are the doors and first impressions to your market and potential customers.

The ever increasing need for meaningful, trustworthy and content rich websites in today’s digital content demands, is a massive opportunity for all serious companies to implement. Thus, the birth of content marketing services. When you think about it, content marketing never evolved into SEO, and inn truth, many SEO’s from around 5-8 years ago were already implementing them. The major difference and awakening of such strategies was the recent evolution of organic algorithm which has forced other marketers to take it more seriously than ever before.

SEO is still a very real, very alive strategy due to the nature of how our world is being shaped. Many years ago, we trusted other online resources to find companies. For example, my father’s business was called ABBCO Engineering because he wanted (at the time) to “rank first” in the Yellow Pages paper based book. I mentioned to him recently, that modern day search results does not depended on an alphabetical structured order. The world has evolved, thus new marketing channels have evolved and it is the same for the modern day SEO world. Old outdated tactics have died, but other opportunities have opened up. As my father (at the time) tried to take advantage of the old system legitimately, black hat SEO’s have tried to cheat the system for too long avoiding the hard work that is required to get sustainable results causing many to turn away which is something I have personally seen happen quite often in Australia.

SEO is becoming more and more advance each day and I strongly believe that it takes a marketing professional with a business focused mind to understand each of their client’s company’s model from the bottom up. Learn how it works internally, current offline marketing channels, current sales strategies and the most important (my favourite), knowing how they differentiate themselves in the marketplace? These questions in my opinion are the essential, grass root level knowledge I believe wholeheartedly is required for long term success in the SEO industry.

Passion is the initial prerequisite, but has time goes on, requires a professional who understands all of these key fundamentals to sustaining and increasing success for their clientele. Going from “adding keywords into meta keyword tags” to learning about business and marketing models, will help give further clarity into the shake ups in the industry. The mantra’s which have plagued the industry for so long. SEO is not dead, and it will never die as long as search engine continue to exist. Marketing never dies, the channels and methods evolve.

There is so much more information we could add, and have deliberately left out for the sake of getting as many people as I could to read and provide feedback. I just really hope this article has changed at least one individuals mind that SEO is not dead, and instil confidence back in the industry I love and hold dear to my heart.