Blog Optimization Blog

The Search Engines Are Killing SEO

by Mark Simon, Monday, February 12, 2007
IF YOU'RE FOLLOWING THE BLOGOSPHERE, you'll know that there's a war of words afoot between my company's president, Dave Pasternack, and the SEO community. Dave's written a series of articles arguing that SEO should be managed in-house -- and that, rather than serving on retainer, SEO firms should serve primarily educational/consultative positions from now on.

That argument has ruffled a lot of feathers. Among other things, it's led to a sea of blog responses, and a $1000 contest for the No. 1 Google organic spot on Pasternack's name. (For a great sum-up of the controversy, see Aaron Goldman's Search Insider piece from last week.)

I'm not going to jump into that argument directly. But I would like to use the new discussion around SEO as an opportunity to introduce an observation. My observation is as follows: As search engines get smarter, SEO firms have a harder time providing real value.

To explain my point, I'd like to start with the business of relevance.

Searchers want relevant results. They'll reward or punish engines according to the relevance they provide. Advertisers, meanwhile, go where the searchers are. And so in order to keep the advertisers, who make the engines money, the engines need to make sure their search results are as relevant as possible.

That's why engines hire armies of Ph.Ds to work exclusively on creating more relevant results. Tbe sole task of those Ph.Ds is figuring out how to make the engines smarter at recognizing previously unrecognized content -- and at ignoring content that looks relevant but really isn't.

And the Ph.Ds are having huge success. Thanks to them, spiders have made leaps forward in reading content on dynamic pages, and even in understanding images. They've also learned to recognize spamming tactics like cloaking and excessive keyword stuffing.

And where the engines can't create relevance through technology, they make up for it through education in SEO best practice. After all, if your site is relevant, they want it to appear in front of the searchers who are looking to find you. And so they offer pages like Google Webmaster Central or Yahoo Search Resources for Webmasters.

The endgame for all of this is a world in which SEO doesn't matter. The engines won't need you to tell them how relevant your page actually is, because they'll understand on their own. For the same reason, they won't listen if you lie to them about a page's true value. Search results may never be unmanipulatable, but they'll be nearly so, to the point that it doesn't make business sense to try.

That doesn't mean that it's curtains for SEO firms. They'll still be in high demand as experts on information architecture and site usability. They'll help clients build sites that their searchers are really looking for, and that their searchers can use. They'll cease to have value in reverse-engineering the engine algorithms, but they'll still have value in helping clients create truly relevant Web sites.

Of course, that role might not be a retainer position. It might just involve a short consultation of a few weeks or months, in which the SEO firm explains to the client how to express itself to the customer in the best way. Meaning that while SEO might not come to an end, the practice of keeping an SEO firm on retainer just might.

Obviously, that era of perfect, unmanipulated search is far away. But as I've already highlighted, the engines have smartened up to a wide array of spamming tactics. And they're getting better all the time at recognizing content that they couldn't see before. Plus, what the engines can't do through better technology, they're working to achieve through better Webmaster education.

In other words, the SEOs certainly haven't lost value, because search still isn't perfect. But we're in an environment in which the margins that SEO firms can win by are getting slimmer all the time, because the engines get smarter and smarter every day -- and clients can learn more on their own than they ever could. The engines haven't killed off SEO, but they're making it a lot less valuable all the time.

How small are those SEO margins now? The answer to that question depends on too many factors to answer with a blanket statement -- but it's a question that every SEO client should consider today.


Mark Simon is vice president of industry relations at Did-it, an agency for search engine marketing and auctioned media management based in New York. You can reach Mark at msimon@did-it.com. 

Search Insider for Monday, February 12, 2007: publications.mediapost.com

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Domain Name Market in 2007: Will the Growth Continue?

Survey to determine domain name industry trajectory in 2007

Austin, TX (PRWeb) February 12, 2007 -- The domain name industry experienced unprecedented growth in 2006. Leading domain industry news source Domain Name Wire (www.domainnamewire.com) is conducting a study of the domain name market and where it's headed in 2007.

This is the second annual domain name industry survey from Domain Name Wire. Last year's survey included over 500 responses from people in 80 countries. As an incentive to participate, 50 respondents in this year's survey will receive a free domain name registration.

The study will gather viewpoints from domain name investors and service providers on topics including:

•Will domain name sale prices increase in 2007?
•What is the biggest threat to the growth of the domain name industry?
•How satisfied are domain name owners with ICANN?
•Which domain registrar is best?
•What are the most important considerations when choosing a registrar?
•Where is the pay-per-click advertising marketing heading?

Domain name sales continue to grab headlines. Last year's largest publicly announced sales included Diamond.com for $7.5M, Vodka.com for $3.0M, and Cameras.com for $1.5M.

"There's a lot of excitement in the industry right now," said Domain Name Wire editor Andrew Allemann. "A number of people are just now entering the market - backed by hundreds of millions in capital - and believe there's still opportunity to make money. This survey will help us understand the market pulse and where we'll be at the end of 2007."

The results of Domain Name Wire's 2007 Domain Name Survey will be released to the public at the conclusion of the survey. Domain name owners and services providers are encouraged to participate by visiting www.DomainNameWire.com/survey. Results from last year's survey are already available at this web address.

About Domain Name Wire
DomainNameWire.com is a leading news source for the domain name industry. It reports on domain sales, service providers, domain registrars, trademark decisions, and other industry news. Visit www.DomainNameWire.com for more information.

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Press Contact: ANDREW ALLEMANN
Company Name:
Email: email protected from spam bots
Phone: 512-797-0839
Website: http://www.domainnamewire.com

Article Marketer.com Implements One Touch Submission Service

Article Marketer's new suite of support tools offers editing, submission, and placement--and helps authors worldwide communicate their message directly to readers.

Hayward, CA (PRWeb) February 6, 2007 -- Article Marketer's new Suite of support tools for article writers and marketers offers industry-leading support for its growing number of contributors.

Article Marketer's Diamond Assurance Review Program (tm)--where human editors assist in communicating the marketing message--to Article Auto-Pilot (tm)-- setting the standard for dates for release and market withdrawal of articles submitted, to Constant and Never Ending Distribution(tm) where you select the length of time to keep your message in front of consumers, Article Marketer.com is focused on helping writers and marketers put their message in front of readers worldwide.

One missing link in the marketing process has often been the concept of being heard directly by consumers. Online businesses are discovering--like their Fortune 500 big brothers--this fast, inexpensive and simple way to address users by writing about their area of expertise.

"Consumers drive the marketing relationship," says Chris Ellington, CEO of Article Marketer, "and using article marketing, business owners provide exact information needed by potential customers."

The process is simple; business owners write articles about their products and services-- sharing information with readers and potential customers. Using Article Marketer's One-Touch™ submission process, articles are distributed to content publishers, news groups and e-mail subscribers who previously have expressed an interest in that specific topic. Information important to the marketer is also important to the reader, and the article written will be received by an interested, highly relevant target market.

Business owners, however, don't just write to write--they want to be heard---and by the largest audience possible. Since every content publisher has his or her own set of guidelines, Article Marketer has created a highly developed distribution system to automatically meet the specific requirements of each publisher, and with over 1,100 content publishers receiving articles daily from ArticleMarketer.com, business owners position themselves as obvious experts in their fields.

"Article Marketer customers get results -- links, traffic and search engine placements -- in a way that's fast, easy and affordable," says Ellington. "Write your article and press "Enter"-- it's a seamless process for visibility and communicating your message."

For more information, visit www.articlemarketer.com.

To arrange interviews, please contact GCG Worldwide at 1.917.224.6782.

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Press Contact: ALAN GUINN
Company Name: Article Marketer
Email: email protected from spam bots
Phone: 917-224-6782
Website: http://www.articlemarketer.com/