Adivertising
Regular Member
- Aug 25, 2019
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Why Google’s algorithm is slowly making SEO agencies obsolete
- Thread starter Adivertising
- Start date
- Apr 4, 2014
- 5,683
- 4,220
what a pile of nonsense + the content locker is very annoying, can't get rid of it.
a shit source.
a shit source.
mhtro
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- Dec 3, 2017
- 1,411
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There’s nothing new about questioning the future of SEO; people have been saying SEO is dead ever since it began. But with Google continually tweaking its algorithm in favour of a more natural approach, it’s difficult to see a long-term future, not so much for the practice itself (or at least the intent behind it), but for the agencies who live and die by the latest algorithm updates.
I think the question goes beyond whether SEO companies can survive or not, to how they adapt, what this means for brands who use them, and the wider impact this has on the marketing industry.
Google is putting humans first
Google updated its algorithm more than 3,000 times last year and each of these miniature updates was designed to provide people with the best result for their search. Not the company with the best-optimised website.
Its most recent update, BERT, at the end of October, focused on conversational search, aiming to help Google understand natural language better. It flies in the face of outdated keyword-stuffed content and signals the search engine’s intent towards rewarding businesses who simply have a decent product or service, and a good website, over those who actively seek to optimise themselves for search.
In fact, Google’s webmaster trends analyst, John Mueller, recently warned marketers that working out ways to game the system is a waste of their time:
“And therefore we’re showing things differently. Sometimes the web just evolved, sometimes what users expect evolves, and similarly sometimes our algorithms…. evolve as well…. There’s often nothing explicit that you can do to change that.”
So what are SEO agencies doing?
With this in mind, will SEO agencies (of which there are thousands) become obsolete? Previously shady methods such as cloaking or “buying” links have long been out of favour but even more recent techniques like guest posting have become more risky and less effective.
Even the more considered, long-form content is written with the quality of the link primarily in mind, rather than for the audience of the publication they’re aiming to be featured in, when in reality writing for the audience first will bring benefits beyond the link, but probably still secure that anyway.
Will this be the death of SEO agencies?
I believe that for at least a portion of agencies, SEO will not provide a sustainable future. I’m talking more about agencies with a churn and burn approach who deal with SEO in isolation, focusing blindly on search positions, without regard for the bottom-line business impact. For agencies without another string to their bow.
These companies often boast about how “adaptable” and “agile” they are, but when this adaptability boils down to simply chasing the latest SEO technique following an algorithm update or penalty, I believe there’s a shelf life. I think we might be nearing it.
What can SEO companies do to embrace the change?
In fairness, Google’s evolving algorithm could (and is, in many cases) inspiring SEO agencies to do better work. However, it does push them into a space that many don’t own or sit comfortably within – more holistic marketing. It’s going to be difficult for SEO agencies to compete with more well-established marketing agencies who have a wider knowledge base and skillset, more experience behind them, and most importantly? A different mindset.
It’s that mindset that is most crucial for SEO agencies looking to survive, even thrive, in years to come. They need to think beyond search positions and to why their clients want those search positions – for more traffic, more enquiries, more sales. They need to consider the bigger picture – within search itself (for example, to think about search terms that signal commercial intent, and convert, not just keywords that look pretty on a ranking report) – but also the role other channels play in the mix – adopting the activity or channel that best suits the objective, even if they fall outside traditional SEO methods.
There’s a growing need to consider the role of SEO as just part of the equation, and think about the wider role it plays in the journey. If agencies can seize this mindset, execute it and own other pieces of the pie – paid search, social media, email marketing (if for stability as much as anything), then they might just succeed.
How will this affect traditional marketing agencies, and what does it mean for brands?
On the flip side, traditional marketing agencies may have to become more tech-savvy if SEO companies do die off as quickly as they appeared. If clients no longer have a separate agency for their SEO, it’s likely they’ll expect more from their marketing specialists.
Whichever way it falls, it seems to be a win-win situation for brands. Either their SEO agency is forced to look beyond website fixes and guest posts, or they work with marketing agencies who have adapted to absorb the skills and specialisms of the former SEO world.
But there’s also a forming pressure on the clients themselves to up their game now too. Never has it been more important to actually be a good company within the world of Google. Good reviews (not fake ones) have an impact on where you’re ranked and can even be displayed in your listing. Google takes into consideration who you’re associated with too, for example, companies that may collaborate with or endorse you. It knows whether your product is actually suited to the search or whether you’re just trying to chime in. Simply put, we no longer get to “choose” which keywords we want to be relevant for. There is, quite literally, nowhere to hide anymore. And as marketing specialists, we need to pass some of this pressure back to the client.
The future of SEO
I feel strongly that SEO agencies who focus purely on search results and have no other skills or channels to offer, are on borrowed time. I think they’ll struggle with fewer incoming leads and the time and resource needed to achieve good results within the evolving search landscape, will ultimately make them much less profitable.
Five years from now, I believe we’ll see fewer SEO companies, and those of us still operating will have adopted a more holistic approach. I think marketing companies will benefit from the shift, but the party reaping all the rewards, will be the client.
I think the question goes beyond whether SEO companies can survive or not, to how they adapt, what this means for brands who use them, and the wider impact this has on the marketing industry.
Google is putting humans first
Google updated its algorithm more than 3,000 times last year and each of these miniature updates was designed to provide people with the best result for their search. Not the company with the best-optimised website.
Its most recent update, BERT, at the end of October, focused on conversational search, aiming to help Google understand natural language better. It flies in the face of outdated keyword-stuffed content and signals the search engine’s intent towards rewarding businesses who simply have a decent product or service, and a good website, over those who actively seek to optimise themselves for search.
In fact, Google’s webmaster trends analyst, John Mueller, recently warned marketers that working out ways to game the system is a waste of their time:
“And therefore we’re showing things differently. Sometimes the web just evolved, sometimes what users expect evolves, and similarly sometimes our algorithms…. evolve as well…. There’s often nothing explicit that you can do to change that.”
So what are SEO agencies doing?
With this in mind, will SEO agencies (of which there are thousands) become obsolete? Previously shady methods such as cloaking or “buying” links have long been out of favour but even more recent techniques like guest posting have become more risky and less effective.
Even the more considered, long-form content is written with the quality of the link primarily in mind, rather than for the audience of the publication they’re aiming to be featured in, when in reality writing for the audience first will bring benefits beyond the link, but probably still secure that anyway.
Will this be the death of SEO agencies?
I believe that for at least a portion of agencies, SEO will not provide a sustainable future. I’m talking more about agencies with a churn and burn approach who deal with SEO in isolation, focusing blindly on search positions, without regard for the bottom-line business impact. For agencies without another string to their bow.
These companies often boast about how “adaptable” and “agile” they are, but when this adaptability boils down to simply chasing the latest SEO technique following an algorithm update or penalty, I believe there’s a shelf life. I think we might be nearing it.
What can SEO companies do to embrace the change?
In fairness, Google’s evolving algorithm could (and is, in many cases) inspiring SEO agencies to do better work. However, it does push them into a space that many don’t own or sit comfortably within – more holistic marketing. It’s going to be difficult for SEO agencies to compete with more well-established marketing agencies who have a wider knowledge base and skillset, more experience behind them, and most importantly? A different mindset.
It’s that mindset that is most crucial for SEO agencies looking to survive, even thrive, in years to come. They need to think beyond search positions and to why their clients want those search positions – for more traffic, more enquiries, more sales. They need to consider the bigger picture – within search itself (for example, to think about search terms that signal commercial intent, and convert, not just keywords that look pretty on a ranking report) – but also the role other channels play in the mix – adopting the activity or channel that best suits the objective, even if they fall outside traditional SEO methods.
There’s a growing need to consider the role of SEO as just part of the equation, and think about the wider role it plays in the journey. If agencies can seize this mindset, execute it and own other pieces of the pie – paid search, social media, email marketing (if for stability as much as anything), then they might just succeed.
How will this affect traditional marketing agencies, and what does it mean for brands?
On the flip side, traditional marketing agencies may have to become more tech-savvy if SEO companies do die off as quickly as they appeared. If clients no longer have a separate agency for their SEO, it’s likely they’ll expect more from their marketing specialists.
Whichever way it falls, it seems to be a win-win situation for brands. Either their SEO agency is forced to look beyond website fixes and guest posts, or they work with marketing agencies who have adapted to absorb the skills and specialisms of the former SEO world.
But there’s also a forming pressure on the clients themselves to up their game now too. Never has it been more important to actually be a good company within the world of Google. Good reviews (not fake ones) have an impact on where you’re ranked and can even be displayed in your listing. Google takes into consideration who you’re associated with too, for example, companies that may collaborate with or endorse you. It knows whether your product is actually suited to the search or whether you’re just trying to chime in. Simply put, we no longer get to “choose” which keywords we want to be relevant for. There is, quite literally, nowhere to hide anymore. And as marketing specialists, we need to pass some of this pressure back to the client.
The future of SEO
I feel strongly that SEO agencies who focus purely on search results and have no other skills or channels to offer, are on borrowed time. I think they’ll struggle with fewer incoming leads and the time and resource needed to achieve good results within the evolving search landscape, will ultimately make them much less profitable.
Five years from now, I believe we’ll see fewer SEO companies, and those of us still operating will have adopted a more holistic approach. I think marketing companies will benefit from the shift, but the party reaping all the rewards, will be the client.
Here you go : )
And for everyone else interested. TL
R (I gathered this from skimming through it) Google is pushing organic results out of the first results and is focusing more on ads, nothing new there.
Marabunta
BANNED
- Dec 9, 2019
- 59
- 21
A lot of this goes against the grain of what I've been reading else where she says googles latest updates have focused on the most appropriate search result not site-optimisations. Other credible sources have said they have ignored serps as of late in favour of Site-optimisation and UX?
Adivertising
Regular Member
- Aug 25, 2019
- 216
- 165
I use Show simplified version on chrome (android)
I posted it here to get your opinions
There’s nothing new about questioning the future of SEO; people have been saying SEO is dead ever since it began. But with Google continually tweaking its algorithm in favour of a more natural approach, it’s difficult to see a long-term future, not so much for the practice itself (or at least the intent behind it), but for the agencies who live and die by the latest algorithm updates.
I think the question goes beyond whether SEO companies can survive or not, to how they adapt, what this means for brands who use them, and the wider impact this has on the marketing industry.
Google is putting humans first
Google updated its algorithm more than 3,000 times last year and each of these miniature updates was designed to provide people with the best result for their search. Not the company with the best-optimised website.
Its most recent update, BERT, at the end of October, focused on conversational search, aiming to help Google understand natural language better. It flies in the face of outdated keyword-stuffed content and signals the search engine’s intent towards rewarding businesses who simply have a decent product or service, and a good website, over those who actively seek to optimise themselves for search.
In fact, Google’s webmaster trends analyst, John Mueller, recently warned marketers that working out ways to game the system is a waste of their time:
“And therefore we’re showing things differently. Sometimes the web just evolved, sometimes what users expect evolves, and similarly sometimes our algorithms…. evolve as well…. There’s often nothing explicit that you can do to change that.”
So what are SEO agencies doing?
With this in mind, will SEO agencies (of which there are thousands) become obsolete? Previously shady methods such as cloaking or “buying” links have long been out of favour but even more recent techniques like guest posting have become more risky and less effective.
Even the more considered, long-form content is written with the quality of the link primarily in mind, rather than for the audience of the publication they’re aiming to be featured in, when in reality writing for the audience first will bring benefits beyond the link, but probably still secure that anyway.
Will this be the death of SEO agencies?
I believe that for at least a portion of agencies, SEO will not provide a sustainable future. I’m talking more about agencies with a churn and burn approach who deal with SEO in isolation, focusing blindly on search positions, without regard for the bottom-line business impact. For agencies without another string to their bow.
These companies often boast about how “adaptable” and “agile” they are, but when this adaptability boils down to simply chasing the latest SEO technique following an algorithm update or penalty, I believe there’s a shelf life. I think we might be nearing it.
What can SEO companies do to embrace the change?
In fairness, Google’s evolving algorithm could (and is, in many cases) inspiring SEO agencies to do better work. However, it does push them into a space that many don’t own or sit comfortably within – more holistic marketing. It’s going to be difficult for SEO agencies to compete with more well-established marketing agencies who have a wider knowledge base and skillset, more experience behind them, and most importantly? A different mindset.
It’s that mindset that is most crucial for SEO agencies looking to survive, even thrive, in years to come. They need to think beyond search positions and to why their clients want those search positions – for more traffic, more enquiries, more sales. They need to consider the bigger picture – within search itself (for example, to think about search terms that signal commercial intent, and convert, not just keywords that look pretty on a ranking report) – but also the role other channels play in the mix – adopting the activity or channel that best suits the objective, even if they fall outside traditional SEO methods.
There’s a growing need to consider the role of SEO as just part of the equation, and think about the wider role it plays in the journey. If agencies can seize this mindset, execute it and own other pieces of the pie – paid search, social media, email marketing (if for stability as much as anything), then they might just succeed.
How will this affect traditional marketing agencies, and what does it mean for brands?
On the flip side, traditional marketing agencies may have to become more tech-savvy if SEO companies do die off as quickly as they appeared. If clients no longer have a separate agency for their SEO, it’s likely they’ll expect more from their marketing specialists.
Whichever way it falls, it seems to be a win-win situation for brands. Either their SEO agency is forced to look beyond website fixes and guest posts, or they work with marketing agencies who have adapted to absorb the skills and specialisms of the former SEO world.
But there’s also a forming pressure on the clients themselves to up their game now too. Never has it been more important to actually be a good company within the world of Google. Good reviews (not fake ones) have an impact on where you’re ranked and can even be displayed in your listing. Google takes into consideration who you’re associated with too, for example, companies that may collaborate with or endorse you. It knows whether your product is actually suited to the search or whether you’re just trying to chime in. Simply put, we no longer get to “choose” which keywords we want to be relevant for. There is, quite literally, nowhere to hide anymore. And as marketing specialists, we need to pass some of this pressure back to the client.
The future of SEO
I feel strongly that SEO agencies who focus purely on search results and have no other skills or channels to offer, are on borrowed time. I think they’ll struggle with fewer incoming leads and the time and resource needed to achieve good results within the evolving search landscape, will ultimately make them much less profitable.
Five years from now, I believe we’ll see fewer SEO companies, and those of us still operating will have adopted a more holistic approach. I think marketing companies will benefit from the shift, but the party reaping all the rewards, will be the client.
Here you go : )
And for everyone else interested. TL
I think it points out that google is hand picking the first results and is using this manual input to train it AI.
D
Deleted member 657006
Guest
no matter what happens always be ways around it or we all just go to new search engine google will cry
remember there millions of us and if push comes to shove we can all move on .
it happen to youtube when fb done videos
there always a way to earn online .
google only used for indexing websites the truth is that website are becoming power of there own soon won't need google as most website got there own search also like google (( don't fill hostage to google think out the box))
Last edited by a moderator:
Marabunta
BANNED
- Dec 9, 2019
- 59
- 21
Google will cry if all the blackhatters moved over to Bing? Are you Sure?
Sorry but Google is the premier league of Search. Google is where all the big money is.
No it didn't. It just made youtube's commercial incentives in other avenues more prominent.
What,,, are you talking about???
Adivertising
Regular Member
- Aug 25, 2019
- 216
- 165
The article says that SEO agencies will go obsolete, and that's old story which will never come true but it's true that google wants to take bigger control and "improve" it's algorithm. Everything is pay to win nowadays
D
Deleted member 1313244
Guest
Isn't this obvious? I mean Alphabet makes their money from PPC revenue so obviously they want you to pay to get traffic. I mean. You know. That's the point.
ShashiKumaar
Regular Member
- Feb 27, 2019
- 349
- 143
Ultimately depends on ROI. How good at your niche as compared to your competitors? Am I right.
Adivertising
Regular Member
- Aug 25, 2019
- 216
- 165
Didn't notice that until know. Lolllllll
Rj268
Supreme Member
- Oct 12, 2018
- 1,283
- 750
Google has in a sense made SEO obsolete for the time they were referring to. Those were the good old days where you threw up some questionable content, blasted it with backlinks and in no time you were rock a spot at the top of the SERP.
Now Google has us writing content that satisfies searcher intent, build high quality backlinks from content that is also high quality. Basically it's pretty much white hat even if done in a black hat way. Spam no longer has the power it once did. Also it takes time, a lot of time, to rank a new website. We are now looking at many months instead of weeks like it once was.
So yes Google has done away with what SEO was at the time. In order to rank we need to provide helpful information which takes a lot of work and time.
Google has been trying to drive more clicks to ads because it is what makes them money. Just look at how search results changed this year when they started displaying favicons in search. It was done to help blend the "Ad" notice they had to place on paid ads. It makes paid ads less distinguish able. When this happened I saw several campaigns make a big shift in traffic sources. I was running paid ads and monitoring organic and I saw my organic traffic shrink and my paid traffic increase.
Now Google has us writing content that satisfies searcher intent, build high quality backlinks from content that is also high quality. Basically it's pretty much white hat even if done in a black hat way. Spam no longer has the power it once did. Also it takes time, a lot of time, to rank a new website. We are now looking at many months instead of weeks like it once was.
So yes Google has done away with what SEO was at the time. In order to rank we need to provide helpful information which takes a lot of work and time.
Google has been trying to drive more clicks to ads because it is what makes them money. Just look at how search results changed this year when they started displaying favicons in search. It was done to help blend the "Ad" notice they had to place on paid ads. It makes paid ads less distinguish able. When this happened I saw several campaigns make a big shift in traffic sources. I was running paid ads and monitoring organic and I saw my organic traffic shrink and my paid traffic increase.