The Death of SEO?

This could be a great opportunity for people with great products.

Word of Mouth has ALWAYS been the #1 source of quality business in the world.

Social Media = Word of Mouth on steroids.

Search Engines make searching for information faster and easier.

Apples to Oranges comparison.

I might do a Google search for pizza places in my City, and then ask via social media for confirmation on my choice ("has anyone been to...") which is why user reviews in places like Amazon, Yelp, Google Places are so important.

However I'm not going to be relying on JUST Social Media for every decision I make, since most people will also like to "read up" for themselves...which is where QUALITY CONTENT + ease of use on a website comes in to play.

You are more likely to see the merging of Social Media and Search Engines -- but not the elimination of either.

~Dexx

Dexx hit it on the head.

Google also is playing catch-up to Facebook, which means they are TRYING to change the mindset of their demographic. Currently, their demographic goes to Google to find something, look something up or research. They don't go there to be social (but, they do like giving reviews, especially bad ones).

Reviews are a completely different beast though, as Google mostly imports reviews from other "social" sites. Google tries to get reviews from it's users, but most reviews are just competitors or internal employees spamming positively/negatively on a places listing.

Lastly though, I definitely don't think this is the end of SEO. When Google develops new tools, they developer more-so now with the spammer in mind. It would be extremely easy for me to setup a service to get 500 Mom's from around the country to hit the +1 on my listing. Google tried this sorta thing a while ago, then removed it because this exact thing was happening.

If Google is giving ANY ranking weight for this new "+1" additive, it's going to be minuscule, if any.

Adukes81 and Dexx are correct but they reach on different aspects of marketing. Of course, the title of this tread is seems to inspire controversy.

There is a macroeconomics vs. a microeconomics view going on-- trends may reverse globally and people will rise up against social media and thus we do not need SEO.

We must avoid apples to orange comparison since in the end. Dexx is right that word of mouth is king. Plus, local markets will never be saturated to the point people will leave the comforts of their brick and mortar stores. Unless rules and regulations from Uncle Sam change the game, I think people will still prefer the neighborhood pizza shop versus ordering dominos online. Something like that.

this is not good for people like me having themes blog

Facebook and Social marketing has it's place but it will never topple Search Engines, people trust Google. I think Google would like people to think the end of SEO is near so that those who know how to game it will get distracted, but SEO is here to stay.

I titled this thread to get people's attention/opinion.

Just as I wanted...getting some good opinions from some trusted Warriors (Dexx and Voasi) and everyone else.

It'll be interesting how things pan out.

Great thread! The conversation has sparked a thought or two

It has made me think a little deeper about the death of "Hot Trends" (ie. Facebook)!

I can't help it!!

As a forex trader I am always seeking a way to "ride" the beginning of a trend verses chasing the breakout after it happens...

The death of all "breakout trends" seems to be a universal law...I can only predict that Social Networks as a marketing medium will have a Massive setback within the next 12-18 months, it will be at this time that SEO will be back with the great next generation of FREE traffic of hungry buyers.

When I say breakout trend I mean any rate of growth that can be described as exponential... something that contains that s-shaped curve on a graph!

Whether it the population growth of deer in Michigan or a run away stock price.... exponential growth always reaches a limit (limits to growth) ... and often experiences a reversal or collapse.

So how does this apply to 'Death of Social Networks?'

I can not help predict that there will be some new SHOCKING news report that a very LARGE percentage of fake profiles on facebook from unethical marketers lurking in the scary virtual dark shadows of Facebook ... looking to steal not only personal info .... blahhh blahh !!!

Regardless of what this might be... it go WAY beyond the little warnings about privacy issues on facebook.

Whatever the news might be... I can see the mainstream media setting off a little panic attack with some scary privacy scenario that will kill the marketing buzz within Social Networks, The fallout will include a feverish witch hunt for anybody suspected of participating in "Profaking!

Just like the Google SEO updates, i think a massive Social Update is all, but inevitable. I'm not talking about the little warnings and random account shutdown.


In the end, the online traffic trends will swing back and forth like an old grandfather clock... between SEO and Social.

As a trader.... I am waiting for the Social Bubble to burst... I expect this will increase the value of my SEO web properties by a factor of 2x-3x if not more.

This will be the time to cash in my SEO properties and start rebuilding up new social networking channels

In-Joy,
Kampester

I think that people that try to just "game the system" one way or another will eventually get penalized by Google.

I think the key to ranking well in Google is to put together websites that will be of genuine interest to people. I cannot emphasize this enough. People read content. Not machines. People visit websites. The "machine" indexes it.

It's so important to put together websites with your target audience in mind at all times. Google is starting to catch on to sloppy websites that are put together merely to "manipulate" the search engines. Make sure that you are providing genuine value to people, and put together websites that will help visitors to achieve their goals.

Make sure that you answer the question, "What's in it for me?" on your website. If people really like what they see on your website, they will naturally want to share it with your friends.

Don't totally neglect SEO. Yes - properly tagging your content is important. Building backlinks and letting people know about your site is important. Just don't overdo it.

That's the way that Internet sites should operate in the first place - and I am glad that Google is placing more of a "social" element into search.

Make sure that you have good people skills and excellent written communication skills. That will go a long way toward success online. (Interesting how the simple stuff gets neglected, right?)

I think that social media, especialy fb is a great trend that is used by smart marketers. People all over the net are selling fb guides just like the seo ebooks for google. Fb will stay around the market so let's take advantage of it

If this is actually going to happen and give weight to results, I can NOT WAIT to have a program developed, get some proxies, and spam the hell out of it. LOL.

Not the death of SEO, people will use search engines to find content for a long time to come.

It is the birth of social SEO and a great way for local business to use social proof for CTR. Time to run some competitions for Twitter and Facebook followers

Sooner or later you will be able to buy +1s on fiverr, also this will make it a lot easier for people to game the search engine algorithm.

well end of day it's just your opinion.....

SEO have always been the prime attraction for the newbies like me, and "end of SEO" is certainly quite distracting for us. Hope it may never come...

This is a great point. Google is too big to just give up, they will incorporate with whatever changes.