As the Google algorithm keeps getting smarter will the need for SEO be eliminated in the future?

by Sonny Am

Posted: 12 years ago 17 replies

I was on seomoz reading the discussion about googles new over optimizaiton algorithm,and some have said that it is downplaying the need for seo with one comment saying that

"As Google's algorithmn improves its power, vision and reach, SEO will disappear and hoards of us will be editing our CVs to find work as Content and UX Strategists."

This has got me thinking, is it possible than within the next 5 or so years SEO will become almost obselete, and if this is true, what is to happen to the million dollar seo industry that has been built up, all of those thousands of seo firms worldwide, purely in business because of the requirement for SEO....

I didnt want this post to sound like a "sky is falling" style post, but instead to spark some conversation, and for an oppertunity for some potential educated future gazing.....

ill be looking forward to seeing peoples responses on this matter.

#algorithm #eliminated #future #google #seo #smarter

aygabtu 12 years ago

Yeah right. Google isn't getting smarter, just the opposite. They should be using GA stats and real user usage information from cookies, etc to determine good from bad, but they decided to focus on backlinks. WTF? Punish people for promoting their site? Wow, that is smart. Not! Judging the quality of a site to the number and type of backlinks. Smart? NOT!
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sovereignn 12 years ago

I can't say I think SEO will become unnecessary... Right now it's something Google actually needs if there wasn't any the serps would be even worse than they are now just random BS up front.

But man I hope there isn't a day when we are no longer needed
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- malcsimm 12 years ago
  
  Hi
  
  We have to remember that giants have been toppled systematically over the past ten years - as the previous ten and the previous ten. Unimaginable as it seems, the big G will disappear of our radars in years to come: just as they arrived on it once they had worked out a way around keyword tag stuffing: ie, pay more attention to offsite votes than onsite votes.
  
  But they have a few more years yet! They are embracing web 2.0 votes for sites and we just need to tie in with that.
  
  But on top of everything: the point is that, for big G, good content works.
  
  They are getting better at identifying poor quality, though they make errors at the edges. But if we head for good quality, optimised content, longer rather than shorter articles/posts and eschew spun sh*t we can't go too far wrong.
  
  Malc
  
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- xiro25 12 years ago
  
  SEO will always exist, until Google can manually review every website for every single Search and since 20 percent of all searches google has never seen before and the amount of websites out there. This is impossible and you will always be able to game the system
  
  With that being said. SEO has changed and will continue to change. What worked yesterday and today may not work in 6 months time. That is why it is important to build a quality site and diversify your traffic sources as much as possible.
  
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Fadiz 12 years ago

No but SEO gotta become smarter as well
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- lukemeister 12 years ago
  
  As long as organic search engines exist, there will be the need to optimize for them. I think the thing to keep in mind is that "what to optimize" is what changes over time. If it's as simple as posting good content and making sure your site loads fast, than search engine optimization could be defined as such.
  
  So many "seo companies" out there right now, or at least in the recent past, just focus mostly on link building, and most of them will die or already are. But the seo companies that focus on building good site experiences and making sites into sites that people want to actually use are the ones that will stick around.
  
  And seo will live on, until there are no search engines.
  
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quercus5 12 years ago

SEO likely won't ever die at least in the near future because there is so much money at stake and people won't stop trying to manipulate the SERPs. That being said, SEO is always evolving from one thing to another due to Googles more frequent changes. The only thing constant with SEO is change. In order to remain on top, SEOers have to change their strategies to align with Google's updates.
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jinx1221 12 years ago

Though they may now be using social signals as a measure of a quality website, it still needs to use other sites links as votes, as well as other logical information, both onsite and offsite, and in that sense, seo will never die. Just as the library uses a sort of search engine now, that replaced the Dewey decimal system a long time ago, there still needs to be a fast, logical algorithm in place for people to find the information they want, and a system in place for them to find it. So the question isnt 'will seo die', but 'how far will seo evolve'? Just like Lukemeister's avatar (which btw I remember crapping my pants when I fought him back then!), look how far 3D first person shooters have come along. It won't fade away, it will just evolve, and just like video games, we will adapt as well.
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Mister Rex 12 years ago

SEO willl not die, but what an SEO does will change. Content marketing is probably the future of SEO, but it isnt there just, yet.
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dp40oz 12 years ago

These same claims were made back in 2002.
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OmarNegron 12 years ago

As long as there is SEO, there will be people who try to game it!

I think I heard that quote somewhere....not sure where though..

=)

-Omar
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gearmonkey 12 years ago

Google's algorithm isn't getting smarter, it's getting more generic.
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Mike Anthony 12 years ago

To read some of these threads you would think that no one is ranking who has done SEO. totally ridiculous.
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- dp40oz 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Mike Anthony
  
  To read some of these threads you would think that no one is ranking who has done SEO. totally ridiculous.
  
  Exactly people think that because their sites don't rank anymore that nobody is ranking anymore. This algorithm has actually made it easier to rank in someways.
  
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  Dentist 12 years ago
  
  SEO will exist. Its methods will change though over time and hopefully will get smarter, although in recent Google algorithm changes I see many things but being smart. Nevertheless, think about it this way: At the end of the day Google will have an algorithm to rank sites from 1 to millions. Whatever that algorithm will be, it will be worth figuring out and going after because it is the matter of money (when it comes to large corporations, it could be millions of dollars.).
  Another perspective: SEO in its current form is a popularity contest more than anything. It could be quality contest on the other hand. But which one is more real and closer to real life in your opinion? Obviously popularity contest. In real life people don't become more successful and more popular because they have better quality (it barely happens). They become more successful cause of self-branding, connection to power nodes and in general votes from power sources. It doesn't matter if you are the best SEO expert in the world if nobody knows and most probably there are many SEO experts much better than the popular ones. Do you know them? No!
  The same thing is what is the basic for SEO. If it's quality vs. branding, then you will see one quality article standing there upper in rankings than brands and authority websites. That day will never come simply because there is no way to define quality. The perception of a work's quality is different in each person's opinion and there is no way to standardize it. If it was you could kiss innovation goodbye. There isn't.
  So we get back to the votes. Votes will be there and will remain the basis for SEO. They have many deficiencies but the same as democracy they are the best solution mankind has figured so far. What Google seems to be trying to do (not successful on that) is to make the votes closer to the real life so it reflects the similar situation in real life. Getting many instant votes in real life from authority people is hard. It makes sense to be hard on the internet. Yet, you can buy votes in real life and everybody that knows branding does that. It will remain the same on the internet. What do you think giving more importance to social media signals means? It means giving more power to brands that can afford to run social media campaigns, hire social media management teams and involve many people. So, they will have more votes because they will have larger budget. That way it is a better reflection of the real world. Similar to real world, big guy with big budget wins everything. Small guy...
  Anyways back to the topic, as long as rankings are based on popularity contest (which seems to remain that way), votes will be there, buying votes will be there and SEO will be there. It only changes in form and hopefully gets smarter.
  
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akazzz 12 years ago

I thought this thread was way back during the panda update.
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- Dentist 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by akazzz
  
  I thought this thread was way back during the panda update.
  
  Lol! There will be similar threads with every major algorithm change. This is an understandable and real concern though
  
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