We’re just about to start an SEO project with a new client, and around ten days ago I received the following email.
I’ve been working with SEO for more than 16 years, and every year come across hundreds of such predictions. I even wrote a blog post on the subject (SEO is dead. Long live SEO.) more than three years ago. It’s interesting to note that a search on Google for SEO is dead produced five million results in 2010. Today there are over 78 million.
Anyway, back to Danny’s email. I should point out that Danny is a very astute businessman. Here’s the email that I sent in reply:
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Hi Danny,
Okay a few points. It’s 8:30 in the evening so I’ll try to keep this brief.
– People have been declaring SEO dead for more years than I can remember. Yet with each passing year it’s more important than ever before.
– The author is right in principle (I’m being generous here), but he’s talking about so-called black hat SEO, aka crappy SEO. Google are stamping down hard on dubious SEO techniques, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
– Good SEO (the type I employ) is about helping and guiding Google. Google have always been very supportive of this, which is why they continue to provide SEO resources, send speakers to the better SEO conferences and more.
– Google also offer more tools for SEO than ever before. They have [what amounts to] a spokesperson to help SEOs with their questions, and they post weekly videos outlining some of the issues that SEOs may face. Google aren’t at war with SEO – they’re at war with crappy SEO.
– SEO has become a lot more difficult over the last two years. SEOs now have to join the dots between keywords in Google Webmaster Tools and what’s reported in Google Analytics. We have to understand more technical issues than in the past, use a greater range of tools, and invest the time into keeping up with what’s happening. Five years ago a bright 15 year old could understand and apply the basics of SEO. Today, SEO skills have become something a digital superpower. The barrier to entry is enormous, as it’s a lot harder than it used to be.
I seriously believe that you’re doing the right thing – I wouldn’t sell it otherwise. If, however, you’re not convinced, I completely understand and will happily send your fee straight back to you, with no hard feelings at all. But I think it would be a big mistake.
People are going to be using the search engines to find what they’re looking for for a long time. People like me help companies like you to tap into that. It works. SEO is alive and well.
Over to you!
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Danny’s problem is that he doesn’t know much about SEO (not surprisingly), and so has to make educated decisions based on what he hears and reads.
Listening to the wisdom of the crowds may be useful in some scenarios, but when it comes to SEO, the masses simply don’t have a clue what they’re talking about.
