I was recently reading a blog on ReadWriteWeb that highlights Matt Cutts’ video that discusses the importance of good content over SEO. He goes on to say that they try to make it so that “sites don’t have to do SEO” and that there’s “no bonus for having good SEO.”
I certainly believe that content now more than ever is the primary driver of decent site ranking, but I also fundamentally believe that site search engine optimization – at least the implementation of SEO best practices – is a key variable as well.
We see a shift in SEO, where a well-optimized site, combined with fresh, dynamic content that is shared among social networks will make up the core SEO offering. We see link building as it exists today shifting to more relevant inbound links that are created by social network members, followers, circles, fans, etc.
Does this spell the end of SEO as many of the blog comments suggest? No. More like a shift or evolution, and frankly what most marketing tactics endure each and every day. The internet and email didn’t kill direct mail; it just made it stronger. Websites didn’t kill collateral; it just made it more focused. Online media didn’t kill television advertising; it just made it more integrated. Likewise, content marketing isn’t going to kill SEO, it’s just going to make it that more important.
So we think the future of improved online visibility via the search engines – or at least Google – is a well-optimized site (keywords used in Meta titles and descriptions, alt image tags, anchor text, body copy, H1 and H2 tags), a strong stream of well-written and optimized content, and established social media networks to share and distribute that content.