Mark Simon over at MediaPost writes today on the Search Insider “The Search Engines are Killing SEO”.  He states:

“As search engines get smarter, SEO firms have a harder time providing real value.”

He also says:

“The endgame for all of this is a world in which SEO doesn’t matter. The engines won’t need you to tell them how relevant your page actually is, because they’ll understand on their own. For the same reason, they won’t listen if you lie to them about a page’s true value. Search results may never be unmanipulatable, but they’ll be nearly so, to the point that it doesn’t make business sense to try. “

 And last but not least:

“But as I’ve already highlighted, the engines have smartened up to a wide array of spamming tactics.

Yes, search engines algorithms are getting more sophisticated all the time. What I don’t agree with his comment that the “endgame” is that “SEO doesn’t matter”. That couldn’t be further from the truth. No matter what people like Simon, his boss Pasternack, or Jason Calacanis say, there will always be a demand for SEO. Here’s why:

1. Businesses will always compete with each other.

Companies that want to grow their business understand the importance of being on the 1st page of Google, Yahoo and even MSN. Even more important is being in the top 5 (Danny has a great post on his review of the recent study by MSN. )  Guess what? Only 10 web pages can show up in the top 10. Know what else? Only 5 pages can be listed in the top 5! Wow! Startling revelation right? Good thing I kept that calculator from statistics class in college. The best results usually come from being listed near the top and anyone that has optimized sites for a living understands that the sites with the best content don’t always show up at the top. It’s the uneducated like Dave Pasternack and Jason Calacanis (SEO-wise undeducated) who make rediculous comments like they’ve been making of late. But hey, they may be playing the link baiting game right? For example, the Pasternack bio page (even with the Pasternack SEO contest)  is now # 2 on Google because of the influx of links he acquired after his moronic rant. The bottom line is that competition drives business. Businesses hire SEO companies because they want to grow their revenue by appearing higher in the search engines then their competitors. As long as businesses compete with each other, there will always be a demand for SEO.

2.  Search engine algorithms will always need to rely on inbound links.

Yes, algorithms improve regularly but perfect result query sets will never exist.  Simon says in his post, “But as I’ve already highlighted, the engines have smartened up to a wide array of spamming tactics.” I just have to laugh that they think SEO is all about “spamming tactics”.  There will always be some form of search engine spamming tactics, but MOST have become and will become less effective each time the search engines improve their algorithm. Search engines however have to rely on links to help in determining relevent results. There are some sites out there that don’t need SEO work because they get links naturally (Wikipedia for example) but those sites are rare. Building relevant inbound links are part of the process of SEO and are always a factor with sites showing up at the top of the search engine rankings.  Businesses need people like link Moses and Andy Hagans. Now matter how evolved the search engines get, they will always need to rely on inbound links.

So what does this all mean? I think that as search engine algorithms evolve, this will weed out the bad SEO’s, and weak black hats while at the same time making it easier for those SEO’s who are successful at their trade. Sorry all you haters,  SEO is here to stay.

Many business owners know the importance of having a website. What most don’t know however is that just having a website is not enough. If you’re expecting to have a website built for you and then watch your business take off and allow you to retire early, you’re in for a big suprise. The reality is that most business websites on the Internet fail to generate any kind of revenue for their company. Why? Because they lack important elements that are common to most successful websites on the Internet today. These three essential elements are:

1. High Visibility
2. Appealing Design
3. Compelling Content

High Visibility: No website can even have the opportunity to help you grown your sales without website visitors, right? If a consumer does not know your web address, the only ways that they can find you is if they find you is through searches on Google, Yahoo, MSN, ASK, etc.  or on a web directory like Hello San Diego, Superpages, Yahoo Directory, etc. The reality is you need to appear in the top 10 results for targeted keyword phrases. For example, let’s say you are a personal injury attorney here in the San Diego area. You’d want to appear on the 1st page of the search engines when someone types into Google “San Diego personal injury attorney”. High visibility is essential element # 1.
Appealing Design: Too many business owners have a basic looking website that is not graphically appealing and thus does not keep site visitors on the site. In analyzing web stats, you can always tell when site visitors don’t care for the design by looking at the pages per visit statistic. If most visitors are leaving after seeing only one page of your site, most likely your web site’s design is poor, outdated, or not user friendly. Studies show that website visitors make a decision about your site in under 3 seconds (some studies have shown that people an impression is made on a visitor in a split second). Here’s a tip: Don’t let your wife’s cousin’s son do your site desing for you. Cheaper up front yes, but it will cost you revenue in the long run. Have a professional website design company do your site for you. A visually appealing website will help you keep visitors on our site long enough to read through your site’s content, which is element # 3.

Compelling Content: What is it that people first read about your small business when they visit your website? Is it the same canned content that they see on everyone else’s site? Or does it give them reasons why they should be doing business with you?  Does is simply list what you do or does it give your site visitors more information about you and why you do these services better thatn your competitors? The content needs to be good not only for your site visitors but also for the search engine spiders. The content on your website is also one of the factors in how search engines rank websites. A few lines of text on your site is not enough. Have original, unique content on your site. Be a resource for your site visitors and you will be rewarded in the end.