by Albert Nuel Navarrete
When I visited Moz.com the other day, I chanced upon this post by marketing scientist Dr. Pete named SEO Tactics Die, But SEO Never Will, and I just found it profoundly amusing how the blog came to me at such a perfect time. You see, I recently made a post about the start of my adventure in SEO. There I expressed my belief that the landscape of SEO will change continuously as time passes by, as people continue to yearn for a better way to find information and consume content. After reading Dr. Pete's post, I couldn't help but feel a greater level of excitement to learn more about internet marketing through SEO, knowing that people who have far more experience in the industry hold the same belief as I do in terms of the growth and expansion of our nascent practice. I believe that SEO is still a relatively young landscape, yet it is undoubtedly fertile and brimming with potential. It can have a significant effect on how people find information, and information at this day and age has grown to be a supremely important aspect of our daily lives.
The growing importance of information
People naturally gravitate towards objects that are useful to the preservation and promotion of better living. That is why man opted to proliferate the the use of fire; that is why the wheel is considered man's most important invention; that is why we humans feel an inherent need to acquire that which brings us the most satisfaction. First, it was the fire; next, it was the wheel; and after the information revolution, humans have sought and continue to seek something that transcends pure and simple necessity: information - specifically, accurate and consumable information. People nowadays frequently rely on timely and reliable information to go about their normal, day-to-day routines. When we want to enjoy a memorable dining experience in London, we go online and search for 'best restaurants in London'; when we want to eat the most delicious burgers Philadelphia has to offer, we search for 'best burgers Philadelphia.' Information has become so deeply integrated in our daily lives that making it readily available at the click of a button has grown vastly in importance over the years.
The role of SEO
The optimization of the search experience plays a central role in making information available to people when they need it, where they need it. Mobile technology is compacting high-powered computing into designs that can easily fit in a shirt pocket; 4G access is becoming increasingly available, providing mobile ultra-broadband internet access to people wherever they are; online information and search are becoming inevitably entwined with people's daily lives. It is the job and purpose of the search engine optimizer to make the right information known to the people that need it. The effect of SEO is not just confined within the realm of marketing. It also has a cumulative effect on how people will be able to find the information they need on the internet. That is exactly why I think the world of search is an ever-changing landscape. There will always be a need to improve the search experience, to make search results more accurate, to make the right information, product, or service available to the right target market. As Dr. Pete says in his entry, there is no telling how long Google will last as the premier tool for search, but we can be fairly certain about one thing: that engines powering search will continue to develop and exist far into the future, just because of how important information has become to our lives. As long as we live in a world where information plays an important role in society, people will continue to make use of some form of search engine to locate the right information. As such, people who can optimize information and make it available to people when they need it will continue to play a role in society. Dr. Pete's concept of a space egg is quite fascinating, and if anything, it allows us a peek into what search might be in the future. Optimization tactics, search engines, and landscape dynamics might change, but search will continue to exist - at least, that's what I believe.
“In a world of rapid change, we each need to garner as much useful information as possible, sort through it in a way that meets our unique circumstances, calibrate it with what we already know, and re-circulate it with others who share our goals.”
― Marcia Conner, The New Social Learning: A Guide to Transforming Organizations Through Social Media
