Isn’t SEO dead?

Isn’t SEO dead?

Wait a minute. I read the Internet. The Internet says "SEO is dead!"

Yes, I've heard it too but, like Samuel Clements, the rumours of SEO's death have been greatly exaggerated. What is dead is SEO as we once knew it. The days of looking for technical "tricks" to work around the search engines algorithms are over and the days of any sort of automated content generation, magical link building, or SEO-by-posting-comments-on-other-people’s-blogs are seriously numbered (probably to minus 1 day and falling). Yes, I've heard it too but, like Samuel Clements, the rumours of SEO's death have been greatly exaggerated. What is dead is SEO as we once knew it. The days of looking for technical "tricks" to work around the search engines algorithms are over and the days of any sort of automated content generation, magical link building, or SEO-by-posting-comments-on-other-people’s-blogs are seriously numbered (probably to minus 1 day and falling).

There's a simple reason for this, and it's Google's own "Web Spam" team.

Google has invested a huge amount of time and money in building a team dedicated not only to improving its index, but also in protecting it. They are on a crusade to ensure that their search engine remains the first choice for any Internet user and their primary enemy is anyone who is trying to position a site in a better position than the one it "deserves" according to their algorithm. If you're an SEO provider, sometimes that means you're Google's enemy, whether you meant to be or not. But, let's face it, if your brand has been accepted into the Oxford English Dictionary as the verb for searching the Internet, you'd want to make sure you protected your investment too, wouldn't you?

Under the auspices of the web spam team, Google  has released multiple significant updates to its index including the famously codenamed Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird, and more. The ramifications of some of these are still being felt by businesses today. Google is also still updating, and adding more update projects to its schedule. Tracking Google updates has become a daily task for webmasters and SEO consultants, with whole web communities dedicated to analyzing and discussing what Google may, or may not, be doing. Under the auspices of the web spam team, Google  has released multiple significant updates to its index including the famously codenamed Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird, and more. The ramifications of some of these are still being felt by businesses today. Google is also still updating, and adding more update projects to its schedule. Tracking Google updates has become a daily task for webmasters and SEO consultants, with whole web communities dedicated to analyzing and discussing what Google may, or may not, be doing.

It's easy to see why people would be proclaiming that SEO is "dead".

Obviously, I don't agree, or I wouldn't be writing a book about SEO today. Throughout this book though, I've been careful to stay away from any tool, tip, or technique that I believe may fall foul of a Google update any time in the future. Am I psychic? No, sadly not, but I do have a few very simple rules that I believe can guide you in understanding which tactics are likely to be viewed as "spam" by Google in the future.