Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) dead?

[Juan-Pierre]

There are some that say SEO is busy dying out and it started to concern me as online marketing is very dependant on it. This one expert explains why this notion is going around, but says that in fact it is not dying out. Google's focus have shifted to consider primarily user intent than keywords. He says in this article that Google's latest algorithm updates makes it a little more difficult to get high organic rankings. That to try to rank #1 on Google is almost a waste of time in that that the rankings have become very user specific. This means that I can search for something on my computer and get results, whereas someone next door can search for something and get almost totally different results. Not even the #1 ranking spot in Google will be the same.

I have checked this out and I was stunned...it is true! Also, have you noticed how Google have shifted the organic results below the fold? The paid ads are now taking up the space above the fold in their results pages. It seems that they are trying to get their ad revenue up at the expense of organic rankings.

Is there hope for online marketing? I believe the answer to that is yes. Only, the game is changing and it would seem that only those that have the ability to change and adapt will come out on top.

Does anyone agree with me here? What is your view of this?

[ravva]

I think SEO will never die. But It will be more complicated. Nowadays google search engine shows various ads on search pages. Still analysing the website optimization after the google recent algorithm updates.

[JP Havenga]

Ravva, I agree that SEO will always be around. The trick here is not to try and beat or outsmart Google's algorithm updates in order to get high rankings in SERP's but be able to adapt to the latest trends and best practices. This I believe is the key which will separate the boys from the men, so to speak. And the latest trends in digital marketing tends to force online marketers to think more like entrepreneurs than just mere marketers. This is a good thing.

SEO is definitely not dead or dying out as some tend to believe....it depends on your perspective!

[Dave Morrison]

The SEO, like other spheres, keeps up with the times, it changes and does not die out. There are so many SEOs of specialists that this phrase scares many and they either leave or do not go there at all. therefore, there is less competition. it's good

[JP Havenga]

As long as algorithms exists in search engines, SEO is here to stay. It will remain a vital part to let your online estate stand out head and shoulders above others. I usually give two points of advice to others:

1. Stick to the rules and the latest trends. Don't be arrogant and think that you can outsmart the giants like Google.

2. On-page SEO; off-page SEO and technical SEO is a process. In this process its about progress, not perfection.

These two points for me have helped me to be razor sharp in my approach to SEO.

[thepepy]

SEO will always be around, many people implementing black hat SEO or grey hat SEO are the ones who should be concerned as Google AI systems are getting smarter day by day. Implementing white hat SEO and providing valuable and insightful information will always get you noticed on Google and rewarded.

Google ads are taking up top positions on search engines, however, there is plenty of organic traffic out there for everyone, remember, there are many people in the world who trust organic rankings more than paid rankings.

[alexandrapllbball]

The SEO, like other spheres, keeps up with the times, it changes and does not die out. There are so many SEOs of specialists that this phrase scares many and they either leave or do not go there at all. therefore, there is less competition. it's good

Start with social media. You can try to make linkbuilding on Pinterest and Reddit, for example. After that make more external links on forums with high domain authority (DA). You can buy links or you can try making crowd marketing. I prefer to outsource it. Last time I ordered links 1 from Crowdo company, and they’ve made a lot of high quality links. I don’t know how they do that. I tried to do it on my own, but I’ve failed. For some reason they did ban me as a spammer or something like that.

[New Perspective studio]

Yeah, banner blindness is real. but google also makes active moves to make ads look like organic results. They took away the blatant greed ads image and now it's a little less conspicuous black and white one they also mix up where they show in terms of the page. What I see happening now is actually spamming of AdWords where a company selling service will create a few different websites and target very specific locations with 3 - 4 ads. Id they ZACR information is correct. I don't know if Google will move against this because it's more spend for them but it's also going to damage google ads rep even more.

Having had some time between the start of this post and my getting back here there definitely an impact on organic SEO from both Adwords and social media, its not as big as I thought it would be though which is a little comforting.

[New Perspective studio]

And the latest trends in digital marketing tends to force online marketers to think more like entrepreneurs than just mere marketers. This is a good thing.

There are so many SEOs of specialists that this phrase scares many and they either leave or do not go there at all. therefore, there is less competition. it's good

Start with social media.

remember, there are many people in the world who trust organic rankings more than paid rankings.

Just read through this thread again and everybody has really brought, some nice points into the convo thank you, quoted above. ps for the SM one I quoted it because I've seen a strong correlation between SM activity and SERP ranking.

[Digmarkhub]

Search engine optimization will never die.When dealing with search engine optimization one needs to understand the following things. Why does google and other search engines have the process or a set of rules they use in order for them to rank websites.

Why does SEO exist
Search optimization exists because its a way for the search engines to remain relevant to search queries. Imagine searching on google for a bible then you get results for guns it wont make sense. This is why its necessary to put some mechanism to make sure that the engine brings up relevant results failure to do so results in people using another search engine.

SEO VS AD(s)

People think that SEO is being replaced by ads but i have done ads for some time and discovered that ads from non optimized websites tend to have lower quality score and appear below well optimized ads hence SEO also compliments ads.SEO is the only way google understands what you website is all about.