SEO Marketing Becoming Part of Traditional Marketing

Posted on January 10, 2007

Some recent comments by SEO expert Gord Hotchkiss have led WebProNews' Jason L. Miller to believe that SEO (Search Engine Marketing) is changing.

To summarize, traditional SEO, which follows a set of principles to push a website to the top spots of natural search results, is nearly an Internet relic. Search engines, diligently tweaking their results for the end-user based on location, search history, and personal preferences, will create an entirely new, largely unpredictable search environment.
That means new tools, new research, new insights in how to maximize exposure, all to achieve presence in various personal search results. In the interim, if the goal of omnipresence (which is the present goal) is not achievable through current standards and practices, then organic search results will become more important than ever.
A prediction here, then, is appropriate. While focus on keywords has been the law of the searchland, SEO professionals will have to more diligently and acutely focus on the end user - every unique end user - mulling scenarios, personalities, and motivations, which makes SEO more akin to traditional marketing, where a firm grasp of psychological concepts is as necessary as the technical acuity of keyword targeting.

Miller is probably right. SEO marketers will probably find themselves acting more and more like regular marketers in order to keep clients and get new ones. Just knowing how to write search-friendly headlines and format search-friendly URLs may not be enough to boost traffic in 2007. Traditional SEO won't go away but issues like branding, traditional marketing and advertising will become more important issues for search engine marketers.