Facebook and Bing jointly announced an agreement that would allow Microsoft’s search engine to return results based on the Facebook “Likes” of the searcher’s friends. Additionally, Google recently began including Twitter updates in search results. It’s a natural innovation that fits into the business models of both companies and takes the trend of individualized search results to the next logical level: results tailored to the searcher’s existing social footprint.
SEO insiders have wondered whether this new search innovation would affect placement strategies, and the simple answer is yes. Yes, there will be changes to the way SEO professionals run their clients’ campaigns. Yes, this will affect the industry as a whole. And yes, we believe SEO professionals will have to adapt to meet ever-evolving needs.
Changing the Method, Not the Mission
To think that this development is rocking the SEO world however is to misunderstand the realities of the industry. In roughly 15 years of existence, SEO has grown from being a small wildcat operation run by webmasters and content services to being one of the most dynamic, fast-growing sectors of the tech market. The reason for this rapid growth is because — not in spite –- of the constantly evolving nature of search engines.
While the Bing-Facebook agreement and the recent updates to Google will change elements of how we do our business, the fundamentals will remain the same. As much as innovation shapes the day-to-day processes of optimization, the core foundations of the industry remain unchanged. The goal still is placing clients at the top of results pages, whether this is through organic search, paid search or social media.
Social media is nothing new in the world of online marketing. Facebook alone has 500 million users and Twitter feeds are already making their way into search results. Before long, results may integrate other social networking sites that don’t even exist yet. What the Bing-Facebook agreement is indicative of is the many changes that have taken SEO from a small-time game to a major, innovative industry. SEO is not about counter-punching, and it’s not about simply reacting to the changing search-engine landscape. Instead, it is about growing and evolving alongside search engines.