The Future of SEO is More Than You Think

Yesterday, I cut December 2008 out of my wall calendar and threw the rest of it in the trash.  All that is left of 2008 is about three or four weeks.  It’s time to look at 2009 instead.

So what is the future of SEO?

If you are trying to make money online, you need to realize that SEO is part of a bigger picture.  Let’s break down the various ways you can market your website online…

POSITION – Search Engines bring traffic from people that are looking for what you offer.  Reach them via PPC, SEO, Local search, and Shopping Search.

PEOPLE – Social Media Marketing brings traffic by referral.  Work with Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Digg, LinkedIn, etc.

PARTNERSHIPS – Links from other websites generally brings traffic that is looking at something else.  You are interrupting them.  Try press releases, directories, articles, eBay, Craigslist, YouTube, etc.

PERMISSION – Work the visitors that are willing to hear from you.  Use e-mail newsletters, auto-responders, RSS feeds, etc.

IMPROVEMENT – Making your website better brings greater results when people do come.  Improve your design, navigation, and usability.  Use analytics, new media, A/B Testing, and anything else that can make your site better.

This is how we start all our classes.  Learn SEO.  Do it right.  But it is 2009.  We’re in a recession.  You need to do as much of the above as it practical.

SEO is only a fraction of the first point.  It is not everything.

As 2009 progresses, search engines want to give the best results possible.  That’s a given.  Make your site the best it can be and serve your customers.  Build new things for them.  Improve what you got.

The search engines will reward you if you do.

Popularity: 18% [?]