Since it’s introduction to the public in 1991, the World Wide Web has evolved from static content to be adaptive and dynamic. Alongside this, user habits have changed, particularly with their use of search engines. As a consequence, search engines have developed into more powerful and human friendly tools.
Revolution or evolution?
Under the influence of user demand and the search engines new rules, SEO had to evolve from a static and technical approach (search engines subscriptions, use of meta tags, etc.) to develop a more dynamic and interactive approach.
This adaptation has led to an intensive and extensive use of global marketing tools (content marketing, online PR, etc.), which have taken the public’s (users) and professionals (search engines, websites) demands into consideration.
Thus, nowadays, the key point around which everything is centred is the content.
As a result, SEO has absorbed all the other emarketing and more general marketing techniques to use them to its advantage. This evolution can be compared to the Human Being species evolution.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
If we consider the World Wide Web as a little world of its own, we can compare it to a living eco-system with its own life rules.
According to Darwin’s evolution theory, only the most responsive species survive. We would assume that new technologies are designed to be responsive. However, this is not always the case.
Remember those huge hit counters at the bottom of the websites? The Instant Messaging (IM), Geocities and MultiMania? All of those services have disappeared because they could not follow web updates and have become obsolete. They have now been replaced by other technologies and tools.
“In nat
ure nothing is created, nothing is lost, everything changes.” – Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier (1743-1794)
SEO is not dead!
In order to survive, SEO adapted its techniques and methods towards its new environment by understanding the new rules and using the available tools in the most appropriate way.
SEO is made by human beings for other human beings. Thus, it is logical that its evolution and adaptation to its new environment has followed the human species model.
In the same way that the human species evolution led them to become the dominant species on the planet. This could be SEOs future on the web.
However, never forget that the aim of evolution is not only surviving, but also easing life (delivering what users want) and increasing life quality (delivering high quality content).
The adaption process for SEOs is always going to be on-going. Due to the constant growth of the internet in our day to day life, search is constantly evolving to become easier to access on the move, technology friendly, more user involved and use predictive search.
The best example of this evolution trend is the Google glasses.
We can imagine a worldwide network evolution integrating the latest bio-technologies (nano-particles, genetics), in which SEO will take its share by tailoring their service to user needs, as it always did.
No doubt SEO will follow the trend and adapt itself once again. Despite its critics, SEO has a glorious past, a high quality present and a bright future!
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