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Goodbye SEO, Hello Engagement

By: Janet Kalandranis

There’s big news — SEO will soon be a fleeting memory. Those brands that are just catching on, just starting to invest, might want to put the brakes on that strategy. Or even better, shift their focus to newer ideas that just might be longer lasting. And even crazier is that most of this is controlled by another brand: a powerhouse known as Google. Don’t worry, though; Google’s theory is a good one and hopefully will help successful brands be successful and stay that way.

Brands that are using SEO are privy to buzzwords like "internal and external SEO," “white hat,” and “black hat.” Think of white as good and black as those that game the system in order to score higher and seem like the “better” brand. Luckily Google is in support of all successful and honest brands and is really looking to give the customer the information they need. And what does a customer want? Relevant, real content that answers their search inquiry. It’s not about what brand site has the most links, but about what brand can fulfill the need of the customer. Seems like a logical request.

And since Google is that big, and does have that much impact, it made a change. The new “Penguin release” puts the focus back on what customers want and pushes relevant digital content from engaging brands to customers. Brands need to shift the focus from posting content all over the Web to creating engaging content that people are talking about on the Web. The more FB shares, Twitter followers, and opt-in social audiences now equal a higher place on the page for a Google search. Brands need to go back to talking about “buzz,” but a more modern buzz; one that is tweeted, shared, liked, and clicked.