Sounds suspiciously like what I've been saying for the past year.

Of course, I didn't know or care that Facebook would be involved. It was just obvious to me that all the tricks and tactics of SEO were, ultimately, a bug - a problem in the way search engines worked, which very large teams of very smart people were spending very big budgets trying to fix.

And now we're going to hit the other problem: the things which appeal to the most people are not the things that generate the most revenue. Just like we have the people who have #1 on Google but can't make any money, we're about to start seeing the people who have thousands of "likes" but can't make any money.

Just like the people who get hundreds of Clickbank hops but can't seem to sell anything. Or who have thousands on their list, but can't get them to even open the emails. Or who are autoblogging on a hundred domains, but don't seem to make any ad revenue.

Lots of people understand the mechanics, but not the principles. It's just like kids who build a little ramp out of a board and some bricks, jump their bikes over it for a while, and then speculate that they should make a BIGGER ramp in exactly the same way: get a longer board, and stack more bricks under one end.

Eventually, the board is too long and the bricks are too high; the ramp collapses under the weight of a bike, and somebody gets hurt, and they don't really understand why.

But somehow, it's never their fault, is it?

Sounds interesting and I am going to take a read ... however I do wonder about their motives seeing as the name of the blog is paidcontent.org

Thanks for posting it though

John

When Google started putting more emphasis on who was linking to you rather than what your site said about it's own content, I knew this is where we were heading.

I started developing "authority" sites based on the "Law of Reciprocity" more than SEO.
As a matter of fact, being generous with giving links to other sites and blogs is so Anti-SEO yet it is exactly how you have to build a foundation for an authority site.

You have to be willing to talk about others in your niche as much as yourself if that's what it takes to give your readers what they need to fulfill what they are looking for.

Once the other sites "size you up", they begin to give credit to you too and the natural exchange of linking and referring to each other builds and brands all involved.

This is a truer view of relevancy than a bunch of sites on the front page that know how to relate to bots.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, until Google can recognize lipstick on a pig, very little of their results are "relevant".

Not everybody has been nor will be absorbed by the Facebook amoeba.

Bologna...SMO does not yield traffic even as remotely as targeted as SEO. That being said, search engine credibility has taken a hit, IMO, in the past few years as their algos seem to be getting schooled pretty well. I actually recently did a blog post on how keyword research can damage the quality of your content as it very well can. Sometimes, I write without doing any keyword research. I just write from the heart and sometimes those articles seem to go a little viral.

What's happening is that the social network sites like facebook are turning into pre-filters or jumping off points en route to search. On facebook people are looking for validation on purchase decisions and unbiased anecdotal information. Most still end up at the same place, at a website whether via the search engine or a social network site. But they arrived better armed and prepared and won't fall for over hype products which don't deliver.

There are things search can that social sites can't that offer a batch of closely relevant in correlated sites in rational order. Google searches are not falling.

This won't be the end of search but it may be the end of over hyped sales letters and rubbish products, it will be harder to fool gullible visitors.

With better informed visitors the sites that offer quality products and services will do better, and the ones that don't will do worse. There will be no hiding place.

It's clear that some who have responded so far recognize the shifting tides of web use and that some don't.

Nothing will ever "replace" search. However, I think Matt nailed it... referrals always create better results. That's the race to go viral in a nutshell.

Watching the "Rent Is Too Damn High Party" candidate Jimmy McMillin from the New York governor debate streak across Facebook, and then end up as an action figure within a couple of days is hardly a time sink for the people capitalizing on the product lifecycle born and maturing in days. It's extremely shortsighted to underestimate the economic impact of the emerging trends of the media habits of younger people.

Yes - but it still irks me :-) Todays youth culture is powerful to be sure and it moves so damn fast and with ease.

... and Facebook is a huge time suck.

Certainly not to be ignored.

I didn't read the article because it's long, but SEO is far from dead, trust me.

I don't think facebook will drive much targeted traffic to "buy viagra" sites and things like that so I'd say seo will stick around... atleast for a while

In any given day on this forum you can read that everything and nothing works.

First, funny to see an article that starts by blasting content sites for focusing on SEO instead of content on paidContent when that's been their strategy since the start and helped them get bought by Guardian.

Second...

Seriously, so what's with all the "likes" or RTs for sale.

As for comparing SEO and SMO...here's a novel idea...how about producing GOOD QUALITY CONTENT that is SEO optimized because, let's face it, it will do then be picked up by search engines and receive "Likes," RT, reblogs, etc. and now you have the best of both worlds.

I find this quite interesting.

Considering the most succesful Social Media campaigns are based on search engine traffic.

It's been a while since I posted, but I just had to chip in on this one.

Facebook is not only killing SEO but killing people too...

Baby killed for disrupting mom's Facebook time

Facebook "Kill Lists" Lead To Three Teenage Deaths | The Blog Herald

Man gets prison for Facebook killing - UPI.com

Murder-Suicide Note Posted on Facebook: Could Father, Son Deaths Have Been Stopped? - Crimesider - CBS News

It's the same with anything in life, you have to be adaptable. You can't rely on the SEO we know today existing long term.