HubShout | Online Marketing Solutions

A common debate in the industry is whether SEO is dying. We always say it is not, but it IS evolving (much like the internet and search engines). And that's important. SEO is and has changed. And it needs to be part of a solid well-rounded diversified online marketing strategy that is grounded in good research. It can't be viewed as a standalone. It's a piece of the overall marketing puzzle.

A Search Engine Watch article today underscores that evolution: "The SEO landscape has changed, and the current shift can be defined by a single concept: integration."
The New SEO: Search Marketing Integration

"Imagine a search engine that incorporates the data from a platform like LinkedIn with the accuracy and scope of Google!" I think this was well said.

It's definitely evolving, but I don't think it's dying yet!

The idea of integration is critical. Its hard to prove a strong ROI if you don't take into the account how one tactic actually leads to multiple benefits. Take a guest blog post as an example. If you only thought about the value of the link you earned, you'd quickly abandon it.

But if you add in the value of the audience that reads the post, the number of people that then follow you on social media directly, the downstream benefits of the new followers social media contacts, the value of the brand impression on the guest blog site, the marketing value of saying that you write for "xyz publication" in your bio and more... it starts to look like a very good deal.