Rand Fishkin, Wizard of Moz | @randfish | rand@moz.com

The SEO Revolution

Will Not Be Televised

Be Kindly Advised:This presentation features an

above-average quantity of Rand’s

personal opinion & perception

This Presentation Is Online Here:

bit.ly/seorevolution2014

Major Shifts in Search(of which most folks are aware)

5

1) Far More

Diversity of

Result Types

Only 15% of SERPs are “10 Blue Links”

Local Results

Above Organic +

Map

Local Carousel

+ Map

Sitelinks +

Knowledge Graph

+ News

AdWords Top +

Sitelinks +

Knowledge Graph

+ Recent Google+

Posts + Also

Search For

Recipe images via

Schema markup + mini-

sitelinks + video snippets

+ ratings, calories, &

reviews rich snippets

Mini-sitelinks +

images box +

knowledge graph

+ video snippets

Ignorance via

Google Suggest

(also embedded Q+A

links)

2) Cannibalization of

Traffic-Referring

Queries by Google

Themselves

If I were the NCAA, I don’t

think I could stomach

paying Google to appear in

these results.

This is even worse.

And it’s not just

happening for popular

queries.

It’s even happening

to your friends

3) Sacrificing Transparency Under the Guise of Privacy

Via Not Provided Count

G+ = Author Photos & Knowledge Graph Posts

1 2

G+ Gives You Follower Counts, a Follow Button, More Posts

from Your Account, & Can Show Up in SERPS

3 54 6 7

If You’re In Someone’s Circles, All You Have to Do is

Mention Their Search Phrase to be on Page 1

8

Even for Incredibly Competitive Queries

8

5) The Long-Awaited Dominance of & Bias

Toward Brands in Search Has Arrived

Via Mozcast

27% Growth in 24 Months

Brand Gets You Rankings, & It Gets You Out of Trouble.

Via Techcrunch

Subtle Changes to Search(that not everyone might know)

4

1) Content Growth Exceeding Query Growth

Search stats via Comscore and AJ Kohn on G+;

2013 Actually Had 11 Months of YoY Growth

Search stats via Comscore and AJ Kohn on G+;

Content May Go the Way of Advertising

Ad cycle & content graphic via Rand’s Blog

Standing Out May Become Much, Much Harder

Ad cycle & content graphic via Rand’s Blog

2) On-Page’s Impact

Growing After Years

Of Shrinking

Instead of carefully keyword-matched

content from sites like eHow &

Journeymart, Hummingbird has helped

Google “intent-match” and return more

valuable (though less classically “SEO’d”)

pages

3) A New Philosophy/PR Approach to Spam

1997-2011: Spam is our problem

2012-2014: Spam is your problem

4) Introduction of Machine-Learning to Search Quality Algorithms

Quora thread with Edmond Lau’s response here

A Brief Look at Machine Learning

A Brief Look at Machine Learning

Search quality filters

Sites G don’t like

Any & every signal

New Algo

Signals that correlate w/

bad sites

Ways Our Industry is

Taking These Changes

3

Anger, Distrust, Resentment, & Retaliation

Young fools. Only now do you see the folly of retweeting “sick burns” on Matt Cutts as your

primary mode of defense.

Modification of Strategic Approaches

Many of Dr. Pete’s weekends were burned to bring us this

information.

Reject and (or) Ignore

Hey, if I want to buy some links,

you’ll shut up and sell me some $

%&# links.

Landscape Upheavals for

SEOs Themselves

2

The Evolution of Technical SEO

What’s insane is that this same pattern holds true for every facet of SEO, not

just the technical side.

Whoa.

LinkedIn Members w/ “SEO” in

their Job Title

LinkedIn Members w/ “SEO” in their

Job Description

Via LinkedIn and Moz’s 2013 Industry Survey

1997-2010: “I’m an SEO”

Via LinkedIn and Moz’s 2013 Industry Survey

2011-Present: “SEO is a part of my job.”

Quiet Revolution

1

New Spam Tactics

+

Brand Biasing

+

Broader Algorithms

=

Decline of Classic SEO

(aka keywords & links)

Search Growth Leveling Off

+

Google Taking Many Queries

for Themselves

+

Increasing Competition

=

A Need to Find New / More

Creative Opportunities

Increasing Complexity

+

Perception of Accessibility

=

Continued Lack of Respect,

Influence, and Resources

3 of My Big Takeaways

We Need to Create Better Expectations(or our teams/clients will continue to demand the impossible)

#1

We Must Educate Clients, Managers, and

Teams About What Modern SEO Entails

About the New Timeframes for SEO Success

Via Case Study: How Long It Takes to See Organic Results

AKA “The SEO Slog”

Via Surviving the SEO Slog

And about the Reality of SEO’s New Risks

Penalty?

Cannibalization?

Drop in Demand?

Technical Issue?

Competition?

New SERP Types?

It’s Not Just About What’s Expected of SEOs, But

What We Expect from Our Teams & Clients

If SEOs are expected to have broad marketing

knowledge, other teams need to have SEO knowledge, too.

Early Adopters of New Channels or

Tactics Will Earn Outsize Returns(more than ever, it’s paying off to be on the bleeding edge)

#2

TripAdvisor Got a Pass b/c There Was No Panda

Tripadvisor in 2011 featuring

virtually no unique content

Many Got a Pass b/c There Was No Penguin

Don’t worry… I’m not going to tell on

you

Infographic Peddlers?

Guest Blog Abusers?

How Geraldine replies to guest post requests.

Getty Images Will Get a Pass Because

They’re a Brand and They’re Early

Via Rae Hoffman’s SMX “Meet the Search Engines” Takeaways

Earning an Engaged Following on Google+

Today May Be Hard

But So Was Earning a Following on Facebook

Instagram? Pinterest? Secret?

Those Who Aren’t Building Brands Will

Struggle Mightily in the Years Ahead(The “find & abuse exploits” era of SEO is ending. The only logical strategy today is

to be so good that Google looks bad taking you out)

#3

Link Building ≠ Brand Building

Keyword Targeting ≠ Brand Building

Short-Term Rankings ≠ Brand Building

Official airport website

Major brand

Major brand

Major brand

Major brand

You’re Probably Sick of Hearing About Content

Marketing

You’re Probably Sick of Hearing About

Social Media Marketing

You’re Probably Sick of Hearing About

Earning Press

You’re Probably Sick of Hearing About

“Going Viral”

Guess What?

Content Marketing

Social Media Marketing

Earning Press

Going “Viral”

= Brand Building

Google made SEOs into brand builders

by making the algorithm love brands.

Welcome to the Revolution

Rand Fishkin, Wizard of Moz | @randfish | rand@moz.com

bit.ly/seorevolution2014