In a recent article from SEOarticle, Manoj Jasra discusses what will and will not be important in the SEM environment in the up coming future. I would have to agree with the elements that Manjo has pointed out with some discrepancies.
The SEM industry is still in its adolescent stages and constantly evolving. Once you think you have it down pat it quickly shifts gears. I wanted to focus this blog on the elements that he pointed out as being a less determining factor in the future.
The five elements that Manjo said would no longer be a key factor:
Meta Tags: Meta Tags, especially the keywords version, are already losing their importance. Meta Description is still often used to distinguish site pages but I believe both types of Meta Tags will continually lose their SEO value.
We’ve all seen the abuse of these tags over the years. You could easily see this coming. The Keyword tags have been useless for the last few years. However, I have notice some strange results in Yahoo. For instance I had a term ranking in the top 10 and the only place I could find it was in the Meta Keyword Tag.
Page Size: The majority of Internet users are already using high speed connections and this number will continually increase, therefore to some extent page size won’t matter.
I think it will always have it limitations. Remember they still have to collect and compile all this information.
JavaScript Code: Very often SEOs will recommend externalizing JavaScript or removing it from a site’s main navigation, however with search spiders continually getting smarter I feel spiders will eventually be able to comprehend various types of complex JavaScript code.
I’ve seen this has becoming less and less important already. Wouldn’t you agree?
Location of Content: The higher up the content (within the page code) the better search engines and their spiders will like your site, correct? Maybe, but as I mentioned before spiders will get smarter and as long as you have good content, location won’t matter anymore.
I still think this will be a determining factor. Let’s look at the Title tag; you’re telling the Engines what your page is about. we all know headers are key. Your H1 tags are going to rest near the top of the page already. And what do they say in business: LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION. I do agree with spider becoming smarter to understand the focus of the page current tactics will have to change over time.
Search Engine Ranking: With the introduction of personalized search are the days of ranking software numbered?….It’s very possible. I have always felt that this metric is useless without traffic and conversion numbers attached to it.
I would have to agree with Manoj Jasra here. Personalized Search is going to change the way we focus when optimizing our websites.
Over all I would have to agree with his “will not” for future factors. As the internet transition to web 2.0, Social Media is going to play a big part in the next couple of years for the SEM industry. Your site will need to interact with it’s user or you will already be behind the 8-ball!
