Is SEO Dead?
© 2013 by Kristine M. Smith
Although search engine optimization is no longer the driving force it was before Hummingbird flew in, it is far from “dead, Jim.” Here’s why.
In bygone days, SEO was the Big Kahuna if you wanted to make sure web traffic would find its way to you. As a result, SEO companies sprang up like weeds, promising to plant your website URL into the well-prepared soil on the first page of search engines where it would be seen promptly by the people who were looking for your product, service or cause.
The problem then became the proliferation of “black hat” companies and the techniques they used to put you up high on the first page. You all remember the days before Panda and Penguin when you’d search on a key term or phrase: the frustrating, off-the-mark list that appeared at the top of page one in search engines was about as useful (pardon the expression) as “tits on a boar”. Black hat SEO companies were abusing the system and web searchers weren’t any happier about it than were the search engine companies whose mandate it is to become and remain the best provider in existence when it comes to serving up what people are actually looking for—as opposed to spam, misdirection, and other fiendish flourishes.
With Panda and Penguin, things got better: web searches resulted in more “hits” than “misses”. But there was still a major problem: copywriters—the men and women charged with turning passive readers into passionate responders—remained in strait-jackets, doing our level best to write reader-friendly copy around often-obstinate, grammatically-ungainly key words and phrases that had to be repeated exactly as written within each piece. Writing this way was a huge challenge, not to mention a major pain in the arse.
Hummingbird to the Rescue!
Today, thanks to Hummingbird, copywriters have been freed from our straitjackets to write the smokin’est copy we can without having to dislocate the musical aspects that are part and parcel of our craft in order to fit (for example) “auto repair Seattle” or “copywriter copywriting” into copy enough times to be sure the keywords are spotted, analyzed and properly ranked by search engines.
So now, instead of trying to find several reader-friendly ways to slip “auto repair Seattle” into online sales copy, Hummingbird gives us the latitude to get more creative, to say, “Hey, Seattle! When your jaunty jalopy starts feeling more like a pogo stick or a jackhammer than the smooth operator you bought off the showroom floor, bring it by for a look-see. We’ll take a look and give you a sensible price to repair your auto.” What a relief!
No, search engine optimization isn’t dead. Keywords are the chariots that carry seekers through the chaos so they arrive quickly to destinations that suit them. Keywords are the road that carries seekers up the hill to the castle. With Hummingbird, SEO has merely been transformed. Most copywriters are delighted—and we believe most of our clients will be, too.
Because when we have the latitude to massage the words we use into compelling, convincing orchestrations, magic happens: people who are searching for what you offer linger longer when they land on wonderfully-written websites. Within minutes they segue from curious browsers into confirmed buyers, from Looky Lous into loyalists. They bookmark and share the online treasures they find. They Facebook and tweet them.
Every actor knows this line: “If it ain’t on the page, it ain’t on the stage.” So does every savvy website owner.
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KrisM. Smith is a professional freelance copywriter and the author of seven books. To discover the kinds of projects she tackles and the ones she leaves to other professional writers, please email her at kris@wordwhisperer.net.
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