SEO is evolving, not dead.
That was an underlying theme from my conversation with Tom Ciampa. While his job depends on it living, I agree that SEO will never be dead; it will only look different than it looks now.
I want to share five insights I gained from chatting with Tom:
My first question to Tom and all the guests is: What is marketing? What job should marketing get done?
I loved Tom's answer: "I kind of see it as those two forms: there's the brand side where you're just trying to get your name out there and show people who you are and then there's the the other side where it's more sales focused."
He's touching on the classic dichotomy of brand vs performance marketing. You can't have marketing success without both. Sure, you could drive significant results in the short term, going all in on performance (I.e., paid ads). But without a brand, you will be reliant on paid channels.
And if money gets tight, that's a challenge.
That's why, most times, you need to balance both. It will never be 50/50, but you need both.
This is why it's vital to think critically about your ratio and whether it fits your business's objectives. Tom talks about asking clients what "season" they are and whether they need growth/leads or can balance paid with more brand efforts.
Every company will have a different ratio. Depending on your business cycle, You may have multiple ratios throughout the year.
I can't tell you how many clickbait titles I've seen that claim SEO is dead.
While I align with much of their thinking that the old way of SEO is dying, it's not leaving, only changing. We will always need to search for answers, perspectives, or businesses to work with. The way we do it will likely change drastically.
That's the struggle: Accepting that the old way no longer works and being open to the new way.
What was the old way?
We are at an inflection point. Some will continue down the old path, while others will pivot to new paths.