To get some idea about the size of the internet these days, I keyed in a couple of nonsensical terms to see what Google would come up with.
Fiddlesticks returned 469,000 entries, thingamajigs a paltry 76,000.
Wiki Answers asserts that as of 2006, there were more than 100 million plus websites in existence. Most experts agree that this a completely fluid figure which changes, literally, by the second. Some argue that the internet can now be measured in the billions while others claim it’s not much more than a couple of hundred million. However much it may have grown, it’s pretty clear that the web is constantly expanding and there’s no reason to believe that the growth is about to slow down any time soon.
My direction here has to do with SEO, a subject I am re-reading up on as I feel the need to at least try to stay abreast of it on behalf of website clients. I confess, I’m beginning to wonder if there’s any point to optimizing a website at all anymore, unless you are a truly large and well-known brand.
It boggles the mind to think how many websites you’re competing with, if you’re a car dealer, an insurance provider or a bistro for that matter.
The point is, how many other websites are you trying to cleverly outmaneuver to put yourself in the top ten organics list, never mind above the fold!
Where is the ROI in labouring to come in 56th, even though that might be the virtual top of a column stacked 1.2 million web sites high. It’s still not quite good enough to drive those stellar revenues you’re counting on.
If we’re going to forget about making it to the top 10 organics then what’s left? AdWords? Are they truly any better and are they not trending in the same direction as organics? Too few Keywords, far too many websites? Albeit, generating a ton of boodle for Google?
I mean, do the click-through rates warrant the expenditure? How much will you be bidding for that numero uno key word by next year if the competition has doubled or tripled?
Maybe we should be paying a bit more attention to social media?
Maybe we ought to cast a backward glance at traditional media and see if it couldn’t be re-harnessed in some, previously unthought of way?
Maybe what we need is a brand new model for searching the net?
I don’t pretend to have any answers here.
If you do, I’d really love to hear your thoughts, feelings or speculations on where this is all going.
Please leave your comments.
Xross that Line
Cheers Steven.
Image Credits: Hardin : http://www.CartoonStock.com
Note that copy changes are mine.
Xross the line. 
I think SEO is still relevant. Take the easy and cheap route first and if that doesn’t get you where you want to be, consider spending some money – within reason. Ignoring it completely is a mistake.
SEO is not the end all of course and there are many other ways that someone can find and connect with an audience. That’s why all this Web 2.0 stuff is getting all the attention these days. The more of a presence you have in all possible venues, the more likely it is that people will find your site.
Cheers
Thanks for dropping by Mister Reiner..If nothing else is certain, we can be sure that the internet is just getting underway, and wherever and however it ventures forward…little if anything will be predicatable.
Is SEO history? Probably not… Is it going to change? definately… How? Dunno… but neither does anyone else apparently.
I think this is a multi-pronged fork. It depends I suppose on the desired outcome of your web-presence. Many people direct their traffic to the site, because it’s more info and price-based and don’t need organic search results.
I think it is still relevant, BUT, I agree, it’s gonna take more than the usual to get to the top of the pile. I think SEO needs to be geared to social media (lots of my traffic from facebook, twitter and newsletters) more. Google is more friendly towards social media, and your name might get picked up far higher than your page.
My SEO advice? Get yourself on as many pages and directories – let them do the hard-core SEO work, and just make sure your keywords are relevent and up to date. Beyond that it’s gonna take mega-bucks to beat big brands on organic results.
Also – maybe try Bing?
Hi Danie, Amazing of all the people who read this blog..and never seem to answer… you pop up in Cape Town a few hours down the road…thanks for coming on board and thanks for answering . Yup I think Seo isn’t so much dead as just stalled…sooner or later it will be essential for search engines to rethink how they will manage effictive search in the face of continued exponential growth.
I’ve heard rumours that Google is planning to launch a ranking system or some such algorythm that takes into consideration social networking …but havent read anything concrete as yet.
Cheers Steven
You touched on one point and that was social media. If your trying to drive traffic to your site, this is one of the best ways. We have all heard by now that Facebook genereated more traffic than Google in April of this year, so maybe this is the way to go if your looking for a new direction for Internet marketing ideas.