Universal and blended search has had a tremendous impact not only on searchers but also on SEOs. In this video, Amanda Watlington explains how universal/blended search has pushed SEO into a new position. With all the different forms of content that universal/blended search returns, SEOs have to look beyond the site.
Back in the early days of SEO in 1995, Amanda says that SEOs were classified as soloists. They worked closely with IT departments and in some cases, worked more with IT than they did with marketing departments.
Today, the game has changed. The SEO is, as Amanda calls him/her, a “visibility manager” or a “symphony conductor.” SEOs have to look at sites such YouTube, Flickr, and networking sites and work with videographers, public relations, and content providers in order to adapt to the game of universal/blended search.
In her session as PubCon South, Amanda listed the following steps for SEOs to succeed:
- Inventory the available digital assets
- Look for overlooked opportunities
- Audit current optimization success
- Find the gaps and close them
- Plan an attack based on business needs, not on what you think the engines want
- Monitor the results
- Get smart with the metrics
An important point that Amanda stresses is that even though SEO has changed as a results of universal/blended search, the expectations have not changed. If you expect changes and are prepared for them when they come, you will be able to alter your game and continue your work effectively.
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