Is SEO dead? What should SEOs do?

Every year, the question that comes up more and more in the digital marketing industry is, “Is SEO dead?” I myself am a representative of the old school, and started back in 2008, when it seemed that SEO was an eternal field that would always be in demand. But here's my take: Old SEO as we knew it is pretty much a thing of the past. The website promotion that was relevant 5-10 years ago no longer has the same importance as before.

Many SEO specialists, seeing this post, will say: “Here is another person who is burying SEO, but it continues to live and will live.” However, I can say with confidence: classic SEO has lost 70-80% of its effectiveness. I'm talking about methods such as optimizing meta tags, bulk buying links, creating template texts and other outdated practices that have not brought significant results for a long time.

Yes, this was relevant before, but now search engines have learned to rank sites without this. You can spend hours editing headlines and embedding keywords into texts, but this no longer gives the same results as before. Now it is important to make high-quality websites, create valuable content, develop a brand, invest in advertising and actively work with reviews and offline activities. And even a schoolchild can easily perform those “classic” meta tag optimizations for little money.

Yes, I'm exaggerating a little, of course. There are aspects, such as the technical side of SEO, that still require knowledge and attention. However, look at the labor market. The demand for SEO specialists and salaries now leave much to be desired. I regularly monitor vacancies and often see offers with low salaries. While contextual advertising has become a much more in-demand area, and contextual specialists are receiving much more interesting offers.

But why am I saying all this? In any profession there are always changes, development, evolution. Nowadays, specialists in programming, development, artificial intelligence and analytics are in trend. If you do not develop or retrain, you risk being left without a job. You can continue to do what you did before, but it will bring less and less benefit and less income.

So what to do

• Learn English. In the modern world, this is almost as basic a skill as knowing your native language. With good knowledge of English, you will be able to enter the international market or find a job abroad with a decent salary. The average salary for specialists who speak English well starts from 150 thousand rubles.
• Learn ASO (App Store Optimization). The demand for specialists in this area is also growing. A good ASO specialist in Moscow can earn from 120 thousand rubles, and with knowledge of English - from 150 thousand.
• Learn programming. For example, Python or SQL language, knowledge of MySQL. Programming and analytics are the future, and this knowledge opens up a lot of opportunities in the job market.
• Use your knowledge for analytics. It is important to understand what is happening on the site, what metrics are falling or rising, and why this is so. Knowledge of tools such as Yandex.Metrica and Google Analytics is no longer enough - you need to know how to work with data at a deeper level.
• Focus on large projects and dive into the technical side of SEO. For example, study logs and crawl management. This knowledge is in demand on large projects where technical optimization plays a key role.
• Look at related professions. For example, a product manager or product analyst. These professions offer good career prospects and higher salaries, as well as opportunities for development.
• Develop management skills. A good SEO specialist must be able to effectively organize work and manage a team. It is necessary not only to set tasks, but also to monitor their implementation, solve emerging problems, and interact with other departments, as product managers do.
• Conduct experiments. Test new approaches regularly. For example, every two weeks, conduct at least one major experiment that can affect site rankings or traffic. Experimentation is the best way to understand what works and what doesn't.
• Read literature and develop yourself. Don't limit yourself to specialized forums and news from the world of SEO. Explore new approaches such as Scrum or Growth Hacking. Read books on analytics, management, innovation. For example, vc.ru is a good source for new content and ideas.

SEO as we know it continues to change. Some methods may still work, but not to the same extent as before. It is important to develop and follow trends so as not to be left behind.

If you have any questions about SEO or other internet marketing issues, don't hesitate to reach out. We are always ready to help. Write to the SEO studio "SEO COMPUTER" with any question by email info@seo.computer.

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