Is SEO Dead in 2021?
Or has it come back to life… with a vengeance?
The constant debate is this: is SEO dead, or is it still alive?
You’ll hear different sides of the story:
- SEO is already dead! There’s no point in doing SEO anymore!
- SEO is alive and kicking! You’ll do well with SEO!
Let’s go over both in detail. You’ll be pleasantly surprised with the conclusion.
Case #1: SEO is Already Dead!
I hear this one a lot.
It’s all doom and gloom coming from these people. It reminds me of the times when the critics predict the “economic collapse” of the United States Economy — each year for 10 years in a row.
Or the economists who unsuccessfully predict the “housing bubble collapse” — yet again.
Or perhaps those same analysts who predict a “stock market crash” — and the need to move out of the country in lieu of the ensuing crisis.
I hope you get my drift here.
I fell for it years ago when I started my first SEO marketing business.
I had a simple blog that had nothing more than pictures, blog posts, and — you guessed it — affiliate links. “Experts” at the time predicted the “end of SEO as we know it” due to the “Google updates” and how much the big G can “slap” your website down to size.
I was scared beyond measure! I was scared that I had “missed the boat”. I was told to “turn back now”, and to not “waste your time” by any number of “gurus”. After all, they have 100,000+ followers, they must be right… right?
Turning back would be the “rational” thing to do in the midst of all the chaos. With my finite time, I could start a YouTube channel, instead? Oh, wait, they think that’s a dead platform, too.
Oh, what about book publishing? Surely, I can write some ebooks and make lasting passive income? “No, ebooks are dead!”
How about podcasts? Maybe I can start a show and gain a massive following? “No! Don’t even think about it!”
Thankfully, I didn’t listen. And I haven’t listened ever again, after that fiasco.
Despite all of the hullabaloo, I was able to rank my website in just three months for my target keyword of choice, resulting in a plethora of sales.
- Everyday, there is a new internet millionaire.
- Everyday, a new YouTube channel pops up and becomes massively successful.
- Everyday, a new podcast takes the world by storm.
So, is SEO really dead?
No, not at all, and you shouldn’t be scared to take the leap.
Case #2: SEO is Alive and Well!
On the opposite end of the spectrum, others will tell you just how SEO is doing super well, and that it’s quite viable.
They’ll give you case after case of people succeeding with SEO, and the various platforms that it works on.
- YouTube
- Blogs
- Yelp
- Amazon
- Shopify
- The list goes on.
These people want you to start up a new channel. They want you to create fresh content fit for a king (or queen). They shower you with images of fast cars, private jets, and mansions.
“If you build it, they will come.”
Of course, at the end of their message, they have a high-priced course to sell. It would make sense that they would be telling you this.
But with so much free information on the internet, you could just find training on SEO and use it, so do that, instead. I highly recommend it.
So, Which One Is It?
It seems like there is just a lot of noise on the internet, and there literally is!
It’s hard to actually put together a cohesive picture of it all. Should you really do SEO, or should you just give up on it?
Actually, you should get started with SEO right away.
The best time to start a blog was 10 years ago.
The biggest surge in SEO action comes with a man named Neil Patel. He is living proof that SEO is alive and kicking. Do any search on the internet about SEO or digital marketing, and you’ll see his name pop up all over the place.
Thanks to the power of SEO and technology, any average Joe can throw up a blog, create content for specific keywords, and then bathe in the glory that search engines lavish upon them.
SEO is even more powerful now than it was in previous years. I feel that with each Google update, there is something new to learn and achieve.
- Gone are the days of keyword stuffing.
- Gone are the days of easy rankings for short tail keywords.
- Gone are the days of ranking a blog without the proper social media.
SEO isn’t as “easy” as it was before because the search engines have gotten smarter. This is a good thing for all of us because they have become more proficient with providing the end user with what they were looking for in the first place, whether it’s information or products.
You as a personal brand or business brand can rank easily for “brand name keywords” (your own brand’s keywords), but it will be a lot harder to rank of irrelevant keywords (such as ranking for “Walmart”).
(There are a lot more tips I want to give about SEO and content marketing, but I’ll save them for a more relevant post. )
Should I Start Doing SEO in 2021?
Is SEO dead in 2021? Hardly!
SEO is alive and thriving for those who know what to do and how to do it.
The search engines have gotten smarter, so they have figured out how to get rid of “spammy” websites and backlinks. This means that for those of us with legitimate brands, products, and services, the search engine gods will smile upon us and throw favor our way.
It also means that it’s much harder to rank for certain keywords, due to the algorithm changes and the sheer volume of blogs online.
But, you don’t want to rank for irrelevant keywords, anyway! Why would you want to rank for “foot fungus” when you’re selling “back massagers”?
All of these changes are good. Stay in the SEO game, and you’ll surely prevail. I wish you only the best. :)
