The SEO playing field is about to change. Permanently. And while that might be good news for the vast majority of site owners, it’s outright bad news for some. In mid-March, a pay-for-play blog backlinking site, BuildMyRank.com was shoved off Google’s search index. The search giant leveled the SEO playing field once again, as it did with the Panda Update, putting sites which attempt to manipulate search results out of business. During the Panda roll out, many article directories simply disappeared from search results. And now, BuildMyRank is a self-confessed victim of it’s own slipshod optimization practices.
The SEO Playing Field Revisited
Search engines, by they Google, Bing, Ask or AOL, are always looking to sell their product: search. Since these entities control the gateway to the Internet, occasionally leveling the SEO playing field is absolutely necessary. That is to say, weeding out sites which don’t truly conform to their parameters. While it might sound like a type of soft tyranny, it’s actually trying to get the SEO playing field in a condition which is most conducive to user search. Another way of putting it: grocery shoppers open egg cartons to check for broken shells.
Why the SEO Playing Field is Being Reevaluated
The SEO playing field is being reevaluated because the search engines are always trying to improve the service they provide users: accurate, relevant search results. Users simply won’t use or continue to use an engine which produces poor search results–to wit, Cuil.com. Cuil–the product of ex-Googlers–claimed it had indexed approximately 120 billion pages when it launched in 2008. By 2010, the search engine was shut down. It seems a large index without any semblance of relevancy, isn’t what Internet users are looking for. The SEO playing field was self-regulated in this instance, with market forces leading the way.
The Aftermath and a Way Forward
So having the SEO playing field leveled now and again is cold hard reality. It cannot be denied that it’s completely necessary to improve search. But the lessons learned from a newly landscaped SEO playing field are priceless. A veritable gold mind of how search is evolving. Those who practice SEO now know certain techniques will no longer produce positive results. Paying a blog network a fee to distribute content with backlinks is just trying to game the system. Only those who practice responsible SEO and learn from the mistakes of others as well as look at emerging trends will remain unphased.
Thus, the way forward is just as has it’s been in the past: doing what’s right and within a reasonable means. While algorithms will undoubtedly change time and again, there will be ample warning, either explicit or implied. Sites like BuildMyRank.com will come and go, walking a tightrope all the while. But site owners who play by the rules and actually put in the investment, will see their rankings inch upward. Simply put, there are no magic bullets. No quick fixes. As in life, so goes it in the world of search. And those defy will be ejected from the SEO playing field.
