Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has turned into a massive industry, with a wide range of specialists attempting to optimize web pages so that they can rank far more highly on various search engine results pages. However, Google has consistently been working towards improving its machine learning algorithm so that its search engine can get a more naturalistic understanding of the kind of language that is used in various forms of online content. This is something that is stressing a lot of SEO professionals out since it can potentially put the future of their entire industry in jeopardy.
John Mueller recently did a Q and A in which he was asked the question of about the future of SEO industry. This is a pretty pertinent point since if machine learning gets advanced enough that SEO would no longer be something that is required, countless people would end up being out of a job. While Mueller admitted, somewhat sheepishly, that the future of SEO is definitely murky, he also had some words of reassurance that a number of SEO professionals would have ended up becoming really happy about.
What Mueller essentially said was that regardless of how advanced machine learning gets, it is unlikely that it will end up rendering good old fashioned SEO obsolete anytime soon. He definitely struggled to come up with a satisfactory answer though, but it is heartening to think that an executive with such a high ranking position in Google decided to give good news in this regard. One example he gave was that web development is still a thriving industry despite the fact that content management system (CMS) tech has become so advanced that virtually anyone can make a website on their own.
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The thing to note here is that even though web design seems simple at its core, the industry went deeper into the matter and found more problems that only they could solve. This basically resulted in their services becoming even more valuable as they started to talk about things that were immensely technical that laymen would usually not be able to fully understand. A similar thing might occur for the SEO industry, with users optimizing their sites for search engines on their own but hiring SEO experts for things that might be a little too advanced.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Google’s advancements in the field of machine learning and artificial intelligence seem to be having the inevitable consequence of making SEO less important for the average website owner. While it is entirely possible that top notch SEO could still make it after machine learning gets further ahead, this is by no means certain.
The fact that John Mueller did not have an answer at the ready means that this is likely not something that Google has been taking into consideration, which means that mots SEO professionals will have to fend for themselves while attempting to navigate this brave new world. Google really should be doing more to support the industries rely on it, but in the face of an uncaring search engine platform SEO experts might have to figure out their own path.
Read next: Google Mobile Search Results Might Start Featuring More Q&A From Popular Social Media Forums (Including Reddit)
John Mueller recently did a Q and A in which he was asked the question of about the future of SEO industry. This is a pretty pertinent point since if machine learning gets advanced enough that SEO would no longer be something that is required, countless people would end up being out of a job. While Mueller admitted, somewhat sheepishly, that the future of SEO is definitely murky, he also had some words of reassurance that a number of SEO professionals would have ended up becoming really happy about.
What Mueller essentially said was that regardless of how advanced machine learning gets, it is unlikely that it will end up rendering good old fashioned SEO obsolete anytime soon. He definitely struggled to come up with a satisfactory answer though, but it is heartening to think that an executive with such a high ranking position in Google decided to give good news in this regard. One example he gave was that web development is still a thriving industry despite the fact that content management system (CMS) tech has become so advanced that virtually anyone can make a website on their own.
SOPA Images via Getty
The thing to note here is that even though web design seems simple at its core, the industry went deeper into the matter and found more problems that only they could solve. This basically resulted in their services becoming even more valuable as they started to talk about things that were immensely technical that laymen would usually not be able to fully understand. A similar thing might occur for the SEO industry, with users optimizing their sites for search engines on their own but hiring SEO experts for things that might be a little too advanced.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Google’s advancements in the field of machine learning and artificial intelligence seem to be having the inevitable consequence of making SEO less important for the average website owner. While it is entirely possible that top notch SEO could still make it after machine learning gets further ahead, this is by no means certain.
The fact that John Mueller did not have an answer at the ready means that this is likely not something that Google has been taking into consideration, which means that mots SEO professionals will have to fend for themselves while attempting to navigate this brave new world. Google really should be doing more to support the industries rely on it, but in the face of an uncaring search engine platform SEO experts might have to figure out their own path.
Read next: Google Mobile Search Results Might Start Featuring More Q&A From Popular Social Media Forums (Including Reddit)