It’s a nebulous time for search marketers and marketing directors.

Some say SEO is dead or dying; some say Google is well on its way to burying an entire industry at the drop of a hat (or update of an algorithm).

I say, “Bring it on!” and frankly, I’m excited about what’s to come. I firmly believe that it’s not a lost art or a dying industry.  Like technology, business, athletics, nature or politics, it is evolving as trends and standards change.

Google’s Panda and Penguin algorithm updates are the catalysts for this change which are pushing websites toward higher quality, increased social interaction and fresher content. Because SEO is my livelihood, I’ve spent quite a lot of time researching how to modify my approach, keep my clients in an upward motion and, basically, explain to people that SEO is not dead, it’s changing.

Here are three takeaways from my research and some action items to get started.

1. Link Building Should Be Exclusively About Quality

In the past, Google rewarded sites that had large numbers of inbound links (formerly seen as “votes” for a site) with higher rankings, but now Google seems to be penalizing websites for this now. Here are some link building best practices.

-Ween your website off link requests to makeshift link directories

-Clean up your link profile by deleting low-quality links. I use SEOMoz‘ Open Site Explorer, and RavenTools’ Link Manager

-Get published on other websites through guest blogging

-Create infographics and blast them out like nobody’s business

-Post engaging comments that display your expertise on industry blogs and forums

The idea is to inject integrity and authenticity into your links. You get the idea.  Let us know how making these changes is helping your SEO and join us next month for Part 2 of this series on how SEO is changing.

Mitch Holt
Internet Marketing Coordinator
Creative Concepts SEO partner Volacci

Image via SEO Planter on Flickr