The Evolution of Search Engine Marketing
May 31, 2013
SEOmoz, a popular provider of SEO software has recently announced that they’ve dropped the “SEO” from their name and that they’re rebranding themselves as simply “Moz”. Now, while it’s possible that they’re just big Morrissey fans, it still begs the question as to why they would change their well-established name.
SEO take a bow?
Rand Fishkin, the CEO of Moz, explains the name change in an insightful blog post. At it’s heart, the new moniker illustrates the changing nature of the industry and how SEO has come to encompass a much broader marketing strategy. As Fishkin points out, “SEO is seen as a narrow set of activities that move rankings up and bring search visitors in. To truly help with SEO, we have to do more than just place keywords, make sites accessible, and build links, but first we need the influence to make these changes. A broader marketer is often granted that influence, while pure SEOs still, unfairly, must strive for it.” We’ve already seen this demonstrated in an increased value in social media and blogging and how they go hand-in-hand with SEO. Moreover, Google’s emphasis on websites that provide quality content and an excellent user experience has led to a more intuitive and organic approach for proper SEO.
Although Fishkin states several reasons for the rebranding, including the unveiling of a new analytics platform, I think the name change is indicative of the evolution of SEO and how an all-inclusive approach is becoming important to achieve results. However, the game hasn’t completely changed; the nuts and bolts of SEO are still there. As we’ve seen with the latest Penguin update, Google is still targeting sites that are using black hat SEO techniques and spammy practices. While a “forest for the trees” approach to SEO and search engine marketing is good to have, it’s still essential to make sure your website is practicing good SEO and acting within Google’s guidelines.
So does this mean we’ll be rebranding ourselves as “Haus” anytime soon? Not likely, but you can count on us to evolve with the changing industry.
Brian Carver is an Account Manager at SEOhaus. If you would like to stay up-to-date on all of the latest SEO industry news and tips, you can subscribe to our blog here.