Over the past few months, there’s been a fair amount of speculation across the cybersphere regarding whether there’s any future for SEO. Some have boldly claimed that SEO is destined to die. But these few aside, the consensus seems to be that the discipline of SEO will remain alive and well.  And why? Well, because search will remain alive and well.

Search has permeated our mentalities as a (arguably, the) primary method of gathering information.  We “Google” to find information on the web.  We use the search feature on websites as a means of navigation.  Sometimes we even use search in a retail context–for instance, searching for that best seller at Barnes & Noble. Search isn’t going away anytime soon, because we depend on it too much.

Necessarily, SEO will not die.  For the sake of time, I’ll provide a very oversimplified justification: search engines will always depend on algorithms to determine the relevance of content (well, until artificial intelligence comes along and computers take over the world, but then I’ll be more concerned about my life than my job security), algorithms that rely on content meeting a set of standards that, in reality, the average Joe does not understand.  This is where SEOs come in.

Though search may be here to stay, it will evolve to adapt to our demands.  Remember when a Google search results page was simply a list of 10 sites with some ads on the side?  Now your search results page can contain anything from news results to local listings.  Search evolved because information demands did.

So what’s next for search?  Twitter believes they are.  They claim to have grand plans up their sleeve for a social search engine that allows consumers to search “what’s happening–right now.”  It will serve as a Wiki, aggregating the thoughts and opinions of the entire Twitterverse on current issues.  Read the full article here.

If this is truly where search is heading, what will this mean for SEOs?  How will our jobs evolve?  Share your thoughts!

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