In a nutshell, I've believed this since last fall with the onset of Google+, and probably even hoped for it before that. I have been a fan and believer in content marketing over search engine optimization_ for a very long time and with the use of (the apparently non-existant but still in use) _AuthorRank. To me, it feels like control of search results are coming back into the control of the digital publisher and the knowledge seeker. Basically, produce great and targeted content designed to benefit you and your potential reader (customer etc.) and – if the search engines do what they are supposed to do – bubble up the right content to the right person at the right time.

People used to rely on search engines to answer a query to produce results that best matched the information requested. That isn't good enough any longer. We want knowledge, not information. Knowledge = the applied use of information. Guess what? Computers and algorithms, even ones designed by humans, cannot (currently) produce genuine knowledge. It can take a 'best guess' but that's as close as it gets. PEOPLE are needed for the missing link. Enter both AuthorRank and SPYW (Search Plus Your World).

WE now get to create knowledge out of the content we write, record, video, and the like. Search engines like Google are now rewarding our social graphs, digital publishing content, frequency and relevancy to the information we create. While I have friends in the SEO fields, honestly I say good riddance! For too long great content has been buried or displaced by SEO practices (mostly blackhat, but still…). Just search for something along the lines of making, I don't know, homemade window cleaner or something. About.com shows up everywhere and I can't stand it. I think the writers are being paid, but honestly the content is designed to maximize CPM on the ads they serve. This is architected content, not useful content, and yet it's been designed and SEO'd to death to rise to the top of the search results. Meanwhile other highly relevant and useful content is shoved on page 3.

Granted, I feel SEO still currently has a strong use for online reputation management or cleanup as well as creating a unique presence when using common terms or names (John Smith or Acme Co. you must have one hell of a time getting found online…)

All in all I think this is finally the 'in' real content producers have been looking for to have decent content – and knowledge – rise to the top. SEO has a place, but I don't feel it should be nearly as large a piece of the puzzle as they have carved out for themselves. Maybe instead of keyword articles and creating link matrixes the SEO folks will have to learn how to actually talk to people. Just a thought.

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The Death Of SEO: The Rise of Social, PR, And Real Content – Forbes
I had lunch back in March with Adam Torkildson, one of the top SEO consultants in Utah and one of the best in the country. Adam Torkildson, SEO guru, says Google is killing the SEO industry (as we kno…

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