The future of SEO is undoubtedly one where:
- one-way text links from relevant pages continue to be the most valuable links
- reciprocal linking continue to decline
- the 'shotgun' approach to link buying declines
- mass email link requests decline
- free directory submission declines
- niche directory submission increases
- article PR (article submission) increases
- article submission sites (e.g. EzineArticles, GoArticles, and ArticleBlast play a much bigger
and more important role in helping online publishers locate quality articles (due to the increasing article volume)
- user popularity is just as important as link popularity, which means:
- the quality of article PR improves in order to increase site traffic, credibility, and loyalty
- the quality of website content improves in order to convert traffic and encourage repeat visits
Clearly, the choices for SEOs will be pretty much limited to paying for links at niche sites and/or engaging in article PR. Being
an SEO copywriter, I may be a little biased, but for me, article PR is the hands-down winner in this comparison:
- It satisfies Google's criteria for relevance and importance. Linking site owners include your article and link because, in
doing so, their site becomes more useful to visitors, and their business gains credibility and authority.
- It generates hundreds of free links quickly enough to make it worth your while, but not so quickly as to raise red flags at
Google (in the form of link dampening).
- Links are permanent and you don't have to pay to keep them there.
- You get a lot of qualified referred traffic who already trust you and your expertise. This satisfies Google's visitor
popularity criteria, while at the same time bringing you a lot of extra customers.
