Sometimes, doing the basics well yields the best results. In this new world of meme coins and sports betting, people don’t want to do the boring stuff. I think you can win big by doing the boring stuff. SEO is incredibly boring in some ways. It involves lots of reading and perusing, and you have to keep up to date with whatever the search engines and news outlets are saying on the matter if you’re a professional. It also takes a long time to yield results, something that a lot of zoomers find to be quite painful. That being said, I think that when in doubt, you should always revert to SEO.
Don’t Follow The Crowd
Nowadays, people are being steered away from the boring stuff. Everyone wants to focus on being an influencer, or cryptocurrencies, or sports betting. Due to the wild fluctuations in interest rates in the past four years, people are looking for lump sums of cash. If they’re told to create content, it involves showing their intimate parts or “going viral”. Some people are able to go viral, but it’s not that easy. YouTube is the biggest video-sharing platform in the world. About 90% of the videos posted on it get less than 1000 views. This is why you see people trying to get famous on Tiktok and also why YouTube pays better. It always pays more to do the hard things. A family member of mine is a lawyer. Their work is incredibly boring from my perspective, dealing with complicated aspects of high finance. They get paid $900 per hour because they create lots of value for their client. To create lots of value, you have to do hard stuff and avoid doing what most will do.
People will always be searching
The fact of the matter is that the singularly beautiful aspect of the internet is that it allows somebody to think of something, express that thought, and peruse through endless content related to it. Sure, recommendation engines like TikTok have taken a lot of people’s time and attention, but there’s still a place for research. People want to read, people want second opinions, people want to shop, and people want to browse. There will always be a place for search in the online user experience. Anticipating and knowing what people are searching for is the easiest way to make sure that your content has eternal value.
Web Browsing Hasn’t Died, It’s Changed
Nowadays, different areas of the internet have different types of content. Instagram has pictures and videos, YouTube has videos and streaming channels, Twitch has streaming channels, and Twitter is a microblogging platform. Medium, of course, is where people go for articles. What this means is that you oftentimes don’t need a website in order to make a living online. It also means you have to choose what kind of content you create wisely. Certain platforms are less good for earning money online. I learned this the hard with Twitter, for example. It’s easy to get fans on the platform, but they simply don’t convert. Getting paid per impression isn’t worthwhile either, at least not at this point. Right now, the big money makers are live streaming and Instagram. And I think Instagram might die soon for many creators. AI is making it too easy to create UGC. So choose your niche and content type wisely, because that’s going to make or break your success online. That being said, don’t be afraid, because people are always browsing the internet. Just do your best to create valuable content.
Search Engines Still Dominate, But On-Platform SEO Also Matters Nowadays
From what I’ve heard, Gen Z doesn’t search much using Google. My little cousin told me she only searches using TikTok. This checks out with what I see when I use the app. When I search, TikTok gives me suggestions. I think this will change as Gen Z gets older and is forced to read more, but it also presents an opportunity. You can create content that is optimized not only for Google searches but also for TikTok searches. Double traffic, double profit. This applies to every social media platform.
Search engine optimization may change as ChatGPT, Alexa, and Siri take over, but it’ll always be an important discipline in the world of content marketing. Search is how people find you from scratch, and being found from scratch is what matters most online. From there, it’s all about fostering relationships and maintaining the important ones. But if you can’t get found, you won’t have a chance to make those relationships. That’s why it’s important to start with Search Engine Optimization, in my opinion.
