Link building: the impact of technological change

At Searchengineoptimisation.co.uk we recognise the fact that the rollout of faster broadband services will generally be positive for consultancies. Consumers are bound to use the net more often to make online purchases if the experience is a more positive one. This will open up a host of fresh commercial opportunities in the future. Nonetheless, the way in which inbound links are sought may be significantly different from the way it is now.

The extension of faster broadband is not going to happen all that rapidly because of the expense involved and because of logistical obstacles. By 2015, experts contend that about 66 per cent of British users will have access to the faster service. However, this will be sufficient to change the way the internet is being used. This means that consultants will have to weigh up whether or not to alter their site-specific tactics.

One of the consequences of having faster broadband is that people will discover that watching video content is much easier than it currently is. A video is often used as part of an optimisation strategy. Traditionally, search engines were not so keen on videos. Nevertheless, users have usually appreciated the diversity and interest which they can provide. Successful videos score well in terms of aesthetics and functionality.

Part of getting a site to attract high quality relevant links is to make it look the business. If a target audience does not find a site attractive then it can have a negative influence on site performance. Users can become bored when confronted with large blocks of text. A video can sometimes explain something more efficiently than a wordy article. However, if the video is affected by buffering issues then this kind of advantage can be lost. The advent of more efficient broadband services should prevent such issues from being a common problem.

It is not possible to tell where the search engines or the social media will be up to by 2015. However, it is safe to suggest that it is unlikely that the sphere of search will be much the same as it is now. Perhaps Google+ will be more popular than it currently is. However, the fluctuations in the popularity of the various players cannot be foretold with any degree of accuracy. Monitoring will be necessary to ensure that campaigns are sufficiently flexible. The only sure thing is that the networks will be more efficient.

More could be said about examples of adaptation to technical change. However, this use of past examples would not add much to the argument. Those who wish to succeed must adapt quickly to new contexts as they arise.