Is this the end of SEO as we know it?

Well, no, but I think things may have just gotten a whole lot tougher!

Google has released this new Promote and Remove feature to its Search Engine Results Page (SERP) which allows you (the searcher) to rank the relevancy of their results.

Welcome social media to Google!

And I totally understand it, too. Google wants to provide its users with the best result possible. By asking you to rank their results, the Google Promote feature does just that!

But how far does this go? Do your rankings affect the way others see their own results?

Right now, I don’t think so. These results are personalized to you…sort of.

One test I did perform was Promoting my own site on one computer and then seeing where it appears in the SERPs on another computer. Sure enough, my OTHER computer showed the promoted ranking (and it was highlighted to show me that it was, in fact, manually promoted).

Of course, I immediately called my dad (who lives about 10 minutes away) to do the same search, but my site was NOT promoted there.

What does this mean?

Well, I am assuming that Google is tracking these rank promotions on THEIR side through your IP address. (i.e., no cookies) But these Promoted rankings do not extend beyond your own IP address.

Still, this also means that Google is gathering data. It is tracking these results. (And I strongly doubt that they are doing it for fun, either). My guess is that they will start to record and correlate this data with their own search results.

Does this mean a whole new Google Algorithm for the future? Maybe.

Does this mean that we will now have to receive votes for top placement in Google? Maybe.

Does this open huge doors for black hat tactics and manipulation of rankings. Of course.

And that is probably what will ultimately prevent a full voting based search engine results system. I don’t have any clue where this is all going to go (if anywhere), but I do know two things:

• SEO will STILL have to exist to some degree - Google will still need some type of algorithm to determine who serves to be voted on.
• Social Marketing and Media are growing FAST! We thrive on democracy in this world and it was only a matter of time for the internet to really catch up.