Tom O’Keefe

I just came across an article entitled, “Bright SEO Career Prospects Could Dim,” which once again has resurfaced my belief that SEO will eventually become ineffective. The decline in SEO utility will ultimately force the majority of website owners to abandon their reliance on Google (for traffic) and look somewhere else. According to the article SEO consultants will see a surge in business over the next 5 years but after that business will plateau and ultimately decline. According to the author the decline will be the result of more educated users and website owners who will just optimize their websites on their own.

I agree that SEO will likely see a surge in business over the next 5 years and a decline after that. However, I disagree as to the reason for the decline. I don’t think the decline will be due to skilled web designers but rather due to the ineffectiveness of SEO. I agree that SEO is not rocket science and anyone can pick up the basics in just a few hours however I think the decline will be indicative of a bigger change in behavior.

Given that search is a very competitive (and crowded) place it will only get worse when the number of optimized websites increases over time. This will lead to an increase in competition that will mean fewer and fewer visitors for optimized sites, in return decreasing the value of SEO. If in 5 years an optimized site can’t guarantee a surge in traffic then SEO consultants can no longer demand their exorbitant fees. Websites obviously still need the traffic but since Google can no longer provide it to them then they are going to seek alternative ways to get that traffic. It remains to be seen whether that means niche search engines, advertising on focused social networks or an entirely new platform??!

I think the disparity between those that are satisfied with Google and those who aren’t will increase over time. Those who remain satisfied with search will be the end user looking for information. He/she doesn’t own a website and isn’t concerned about receiving traffic from Google – he is only interested in finding information when he needs it. Google and the search engines will always satisfy this user with the most relevant source.

The frustration sets in with the website owner who relies of Google for traffic. Over time his website will see a decline in traffic from Google (due to excessive competition) that eventually leaves him frustrated and unsatisfied with Google’s results. This dissatisfaction will ultimately force website owners to be the first group to migrate away from Google. Whether the average user follows remains to be seen but they have in the past. This scenario is not unlike the early days of Google when the more advanced web users fled Yahoo’s directory for Google. As we know everyone else eventually followed.

Not if, but rather when the next migration occurs is just a matter of time.

In addition to the online infoMeds, infoMedMD will also be offering custom infoMeds for doctors, medical practices, health care sites, pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms and many others. InfoMedMD’s customization service gives medical professionals the ability to create unique infoMeds specific to their practice and patients. Customization gives you full flexibility to create infoMeds with a series of symptoms that can serve as a patient’s history. These infoMeds can be printed or submitted to your office before a patient’s visit (or while in your office), thus saving your practice valuable time and money. Custom infoMeds can also include your medical response to a patient’s answers.

For additional information about infoMedMD and our customization services please visit the URL below or contact Tom O’Keefe at info2@tokibiz.net or 617-947-8071. (infoMedMD is set to launch May 2008)

http://www.infoMedMD.com

TOKiBiz (617-947-8071) helps entrepreneurs create ideas into business. We have partnered with a leading designer and a leading developer to help entrepreneurs convert their ideas into profitable internet companies. Unlike a typical web design firm we don’t just create websites but rather we create companies – developing your website is just one of the steps.

Everyone has ideas but how to create those ideas into an internet application is the difficult part. Creating that idea into a solid brand and profitable business is the very difficult part.  What we at TOKiBiz (617-947-8071) do is take an active role in every step of your business. The first step is your idea. TOKiBiz receives numerous requests to create ideas into business but the truth is we turn down the vast majority of them. We only partner with ideas that can be monetized and created into solid business models. This does not include placing Google Adsense on the site and praying that someone buys you out before the money runs dry. Google Adsense is not a business model.

Once we determine your target market and whether that market will pay for your services we then sit down with you to move forward from there. The next step is to lay out the plans for the online application and building the brand. Once we have scoped out all the technicals we then get to work building the site, creating the design and ultimately creating your idea into a brand and a logo. It’s amazing how a logo can transcend an idea into a brand.

Most firms stop here (and don’t care if a website makes money) but this is how TOKiBiz differs from a design firm. The business plan, revenue stream, the brand and the online application is just the beginning. Once these steps are completed you have a business to run and this is what we do best! From here TOKiBiz helps you run the daily essentials of an online business. This can include absolutely anything – talking to clients, online marketing, partnerships, public relations, quick responses to customer emails (essential) and much more.

By becoming a founding partner in your business we have a vested interest in the profitability and success of your application. We don’t just create your website, collect payment and leave.  TOKiBiz helps you run your online business to maximize revenues, traffic and corporate partners.

In addition to Bizak, I’m also a founding partner in a new healthcare information application called InfomedMD. InfomedMD provides the user with personalized medical information unlike any health service currently on the web. InfomedMD doesn’t just provide you with a general overview of a condition but rather InfomedMD gives you medical information specific to all of your symptoms. It’s not just a list of symptoms – it’s your symptoms.

Built in partnership with a leading medical doctor, InfomedMD is set to change what we expect from online healthcare information.

Look for InfomedMD in May 2008

Well, after many months of development (and 2 months behind schedule) Bizak is soon set to release. The screen shot above gives you an idea of what Bizak looks like. The text below gives you an idea on what it will accomplish. To receive an invitation to our launch please click the link below:

Request an Invitation to Bizak’s Launch

www.Bizak.com

Entrepreneurs use Bizak to calculate the profitability of their business according to website analytics and key performance indicators. With visitors, revenues and costs data, Bizak automatically computes revenues per visitor (RPV), costs per visitor (CPV), earnings (profit/loss), earnings per visitor (EPV) and valuation (The Bizak Estimate.) Each one of these calculations can then be compared to other startups and industry benchmarks. With these calculations entrepreneurs are then invited to join Bizak’s elite network of investors and business professionals who are eager to invest in your profitability.

Investors use Bizak to discover new investment opportunities. From the calculation of comparative benchmarks investors can evaluate the earnings potential of startups in comparison to their competitors and industry. The Bizak Estimate gives investors an approximate valuation of internet startups based on revenues, traffic and EPV. This valuation can then be compared to other startups and the industry mean. Investors can also quickly calculate high and low valuations from a range of revenue multipliers.

Professionals use Bizak’s comparative traffic analysis to discover new advertising and business opportunities. With Bizak professionals can target business partners according to industry, application type and revenue source. Startups can then be sorted and compared according to traffic, revenues, RPV, costs, CPV, EPV, earnings and the Bizak Estimate. Click on a specific company and it will provide you with their business summary, contact information, and monthly results.

Bizak is a TOKiBiz

One of the nicest things about creating a benchmarking application for Web 2.0 is that I get introduced to a lot of great websites. Last week it was London’s WebCanvas and this week it’s Speakitz, based in Israel.

Speakitz’s best feature is the ability to add a simple javascript to your website allowing anyone the ability to comment on your site. Not only do you benefit from user feedback but potentially more beneficial is that Speakitz’s homepage lists all comments posted (from your site and others) with each one linking back to where it came from – thus potentially resulting in a boost in traffic for you!

The javascript to embed a Speakitz on your website is a bit hard to find but it’s located at: http://www.speakitz.com/eng/webm.jsp

I’m often amazed at how inter-connected the internet is. I was reading an article on Techcrunch that mentioned a local Boston company called Skyhook Wireless. Skyhook Wireless is actually located in the same building where I worked 10 years ago. Skyhook Wireless just penned a partnership with Locr to bring Wi-Fi positioning (via mobile devices) to the online photo market. Locr is working on similar applications to local Boston (and Rhode Island) startup Gypsii, who I know. Skyhook Wireless provides the Wi-Fi positioning function that iPhone users are familiar with when utilizing Google Maps. Locr and Gypsii are working on Geo-Tagging services not far off from the location based social networking that I wrote about recently. I think Locr does a better job with geo-tagging photos however both need to step it up a notch and both fall short of the perfect location based social networking application.

Comparing the two, Locr is much more user friendly than Gypsii. Gypsii’s site is very confusing to use whereas Locr is very simple – both however are not fully utilizing geo-tagging. I’m looking forward to seeing how Skyhook Wireless (putting Boston tech on the map) is going to be integrated into Locr’s service.

Currently both sites require you to download software to your phone in order to geo-tag photos on their sites. There is absolutely no way I’m going to do this and I assume I’m not the only one who feels this way? I will not use the service (or at least find it unique) until I can visit locr.com on my phone, log in and then take a photo which Locr automatically knows the location to. For iPhone users I would imagine there is room for numerous geo-tagging platforms if all that’s needed is to visit their website on their iPhone. If this isn’t possible (and downloading or pre-installed is necessary) then there will only be one or two applications in this field.

Compete.com has a great post on the top social networking sites (according to traffic) for the month of February 2008.  I find the statistics to be fascinating and quite enlightening since some of these sites I’ve never heard of – for example CafeMom.com.  What I find fascinating is that Myspace is still very comfortable in the number one position.  I’m fascinated by this since I rarely hear anyone talk about Myspace (it’s always Facebook, Facebook, Facebook) and it’s such crap.  It is however a great tool for musicians (that’s good) and spammers (not so good).  Myspace has however seen negative year over year growth in comparison to Facebook’s 77%, so I would expect their top position to eventually be history.  My guess is that they’ll eventually drop out of the top ten and I assume they thought that too since Myspace has been cleaning up their site a lot these days – looking more and more like Facebook.  LinkedIn is also looking more and more like Facebook minus all the spam of Myspace and to a lesser extent Facebook.  LinkedIn is boring though.

I’m surprised to see that Classmates.com is still relevant!  I never use them but you have to give them props for being a top social network for over 13 years!!