Every year there is a group of self-proclaimed experts who declare that SEO is dead and every year SEO proves to be one of the most highly sought after skills and services in the digital industry. Just take one look at LinkedIn’s annual list of top skills from the past few years and the demand is evident. If SEO were dead, it would be safe to assume that the job market would be in the same situation, however, this doesn’t seem to be the case. In fact, data indicates that there has been a 2% increase in the demand for SEO from Aug-Dec 2016. What is an interesting trend is the increase in demand for SEO, however, the open roles for SEO positions has slightly decreased. Although this may seem confusing, it has been attributed to seasonality – as businesses and industries ebb and flow, the demand for certain skills follow the same pattern. Although some information would indicate that there is a steady decline in SEO style roles, it is important to note that the name for SEO is slowly starting to change. There is a growth in occupations labelled as ‘content marketing’, ‘website optimisation’ or ‘growth hacking’. Whilst these job titles appear varied, the core skill is in fact SEO. There will always be doomsday prophecies regarding any and all industries, but for the next few years and beyond SEO is going strong, so no need to jump ship to the next trending profession any time soon.
