Day: July 27, 2022

Social media has triggered one of the biggest disruptive waves in human communications, perhaps only compared to Gutenberg's invention of the printing press. At the time, the possibility of rapid reproduction of books and other content encouraged literacy and stimulated the emergence of schools around the world. The circulation of information took humanity to a new level of knowledge.

It is true that radio and television have also impacted communication processes and the way communicators work. Everyone was forced to adapt to the language of these new media. This was also the case with the emergence of the internet in the late 1980s. The new digital media were disruptive and brought great challenges to communication and communicators. The situation now seems to be a little more challenging.

By giving each individual the power to speak directly to millions of people, social media has broken the entire logic of communication that has prevailed for more than a hundred years, always mediated by the media and centered on a few vehicles.

Even for technologies born in the digital age, such as search engines, which were decisive in making the internet as we know it possible, there is a cloud of uncertainty forming on the horizon caused by social media.

A few days ago, browsing TikTok, the social media typical of generation Z, I came across a post by a user who made the following comment: "Guys, do any of you still use Google to search?"

Hello? What do you mean, "yet"? Is there another tool that is threatening the search giant's lead?

The truth is that, yes, it exists. It is Generation Z, made up of digital natives born in this century, who have become accustomed to seeking information about services and products - no longer in internet searches, or in traditional sources of information. On the contrary, their preference is to get informed based on what other users, who are not always famous, say or give their opinion. For Gen Z, the opinion of those they know, or consider to know, is what counts, whatever it may be. Because influencers work with publis, there is a possibility that the professional may not even really know the product - or not use it. But a person who does not make a living from it would have no reason to lie. So their opinion and experience is valuable.

This is what the user was talking about. For her it made no sense to seek information in any other environment than social media. It's a trend that seems to be coming on strong. This did not go unnoticed by one of the geniuses of SEO and one of the most respected names in the world of digital marketing: Neil Patel. In true TikTok style, Patel recorded a 30-second video in which he suggests that this media, adored by generation Z, has the potential to soon take the lead in searches, precisely because of the behavior of its users.

It is still difficult to measure how this new behavior will impact search engines, but I am sure that the future will be increasingly focused on the quality of content created. And I don't say that thinking about complex and expensive content, but rather about the quality of it regardless of large investments. In a creative and authentic way, it is possible to engage people if the goal is to generate knowledge and not just sell something.

Surely, this new model will pose immense challenges for teams, even more so for SEO teams. We are witnessing a new disruption in search systems. So, is your company ready?

Metaverse is the most heard and discussed word in recent times, or at least, since Mark Zuckeberg disclosed that he would change the name of his company to Meta. In practical terms, the metaverse makes use of virtual and augmented reality technologies so that the user can immerse themselves in this new reality of the brave new world.

The movie Player #1, directed by Steven Spielberg and inspired by the book Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline, showed well how this would work back in 2018, when it premiered in theaters. The narrative takes place in a physical world so destroyed that people choose to live inside their consoles. If you haven't seen this movie, the nerd in me invites you to find all the references and easter eggs in the movie. But back to the focus, it - in my opinion - illustrates what to expect from the metaverse in some way.

A little further ahead, in the year 2019, we saw brands like Louis Vuitton make billions just with skins (the name given to clothes in the gaming universe) in games like League of Legends. Today, it is more common to have artists doing shows in games like Fortnite. Examples abound. We have the Americans Travis Scott, with more than 14 million fans attending the show, and DJ Marshmellow, with more than 10 million. My nephew was even attending Emicida's Fortnite concert a few weeks ago. Always at the forefront, the rapper is the first Brazilian artist to perform on the platform. 

It is already clear that the metaverse has events, parades, shows, products for the avatars and more. The focus, I believe, is a new form of social connection within various options of virtual worlds and realities. But what does this mean for the SEO universe? One of the SEO trend predictions for 2022, made by our co-founder, João Lee, is a greater focus on voice searches.

In the metaverse scene, I believe the trend is exactly that. As much as many glasses have various forms of keyboards, voice is perhaps the easiest way for some people to pursue their desires.

But, considering that we are talking about searching for something through our voices, we can think that the famous long-tail keywords - which we have advocated for years as one of the best ways to bring a good experience to the consumer - is the best strategy for this new type of experience and the adoption of good SEO practices. 

And that's exactly where the SEO team will shine. And if, by chance, this team has the help of an engine that creates pages for longtail keywords automatically and scalably, even better. More than ever, we must deliver to a specific search a result that matches that specification. And in voice, this will be more evident.

Another important aspect to consider concerns voice assistants. These tools will gain even more prominence with the metaverse, which could impact search engines and the metrics we use to measure performance. But this is a topic for an upcoming article.