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This is a popular theme I’ve been seeing, moreso with the passing of 2009. Most people think the prospect of SEO dying is ridiculous, but I’ve been looking at it with an open mind. I’m starting to think that it’s a strong possibility, too.

On the topic of “the death of SEO,” keep a few things in mind. In the past couple years, people have been frustrated with search engines’ inability to deliver breaking news results. If you really wanted to know if Michael Jackson was really dead, you probably went to Twitter.com that day and searched for it, or visited CNN.com or even MichaelJackson.com for the fan forums. Every step I’ve just described had nothing to do with search engines, because they were worthless in delivering the answer.

As an internet marketer, you can probably throw in your own two cents toward an “SEO is dying” conspiracy theory. Just use your hatred of ridiculous, ancient methods of manipulating (see: scamming, cheating) your way to the top of search engine results by gradually building tons of keyword-loaded backlinks to your site; a practice that has not lost any steam in the past 15 years. Or, how about all of those old, worthless “last updated: 2004″ sites that are glued to the top of Google page 1? You know, sites that kind of answer your question, but have needed major polishing in the past few years. These are all a result of old school search engine functionalities that have lost their place in the year 2010. They’ve spawned a whole new business category: SEO “professionals,” of whom have been freelancing themselves to oblivion, manipulating search results and making false promises. Enough is enough.

New speculation says that social media and relationship marketing is going to be the new replacement of SEO. How exactly this will happen is still unknown, as it will require an entirely new search engine platform. Personally, I think we still have one major search engine phase to go before any major changes take place, which is that of local search. We already know that people have stopped searching for “laundromats” and have already been searching for “laundromats in jamaica queens” or “laundromats in 11430,” but it still needs a bit more refining in actual search engines, which I am expecting will eventually become “local portals” delivering highly catered results. We’ve already seen huge pushes in geo-targeting in both search and in ads, as even AdWords ads pull information from your IP address and display the closest TGI Fridays or Meineke center in your local area. Getting your local brick-and-mortar business in the “Google 7-pack*” has been the sales pitch of the year (*it’s that local map result with pin points showing local businesses in your area, based on whatever you search for, directly in the SERP).

Google’s inception of Twitter feed results and breaking news entries directly within SERPs has shown the direction that things will be headed toward, and there’s no turning back. Even Google knows that they have to adapt, or die.

The most important part of social media is that it simply has more influence to people. Anything run “by the people,” including testimonials and advice/reviews given by average citizens are what really matters; not what some SEO has scammed to the top of Google page 1 through cheating the system. Certainly not some website that says “last updated: 6/2004″ on it.

We craved social networking in the early 2000s. We wanted to reach out to the author of a great article, a webmaster, or even a celebrity and just know that they saw our message and had a reaction to it. It’s finally commonplace to do this. It’s also a way to get breaking information that’s available even faster than that of a news agency updating their own front page. Unfortunately, this is also a way to release rumors and misinformation that can throw the world a curve ball if it goes viral. That’s why we look toward reputable Tweeters and influences in the field before we believe anyone else.

Looking at SEO industry articles, information and even seminars – there hasn’t been a hell of a lot to say about SEO in the past year or so. Not much has changed. Manipulate your rankings by building keyword-loaded links to your site. Write original content…and a lot of it. Do article marketing. Rinse, repeat. That’s pretty much it, and we’ve already known about this stuff for years. Every time a search engine like Google implemented a revision or penalty, SEOs have adapted to survive it, like a virus.

That’s all SEO has really become in my opinion – adaptation and survival, and looking for the next big manipulative tactic.

Social media, on the other hand, is adapting like crazy. Everyone needs it these days: especially big corporations of whom have missed the boat on it for the past 5 or so years. The common everyday folk you talk to on a casual basis are now able to identify what “social networking” means in their own words. Twitter is a household name; even though most lay-people don’t “get it,” they at least know what it is. Corporations have gotten over their fear of non-moderated, consumer-run content, and have been able to harness it either on their own, or through hiring one of the hundreds of creative marketing agencies that have sprouted all around the world. It’s like the social networking plane that has just taken off…just wait until it finally reaches 30,000 feet!

Social media also keeps companies in check. If your business or service sucks, everyone is going to call you out for it on the internet and it will appear like a big, glaring marquee sign for all to see. Therefore, it’s in your best interest to treat your customers well and listen to what they say…for your own good. Anyone who doesn’t adapt to this mentality is going to get chewed up during this decade. This is the dawning of the reputation management era, where public relations will take on a whole new importance.

I’m not sure about you, but I’m certainly going to be more involved with social media than ever. It’s not just a case of being up-to-date with my field, but it’s also a matter of job security. If you think that being an SEO professional will get you places in the next ten years (let alone the next year), you’ll be in for a rude re-awakening!

Do I think SEO is dying? Yes. It’s not dead yet, but it sure has one foot in the grave.