This is not a short read, however it’s a little bit shorter than the full article. While I recommend a full read and some related points of view, it’s important to understand the shifts that are taking place in the way people discover your content online.

Full credit to Ed Dale who has been promoting a far more substantive approach for some time, while warning of the reckoning which appears to have arrived.

Small problem, in 2012, the only people who are creating links that Google can read are;

• SEO Types creating links of dubious quality
• Digerati – they still remember how to blog and create links – how quaint.
• umm, that’s it.

Let’s contrast to people who hit the like and retweet buttons.

Everyone and your Momma!
This is a big problem and to Googles credit they know this – the famous “URS Quake” letter sounded the alarm bells.

Google’s results have been getting worse and worse and with the lack of compelling backlink data and a complete freeze out of everything happening in Castle Facebook they have resorted to the Search Engine equivalent of “No one got fired for buying IBM” by heavily favouring brands in the top 10 of their search results. This by the way is such a dumb move – but their hand has been forced.

WINTER IS COMING.

Just yesterday Build My Rank was obliterated off the face of Google. By all accounts – Build My Rank was pretty benign – but at the end of the day you were paying money for links and that brother, is going to get you put up against the wall when the revolution comes.

It’s not like Google has been keeping quiet on this. At SXSW Matt Cutts announced a major shake up in “overly optimised” websites was coming…

Yup.

WINTER IS COMING!

Here’s what’s going to happen.

Google is about to go scorched earth. In a night of the long knives a Lannister would be proud of, they are going to go postal on these link farms that have been making a mess of the google results.

Then we are going to see the major change Google themselves have already foreshadowed. For the first time since Larry and Sergey made the authoritative backlink the cornerstone of Google, the backlink will be demoted. The Google Plus, The tweet, The Like, The Pin will be the new indicator of choice.

You’ll have a rank of sorts, the more likes your content receives, the more followers you have (without engaging in the piss weak follow you follow me shenanigans) will give you an authority on what should appear in the search engine.

Everyone’s search will be different – if one of your friends have recommend something – you’ll see it.

This is ultimately a good thing. Once this winter is over, your great content with your raving fans will see you thrive on the other side.

Just like the last long winter, for many, it will be unpleasant, in some cases tragic.

But it will ultimately be worth it.

HOW CAN YOU SURVIVE THE WINTER.

Create content that delights your audience (actually, makes them feel any emotion is a start) on a CONSISTENT basis
Become one of the top 20 influencers in your niche
Understand that in winter the nights are long and the arbitrage opportunities are scarce. Build a business not a shortcut.
Do you only have one source of traffic…If the answer is yes getting others is job 1!
WINTER IS COMING.

The summer of shortcuts is almost over in online marketing. Those that get this will survive (and Thrive) in the Winter. Those that don’t will end up like Ned Stark in Kings Landing.

Read The full article Winter Is Coming…