Vertical Measures has learned that Google, Inc. is expected to unveil plans to launch its own SEO agency as early as May 2010, according to sources close to the situation.
Google is putting together an SEO team of approximately 100 employees because it feels like it needs to set the standard in an industry that often gets criticized from the outside. Google SEO will strive to only use the most ethical best practices to increase rankings without adding to the spam glut on the Internet. This implies that Google SEO will become the only search agency in the world that can guarantee first-page rankings because they have total access to the infamous algorithm.
But these rankings will come with a price. Early estimates call for the average minimum spend per client to be in the $25,000 a month range, so only serious players need apply here.
The formal announcement, expected next week, is sure to send shockwaves through the SEO industry. "Google entering into the search sphere will change the game," said Vertical Measures President Arnie Kuenn. "How can you compete with Google itself? No longer are we just dancing with the elephant, we are competing with it for our very livelihood."
That is the question SEOs around the world will be asking themselves. With Google sure to take on many of the powerhouses of the Web, the rest of the world’s website search engine optimization services will need to focus on other aspects of the search marketing business, as winning the most competitive keywords will now be even more impossible.
On the flip side, SEO agencies distraught by this breaking news can take solace in one thing. There’s always Yahoo and Bing.
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