Over the recent years Google has weeded out the low quality “SEO” that relied on tricks and “gaming” search engines. Quality levels rise on a global scale finally.

The good news is also that there are fewer “SEO gurus” now

but more people from all over the world who know what they do and actively contribute to the common purpose of improving SEO.

[seo] search results that don’t suck

When you search Google for the term [seo], you finally get some decent results. I have been monitoring that specific result page for several years. I did it only occasionally because most of the time I was shocked about the low quality of sites being returned there.

In recent months these Google results got better and better and finally they are good enough to make me happy.

Some people who have followed me for a while know that it’s not easy to get my approval. Not that it matters much. It’s just that I know which sites deserve to rank there so that when they don’t get the ranking they deserve while others – those I’ve never heard of- show up instead I get grumpy.

You still get Wikipedia, Google News and Google itself on top and the news results which are valuable articles from Forbes as of May, 2014.

At #3, I see Search Engine Land with their “What is SEO” page, followed by #4 of Google result with their FAQ entry. At #5, we get the Beginner’s Guide by Moz.

All major SEO experts you’d expect show up on the first page where they belong.

MajesticSEO, SEO Book and Search Engine Watch follow suit. At #9, there is Webopedia with a succinct explanation of SEO that I even have used it in my upcoming SEO 2.0 ebook. At #10, there is an SEO company I haven’t been aware of until now but they represent themselves and search engine optimization pretty well.

SEO experts from Asia contributing to the global community

For years, most of Asia has been viewed as one huge outsourcing continent. By outsourcing I mean the ugly one: cheap and low quality. In recent years, some countries have been able to position themselves as serious industry contributors though. Foremost among them have been the Philippines.

Quality content and services have gained SEOs from the Philippines international attention.

In case you have followed Inbound.org or some of the more visible search marketing influencers, you probably have noticed Jason Acidre. He is one of the most prominent Filipino SEO experts who are publishing contents in English and sharing their advices to a global readership. They provide unique viewpoints and insights by now instead of just “me too” content.

Likewise the number of valuable contributors to Inbound.org and beyond from India has been rising steadily.

Of course it’s not just India and the Philippines, other countries with huge populations like Pakistan or China also yield fresh new talents. These people manage to impress despite language barriers they have to overcome and weaker Internet infrastructure or even literacy levels at home.

SEO is a truly democratic trade. No matter your skin color, mother tongue or religion.

When you perform well, you will succeed in this industry. You don’t need college degrees or expensive courses. You can still learn and do it yourself from scratch. It’s just about you.

Indian SEO agency exec asking me for branding advice

I suggested this article idea several weeks ago to Ahrefs. And just a few days later, an Indian SEO company representative politely inquired after branding advice. He first approached me on Twitter whether he could send me an mail and then he sent a short message asking questions. That might sound like common sense since I got used to get spammed from India over the years.

The days of generic low level SEO are numbered and that’s a good thing.

No wonder the effect of the recent updates were much more prevalent on India market. Google Trends shows that demand for SEO has diminished rapidly over the last three years. The number of people searching for SEO on Google from India has been reaching  low numbers since early 2005.

People who want to outsource their SEO work to India know by now that only looking after cheap services may cost them more in the long run.

Westerners trying to get a bargain on SEO also look for quality by now. You can even find household names like Bruce Clay searching for [seo india] right now. No wonder this Indian SEO exec wants me to help them with their brand positioning and social media popularity.

Ahrefs coming straight from Singapore

Last but not least,  Ahrefs toolset is proof of the global evolution of the SEO industry. With half European and half Asian team operating from Singapore , the company shows how the “Clash of Civilizations” nonsense is only fear-mongering propaganda by reactionaries.

It’s no coincidence that Ahrefs deals with links online and in real life it connects experts from Europe and Asia to serve a global audience.

SEO is one of the trades without artificially inflated barriers to entry. Over the next few years, we can expect a real boom and an influx of international talents from all over the world , from countries formerly know as the global south.

In the past many people have argued that exactly the lack of clear industry standards and institutions trying to push them though is SEO’s biggest drawback.

I don’t think so. Now that globally we witness an overall improvement in quality we can see how an inclusive approach allows the best to emerge in the long run. A few years from now this maturation process will yield many more industry highlights similar to Ahrefs.

(CC BY-ND 2.0) Creative Commons image by Bernard Tey