Thoughts on Net Neutrality Repeal & Digital Marketing
-
Hey everyone
I was having a discussion with a friend and colleague recently regarding the repeal of net neutrality and what it would mean for marketers and website owners. I wanted to reach out to the community and get your thoughts on what you foresee this FCC decision meaning for your efforts and if your plans have changed at all.
Obviously, there are appeals happening and any changes are said to be subtle and gradual, but I'd still like to see what is on everyone's mind at this time should the repeal stick.
Excited for the conversation!
-
EGOL, you raise some really thought-provoking possibilities here. Much like how viewers are annoyed when a long commercial interrupts their favourite show - I'm not thinking that these new kinds of ads on the Internet will be any more attuned to user intent. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens and start developing solutions to these new dynamics of search and visibility.
-
What discernible differences will there be between ads and organic content?
I believe that your traffic sources will determine how this hits you. If all of the ISPs give all subscribers access to Google then I don't think my traffic will suffer very much - because Google is where most of my traffic comes from.
However, if most of your traffic comes through direct visits, then you will need to think hard about how to continue attracting a steady flow of new fans - if they are not coming from Google. Then you will need to resort to an accelerated and exposure targeted ad spend.
A very new type of ad will probably develop. That will be ads that appear between the websites that you visit much like the commercials that you now see between the programs that you watch on television. The ISPs might also slap their own ads between your pageviews. This could upset the balance between ads as a traffic source and organic search.
The ISPs might all place a bar across the bottom of the screen. This will offer you search, weather, shopping, reference, and utilities - all pointing at sites who pay or share revenue for this exposure. Advertising gets clicked up another notch.
-
Patrick, thank you for starting this conversation. It has also heavily weighed on my mind. Besides barriers to entry for smaller websites, publishers, and content producers, I'm also trying to come up with some examples of how SEO itself is going to be affected. How will the repeal change SERPs? If the Internet is going to be increasingly pay-to-play, what happens to keyword difficulty, rankings? What discernible differences will there be between ads and organic content?
I know it’s early days, and since we haven’t experienced this before, there’s no formula for achieving SEO success post-repeal.
What are the community’s thoughts on this?
-
One thing that I didn't address is my plans...
Right now, I see the cost of all of the labor that was put into my website plus its future income stream at risk. If ISPs start charging us, or throttling us, or selling access to our content then a huge transfer of wealth and value is going to occur.
I was thinking, even at my old age, of starting a new project. But, I am not so excited about that now that such unpredictable and potentially damaging changes might occur.
-
Hey EGOL
The cable and internet comparison is actually a great way of looking at this. I'm going to borrow this for our office download as well. The potential back and forth on pricing from the consumer / publisher perspective is what I'm concerned about. Put the professional aspect of this being my job aside, the idea that people who can't afford access to even the most basic need content or information is something that I find absolutely heartbreaking should this repeal stick.
Oooh, I definitely have opinions on Ajit's videos, but that's a conversation for another time and platform.
Thanks as always for your response!
P -
Yep. We watched that WBF it at my office when it was new. It was good to be reminded of it again. I watched it a second time. Thanks!
-
Hey Roberto
This is a great point about the barriers to entry for startups and new businesses. I also really like your points about most funding vs most value, that's definitely a huge consideration here and I think one that a lot of people haven't really considered (myself included) about the repercussions of this repeal.
You did great with your points - there is no right or wrong, just wanted the community insights and get the discussion going! Thanks for your thoughtful response!
P -
Hey Rand
Didn't even see you posted this! Thanks for the insights, this was all great stuff, man! Sending it to our office now for a quick digest.
Thanks again,
P -
Hey Patrick - good question, because I think this will have a dramatic, mostly negative, definitely industry-shaking-up effect on web access and how web marketing will have to be done. I covered my thoughts here: https://moz.com/blog/net-neutrality-seo-whiteboard-friday
-
I look at cable and satellite television as a comparison.
The companies who provide households and businesses access to the content are similar to the ISPs of the internet space. In fact, some of them are the same companies who provide connection to satellite and cable.
They make money by selling me a bundle of channels. I can pay a small fee for basic channels, I can pay a larger fee for nicer selection of channels, or I can pay big bucks for a deluxe package.
Right now, anybody who "has internet" can view your website. But, if the companies who provide web access are allowed to "bundle internet" how many people will still have access to your website? Will the basic subscriber? Or, will your site only be viewable by the people who pay for the deluxe access.
It might be possible that you will have to pay for your site to be included in basic. It might be that any household who wants to view your site will have to pay for premium. Maybe you will either have to pay to get your content out to everyone or maybe your content will be so grand that the ISP will charge customers for the deluxe package to see your website.
ISPs might make money from your content one way or the other. Homes and businesses might no longer get access to everything, they might only have access to websites who pay to be seen or websites that ISP might decide to sell access to.
I thought that Ajit Pai's behavior was not professional. It was smirking, mocking, condescending. Not the behavior of a person who I would assume to be telling the truth and who I would assume studied to know the full potential impact of his actions.
-
Hello Patrick,
Nice topic!
Well, the rollback of net neutrality has the potential to impact tech in a number of ways. In its current form, net neutrality protects the public by ensuring that ISPs treat content and services equally. Not doing so would probably make it harder for smaller players and startups (us) to compete with the big guys.
From my point of view, the internet is the infrastructure that provides the platform for much of today’s innovation. If new ventures have to worry about how corporate interests can influence who fails or succeeds, there’s less efficient competition driving progress. Moreover, if getting content in front of consumers, or having access to corporate networks requires paying extra for those ‘fast lanes,’ startups that win access might be the most well-funded rather than the ones truly adding the most value.
I'm not sure if I answered your questions, but that's my two cents so far (Btw, I'm the founder of two startups).
Roberto
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Community Discussion - How can we apply the skills we have as marketers in new, creative ways?
Hi everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful week! This week's discussion question comes from Tuesday's (December 😎 blog post by John-Henry Scherck, The Step-by-Step Guide to Turning Link Prospectors into Lead Generators. From the post: "Digital marketing is a pretty introverted industry. This tends to make us a bit hesitant to embrace sales and outbound selling. There’s no beating around the bush: Sales can be difficult, scary, uncomfortable, and awkward — but if you want to grow your client base, it may require getting out of your comfort zone." John-Henry shows us the opportunity for people who are good at link prospecting to apply those skills to lead generation, improving business opportunities by creatively using the skills they already have. SEOs and marketers wear many hats, and have a diverse skill set at their disposal—how else can we apply the skills we already have in creative ways?
Industry News | | MattRoney5 -
Pre-launch market/industry research
I am getting ready to start a web based marketing firm, with a strong focus on local search and b2b organic search engine optimization. However, I want to pick a specific b2b market to focus on when the site goes live. How do I go about conducting this market research when i do not have any visitors to my site yet. My goal is to spot a market/industry that has a gap where my service will be in demand? All of the popular guides and blogs focus on market research that takes place after you launch your website or after you already have an audience to analyze. Any advice or suggestions on conducting market/industry research without having a audience yet would be greatly appreciated!
Industry News | | ranch1130 -
Best Educational track for internet marketing
My son has a degree in Marine Bio. Has developed a keen interest in SEO and internet marketing. He wants to make a career change. He does not want to go back for a 4 year degree in computer science. Are there graduate programs/degrees that will admit someone with a biological science degree? He wants to have a career in Internet marketing.
Industry News | | wianno1681 -
Travelling & SEO?
Hi Everybody, I had no idea where to post this online and i thought SEOmoz was an awesome place to start! 🙂 I own a small digital marketing agency in the UK, i started it when i was 17 and i have won a number of awards from young entrepreneur of the year and i have worked with some large organisations. At the moment i am currently 21 and i have always wanted to go travelling and see the world. I have told my clients that i am going travelling and some are staying with me and some are leaving due to them liking that human contact / meet ups. what is totally fine. In October i am travelling around Australia and i was wondering if anybody has done anything like this before? I have always wanted to do it and keep coming up with excuses why i can't do it, but im just going to go for it!!!! I was thinking that i could travel from city to city working for different SEO agencies, i mainly work as a consultant because i find it extremely easy to start talking to people and generate leads. Do you think it would be better to work for somebody or pitch that im on my own travelling and can do it remotely. I can see why it wouldn't appeal to a agency to take somebody one as "part-time" and for somebody who could "steal" their business, im guessing i could get a contract together explaining that i will not work with any leads generated for their business? How would you go about getting work / getting paid? I have some websites what make income from absence but nothing life changing... just a few ££ per month. Any advice from anybody who has been travelling / done something like before would be extremely loved by me! 🙂 THANK YOU!!!!!! 🙂
Industry News | | Danny290 -
What is the Best Way To Structure A Growing Internet Marketing Firm?
I have been asking a lot of personal friends (who own SEO companies) this question and have found that it seems to be on all of their minds. From BlueGlass to a small start up consulting firm, it seems that everyone is doing things different and constantly shaking it up. I am wondering what SEOMozers are doing/have done for their company structure?
Industry News | | NiftyMarketing0 -
Is it smart to reveal your clients and projects in the Q&A forum? What about on your own SEO blog?
On one hand it seems like having my cake and eating it too: blogging about SEO using my clients as case studies in order to give them a couple backlinks. On the other hand it seems like asking for it from Google or from competitors. Got any advice? And what of mentioning actual domains and brand names when asking questions here in the forum? One one hand it seems like I'd get more specific advice, on the other hand, once again, it seems like it comes with some amount of risk. Any advice? Thanks!
Industry News | | TheEspresseo0 -
New business acquisition for digital agencies from SEO and CRO
I have a nice simple question to ask all you mozzers out there, specifically if you work for a web design/digital agency. Does your agency get any new business clients through your SEO and CRO efforts? I'm asking this to try and build up a qualitative data set. I am responsible for all SEO and CRO at our agency for all clients along with our own website. Having increased traffic by over 200% in the last 12 months, and obtaining page one of Google for all our targeted keywords, we are still without any new business or ROI. We are fortunate enough to get a lot of great clients via word of mouth, a great sales team and client retention, I'd really like to know what the bigger picture is here? If I get enough data back, I'll make it into my first Youmoz post and share all the data with everyone :¬) I've now added a survey so you answer anonymously: There are only 5 questions in all, your time is greatly appreciated. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/New_business_acquisitions_for_digital_agencies Any feedback gladly welcomed. Regards Sean
Industry News | | Yozzer0