There's been a lot of discussion lately on personalized search and the impact that it will have on SEO and Search Engine Marketing.  Many online marketers were cringing at the thought of personalized search results for the simple fact that rankings will no longer mean as much as they used to.  Other search engine marketers welcome personalization as this means that relevant results will come to the forefront and that a more strategic approach will be required (as opposed to strictly tactics being employed to generate rankings.)

So where does that leave SEO in the future?  Great question.  If I knew the answer, I'd bottle it up and sell it to the masses.  A large component of SEO today is content.  Cliches asside, content is king when it comes to search engines.  An overlooked fact is that content is also king when it comes to the users of search.  In fact a recent study conducted by KnowledgeStorm and MarketingSherpa revealed that technology buyers crave content.  Whether it's in the form of news, product information, opinions, advice, comparisons, buyers of technology products are seeking authoritative content online.  Let's look at these findings further.

Opportunities for B2B Technology Marketers

According to the study, almost 75% of all technology searches are made online.  A significant factor was that these technology buyers valued vendor-generated content with a large portion of this content coming from white papers, case studies, and corporate Websites.  Further over 60% of those surveyed look for different kinds of information at various points in the buying cycle.  

As B2B marketers this means that while content is king now, it will be even more important in the future.  SEO 2.0 will be content focused.  Regardless of what search engines will look like five, ten, twenty years in the future, the Internet will be a universe of vast knowledge and content.  B2B marketers will need to continue to provide content across the various forms to ensure that the user is finding what they require and in the proper medium they require.  We are starting to see this now with social networks, podcats, online video etc.  

As part of SEO 2.0, the key for B2B online marketers will be in the frequency and amount of fresh content that is created and dispersed.  Technology buyers for example search for new information based on their needs on a daily and weekly basis.  Many users require multiple pieces of content before they acquire the information that they truly seek.  It will be up to marketers to provide frequently updated, informative content to address the needs of users throughout the various stages of the buying cycle.  Determine what your audience want, how they want it served up and when they want it.  The question becomes how do B2B marketers accomplish this?

How to Provide Key Content 

Without getting into too much detail at this point, here are some ways that B2B marketers can provide fresh content in the online world:

• Blogging -  I never understand why so many site owners do not feature blogs on their sites.  Blogs are a tremendous vehicle for getting informative content out there in a quick manner.  Along with blogs comes the syndication of your content through RSS.

• Updated Page Content - Keep your existing page content fresh and update ensuring that the informative provided is what your audience is really looking for.
• Write New Content - content needs to be fresh, up to date and informative.  Archive old content for your users and promote your new content as such.
• Create White Papers - white papers are a favorite amongst many B2B prospects and buyers.  According to study mentioned earlier, white papers are the most frequently read content with over 70% stating that they look for white papers as a trusted source of information.
• Provide Case Studies and Product Literature - Understand that your audience requires more than one piece of content (on average three) before they become interested in your content.
   
• Experiment with Emerging Media - while Mobile Search may work well for B2C it may not be the best avenue for B2B marketers at this point.  However look at emerging media including podcasts, and online video

These are but a sample of how B2B marketers can create content in the SEO 2.0 universe.  SEO 2.0 means content, content and more content.  But don't just create content for the sake of creating content.  Create content that targets your audience.  Understand what they are looking for and when.  If they are looking for comparisons between you and your competition, provide it to them, don't let them go to your competitor's site and find it there.  If they are looking for industry stats give them the most recent data.  If they want pricing, guess what you better give them pricing.  Understand how to write web content for your audience.

You want to "optimize" for personalized search?  Think content.  Providing relevant, informative content through various media is the only way you will reach your audience via personalized search.  Users want relevant content to their needs. They want specific types of content at distinct points in the buying cycle.  Understand the user and what content they want.  SEO 2.0 will mean having content within personalized search results in various formats.  Content you develop needs to focus on the user.  Even with SEO 2.0 content will still be king!