For awhile Smashbox Consulting has been known as the “SEO is Dead” group of evangelists. That moniker was given to us during a Q&A period at a conference. Basically, SEO aka Search Engine Optimization aka Get MY Business To Page 1 Position 1 is dead. If you want to know why, check out this 4 minute video SEO is DEAD.

So, if SEO is already dead, then recent news from Google and Twitter dropped a bomb on SEO’s grave. As reported everywhere, Google and Twitter have come to an agreement to include tweets in Google’s search results. Yes, for all of you cringing right now, this means that your search results could feel like you are watching TMZ, The View, and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. For all the times that you were so proud you avoided the social whirlpool, you are about to be innocently sucked in by searching on Google.

Here’s what this means:

• The SEO company that you are blowing your cash on every month to supposedly get you to the top spot (which has never happened)...yes, it is confirmed, you are wasting your money.

• Gaming the system (SEO) was never a long term strategy and yes, you wasted a lot of money.

• Content is not King, it is everything. Great content is not only going to create more interest in your site and business, but it will create a ton of material for social engines like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook which will drive further traffic and further revenue.

• Ignoring Digital Marketing is going to come back and haunt you because it is the only thing you can actually control. For all of you wondering what’s the difference between digital marketing and SEO, it’s simple. Digital Marketing is like paying a landlord that wants your money every month, hence, he won’t kick you out. SEO is squatting so get ready to pack your bags.

• Ignoring Twitter may either hurt you or help your competition.

• Even though you feel like you want to give up and pull the covers over your head, take a deep breath and think about how to make this change work for you.

Before you call an emergency meeting and start hyperventilating, the one thing we don’t know right now is how it will look and where on the page it will be. On the other hand, it looks like they will appear among the organic listings. So let’s do a little visual math.

Right now, if you search for something like “Shoes” and you’re looking at a 14 inch screen, usually you will see one organic listing under the Ads. On a 24 inch screen you see three. In total, you only see nine organic listings no matter what size screen you are on. They may remove listings to make room, they may increase the length of the page, but either way, your chances of being noticed are less and less, and the competition is going to be more and more.

Sometimes, we just get tired of harping on people they need a multifaceted digital strategy with longevity to bring in new customers and retain them once you got them — but news like this reminds me that it is a valiant cause. Even though we all use Google, they are not your buddy. They are a business, and their business is advertising. They do what is best to increase advertising revenues for their business.

So let’s quit complaining and start planning. If you don’t have a Twitter account, now might be a good time to get one. If you don’t have a digital strategy, now might be a good time to start. If you don’t feel like going down this road and you hate Twitter and Facebook and damn, you just don’t know why we waste our time on LinkedIn ... now might be a good time to think about hanging it up. There is massive opportunity just waiting for you to smash your entire industry into digital dust — and only the innovative will survive!