I have a confession to make. My views on SEO have changed.

Were I a politician, I would surely be accused of flip-flopping, waffling, and “being against something before I was for it” by pundits. But I am a business person, and I believe that businesses that fail to adjust course when presented with new facts will ultimately fail.

I famously claimed back in 2006 that “SEO isn’t Rocket Science.” By that I meant that most firms could obtain most of the benefits of SEO by simply following the guidelines posted by Google without the need to resort to obscure and expensive SEO tactics. Many disagreed, the debate about the proper role of SEO produced a lot of commentary, and ultimately an SEO competition for SERP domination using the keywords “Dave Pasternack.” (The competition resulted in a SERP draw between myself and the famous seafood chef).

2006 was eons ago in Internet time and I think most people would agree with me that the SEO landscape has changed radically. Google polices its SERP real estate much more methodically than it did in 2006 and its penalties for violation of certain of its rules — especially related to content and linking policies — are severe and unforgiving. The Wild West Days are over — civilization — for better or worse — has tamed the Frontier.

Part of me wants to gloat because the Google Guidelines really do rule the Frontier now. At the same time, however, the claim that “SEO Isn’t Rocket Science” may no longer be true.

Why? Because everything we do now — in this era of big data — is rocket science. The level of complexity that’s required to run multi-channel, multi-device, geo-targeted campaigns requires more human and computation power than a 1968 Moon Launch. Many firms (including my own) are required to hire Data Scientists to make sense of all of the volume, velocity and variety of data.

So what’s ahead for SEO? Well, take a look at what’s happened in the past two years. Panda and Penguin have forced the SEO industry into a completely new, very healthy course heading — toward quality content creation/curation and general competitive webmastering. “Gaming the system” is still part of the DNA of SEO, but the focus is on sustainable results — not quick ranking bumps. Consequently, within Corporate America, SEO is increasingly being appreciated strategically — in terms of where it fits into the total paid/earned/owned media mix environment. For the first time, expectations – and budgets — for SEO are being set correctly — as something that every firm must concern itself with if it wants online visibility. SEO careers — because they are multi-disciplinary, multi-skill, and team-based, will continue to thrive.

So call me a flip-flopper, but I’m as bullish on the future of SEO as anyone. SEO has a great future. (And by the way, if I didn’t believe in SEO I wouldn’t have agreed to acquire an SEO firm last year).