Net neutrality’s end brings new challenges for SEO, web access, and search rankings

The news: A federal court of appeals ruled to overturn net neutrality, ending a decade-long battle between internet service providers (ISPs) and web publishers.

• Without net neutrality, internet traffic could be slowed or blocked for websites not paying premium fees.
• It may also change SEO dynamics, because sites paying more to ISPs could be prioritized in search results over those with the most relevant content.

The ruling won’t affect net neutrality laws in California, Washington, and Colorado.

Industry infighting: Net neutrality’s status flip-flopped among the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations. It was supported by tech giants such as Google, Facebook, Netflix, and YouTube.

Telecommunication providers and ISPs like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T were prominent critics of the rules. And industry group America’s Communications Association (ACA) called net neutrality an “unwarranted internet takeover” and deemed the ruling a major victory.

Changing SEO power dynamics: Websites with deeper pockets, like Google, have the budget to pay for faster load times and priority access, giving financial status a bigger role in site visibility and traffic than content quality.

• Small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and smaller content creators could struggle to compete in search rankings, regardless of content optimization.
• SEO success could rely on financial investment rather than search relevance.

Trickle down: The costs of web publishers and streaming services paying more to ISPs could be passed to consumers and disproportionately affect internet users in rural areas.

• Since rural areas often have fewer ISP options, ISPs could slow or block web content if those customers aren’t willing to pay extra.
• In 2018, internet speeds increased 16% for urban consumers and decreased 11% for rural consumers after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repealed national net neutrality rules.

Our take: Advertisers may need to diversify strategies past traditional SEO by focusing on social media and email campaigns. Legislators at the state level could enact their own net neutrality rules if they disagree with the federal court’s ruling.

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